Secondary Sources: Paraphrasing

Paraphrase Borrowed ideas presented in the language of the researcher/writer (uses your own words and sentence structure to communicate the source’s ideas) Ideas must be accurate, but the paraphrase is not enclosed in quotation marks.

Essay 3 Requirements Incorporate at least two paraphrases of secondary source material that supplement your own ideas throughout your analysis paragraphs and show your ability to incorporate source ideas into your own writing style.

Why paraphrase from secondary sources? Especially useful if a passage isn’t as powerfully worded or quite as important as what you quote. Prevents you from over-quoting and exceeding the 25% limit on quotations. Gives you greater credibility than numerous quotations. May be more concise than the original passage. May be more stylistically effective than quotations.

Examples Original Passage: “These are the times that try men’s souls.”—Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, December 23, 1776 Paraphrase: This period is very challenging for everyone.

Quote: “Relating the educational quality of institutions of higher education to their cost is a difficult task, especially given the complications introduced by the many new forms of financial aid now available.”—[”The Best Values: A Combination of Quality and Cost.” Newsweek 23 Sept. 2010: 90. Print.] Paraphrase: According to “The Best Values,” the numerous types of financial aid make it challenging to determine whether colleges and universities are worth their price (90).

Paraphrasing Pitfalls to Avoid Your paraphrase may not change the meaning of the original passage. You may not merely substitute a few words or rearrange the order of words from the original passage, which is a form of plagiarism. EXCEPTIONS: Words that are extremely common or have no acceptable synonym (articles, prepositions, proper names, dates)

Original: However much Abraham Lincoln believed in democracy, the American masses, in the half-century following their war- President's death, did not seem to believe in themselves.... [Lewis, L. Myths after Lincoln. New York: Press of the Readers Club Print.] Paraphrase A: Lewis points out that no matter how much Abraham Lincoln believed in democracy, American masses did not appear to believe in themselves in the half-century after their war- President's death (247). Paraphrase B: Lewis points out that the average American in the 50 years after Lincoln died appeared to possess no self-confidence, despite the fact that Lincoln had a great deal of faith in democracy (247).

Integrating Secondary Sources Paraphrases Introduce the paraphrase – Use a short phrase with a comma – Use a full sentence with a colon – Combine with your own sentence with no additional punctuation Include the writer’s last name in the introduction to the paraphrase or in the parentheses at the end. Include the page number in parentheses at the end of the paraphrase.

Short Phrase with Comma Original: “she leaves it to the reader to decide whether Armand’s cruelty springs from social forces and prejudice or whether it is in reality a distant memory of his mother—a repressed, unconscious remembrance of his own past.” Paraphrase: According to Foy, Chopin does not reveal if Armand behaves as he does because of prejudice or because of some lingering recollection of his own family history, especially his mother (223). OR: As one author notes, Chopin does not reveal if Armand behaves as he does because of prejudice or because of some lingering recollection of his own family history, especially his mother (Foy 223).

Full Sentence with Colon Original: “she leaves it to the reader to decide whether Armand’s cruelty springs from social forces and prejudice or whether it is in reality a distant memory of his mother—a repressed, unconscious remembrance of his own past.” Paraphrase: Foy claims that Chopin does not fully reveal why Armand behaves as he does: it may be because of prejudice or because of some lingering recollection of his own family history, especially his mother (223). OR: One scholar claims that Chopin does not fully reveal why Armand behaves as he does: it may be because of prejudice or because of some lingering recollection of his own family history, especially his mother (Foy 223).

Your Sentence, No Punctuation Original: “she leaves it to the reader to decide whether Armand’s cruelty springs from social forces and prejudice or whether it is in reality a distant memory of his mother—a repressed, unconscious remembrance of his own past.” Paraphrase: Foy claims that Chopin does not reveal if Armand behaves as he does because of prejudice or because of some lingering recollection of his own family history, especially his mother (223). OR: One critic observes that Chopin does not reveal if Armand behaves as he does because of prejudice or because of some lingering recollection of his own family history, especially his mother (Foy 223).

Exercise (10 points) 1.Paraphrase one of these passages: – “In fact, innocence is her most marked characteristic, a kind of childlike, helpless ignorance.”—from p. 130 of an article by Cynthia Wolff – “to be open to love is to be vulnerable to invasions that we can neither foresee nor fully protect ourselves against.”—from p. 130 of an article by Cynthia Wolff – “[Desiree is] an innocent victim trapped by circumstances she hardly comprehends.”—from p. 106 of a book by Barbara Ewell 2.Introduce the paraphrase using any one of the three methods discussed and include the author and page number correctly. NOTE: You do not need to place this paraphrase in a paragraph.