Guide to paraphrase Learn to Paraphrase A paraphrase is a detailed restatement in your own words of a written or sometimes spoken passage. Apart from the changes in organization, wording, and sentence structure, the paraphrase should be nearly identical in meaning to the original passage. Some criterias for a good paraphrasing: • Include all important ideas mentioned in the original passage but not in the same order. • Keep the length approximately the same as the original. • Do not stress any single point more than another. • Do not change the meaning by adding your own thoughts or views. • Do not use the original sentence structure. Some tips for paraphrasing: 1. Understand the meaning of the passage thoroughly (read the passage several times and consult a dictionary) 2. Outline the passage or subdivide the information into smaller sections. Remember that the paraphrase must include all the important ideas mentioned in the original passage. 3. Restate the information remembering the following: 3.1 Replace as many of the words as possible with appropriate synonyms (substitute a phrase in place of a word, or a word in place of a phrase. When changing words, consider the context in which the word is used, because most words have more than one meaning and association Using an inappropriate synonym may change the entire meaning of the passage. (Dictionaries are frequently better for this step than thesauruses.) 3.2 Change the order and structure of the ideas or argument. 3.3 Change the structure of the sentences. Each one has their own writing styles. Change the sentences to reflect yours. Be careful not to change the meaning by adding or leaving out any important information. 4. Make sure that your writing is faithful to the meaning of the source and accurately represented the main ideas. Example Original passage: Statements that seem complimentary (ca ngo in one context may be inappropriate in another. For example, women in business are usually uncomfortable if male colleagues or superiors compliment them on their appearance: the comments suggest that the women are being treated as visual decoration rather than as contributing workers. (p. 323) ---Locker, K. O. (2003). Business and administrative communication (6th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. Let’s first identify the important ideas in this passage: • Appropriateness of statements is situational. • Example is that working women may view compliments about appearance as offensive. • These compliments can be offensive because they may imply women are “decoration.” Read the sample paraphrases below. For each of the paraphrases, determine if both wording and sentence structure were changed. Also check to see if all of the original points were included and if the original meaning was retained. Paraphrase A: Words or expressions which appear favorable in one situation might be improper in a different situation. For instance, employed females are often uneasy when they are given positive comments on their looks. These remarks imply that the females are being viewed as adornment instead of as productive employees (Locker, 2003). Comment: Although this paraphrase does a good job of changing the wording, it is not effective for two main reasons. First, it follows the sentence structure of the original passage too closely. Second, it fails to mention anything about "male colleagues or superiors." It also follows the same order or structure of ideas. Guide to paraphrase Paraphrase B: Some statements may be inappropriate in one context, even though they are complimentary in another. Compliments by male colleagues or superiors regarding a female coworker’s appearance, for example, often make the woman feel uncomfortable. Instead of treating the women as contributing workers, men obviously think of them as visual decoration (Locker, 2003). Comment: While this paraphrase does a better job of changing the sentence structure, it also is ineffective. It uses too many of the words from the original passage. Further, it changes the meaning when it declares that "men obviously think of them as visual decoration." It also follows the same order or structure of ideas Paraphrase C: Women may feel uneasy upon receiving ordinarily positive comments on their appearance from male coworkers or supervisors. To these women, the remarks carry an implied meaning: instead of being thought of as productive employees, they are actually being viewed as just a pretty part of the atmosphere. Depending on the situation, words or expressions which appear favorable may actually be unsuitable in a conversation (Locker, 2003). Comment: This paraphrase is the most effective. In addition to changing both the wording and sentence structure, it includes all points and retains the meaning of the original passage. It also changes the order of ideas.] Exercises Now, let’s try some exercises to check your understanding of how to paraphrase. Exercise I: At least four separate theories of crime and punishment compete for preeminence in guiding correctional policies. Justice: First, there is the ancient Judeo-Christian idea of holding individuals responsible for their guilty acts and compelling them to pay a debt to society. Retribution is an expression of society’s moral outrage, and it lessens the impulse of victims and their families to seek revenge. Deterrence: Another philosophy argues that punishment should be sure, speedy, commensurate with the crime, and sufficiently conspicuous to deter others from committing crimes. Incapacitation: Still another philosophy in correctional policy is that of protecting the public from lawbreakers or habitual criminals by segregating them behind prison walls. Rehabilitation: Finally, there is the theory that criminals are partly or entirely victims of social circumstances beyond their control and that society owes them comprehensive treatment in the form of rehabilitation. (p. 100-101) --Dye, T. (1995). Understanding public policy (8th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Use the lines below to identify the main points: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Now let’s look at a sample paraphrase of the passage. This sample paraphrase has several key problems. Read the paraphrase and then write in the box the left some of the problems with this paraphrase. Four separate theories about crime and punishment compete in guiding correctional policies. The first is an ancient Judeo-Christian idea of justice. This idea holds individuals responsible for their own actions and compels them to pay a debt to society. In this case, retribution is an expression of society’s moral outrage. This lessens the impulse of victims to seek revenge. A second theory of crime and punishment is deterrence. This philosophy argues that punishment Your comments: Guide to paraphrase should certain, swift, and commensurate with the crime. If punishment is conspicuous, this theory holds that it will deter others from committing crime. A third theory is the theory of incapacitation. This theory is to protect the public from criminals by placing criminals behind prison walls. A final theory of crime and punishment is the theory of rehabilitation. This theory suggests that criminals are victims of social circumstances beyond their control. In this instance society owes them comprehensive treatment in the form of rehabilitation (Dye, 1995). Write your own paraphrase of the passage in the space below. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Exercise II: Sentence rhythm is a feature of all modes of language, not just speech. The peaks and valleys are there when we read silently, and they are there when we write, as we think of the words and phrases while moving our pen or punching the keyboard. Although philosophers may debate about whether it’s possible to think in the absence of language, we are certainly conscious of doing our own thinking in words. In fact, we often “write” mental lists; we hold silent conversations with ourselves; we scold ourselves; we rehearse what we plan to say to others and what we wish we had said but didn’t. And that interior language, the sentences and fragments of our inner voice, has all the peaks and valleys that our spoken language has. (p. 25) --Kolin, M. (1999). Rhetorical grammar: Grammatical choices, rhetorical effects (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Exercise III: While may people separate ethical and legal issues, the boundary between these issues is often ambiguous to the business manager who is not ordinarily trained as a lawyer. The manager is trained to make functional business decisions and yet has a responsibility for the management of legal and ethical affairs. When it is suggested that legal and ethical decisions are independent, there is an assumption that the good executive “instinctively” recognizes differences in legal and ethical issues. While there are some legal issues that are obvious, many borderline ethics decisions result in civil litigation. In reality, civil complaints and litigation are a formal procedure resolving ethical disputes between two parties. --Ferrell, O.C. & Fraedrich, J. (1997). Business ethics. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. Exercise I: Problems with the Sample Paraphrase The writer of the paraphrase did not change the structure of ideas, sentence structure, or wording. Essentially, this writer is guilty of plagiarism Guide to paraphrase Extra practices 1. "At some point in the assimilation to the new way, the immigrant child realizes that his or her parents are no longer sources of real knowledge about the new society. Their information and their way of life are no longer the way to success, and as soon as the child understands this, his or her attitude towards the parents changes. Though some people consider such changes to be a betrayal, they are an inevitable part of assimilation." (Adam Khutorsky, "Immigrants Adapting") 2. "The undermining of self, of a woman’s sense of her right to occupy space and walk freely in the world, is deeply relevant to education. The capacity to think independently, to take intellectual risks, to assert ourselves mentally, is inseparable from our physical way of being in the world, our feelings of personal integrity. If it is dangerous for me to walk home late from the library, because I am a woman and can be raped, how self-possessed, how exuberant can I feel as I sit working in the library? How much of my working energy is drained by the subliminal knowledge that, as a woman, I test my physical right to exist each time I go out alone?" (Adrienne Rich, "Taking Women Students Seriously") 3. "Email's intoxicating qualities are now well known: It's convenient, efficient, simple, and informal, a way to stay connected to more people, a democratizing force in the workplace and less intrusive than the telephone. But as email proliferates, its more pernicious effects are increasingly evident. Much as it facilitates the conduct of business, email is threatening to overrun people's lives." (Tony Schwartz, "Going Postal") 4. "The Antarctic is the vast source of cold on our planet, just as the sun is the source of our heat, and it exerts tremendous control on our climate," [Jacques] Cousteau told the camera. "The cold ocean water around Antarctica flows north to mix with warmer water from the tropics, and its upwellings help to cool both the surface water and our atmosphere. Yet the fragility of this regulating system is now threatened by human activity." From "Captain Cousteau," Audubon (May 1990):17. 5. Of the more than 1000 bicycling deaths each year, three-fourths are caused by head injuries. Half of those killed are school-age children. One study concluded that wearing a bike helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent. In an accident, a bike helmet absorbs the shock and cushions the head. From "Bike Helmets: Unused Lifesavers," Consumer Reports (May 1990): 348. 6. While the Sears Tower is arguably the greatest achievement in skyscraper engineering so far, it's unlikely that architects and engineers have abandoned the quest for the world's tallest building. The question is: Just how high can a building go? Structural engineer William LeMessurier has designed a skyscraper nearly one-half mile high, twice as tall as the Sears Tower. And architect Robert Sobel claims that existing technology could produce a 500- story building. From Ron Bachman, "Reaching for the Sky." Dial (May 1990): 15. . Guide to paraphrase Learn to Paraphrase A paraphrase is a detailed restatement in your own words of. freely in the world, is deeply relevant to education. The capacity to think independently, to take intellectual risks, to assert ourselves mentally, is inseparable