Chapter 2: Researching With Integrity
Paraphrasing Practice
It is essential to paraphrase material from your sources, restating the information from an entire sentence or passage into your own words, using your own original sentence structure. A paraphrased source differs from a summarized source in that you focus on restating the ideas, not condensing them. Inexperienced writers sometimes use the thesaurus method of paraphrasing; that is, they simply rewrite the source material, replacing most of the words with synonyms. This constitutes a misuse of sources. A true paraphrase restates ideas using the writer’s (your) own language and style.
Self-Practice Exercise 2.1
H5P: Paraphrase the following passage in your own words.
“The twenties were the years when drinking was against the law, and the law was a bad joke because everyone knew of a local bar where liquor could be had. They were the years when organized crime ruled the cities, and the police seemed powerless to do anything against it. Classical music was forgotten while jazz spread throughout the land, and men like Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie became the heroes of the young. The flapper was born in the twenties, and with her bobbed hair and short skirts, she symbolized, perhaps more than anyone or anything else, America’s break with the past.” From Kathleen Yancey, English 102 Supplemental Guide (1989): 25.
H5P: Paraphrase the following passage in your own words.
“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.
Self-Practice Exercise 2.2
H5P: Write Your Paraphrase
- Choose an important idea or detail from your notes — for any class you like, or any research you have in process! — and jot it down here in point form.
- Restate the idea in your own words as completely as possible. Do not look it up in your notes first!
- Find the original text in the source. Now, compare your paraphrase. Do you capture the idea accurately? Is your language and sentence structure original to you? Revise and make any necessary changes here — and don’t forget to add your citation!
