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122 Online Exercise
#2
Preface
The normal way to integrate facts and ideas from your reading into your own writing is not to quote it directly but to sum it up in your own words. This is called paraphrase. Unfortunately, as we have seen in the "Plagiarism" exercise, many students have trouble paraphrasing correctly. Successful paraphrase requires that you first comprehend a passage you have read and then put it entirely into your own words.
Beginning students often think they are paraphrasing when they are actually plagiarizing—presenting someone else’s words as if they were the student’s own words. It is not acceptable to change a few words in a quotation and then present it as if it were paraphrase--even if you add a parenthetical citation! This is called unintentional or partial plagiarism, but it is still plagiarism. That’s academic stealing and is subject to severe penalties.
Preparation
To learn to differentiate between paraphrase and plagiarism, read carefully some or all of the following links. Compare carefully the examples given to illustrate the differences between legitimate paraphrase and various types of unacceptable plagiarism. Then do the exercise below.
Helpful Links
The University of Wisconsin’s "Successful vs. Unsuccessful Paraphrases" & the very practical and helpful advice: "How to Paraphrase a Source"
"Paraphrase: Write it in Your Own Words" from Purdue’s Online Writing Lab
Indiana University’s "Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It"
Exercise #2:
Write a paraphrase of each of the following passages. Read and reread them first, but when writing your paraphrase, try not to look back too much at the original passage. Number your paraphrases. After adding your name at the top, delete all instructions, etc., and then save this document in Word and send it to me as a file attachment to an email message. Don't send it to the couse Discussion Board. Send it only to me at broth43@optonline.net.
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")