Welcome toEffective Writing for IT Majors

Unit 8Nick Pincumbe

Unit 8 Seminar Agenda Discuss the use of Direct Quotes. Discuss the use of Paraphrases.

What is a Direct Quote? A direct quote is a word-for-word

representation of what one of your sources says.

A direct quote is enclosed in quotation marks and includes a citation. For example:

“The cat sat on the mat” (Smith 2009).

What Else Can You Do with a Direct Quote? A direct quote should be integrated

into your own sentence. Right: In the past, “the cat sat on the

mat” (Smith 2009). Wrong: It is always true “the cat sat on

the mat” (Smith 2009). Integrating the quote demonstrates that

you’ve “integrated” the idea in the quote into your own thought process.

What Else Can You Do with a Direct Quote? Sometimes, you may need to change a

direct quote to make sure it makes sense in the context of your sentence.

You can do this with brackets around the words you’ve changed. Wrong: As we speak “the cat sat on the

mat” (Smith 2009). Right: As we speak “the cat [sits] on the

mat” (Smith 2009).

What Does it Mean to Paraphrase? Paraphrasing is when you rephrase

an author’s words. You do this to make the essay fluid, to break up the use of direct quotations.

Like a direct quotation, a paraphrase must always be cited, because even though you’ve reworded it, it’s still someone else’s idea.

What is a Paraphrase, Continued1. Restatement of the author’s

original idea…2. In more or less the same number

of words…3. Keeping the original idea intact…4. And citing just as you would a

direct quote.

Paraphrasing: An example

Original Quote: “When the cat sits on the mat, sometimes people trip over it” (Smith 2009).

Paraphrase: It’s possible to trip on the cat when it’s on the mat (Smith 2009).

Paraphrases Need to Retain the Author’s Idea Original Quote: “When the cat sits

on the mat, sometimes people trip over it” (Smith 2009).

Bad Paraphrase: It’s possible to trip on the dog when he sits on the mat (Smith 2009).

Bad Paraphrase: Cats tend to prefer mats to shelves (Smith 2009).

Paraphrasing the Work of Others

WHY do we paraphrase when we could simply quote directly?

Why Paraphrase?

1. To fit the quote into the current context.

2. To maintain a constant “voice” or “tone” in the essay.

3. To help YOU as the writer to understand what the author is saying (putting something into your own words is a good way to make sure you understand it).

When do we NOT paraphrase?

1. You should paraphrase more often than you quote directly to maintain a steady voice in the paper.

2. You should quote directly to present a particularly well-spoken passage.

3. You should quote directly if you’re using a particularly authoritative source (like MLK in a paper about racism)

Some Tips for Effective Paraphrasing1. Make sure you understand the entire

passage before beginning the paraphrase.

2. Set the passage aside and write the paraphrase without looking at the original.

3. Now compare the two. Did you use any unique words or phrases from the original?

Some Tips for Effective Paraphrasing (continued)

4. If you used words/phrases from the original, replace them or put them in quotations.

5. Read both the original and your paraphrase. Did you present the original idea correctly and completely?

6. Cite the paraphrase correctly using APA.

Let’s PracticeThe course lists two practice sentences in the seminar link:

"It has been estimated that a child of six knows as many as 13,000 words and the average high school graduate about 60,000.“

"Creating an atmosphere of safety and trust is critical to the development of a good working group online."

Unit 8 Work—What’s going on this unit

Reading: For this week’s reading, we’ll learn how to paraphrase the work of outside authors.Seminar: In this week’s seminar, we’ll continue our study of paraphrasing.Discussion: In our discussion this week, we’ll work on the Peer Review Workshop.Peer Review Workshop: You will post a draft of your essay to the workshop, and then you will review the draft of at least one other student (hopefully more).