Paraphrasing in the Body of Your Essay

To incorporate material from sources into your essay, you paraphrase the source, or you quote the source.

What is paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing is ______________ ______________________________________________________

Should you cite your source?

Keep in mind…

When you paraphrase, you change the language of the source into ________________.

Do not change a few words; change the _________________ __________________________!

Example Original quote:

“Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes” (Lester 46).

Paraphrase:In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46).

Work CitedLester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976): 46-47. Print.

Step 1- How Do I Really “Put Others’ Writing in My Own Words”? Rearrange the structure

Create a new subject for the sentence/thoughtFlip the order of the ideas aroundCombine thoughts together- or break them apart

Use different wordsCreate new action verbsBrainstorm synonyms for the nouns presentMake multiple changes; writing is a process

Identify key words to keep

Practice Example:Paraphrase the following statement using the

phrase or portion of the phrase in parenthesis. Refer to your article for more context.

“All of these explanations share one characteristic.” (unites OR exists throughout)

One characteristic unites each explanation. One characteristic exists throughout each

explanation. A common thread runs through each reason.

When using a paraphrase…

You must____________ your paraphrase: Tell who

said it, what is going on in the story, etc.____________ your paraphrase: Change the

wording, sentence structure, and tone of the original passage

____________ your paraphrase: Explain how this information proves your thesis

Example Paraphrase with 3 I’s:

According to James D. Lester, author of Writing Research Papers, in research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (46). Therefore, when students write their essays, they should paraphrase as often as possible and only use quotations when necessary. Then their work becomes more authentic.

Work CitedLester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976): 46-47. Print.

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Notice Since the author’s name is included in

the paraphrase, you do not need the full in-text citation, only the page number.

The passage __________________ ____________________; it reads like a complete, correct sentence.

The paraphrase is ___________, not patched on and left for the reader to figure out what it means.

Helpful Verbs When Quoting or Paraphrasing

Remember, many verbs can be used to introduce quotes and paraphrases. For example: __________________________ __________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

A Road Map for the Reader

You must properly direct your reader to your Work Cited page with a __________________________!

This citation will tell your reader exactly where to go on your ____________ page to find the source of this quote.

The Work Cited page, in turn, directs your reader to the _________.

__________________ (aka) Parenthetical Citation In MLA style, referring to the works of others in your text

is done by using what's known as _________________________. Immediately following a quotation from a source or a paraphrase of a source's ideas, you place the author's name followed by a space and the relevant page number(s)

Example:Human beings have been described as "symbol-using animals" __________

Use the same form of citation for a paraphrase

When a source has no known author, use a ________________________ instead of an author name. Place the “title” in quotation marks if it's a short work, or italicize or underline it if it is a longer work

Human beings have been described as "symbol-using animals" (Burke 3).

Your in-text citation or parenthetical citation will correspond with an entry in your Works Cited page, which, for the Burke citation above, will look something like this:

Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action:

Essays on Life, Literature, and Method. Berkeley: U of California P, 1966. Print.

Last Words of Advice

Use paraphrases that best support your ______.

Use the ______________ of your paraphrase to connect back to and give support to your thesis.

Remember a citation is a road map for your reader. You must give your reader (in this case your teacher) sound directions or the reader may get lost.

Work Cited

The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. 26 Aug. 2005. Web. 25 Sept. 2008.