Su m m a r i s i n g a n d Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing What? Why? How?
(Examples taken from Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University, Bloomington, http://www.in http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/w diana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.ht ts/plagiarism.html) ml) Original: “When the Maracana soccer stadium (in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) was opened to the public in 1950, and Brazil lost the World Cup to the Uruguayan team, the Brazilians were so disheartened one had the impression that the country itself had died. And people did die of sadness. Mere threats of defeat in a championship match can cause heart attacks, and the despair of the public is so great that many beat their heads against the cement posts. Such is the Brazilians’ passion for soccer” (de Moraes Moraes and Gullar, p13). Paraphrase: In 1950, when Brazil was defeated by Uruguay for the World Cup in Soccer in their new stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazilians were so dejected that it seemed the whole country had perished. perished. In fact, some citizens citizens actually did die of sorrow. Brazilians react very strongly even to the possibility of defeat in championship onship soccer games; soccer fans pound their heads against cement cement posts and even suffer heart attacks. Such reactions prove that Brazilians are very emotional about soccer (de Moraes Moraes and Gullar, p13). (from Oshima and Hogue, Writing Academic English , p133)
How to Recognize Unacceptable and Acceptable Paraphrases Here's the ORIGINAL text, from page 1 of Lizzie Borden: A Case Book of Family and Crime in the 1890s by Joyce Williams et al.: The rise of industry, the growth of cities, and the expansion of the population were the three great developments of late nineteenth century American history. As new, larger, steam-powered factories became a feature of the American landscape in the East, they transformed farm hands into industrial labourers, and provided jobs for a rising tide of immigrants. With industry came urbanization the growth of large cities (like Fall River, Massachusetts, where the Bordens lived) which became the centres of production as well as of commerce and trade. Paraphrase: The increase of industry, the growth of cities, and the explosion of the population were three large factors of nineteenth century America. As steamdriven companies became more visible in the eastern part of the country, they changed farm hands into factory workers and provided jobs for the large wave of immigrants. With industry came the growth of large cities like Fall River where the Bordens lived which turned into centres of commerce and trade as well as production.
The rise of industry, the growth of cities, and the expansion of the population were the three great developments of late nineteenth century American history. As new, larger, steam-powered factories became a feature of the American landscape in the East, they transformed farm hands into industrial labourers, and provided jobs for a rising tide of immigrants. With industry came urbanization the growth of large cities (like Fall River, Massachusetts, where the Bordens lived) which became the centres of production as well as of commerce and trade. Paraphrase: Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of northeastern industrial cities of the nineteenth century. Steampowered production had shifted labour from agriculture to manufacturing, and as immigrants arrived in the US, they found work in these new factories. As a result, populations grew, and large urban areas arose. Fall River was one of these manufacturing and commercial centres (Williams, p.1).
The rise of industry, the growth of cities, and the expansion of the population were the three great developments of late nineteenth century American history. As new, larger, steam-powered factories became a feature of the American landscape in the East, they transformed farm hands into industrial labourers, and provided jobs for a rising tide of immigrants. With industry came urbanization the growth of large cities (like Fall River, Massachusetts, where the Bordens lived) which became the centres of production as well as of commerce and trade. Paraphrase: Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of northeastern industrial cities of the nineteenth century. As steampowered production shifted labour from agriculture to manufacturing, the demand for workers "transformed farm hands into factory workers,“ and created jobs for immigrants. In turn, growing populations increased the size of urban areas. Fall River was one of these manufacturing hubs that were also "centres of commerce and trade" (Williams, p.1).
SUMMARIZING
Outline A. Brazil lost the world cup in 1950. 1. Entire country was sad 2. Some people died B. Possible defeat causes strong reaction 1. Some experience heart attacks 2. Some beat their heads C. Brazilians are very emotional about soccer.
Summary The Brazilian people are very emotional about soccer. In 1950 when their team lost the World Cup to Uruguay, the entire country was saddened, and some people even died. Even the possibility of defeat may cause people to have heart attacks or injure themselves (de Moraes & Gullar, 1977).
Are Firstborns Better? Freud, Kant, Beethoven, Dante, Einstein and Julius Caesar – what do they have in common? All of these eminent men were firstborn children. Although many laterborn children also become famous, certain studies hint that a firstborn child is more likely to excel. For example, more firstborns become National Merit Scholars, earn more doctor’s degrees and rate mention in Who’s Who . Researchers suggest several explanations for the higher achievements of firstborns. Some believe that the reason is simply that firstborns are more likely than other children to attend college. They argue economic factors alone could account for this difference, although firstborns typically get high grades before college as well. Others suggest that firstborn children have a higher need to achieve (Rosen, 1964). This need to achieve may be an outcome of the special relationship between firstborn children and their parents. Firstborns have their parents’ exclusive attention and seem to interact more with parents than other children (Gerwirtz & Gerwirtz, 1965). Parents of firstborns also seem to expect more of them (Hilton, 1967). As a result, firstborns may seek approval by conforming to adult standards, including standards of achievement. Whatever the reasons, firstborn children do tend to be more conforming, shyer, more anxious than their siblings – and more likely to outdo them. (FromPsychology , p101).
According to Charles G. Morris in his discussion of firstborns on p 101 of Psychology, the first child in a family is more likely to have achieved excellence than are those children who are born later. Scientists explain this in a number of ways. The firstborn has a greater opportunity to receive higher education, if only financial elements are considered. Another suggestion is that these children have a deeper motivation for achievement, possibly resulting from the way they relate to adults, particularly their parents, who have very high expectations for them. Thus, firstborn children try to gain acceptance through conformity and meeting the high standards set for them.
Representing ideas of others
Source: Swales, J. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp 149 and 153
Author prominent
Information prominent
Brie (1988) showed that the moon is made of cheese
The moon's cheesy composition was established by Brie (1988)
According to Brie (1988), the moon is made of cheese.
Brie's theory (1988) contends that the moon is made of cheese
Previous research has established that the moon is made of cheese (Brie, 1988)
It has been shown that the moon is made of cheese (Brie, 1988)
It is currently argued that the moon is made of cheese (Brie, 1988)
The moon may be made of cheese (Brie, 1988)
Below are some verbs and their synonyms for you to draw on when you want to talk about someone else's ideas or words - a thesaurus of verbs of attribution just for you.
Show:
demonstrate, establish
Persuade:
assure, convince, satisfy
Argue:
reason, discuss, debate, consider
Support:
uphold, underpin, advocate
Examine:
discuss, explore, investigate, scrutinise
Note that the following words are value-laden. Your choice of word will reveal to your reader your stance toward the author you are reporting on. It will show whether or not you consider the author’s claims to be substantiated.
Propose:
advance, propound, proffer, suggest (the view that.)
Advise:
suggest, recommend, advocate, exhort, encourage, urge,
Believe:
hold, profess (the view that.)
Emphasise:
accentuate, stress, underscore
State:
express, comment, remark, declare, articulate, describe, instruct, inform, report
Evaluate:
Appraise, assess
Hypothesise: speculate, postulate Disagree:
dispute, refute, contradict, differ, object, dissent
Reject:
refute, repudiate, remonstrate (against), disclaim, dismiss
Claim:
allege, assert, affirm, contend, maintain
Another look at verbs used in critical analysis
Arnaudet & Barrett (1984, P.153-5) provide a useful resource on verbs of attribution reproduced in the box below:
Neutral verbs of restatement Add
inform (of, about)
remind (of, about)
Clarify
present
report (on)
Describe
remark
speak / write of
Verbs of restatement with a + or - connotation
apprise (someone of)
Explain
indicate
argue (about)
Express
observe
Verbs of opinion This category is used to report the content of another writer's opinion (or conclusion or suggestions).
Positive opinions:
Affirm
agree (with)
applaud
concur (with, in)
Praise
support
Reporting opinion (usually neutrally)
Assert
believe (in)
claim
Determine
expound (on)
maintain
point out
think
Verbs of uncertainty This category is used to report the content of another writer's expression of doubt or uncertainty.
Challenge
dispute
question
disagree (with)
doubt
suspect (of)
Dismiss
mistrust
wonder (at)
Attribution and critical analysis The following paragraph is an excerpt from an essay on approaches to intercultural education. Notice the words that indicate what the writer thinks about the ideas of the other writer's she mentions. How does she use particular verbs of attribution to convey a particular attitude to the work of the writers she refers to? What words or phrases signal her own ideas? Ballard and Clanchy (1991) propose a continuum of attitudes to knowledge and specify learning approaches and strategies that correspond to these attitudes. Drawing mainly on anecdotal evidence, they suggest that their three learning approaches, namely the "reproductive", "analytical" and "speculative" approaches, are characteristic of certain stages of schooling (in Australia) or of certain cultures (Ballard and Clanchy, 1991, p.11). In their consideration of learning strategies, however, they have presented only a limited understanding of the ways in which the strategies assist learning. For example, they see memorisation as a way of retaining "unreconstructed" (p.11) knowledge. In contrast, the work of Biggs (1996) demonstrates that memorisation serves the purpose of retaining ideas so that they can be considered and understood.
• The present tense is used for: generalisation (in overviews, statements of main points); a statement which is generally applicable or which seems relevant; a statement made by you as writer; or to report the position of a theorist/ researcher to which you feel some proximity, either in time or allegiance (eg. Piaget (1969) outlines the stages..). • The past tense is used to 'claim non-generality about past literature' (Ostler, 1981, cited in Swales, 1990, p.152); that is, it is used to report or describe the content, findings or conclusions of past research. The specificity of the study is thus emphasised. • The present perfect is used to indicate that inquiry into the specified area continues, to generalise about past literature, or to present a view using a non-integral form of referencing (the name of the author does not appear in the text of the sentence; it appears only in the subsequent parentheses). • The future tense is often used in the methodology section in a proposal to state intention. When you are describing what appears in your writing, use the present tense, not the future (it is not your intention, since you've already done it): eg, "The sections below describe the process of .", not, "the sections below will describe the process of ."
Consider the excerpt from the previous section. What subtle difference in message might you receive as a reader if it were written as follows? Ballard and Clanchy (1991) proposed a continuum of attitudes to knowledge and specified learning approaches and strategies that corresponded to these attitudes. Drawing mainly on anecdotal evidence, they suggested that their three learning approaches, namely the "reproductive", "analytical" and "speculative" approaches, were characteristic of certain stages of schooling (in Australia) or of certain cultures (Ballard and Clanchy, 1991, p.11). In their consideration of learning strategies, however, they presented only a limited understanding of the ways in which the strategies assist learning. For example, they saw memorisation as a way of retaining "unreconstructed" (p.11) knowledge. In contrast, the work of Biggs (1996) demonstrates that memorisation serves the purpose of retaining ideas so that they can be considered and understood.
