Language Arts RWLO Template Title Placeholder

Paraphrasing Practice

Project Overview

College freshman composition students can gain practice in correctly paraphrasing content from an online article and documenting the article using APA style. This paraphrasing practice can be useful for students incorporating outside information into a traditional essay or a larger formal research project.

Student Learning Objectives

For this RWLO, the student will be able to:

· Access an online article an correctly paraphrase a passage from that online source while using proper parenthetical or in-text APA style

· Correctly paraphrase and post the paraphrase to the class website discussion board along with a References page listing for the source.

· Include the practiced paraphrase and Reference listing in their actual essay on the topic of second-hand smoke

Procedure

Students should have received prior class instruction for the following:

· Distinguishing between paraphrase, summary, and direct quotation of material

· correctly paraphrasing source content

· parenthetical in-text documentation

· guidelines for proper APA formatting of parenthetical documentation.

Instructors should encourage students to review the attached summary, paraphrase, and quotation guidelines handout. They can also refer to their handbook or an APA style manual to review correct APA parenthetical documentation and References page listing for electronic source articles derived online. Students can then access and read the following Internet source article "Secondhand Smoke Fact Sheet" found only on the American Lung Association's website at http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35422

Instructors should guide students to read the online “Secondhand Smoke Fact Sheet” and find some information they plan to incorporate into their essay on this topic. Students can choose a bulleted item and write a correct paraphrase, entirely in their own words, with proper APA in-text parenthetical documentation to end the sentence.

Next students can use the information from the Internet source article to write a References page listing for that source.

Instructors then direct students to the class Discussion Board to post both their paraphrase and reference listing from the “Fact Sheet” source. They can also read, review, and respond to at least three other classmates’ postings to check for correct paraphrasing and APA style.

Finally, instructors can encourage or require students to incorporate their posted paraphrase in their actual essay for this learning unit.

Content Material

Students should review the attached handout for correctly paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting material from outside sources. Students should also have access to and review a class handbook or style manual for correct APA parenthetical formatting and References page listing for an Internet source article.

Access and read the following Internet source article "Secondhand Smoke Fact Sheet" located on the American Lung Association's website at http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35422

Locate information to incorporate into your essay for this unit. Then choose one bulleted item and write a correct paraphrase, entirely in your own words, with proper APA in-text parenthetical documentation to end the sentence.

Next, use the information from the Internet source article to write a correct References page listing for that source. Refer to the APA chapter of your class handbook.

Access the class Discussion Board to post both the paraphrase and reference listing from the “Fact Sheet” source. Also read, review, and respond to at least three other classmates’ postings to check for correct paraphrasing and APA style.

You are encouraged to incorporate this posted paraphrase in your essay for this writing unit.

Assessment

Using the guidelines in the class handbook or a current APA style manual, student postings will be evaluated for correctness on the following grounds:

1. a true paraphrase using entirely the student’s own words and restructured grammatical pattern from the original

2. APA parenthetical documentation

3. APA references listing

Links to Course Competencies

For a second-semester freshman composition course, this paraphrase practice assignment meets the following student outcomes:

· Integrate cited information into an essay

· Use a variety of print and online library resources to locate information on a topic

· Paraphrase in language that is distinctly the student’s to avoid plagiarism

· Document information from research sources using the proper assigned format.

It could also be applied to a first-semester composition course involving incorporation of outside sources into any essay.

Supplementary Resources

If students do not have a class handbook or APA style manual, they can refer to APA resources online at www.apa.org and visit their campus library for this information.

The attached handout on paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting material allows students a guide while completing this assignment.

Recommendations

While this task is recommended for a second-semester freshman composition class, it can be utilized in any class where outside sources are being incorporated into writing and where students need a reminder of the grounds for and practice in correctly paraphrasing and documenting information using the chosen documentation format.

As a backup, instructors can have copied articles of the online “Fact Sheet” to distribute to students, and students can write or type the assigned information to share with other students and/or the instructor in a traditional class setting if needed.

This practice paraphrase assignment is a great opportunity to distinguish between intentional and unintentional plagiarism. It serves instructors the opportunity to check students’ paraphrase competencies before the submission of a graded essay assignment before unintentional plagiarism can affect their grade.

Attachment

Summary, Paraphrase, & Quotation info from Writing Arguments

Summary: An accurate condensation of a text put in your own words.

· First sentence should be the full name of the author, the title of the article, and the claim of the piece; thereafter, refer to the author by last name only or by 3rd person pronouns

· Present main points and any description in the same order as the original article

· Do not interpret or add anything of your own opinion; your goal is to present an orderly, concise distillation of what the author contends

· Avoid quotes; your summary should be entirely your own words

· Avoid translating word by word; instead, gain an understanding of the author’s meaning and write that in your own words. Put away the original document as you write each section if necessary

· Use present tense (he writes, she asserts); the written word is ever-living, fresh, and new and can be brought to the present at any time

· Never use “he says”; the author writes (unless it is a personal interview) the essay and does not speak it.

Paraphrase: a brief translation of a short passage put in your own words.

· Introduce the author when you refer his/her piece for the first time; thereafter use his/her last name or 3rd person pronouns

· Use specific information and derive your own wording for it

· Do not interrupt the flow of your own voice

· Avoid the original writer’s grammatical structure; do not just replace his/her words with synonyms from the thesaurus

· Acknowledge the source using in-text parenthetical documentation

· Use present tense

Quotation: Exact word-for-word account taken from any source. Use direct quotations only when it strengthens your argument such as the following:

· As expert testimony coming from a respected authority

· When you summarize an opposing view and use the quotation to show you have understood it carefully and accurately

· When you want to showcase the author’s voice over your own, especially when it contains striking and memorable language

· To analyze the writer’s word choice or statement.

Wavering from these guidelines of summary, paraphrase, and direct quotation render plagiarism which, at the very least, is grounds for failure in this course.