When incorporating research a writer should strive to do which of the following check all that apply

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Paraphrase: Write It in Your Own Words

Summary:

This handout is intended to help you become more comfortable with the uses of and distinctions among quotations, paraphrases, and summaries. This handout compares and contrasts the three terms, gives some pointers, and includes a short excerpt that you can use to practice these skills.

Paraphrasing is one way to use a text in your own writing without directly quoting source material. Anytime you are taking information from a source that is not your own, you need to specify where you got that information.

A paraphrase is...

• Your own rendition of essential information and ideas expressed by someone else, presented in a new form.
• One legitimate way (when accompanied by accurate documentation) to borrow from a source.
• A more detailed restatement than a summary, which focuses concisely on a single main idea.

Paraphrasing is a valuable skill because...

• It is better than quoting information from an undistinguished passage.
• It helps you control the temptation to quote too much.
• The mental process required for successful paraphrasing helps you to grasp the full meaning of the original.

6 Steps to Effective Paraphrasing

1. Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning.
2. Set the original aside, and write your paraphrase on a note card.
3. Jot down a few words below your paraphrase to remind you later how you envision using this material. At the top of the note card, write a key word or phrase to indicate the subject of your paraphrase.
4. Check your rendition with the original to make sure that your version accurately expresses all the essential information in a new form.
5. Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or phraseology you have borrowed exactly from the source.
6. Record the source (including the page) on your note card so that you can credit it easily if you decide to incorporate the material into your paper.

Some examples to compare

Note that the examples in this section use MLA style for in-text citation.

The original passage:

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, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed., 1976, pp. 46-47.

A legitimate 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 46-47).

An acceptable summary:

Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a research paper (Lester 46-47).

A plagiarized version:

Students often use too many direct quotations when they take notes, resulting in too many of them in the final research paper. In fact, probably only about 10% of the final copy should consist of directly quoted material. So it is important to limit the amount of source material copied while taking notes.

A note about plagiarism: This example has been classed as plagiarism, in part, because of its failure to deploy any citation. Plagiarism is a serious offense in the academic world. However, we acknowledge that plagiarism is a difficult term to define; that its definition may be contextually sensitive; and that not all instances of plagiarism are created equal—that is, there are varying “degrees of egregiousness” for different cases of plagiarism.

Fill in the blanks with a word or phrase

According to the chapter, the term “ethical science writing” relates to the need of STEM writers to build a positive _____ (or reputation) in order to be respected by readers. Ethical science writers avoid _____________ the significance of their research; they avoid ____________ the work of other researchers; they don’t use writing to ________ shoddy or incomplete research.

Please note that this question is not scored.

View Possible Answers

1 Which of the following are examples of plagiarism? Check all that apply.

A research team fails to cite their own earlier article that reports their own research on which a current article is based.

A writer does not cite the research behind a theory that is well known and acknowledged as true by the research community.

A research team cites the articles reporting research, carried out by others, that the team paraphrases in a new article.

A research team cites the articles reporting research, carried out by others, that the team copies word for word (verbatim) into their own article.

A STEM journalist quotes word for word, using quotation marks, a research source that the journalist cites.

A STEM journalist quotes word for word a research source that the journalist cites, but without using quotation marks.

2 Which of the following are ways in which STEM writers can avoid misrepresenting the significance of their research? Check all that apply.

striving to be as complete and as accurate as possible in reporting their methods and in reporting results

taking care to report the limitations of their methods and the calculated level of confidence that supports their conclusions

taking care to report the limitations of their methods and the calculated level of confidence in their peer-reviewed journal articles, but not including these factors in a press release reported on their team website

primarily relying on the peer-review process in a journal in their research area in order to find any shortcomings in their methods

besides the peer-review process, consulting other trustworthy readers in their field to give feedback on a complete draft of their article and to look closely for any possible misrepresentations

3 One stylistic method that STEM journalists can use to keep from unduly “hyping” research or products includes blending a positive research story with

• – a realistic sense of the obstacles facing researchers,
• – the ambiguity of results, and
• – the ongoing need for skepticism in the verification process.

This method is called in the chapter the __________________________.

Please fill in the correct answer in the space provided below.

What are some of the main parts of a source reference that are important to include when you mention research in your body paragraphs?

What is the purpose of citing and referencing?

Which of the following statements most accurately sums up the relationship between your working thesis and your research question?

Which of the following requires proper citation?