Paraphrase Practice
Remember that to successfully paraphrase you cannot just change some words around to “make it your own”—that is still plagiarizing. It is still someone else’s idea that you are trying to use. Don’t think of it as “words” but as “ideas”—if it isn’t your idea, you can’t use it without crediting!
Below is a source paragraph and several uses/adaptations of it. For each adaptation, say what’s wrong with it or that it is correct.
Original: The park [Caspers Wilderness Park] was closed to minors in 1992 after the family of a girl severely mauled there in 1986 won a suit against the county. The award of $2.1 million for the mountain lion attack on Laura Small, who was 5 at the time, was later reduced to $1.5 million. This incident is the single-most important reason behind current “animal protection” ideology in parks and has had the unfortunate consequence of doing more harm than good.
--Reyes and Messina, “More Warning Signs,” LA TIMES 26 March 1999, p. B1
What’s wrong with the following uses of this source? Which is correct?
The biggest reason for the current park policy stems from a mountain lion attack some twenty years ago, and while it might have seemed a good idea in 1992 to close the park, this decision, according to Reyes and Messina, is having unintended negative consequences (B1).
Reyes and Messina report that Capsers Wilderness Park was closed to children in 1992 after the family of a girl brutally mauled there in 1986 sued the county. The family was ultimately awarded $1.5 million for the mountain lion assault on Laura Small, who was 5 at the time. This attack was a big reason behind the “animal protection” policy in parks but is doing more harm than good (B1).
Reyes and Messina report that in 1992 Caspers Wilderness Park was placed off limits to minors because of an incident that had occurred there some years earlier. In 1986, a five-year-old, Laura Small, was mauled by a mountain lion and seriously injured. Her family sued the county and eventually won a settlement of $1.5 million. This incident led to current the “animal protection” policy in the park but is having unintended negative consequences (B1).
Reyes and Messina report that “the park was closed to minors in 1992 after the family of a girl severely mauled there in 1986 won a suit against the county” (B1). This is the single biggest reason for the current park policy but it is having unintended negative consequences.