Chapter 12: the Quote and the Paraphrase

Chapter 12: The Quote and the Paraphrase

In previous chapters, we learned about using examples with detailsin essays to provide support for the Thesis Statement. However, you can also use direct quotes or statistics to provide Support for the Thesis Statement. These quotes or statistics can come from journals, articles, or books found in the on-line or printed resources from your library. For example, the library at the Boulder County Campus of Front Range Community College has an extensive on-line data base that students can access using the following URL:

Here are Links to some of the most popular databases in the Boulder County Campus Library:

EBSCO / Full text magazine and journal articles from many different databases
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center / Credible articles and statistics supporting both sides of controversial issues
Newsbank (Newspaper Database) / Search newspapers from all 50 states individually or combined

In this chapter, we’ll cover the two primary ways of bringing the ideas and research of experts into your writing. The first is called the Direct Quotewhen you use the author’s exact words, and the second is called the Paraphrase or Indirect Quote, when you use the author’s ideas but in your own words. Both methods make for effective support.

The Direct Quote

As you read journals, magazines, newspapers, or books to gather information about the topic of your essay, you can copy the quotes from those articles that you will use to provide support for your Thesis Statement into a Research File stored on the computer. And with on-line databases, you can simply highlight what looks interesting and copy and paste the information directly into the Research File. Then when you’re writing your essay, you can copy the quotes you especially like into your support paragraphs.It’s critical, however, that when you copy quotes into your essay, you must also cite the article where the quote came from (see Chapter 21on the MLA method of citation).

It’s also important that you not use quotes to fill up space or increase the word count. It’s all too easy to use the computer to copy quotes into their essays without completing the work necessary to develop original ideas. The page length “magically” increases, and we think we’re making the professor happy. This creates two problems: 1) The writing becomes scattered, moving t away from a tight organization and focus to a disjointed journey from one quote to the next; and 2) The writing fails to make either the professor or the readers happy. They expect want to read a student’s own writing – an organized expression of original ideas – not other people’s ideas, even if they are experts!

So why use quotes at all? The purpose of a quote is to support your ideas, while keeping your ideas in the foreground.

As weaving quotes into the essay make sure of the following:

Give the readers a clear idea of the context of the quote (include author, research information, etc.).
Make the connection clear between the quote and your support (the idea or support point in the essay that the quote provides evidence for).
Include a transition phrase that introduces the quote (“the author writes,” “the research found,” “according to Dr. Ross,” etc.).

Here’s an example essay from the University of Wisconsin Writing Lab that illustrates the above methods:

[Context for the Quote] Ross (1993), in her study of poor and working-class mothers in London from 1870-1918, [2Connection between the quote and the support point]makes it clear that economic status to a large extent determined the meaning of motherhood.[2Transition Phrase]Among this population, "To mother was to work for and organize household subsistence" (p. 9).

Here’s a second example:

(Student writer’s Support Point)Illness was rarely a routine matter in the nineteenth century. (Transition Phrase)* As Ross observes, "Maternal thinking about children's health revolved around the possibility of a child's maiming or death" (p. 166).

The Writing Center – The University of Wisconsin-Madison

2010

*Notice that once the context is given for the author’s research (in the first example), you don’t need to repeat the background each time you quote that author. Furthermore, the connection between your support point and the quote can be given with a simple transition phrase: “As Ross observes.”

Examples 3 and 4 are from a Time magazine article on exercise and mood:

Example 3

(Writer’s Support Point and connection between the quote and the support point)Still, despite limited data, the trials all seem to point in the same direction: Exercise boosts mood. It not only relieves depressive symptoms, but appears to prevent them from recurring. "I was really surprised that more people weren't working in this area when I got into it," (Transition Phrase)*says Smits, (Context for the Quote) an assistant professor of psychology at Southern Methodist University.

Example 4

(Writer’s Support Point):Second, the mood-enhancing benefits of exercise can kick in fast — a lot faster than, say, its impact on weight loss or cardiovascular health. "By and large, for most people, when they exercise 30 minutes — particularly when it's a little bit more demanding, and they get their heart rate up — they feel better," (Transition Phrase):*Smits says. "You get an immediate mood lift."

Is Exercise the Best Drug for Depression?

Laura Blue

June 19, 2010

*Notice that you can position the transition phrase at the beginning, the middle, or at the end of the quote. Changing the placement adds variety to your writing.

Quotes without Transition Phrases

Another way to use quotes and add variety to your writing is to leave out the transition phrase. Not using a transition phrase makes sense as long as you don’t confuse the readers. It’s okay to leave out a transition phrase if two conditions are met: 1) If you’ve already provided context for the quote, and 2) If the transition to the quote is clear without a transition phrase.

Here’s an example:

(Transition Phrase):According to Faulkner, [Context for the Quote]writing in the Contemporary Review, (Paraphrase, see following section) after the Second World War landmines have been used in agricultural lands, (Direct Quote): "villages, water sources, religious shrines," and also as "anti-morale, or terror weapons[s] targeting" civilian populations. (Transition Phrase):According to the United Nations, (Paraphrase, see following section) landmines can cost as little as $3.00 (Faulkner). (Writer’s Support Point):Because they are cheap and effective, they are being used more and more in different conflicts around the world. *(Quote not needing a Transition Phrase,): "It is estimated that more than 110 million active mines are scattered in 70 countries" around the world (United Nations,26). (Writer’s Support Point): However, the inexpensive cost of landmines is in great contrast with the expensive cost to remove them. Patrick Blagden, [Context for the Quote and Transition Phrase]: a United Nations de-mining expert, writes that de-mining costs "between US $300 and US $1,000 per mine." (Writer’s Support Point)Countries that have suffered a war in their own land encounter many rehabilitation tasks; landmines make these tasks very difficult and also put an extra economic burden on the country.
(Writer’s Support Point): As is the case with the price of de-mining, the healthcare expenses imposed by the landmine injured are very high. Furthermore, most of the time, a war-torn country does not have the healthcare infrastructure necessary to cope with the demands imposed by this kind of injury. For example, (Transition Phrase): the United Nations reports that "the number of units of blood required to operate on patients with mine injuries is between two and six times greater than that needed by other war casualties" (Faulkner, 122). (Writer’s Support Point): These expenses are only for physical injuries and are not taking under consideration any psychological damage. (Quote not needing a Transition Phrase):"Up to 1995, there are at least 250,000 landmine-disabled persons in the world" 1(Faulkner, 124). [Connection between the quote and the support point]: This number gives a clear picture of the magnitude of the healthcare problem confronted by the affected countries.2

1Notice that when the transition phrase has been left out, the author’s last name and the page number of the quote is included in parentheses at the end of the quoted text.

2Notice that student writer uses a series of quotes, some that include context and transition phrases, some without a Transition Phrase, and some that Paraphrase (see below), all designed to provide variety in the writing.

The Paraphrase

A second way to incorporate the findings and research of experts as support in your essay is called a Paraphrase. A Paraphrase summarizes another author in your own words and with your own sentence structure. That’s why another name for a Paraphrase is an “Indirect Quote.” In fact, you must cite a Paraphrase in an essay just as direct quotes need to be cited.

The real trick when paraphrasing an author’s ideas is to avoid crossing the line into plagiarism1. Even if you do not intend to plagiarize, the author’s words and sentence structure can still slip into your paraphrase based on memory of what you read. Make sure, therefore, to compare your paraphrase with the original, and change any sentences and even phrases that are too much like the original2.

1Dr. Charles Darling in his on-line “Guide to Grammar & Writing,” defines plagiarism as “Using someone else's ideas or phrasing and representing those ideas or phrasing as our own, either on purpose or through carelessness, is a serious offense known as plagiarism.”

2Even though a Paraphrase must have your own words and sentence structure, it’s okay to repeat key terms from the original, for example, “the healthcare debate,” “the Iraq War,” or “inflationary spiral.”

Dr. Charles Darling,writing in the on-line Guide to Grammar & Writing, gives a series of paragraphs that move from plagiarism to legitimate paraphrase based on whether the student writer uses his own words as compared with the original author’s words. The paragraphs are instructive because each improves, showing less plagiarism and more paraphrase. The student’s progressive attempts are based on a paragraph from Elaine Tyler May's "Myths and Realities of the American Family."

"Myths and Realities of the American Family"
By Elaine Tyler May
Because women's wages often continue to reflect the fiction that men earn the family wage, single mothers rarely earn enough to support themselves and their children adequately. And because work is still organized around the assumption that mothers stay home with children, even though few mothers can afford to do so, child-care facilities in the United States remain woefully inadequate.

Student Writer’s First Attempt at a Paraphrase

The student writer’s first attempt at a paraphrase (see below) clearly crosses the line into plagiarism. To help identify the plagiarism, we’ve marked the places where the wording in the two paragraphs is the same(blue type) and where the student writer only changed a word or two(green type).It’s plagiarism if you only change a word or two!

Original / Paraphrase 1
Becausewomen's wages often continue to reflectthe fictionthat menearn the family wage, single mothers rarelyearnenough to support themselves and their childrenadequately. Andbecause work is stillorganized aroundthe assumption that mothers stay home with children, even though few mothers can afford to do so,child-care facilitiesin the United Statesremain woefully inadequate. / Sincewomen's wages often continue to reflectthe mistaken notionthat menare the main wage earnersin the family, single mothers rarelymakeenough to support themselves and their childrenvery well. Also, because work is stillbased onthe assumption that mothers stay home with children, facilities forchild careremain woefully inadequatein the United States.

Notice that the entire paraphrase (with one exception) is either a direct copy of the original (blue type) or has minor word changes (green type). A little trickier, but just as important, is how the sentence structure is the same in both paragraphs. To make this clear, let’s look at the sentences one at a time.

Sentence 1: Original / Sentence 1: Paraphrase
*(Becausewomen's wages often continue to reflectthe fictionthat menearn the family wage), single mothers rarelyearnenough to support themselves and their childrenadequately. / (Sincewomen's wages often continue to reflectthe mistaken notionthat menare the main wage earnersin the family), single mothers rarelymakeenough to support themselves and their childrenvery well.

*Notice that the first sentence in the original and the paraphrase have the same form (a Subordinate Clause followed by the Main Sentence (see Chapter … on the Subordinate Clause). The only difference is the Subordinate Conjunction that begins the original Sentence 1 (“because”) is changed to (“since”) in the paraphrase. The two Conjunctions have the same meaning!

Sentence 2: Original / Sentence 2: Paraphrase
*Andbecause work is stillorganized aroundthe assumption that mothers stay home with children, even though few mothers can afford to do so,child-care facilitiesin the United Statesremain woefully inadequate. / 8Also, because work is stillbased onthe assumption that mothers stay home with children, facilities for child careremain woefully inadequatein the United States.

Both the original and the paraphrase have exactly the same structure.

*There’s an Introductory Word followed by a Subordinate Clause and Main Sentence. The only change is that the original uses the Introductory Word (“and”), while the paraphrase uses (“also”). The two Introductory Words have the same meaning!

The only significant difference in the first sentence of the original and the paraphrase is the clause, “even though few mothers can afford to do so,” which is in the original author’s writing but not in the student’s paraphrase.

Second Attempt at a Paraphrase

In the second attempt at a Paraphrase, the student writer improves by quoting several of the author’s phrases instead of pretending the words are his own. The direct quotes reduce the extent to which he has plagiarized the author. We’ve marked where the student uses direct quotes in red type(which is not plagiarism); as well as where he continues tocopy the original author’s words without quotesin blue type(plagiarism); and where the student writer only changed a word or twoin green type(also plagiarism).

Original / Paraphrase 2
Because women's wages often continue to reflect the fiction that men earn the family wage, single mothersrarely earn enough to support themselves and their children adequately. And because work is still organized around the assumption that mothers stay home with children, even though few mothers can afford to do so, child-care facilities in the United States remain woefully inadequate. / As Elaine Tyler May points out, "women's wages often continue to reflect the fiction that men earn the family wage" (588). Thus many single motherscannot supportthemselves and their children adequately. Furthermore, since work is based onthe assumption that mothers stay home with children, facilities for day care in this country are still "woefully inadequate." (May 589).

Here’s a sentence-by-sentence analysis of Paraphrase 2:

Sentence 1: Original / Sentence 1: Paraphrase
Becausewomen's wages often continue to reflect the fiction that men earn the family wage, single mothersrarely earn enough to support themselves and their children adequately. / As Elaine Tyler May points out, *"women's wages often continue to reflect the fiction that men earn the family wage" (588).

Notice that the student writer now uses quote marks* to keep from plagiarizing the original author’s words in the first sentence. However, his quote from the author breaks an important rule: quotes in a paraphrase or summary must play a minor role and not take the responsibility for the writing itself. The concept that “women’s wages reflect the fiction that men earn the family wage” is a central support point and should appear in the student writer’s own words and not the author’s.

Sentence 2: Original / Sentence 2: Paraphrase
And (because work is still organized around the assumption that mothers stay home with children), even though few mothers can afford to do so, child-care facilities in the United States remain woefully inadequate. / Furthermore, (since work is based onthe assumption that mothers stay home with children), facilities for day care in this country are still "woefully inadequate." (May 589).

Once again the student writer uses much of the same wording and sentence structure as the original author. He has an Introductory Word followed by a Subordinate Clause and Main Sentence. The only change is that the original uses “and” as the Introductory Word and the paraphrase use “furthermore.” The two Introductory Words have the same meaning.