Step 1: Understand what you are reading. If you don't understand it, you
can't paraphrase it correctly. That's guaranteed.
Step 2: Think about the ideas, especially how the ideas may relate to
your specific topic.
Step 3: Not looking at the original, write down the ideas.
Step 4: Look back at the original to see if you have changed the grammar
and vocabulary. If not, change them now.
Sample:
Original:
Named for James Brady, the White House press secretary who was shot and
wounded by John Hinckley Jr. during the attempted assassination of
President Ronald Reagan in March 1981, the Brady Bill establishes a
national waiting period and background check for
the purchase of a handgun. (Bender, 1995: 137)
Phrases to avoid from the original are in bold:
Named for James Brady, the White House press secretary who was
shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. during the attempted
assassination of President Ronald Reagan in March 1981, the Brady
Bill establishes a national waiting period
and background check for the purchase of a handgun. (Bender, 1995: 137)
Ideas:
Brady bill = named for White House press secretary James Brady
Brady was shot during an assassination attempt on President Reagan
Brady bill provisions = people who want to buy handguns have a
waiting period and check on their backgrounds
Changing the order of ideas, grammar, and vocabulary:
Bender (1995) explains that people who want to buy handguns in the US
now have a waiting period and a background check as a result of the Brady
Bill. The bill was named after White House press secretary James Brady,
who was wounded during an assassination attempt on President Reagan. (137).
Notice how the grammar and vocabulary have been changed wherever
possible in the paraphrase.
Exercise
Look at the following quotation. On a piece of paper, write down the
phrases that you need to avoid.
Downlut believes the Brady bill trespasses on the rights of law-abiding
citizens, and is therefore inconsistent with the Constitution, because it
imposes a waiting period on exercising the right to own guns. (Bender,
1995: 137)
Now on your piece of paper list the ideas that you will include.
Next, cover up the original and write a paraphrase.
Check for the underlined words, ideas, and a change in vocabulary and
grammar.
Provide some comments
about your experience in working through this exercise
(e.g. I need some help, this was easy, etc.)
Please be sure to explain your comments.
Your email
Your name
(Thanks to Jon Dorbolo for the inspiration behind this form!)