Primary Sources: Paraphrasing

Paraphrase

•Borrowed ideas presented in the language of the researcher/writer (uses your own words and sentence structure to communicate the source’s ideas)• Ideas must be accurate, but the paraphrase is not

enclosed in quotation marks.

Essay 3 Requirements

•No set maximum for paraphrased material from primary and secondary sources.•Selectively paraphrase details from the stories to

illustrate your observations and supplement your primary source quotations (at least two quotations from primary sources in each analysis paragraph).

Why paraphrase from the stories?

•Especially useful if a passage isn’t especially powerful or quite as important as what you quote.•Prevents you from over-quoting and exceeding the 25%

limit on quotations.•Gives you greater credibility than numerous quotations.•May be more concise than the original passage.•May be more stylistically effective than quotations.

Examples

Original Passage: “These are the times that try men’s souls.”—Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, December 23, 1776

Paraphrase: This period is very challenging for everyone.

Original Passage: “Other people sat on the benches and green chairs, but they were nearly always the same, Sunday after Sunday, and–Miss Brill had often noticed–there was something funny about nearly all of them. They were odd, silent, nearly all old, and from the way they stared they looked as though they'd just come from dark little rooms or even–even cupboards!” (Mansfield 184-85).

Paraphrase: As Miss Brill observed the other visitors to the park each week, she thought them strange, quiet, and, for the most part, elderly (Mansfield 184-85).

Paraphrasing Pitfalls to Avoid

•Your paraphrase may not change the meaning of the original passage.•You may not merely substitute a few words or

rearrange the order of words from the original passage, which is a form of plagiarism.•EXCEPTIONS: Words that are extremely common or

have no acceptable synonym (articles, prepositions, proper names, dates)

•Original Passage: “She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms” (Chopin).

•Original Passage: “She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms” (Chopin).• Paraphrase A: Louise cried suddenly and wildly in the arms

of Josephine, her sister, instead of hearing the story like many women did, as though she were paralyzed and unable to accept it (Chopin).• Plagiarized: A few words changed and re-arranged, but not a

thorough paraphrase (original wording/phrasing remains).

•Original Passage: “She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms” (Chopin).• Paraphrase B: Louise’s reaction to Brentley’s supposed

death was unusual compared to other women in that she acknowledged it and grieved immediately (Chopin).• Thorough Paraphrase (Not Plagiarized): Only common

words/proper names remain, no original wording/phrasing.

Integrating Paraphrases Correctly from Your Primary Sources

• Introduce the paraphrase– Use a short phrase with a comma– Use a full sentence with a colon– Combine with your own sentence with no additional punctuation

• Include the author’s name.• Include the page number (if there is one) in parentheses at the end of the

paraphrase.• Place the final period after the parentheses.

Short Phrase with Comma•Original: “‘Look at my hand; whiter than yours, Armand,’

she laughed hysterically.” •Paraphrase: As Desiree herself claims, her skin is not as

dark as Armand’s (Chopin).•NOTES:• You also may need to indicate which character is speaking.• Not all stories have page numbers. Not all stories have page

numbers. If there is no page number, simply omit it.

Full Sentence with Colon• Original: “She did not hear the story as many women have heard the

same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms.”• Paraphrase: The story soon reveals Louise’s emotional strength: her

reaction to Brentley’s supposed death was unusual compared to other women in that she acknowledged it and grieved immediately (Chopin).• NOTES: • The full sentence introduction often summarizes or previews the

paraphrase for the reader.• Only a colon should be used to join the full sentence introduction to

the paraphrase.

•NOT: The story soon reveals Louise’s emotional strength. Her reaction to Brentley’s supposed death was unusual compared to other women in that she acknowledged it and grieved immediately (Chopin).•NOT: The story soon reveals Louise’s emotional

strength, her reaction to Brentley’s supposed death was unusual compared to other women in that she acknowledged it and grieved immediately (Chopin).

Your Sentence, No Punctuation

•Original: “She disappeared among the reeds and willows that grew thick along the banks of the deep, sluggish bayou; and she did not come back again.”•Paraphrase: Desiree never returned after wandering

into the bayou (Chopin).

Combining Quoting and Paraphrasing• You may paraphrase some parts of a passage and quote the rest

of it.• Original: “The quartermaster carried my trunk on his shoulder.

Before us stretched the village street. The dying sun, round and yellow as a pumpkin, was giving up its roseate ghost to the skies.”• Quotation/Paraphrase Combination: As the narrator walks with

the quartermaster through the village, the “dying sun” sets (Babel).• NOTE: You may use any of the three methods for introducing this

combination: short phrase with a comma, full sentence with a colon, or your own sentence with no punctuation.