esl 21a
Paraphrasing Lecture Notes
What is paraphrasing?
Paraphrasing is using your own words to express what someone else has already written. To clarify, let’s say that you have read an article which has information you would like to include in an essay. You can NOT simple copy word for word exactly as it is written in the original text. However, you can rewrite the text in your own words.
Be sure to follow these three rules to help you when paraphrasing.
1. The “rule of 3”. Generally, you can copy three consecutive words as they originally appear in a text. However, once you reach the fourth word, you MUST paraphrase (rewrite the passage in your own words).
2. Change the words but NOT the meaning. In other words, make sure that what you have written expresses the exact same meaning as seen in the original text.
3. Cite the information using MLA. In other words, tell the reader where the information came from.
Here are a few examples of paraphrasing
Original Passage:
The Lomonosov Ridge is 1,100 miles long, about the distance from San Francisco to Denver, and rises about 10,000 feet from the floor of the Arctic Ocean. Geologists think the ridge might have broken away from a continent about 55 million years ago and remained near the North Pole while other landmasses drifted away. Moran and other scientists chose the ridge for potential drilling during a 1991 cruise during which they crossed the North Pole. The site was intriguing for the fact that no one had ever drilled the seafloor for a core there because of sea ice that drifts around like pieces of a massive jigsaw puzzle.
Accurate Paraphrase:
Climbing 10,000 feet above the floor of the Arctic Ocean, the Lomonosov Ridge stretches 1,100 miles in length: roughly the distance between San Francisco and Denver. Geologists believe that it may be what remains of a continent that broke apart and moved away from the North Pole around 55 million years ago. Moran and her colleagues, knowing that the shifting
What is paraphrasing?
Paraphrasing is using your own words to express what someone else has already written. To clarify, let’s say that you have read an article which has information you would like to include in an essay. You can NOT simple copy word for word exactly as it is written in the original text. However, you can rewrite the text in your own words.
Be sure to follow these three rules to help you when paraphrasing.
1. The “rule of 3”. Generally, you can copy three consecutive words as they originally appear in a text. However, once you reach the fourth word, you MUST paraphrase (rewrite the passage in your own words).
2. Change the words but NOT the meaning. In other words, make sure that what you have written expresses the exact same meaning as seen in the original text.
3. Cite the information using MLA. In other words, tell the reader where the information came from.
Here are a few examples of paraphrasing
Original Passage:
The Lomonosov Ridge is 1,100 miles long, about the distance from San Francisco to Denver, and rises about 10,000 feet from the floor of the Arctic Ocean. Geologists think the ridge might have broken away from a continent about 55 million years ago and remained near the North Pole while other landmasses drifted away. Moran and other scientists chose the ridge for potential drilling during a 1991 cruise during which they crossed the North Pole. The site was intriguing for the fact that no one had ever drilled the seafloor for a core there because of sea ice that drifts around like pieces of a massive jigsaw puzzle.
Accurate Paraphrase:
Climbing 10,000 feet above the floor of the Arctic Ocean, the Lomonosov Ridge stretches 1,100 miles in length: roughly the distance between San Francisco and Denver. Geologists believe that it may be what remains of a continent that broke apart and moved away from the North Pole around 55 million years ago. Moran and her colleagues, knowing that the shifting