TEXT A A paraphrase is a
restatement of a text using different words. It is often used to clarify the
meaning. You can paraphrase key points from your textbook or from your lecture
notes. Rewriting the ideas in your own words will help you remember them. You
will also have to paraphrase on essay exams and in research papers.
It is extremely important to remember that whenever you cite someone
else’s words or describe someone else’s ideas, you must give credit to the
original source. If you don’t tell where you got the information, you are
plagiarizing. This is a very serious offence in American universities. Always
cite your source. Here is an example: "Culture enables us to
make sense of our surroundings." (original) According to Samovar
and Porter in Communication Between Cultures, culture helps us to understand our
environment. (paraphrase) The clause that introduces the source
of your citation can be written in any number of ways. Just be sure to give the
author and the title. When you paraphrase, include all the information in the
original excerpt. Leave nothing out. In addition to using synonyms, you can make
a variety of grammatical changes in the sentence. These suggestions will help
you do the paraphrasing exercises: 1. Use synonyms. Example:
Understanding other cultures is a complex matter.
Understanding other cultures is a complicated matter. 2. Use
different word forms (noun→verb, adverb→adjective, etc. ). Be sure to make the
necessary grammatical changes in the sentence. Example: Culture
is our teacher. Culture teaches us. 3.
Change active to passive, or vice versa. Example: Culture is
learned. People learn about their culture. 4.
Change negative to affirmative, or vice versa. Example: Not one
part of our existence is unaffected by culture.
Every part of our existence is affected by culture. 5. Do not
include your opinion or additional information as part of the paraphrase. 6.
Do not attempt to change vocabulary in the areas of technology (computer,
microchip), science (calcium, test tube), government (congress, electoral
college), education (grade-point average, doctorate), field of study
(Anthropology, Linguistics), geography (Europe, mountain), language (noun,
sentence), people (Indians, South Americans) , brand names ( Macintosh, Honda) ,
or for everyday words that have no synonyms ( dictionary, vitamins,
culture). 7. Do not use quotation marks. 8. Cite your source as completely
as you can (author + title). 9. You do not need to give credit to a source if
the information is common knowledge. That is, if you heard something on the
evening news that was broadcast across the country and was in all the
newspapers, you don’t have to cite where you heard about this major
event. Which of the following statements about Samovar and Porter and Communication Between Cultures is true
A.They are the writers of the book. B.They are the subject matters of the book. C.They write in the book: "Culture helps us to understand our environment." D.They paraphrase "culture helps us to understand our environment" in the book.