Sentence Level Paraphrasing Practice

Dear Students,

Please complete the paraphrasing exercise below and share/discuss your answers on the blog. Sample answers will be posted on Wednesday, December 12.

The following exercise is based on the passage “Why People Don’t Help in a Crisis” by John
Darley and Bibb Latané. You may view the full text associated with this exercise at the following link:

http://www.ucop.edu/dws/essays/subject_a.htm

You may view examples of acceptable and unacceptable paraphrases at this site. It also gives some examples of poorly written (patch-work) paraphrases.

http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase.html

PRE-PARAPHRASING: EXERCISE

Directions: Rewrite each of the sentences below using the words in parentheses. Look first for the part of the original sentence that will need to be replaced. Find the subject of any verbs—who is doing what?—and make any necessary grammatical changes. Make any other changes (i.e., vocabulary) as needed.

1. People trying to interpret a situation often look at those around them to see how to react. (base reactions on)

2. There are three things bystanders must do if they are to intervene in an emergency. (necessary)

3. In a crowd, then, each person is less likely to notice a potential emergency than when alone. (tends to....less)

4. Even if a person defines an event as an emergency...(decides)

5. ... the presence of other bystanders may still make each person less likely to intervene. (may feel less inclined)

After completing the sentence-level exercise above, practice writing paraphrases at the paragraph level by completing practice exercise 2 in the text book (pages 132 - 134.) Alternatively, you may select paragraphs of personal interest from others sources and attempt to paraphrase those.

Please submit your paraphrased versions of these paragraphs along with the originals for grading on Friday, December14.

Happy Blogging!

Summary Writing Guide

Dear Students,

Please refer to the following guidelines for writing academic summaries

1. Read the article. Re-read the article. Underline important ideas and circle key terms. Find the main point of the article. Divide the article into sections or stages of thought, and label each section or stage of thought in the margins.
2. Write brief summaries of each stage of thought. Use a separate piece of paper for this step. This should be a brief outline of the article. 
3. Write the main point of the article in your own words. This should be a sentence that expresses the central idea of the article.
4. Write your rough draft of the summary.

NOTE: Include all the important ideas.

1. Use the author's key words.
2. Follow the original organization where possible. 
3. Include any important details. 
4. Include any important conclusions.

Only include the information your reader needs. Unless the examples in the article are essential, do not include them in your summary.

1. State the main point first.
2. Use a simpler language than the author of the original article uses. 
3. Do not write a summary your readers cannot understand.
4. Make the summary clear and understandable to someone who has not read the original article.
5. Your summary should stand on its own.
6. Add no new data and none of your own ideas.

Here is an easy way to begin a summary: In "[name of article]" [author] states . . . . [State the main point of the article first.] For example: In "Computer Chess"* Hans Berliner states that the CYBER 170 series computer can perform well in a chess tournament.

So when you write a summary:

1. State the main point first.
2. Emphasize the main stages of though. 
3. Paraphrase whenever possible.
4. State the article’s conclusion. 
5. Keep the summary short: 3 to 7 sentences is great.

The Concluding Paragraph - Suggested Answers

Hi Guys,

Here are two sample conclusions for last week's blog assignment:

Practice 7: Concluding Paragraphs

1.                In short, stress is a health issue for those of us who live in modern, industrialized societies. Unless we want to move to a quiet village in the middle of nowhere, we need to follow the advice of health professionals by setting realistic goals, taking up a hobby, and above all, staying close to our families and friends.

2.           To sum up, studying in the United Kingdom can be a wonderful experience. The British people may be more or less friendlier than the people at home, the weather may be rainier than the weather you are used to, and you may encounter some frosty stares the first time you forget to queue at the bus stop. Also, it may take you a few days to remember which direction the traffic is coming from. However, with time and by maintaining a positive attitude, you will soon adapt to the ways of the British and soon feel comfortable in your temporary home.

In-text Citation Activity

Hi Guys,

Study  the excerpts of an essay with in-text citations and answer the questions that follow. Please also discuss your answers on the blog.

1.      Satisfied with the ruling, Brendan Walsh of Viva House stated, “Members of the community can now evaluate whether the money is better spent on surveillance equipment or on services such as libraries and schools” (ACLU, 2001, para. 5).

Question: What does para. 5 say about the cited information?

2.      The US Department of Defense reported that “from the halls of Congress to New York street corners, Americans are calling for more military involvement in homeland defense” (Garamone, 2001).

Question:  Is the in-text citation complete?  

3.      John Whitehead (2001) makes an important point:  “In the end, the real danger of surveillance programs is that they leave us thinking about what we should not be doing, rather than free to consider the possibilities of what we can” (para 13).

Question:  Write down all the elements of citation/attribution found in the excerpt above. 

4.      In Tacoma, Washington, cameras were damaged so badly by gangs that the police department had to replace them.  Then, they had to spend more time and money designing new ways to mount and protect the cameras (Police, 1996). 

Question:  What type of material does the excerpt above show?  (Direct quote or Paraphrase?) 

5.      Boal states “It’s all about balancing a sense of security against an invasion of privacy” (Boal, 1998, para. 7).

Question:  Is the in-text citation written correctly?

Referencing

Hi Guys,

This is the referencing activity that we completed in class. The suggested answers are given below.

1.      Book

Place of Publication: London, England

Title of Book:  The death of the environment

Date of Publication:  2003

Author:  Biddy, H.

Publisher: Oxford University Press

2.      Article in a Newspaper

Name of Publication:  The International Herald tribune

Page: C2

Date of Publication: 2003, March 4

Author:  Bronson, P.

Title of Article: What is most valued:  Our health or our pockets?

3.      Online document with no author identified and with no publication date

Title of Document: Improving taste with growth

URL:  http://www.onlinescient.org/research/19340/ar5.html

Retrieval Date:  December 24, 2004

4.      Online document without a publication date

Authors:  Goodwin, A. & Hamilton, T. 

Name of Publication: New Scientist Online News

URL:  http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns9994283

Retrieval Date:  January 10, 2005

Title of Article:  Crops can be worse for environment

5.      Article in a scholastic journal

Title of Journal:  The American Scientist

Volume Number: 37

Year of Publication: 2004

Authors:  Dalton, M. & Anderson, J.

Title of journal article:  Genetically modified food

Pages: 12-14 

References  (in alphabetical order)

Biddy, H. (2003).  The death of the environment. London, England:  Oxford University Press.

Bronson, P. (2003, March 4).  What is valued most: Our health or our pockets?  The       

     International Herald tribune, p.C2.

Dalton, M., & Anderson, J. (2004). Genetically Modified Food. The American Scientist, 37, 12-14. 

Goodwin, A., & Hamilton, T. (n.d.) Crops can be worse for environment.  New Scientist Online News. 

     Retrieved January 10, 2005, from http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns9994283

      

Improving taste with growth. (n.d.). Retrieved December 26, 2004, from http://www.onlinescient.org/research/19340/ar5.html

OKAY! WHO MADE THE BLOG BACKGROUND TROLL?!

Umad?

The Concluding Parahgraph

Dear Students,

Write ONE conclusion from practice 7 on page 74 - 75 of the textbook and submit it as a comment on this post. You may submit both conclusions if you wish, but only one is required for assessment purposes.

Cheers,

Lee

Essay 1 Concluding Paragraph

All in all, stress is a common problem that people cannot avoid. To manage stress people should set realistic goals, take up a hobby, do exercise regularly and maintain the relationship between family and friends. By doing these tasks people would be able to manage and cope with their stress more efficiently.

Rollan Parani Shah Rahmat (1501198695)

Paragraph Writing Activity: Second Draft

Make revisions to your paragraph using the feedback gained from the peer assessment activity completed in class. Then post the second draft of your paragraph as a comment on this post.

Please feel free to comment on other students' work and give suggestions for further improvement. 

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Significance of Dogs to Humans

Stand-Alone Paragraph Task

Significance of Dogs to Humans

Dogs are very important to humans due to their many uses. Dogs are used in several locations around the world including China and Indonesia as a food source. The local “batak” people of Indonesia use dog meat much like how a chef a chef at a restaurant would use beef as a cooking ingredient. It is an important food source which the “Batak” people of Indonesia use to support their family. Another essential use of dogs to people is their capability to aid in a number of ways with their keen senses. Dogs can be used for guidance, either to guide the physically disabled, to aid hunters to track game and also for the police to detect illegal substances and chase down criminals. Dogs are even used for security whether it is to guard private homes from robberies or likewise to aid police in taking down criminals. Another role in which dogs play a key role in human society is that of entertainment. Dogs are kept as pets and have even been used to play major roles in movies. Dogs have even been termed “man’s best friend”, due to their loyalty and entertainment to the owners and their family. All in all dogs play an essential role in human society ranging from their use as a food source, for guidance and furthermore entertainment.