Practice writing, formatting and citing quotations, summarizing, and paraphrasing. Please note that you will see a very similar activity on your Midterm exam, so pay close attention to the instructions provided, including references to reading resources.
Tasks:
After reading Finding Your Way In Invention as Inquiry-Based Learning in First-Year Writing [PDF], choose one paragraph from the text and complete the following:
Task 1: Correctly Quoting a Source
- For your first entry, copy and paste an entire paragraph from the text.
- Then, return to the beginning of the quote and introduce it. Simple introductions, such as “X writes,” are acceptable. (Review steps 1 & 2 in the Documenting with MLA: Overview PowerPoint.)
- If the paragraph is more than four typed lines, format it appropriately as a block/long quote (check this link for help). Also, place the correct parenthetical citation after the block quote (review Introducing and Citing Quotes Using MLA for assistance).
Task 2: Summarizing the Source
- Below your second entry, write one or two sentences summarizing the quoted paragraph. Limit your summary specifically to only that section of text (review sample provided in Summaries and Paraphrases: Examples). Summaries tend to be general but use your own words, not the source’s language.
Task 3: Paraphrasing the Source
- For your final entry, write a complete well-developed paragraph of 5-7 sentences paraphrasing the quoted paragraph at the beginning of Task 1 (review paraphrased passages in Summaries and Paraphrases: Examples). Make sure to include parenthetical citations and/or mention the authors’ names in the sentence in order to provide the authors with credit for their ideas (note that this action also prevents plagiarism). Again, use your own words, and not the source’s language.
- For additional reference, use the Introducing and Citing Quotes Using MLA; Examples of Summaries and Paraphrases; Purdue Owl: Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing; the ACC: Works Cited Examples.
- Try to leave time to run it by Free Tutoring for feedback – this step is likely to improve your grade.
Criteria on which you will be graded:
- Your introduction, formatting, and citing of the quoted paragraph conform to guidelines in the readings
- Your summary follows instructions and examples provided in the readings
- Your paraphrasing and citation/author reference follows instructions and examples provided in the readings
- Check your spelling and grammar mistakes: comma splice, run-on, and sentence fragment errors will be penalized
- On the first page of your assignment, include your name, date, and assignment name
- Font format: 12pt, double spaced
- Submit your assignment as a Word DOC or DOCX file to the Assignment Box