English and Literature MLA

Incorporating Research by Paraphrasing, Quoting, and Summarizing Assignment

First, read through the article titled “An Old Story.” Remember that every time you add source information by paraphrasing, summarizing, or direct quoting, you should start with a lead-in to introduce the info and end with parenthetical documentation. Since this article is not in pdf format and does not have a real page number, keep in mind what should go in parentheses. Hint: It’s not a number.

1. Summarize this article.This is a short article, so your summary may be a couple of sentences long.

2. Paraphrase the first part of the paragraph that starts with “Then, too, there is the amazing fact…” Paraphrase just the first 2 sentences of that paragraph. Keep in mind that if there’s a phrase you want to leave in tact, you are allowed to quote within your  paraphrase (or summary).

3. Imagine that you want to add the quote from former President Obama (the last sentence of this article). How would you do that? Think about what info would go in your lead-in and what info would go in the parentheses.

4. Submit your assignment.
5. After the due date, correct answers will be posted so you can see how close you got. There is more than one way to summarize and paraphrase, so everyone will not have the same answers on numbers 1 and 2.

Each time you enter a piece of information from a source into your paper, you will direct quote it, paraphrase it, or summarize it. Please use direct quoting sparingly! You should direct quote numbers and statistics or direct quote if an author has said something in a particularly powerful or unique way. Otherwise, put the source information in your own words.