Free Essay

By Saturday, August 6, 2011, post to the Discussion Area an original quote that you found in your research and your paraphrase or summary of that quote. Be sure to include your in-text citation. Use the grading criteria for this section to ensure that you have done a good job with your paraphrase or summary.

By the end of the module, comment on at least two of your classmates' submissions. Your replies to classmates should offer guidance regarding both content and delivery. Has the writer adequately summarized or paraphrased the original, or are the words too close to the source text? Is the summary or paraphrase well written, or does it contain errors that distract the reader from the paper's content? Has the writer adequately cited the source? How might the writer improve the provided paraphrase or summary?

Discussion question responses should be at least two paragraphs in length. Your responses to your peers' writing should be a minimum of a paragraph in length.

Before you begin to write your discussion answers, think about the points made in the lecture regarding answering discussion questions. All of your answers must be in complete sentence form, and you should avoid plagiarism at all costs by citing the readings correctly and composing your own original responses. Responses that copy ideas from the Internet or from another student will be considered plagiarism and will be treated as such.

Using Source Materials

You have been, and will probably continue to be, conducting research for your final paper. In the course of your search, you will most likely have stacks of journals and professional articles--all relevant to the issue at hand. How do you sort through them and integrate them into your paper?

As you sort through them, remember that these sources are supporting material. Your argument--your thesis--should be original, representing your thoughts on the issue. There are three ways to integrate sources into your paper:

Quotation

Paraphrase

Summary

In all three cases, be sure to introduce the material with a signal phrase or sentence that sets the context. Tell your reader the significance of the material. Don't assume it speaks for itself!

Quoting

If you want to use an author's words, you must use them exactly as they appear in the original text. Unless the quote is more than 40 words, put quotes around the exact words. You may not change or modify the original writer's words in a quote. Be sure to use quotation marks and to include both an in-text citation and a listing in your Reference List.

Example: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice begins: "It is