Faculty of Language Studies

Chapter 1: Building a Paper: Explore

EL122 – Writing Research
Ms. Layla Saeed
 Outline

1. Reflecting

2. Open Reading

3. Paraphrasing
• Three Criteria for a Good Paraphrase
• Two Techniques for Paraphrasing

4. Responding to Writing
• Two Steps for Writing a Response
• Three Characteristics of a Response
• Techniques for Thinking about a Response
• Two Steps for Writing a Response

5. Summarizing
• Three Techniques for Identifying Main Ideas for a Summary
 Explore

This chapter describes an approach to use when you read a source for the first time:

• Reflecting
• Open Reading
• Paraphrasing
• Responding to writing
• Summarizing

(p.3)
 1. Reflecting

• Consider what you know and what questions you have.

• What do you already know about the topic? Write a list of questions about your topic.

(p.4)
 2. Open Reading

Three Techniques for Open Reading:

1. Focus on ideas that interest you.

Highlight interesting sections, make you think, and are relevant to you experiences.

2. Write questions and comments in the margins.

About words, sentences, examples, and explanations you do not understand and write your
reactions.

3. Skim the article.

Read first and last paragraph, look for subtitles, key and repeated words, develop a general
sense of the topic, and read through the entire article.

(p.4)
 3. Paraphrasing

Three Criteria for a Good Paraphrase:

1. A good paraphrase has the same meaning as the original.

Main ideas included and not new ones.

2. A good paraphrase is different enough from the original to be considered your own writing.
Use no more than 4-5 words in a row from the original source, change grammar and
vocabulary as possible.

3. A good paraphrase refers directly to (or cites) the original source.

Include the name of the author and/or source.

(p.6)
Example

(p.6)
Exercise

(p.7)
 Two Techniques for Paraphrasing

1. Tell-a-friend method

2. Chunking method

(p.7)
 Tell-a-Friend Method

1. Read the original and concentrate on what it means.

2. Cover the original so that you cannot see it.
3. Imagine you are talking to a good friend. How would you explain this idea to your friend?
Write down your explanation.
4. Go back and read the original again to see if it means the same as your paraphrase.

(p.7-8)
 Chunking Method

1. Read the original passage several times to develop a basic understanding of the ideas.
2. Divide the passage into chunks by underlining the main ideas. As you divide the passage,
focus on phrases rather than on individual words.
3. Explain each chunk using your own words.
4. Combine these explanations into one or more sentences to create a phrase.

(p.8-10)
 Exercise

• “In a Fitzgerald novel one is drawn almost simultaneously in two directions: toward the
naive hope that the best of life is yet to come, and toward the realization that such
circumstances as give life meaning lie buried in an irrecoverable past.”
 Answers

• In Fitzgerald novel, the reader is led to believe two ideas: the innocent hope that the future
holds a better life , and the realization that the difficulties we went through in our lives
really give it its meaning.

• Jeffrey Steinbrink argues that if one reads a novel by Fitzgerald one is torn between an
optimistic view of the future and finding out that makes life meaningful is a past that is lost
forever.
 4. Responding to Writing

Two Steps for Writing a Response:

1. Write an introduction that includes the author and title, and the idea you plan to discuss.

2. Write your response or reaction to a part of the article.

(p.14)
 Three Characteristics of a Response

1. Responses are subjective.

Explain your opinion or insight about the ideas.

2. Responses vary in content.

• Personal experience
Write about an idea in an article that matches your experience or of someone you know.
• Application
Write about something that illustrates the idea in the article.
• Agree/disagree
Write about a point the author makes you agree or disagree and include explanation of why.

3. Responses vary in length.

Depends on the requirements of your assignment and length of the source.

(p.14)
 Techniques for Thinking about a Response

1. Have a written conversation with the writer.

Read the source again as if you were talking to the writer. Write notes about where you would
interrupt the writer for your comments.

2. Look over your notes and choose one or two ideas you want to pursue further.

3. Explain your response to the writer’s idea.

Once you identified the idea you plan to discuss and provided an explanation of what it means
in your own words (paraphrase), you can discuss your reaction to the idea using one of the
suggested approaches earlier.

(p.14-15)
 Two Steps for Writing a Response

1. Write an introduction that includes the author and title, and the idea you plan to discuss.

2. Write your response or reaction to part of the article.

Introducing your response, including:

1. The name of the author and the title of the article.

2. A paraphrase of the specific point from the article that you plan to discuss. You may also
want to include a quote of the idea you are discussing.

(p.17)
 5. Summarizing

Four Criteria for a Good Summary:

1. A good summary acknowledges the original author.

It refers to the writer/title in a formal way, and presents the writer’s ideas objectively.

2. A good summary contains only the most important information.

The topic, the thesis/main point about the topic, the key ideas that support the thesis.

3. A good summary is much shorter than the original writing.

A one-sentence summary describes the author’s thesis or main idea. A fuller summary
explains the thesis and supporting points.

4. A good summary paraphrases any information taken from the original writing.
It shows that you understand what the author is saying.
(p.20)
Three Techniques for Identifying Main Ideas for a Summary

(p.23-24)
 1. Underlining Key Ideas

1. Read the article to develop a basic understanding of the ideas.

2. Highlight each idea you believe is important.

• Often, you will find that each paragraph has a key sentence (first or last).
• Look for key words to identify main ideas.
• If you have highlighted most sentences, you may be highlighting supporting details rather
than main ideas.
• If so, go back and only underline the main ideas.

3. When you finish highlighting, read each sentence again to ensure you understand it.

4. Use the tell-a-friend or chunking method to paraphrase each highlighted sentence.

5. You can use these paraphrased ideas in your summary.

(p.23)
 2. Dividing and Describing

1. Read the entire article, and draw a vertical line where you think the topic is shifting and
do not analyze.

2. You will find that sections are created and paragraphs are grouped together according to
common topics. Analyze the topic of each section and write a sentence that explains the
topic of each section.

3. The topics are usually the author’s main supporting points. By examining the number of
paragraphs for each idea, you will decide which information is most important and should
be included in the summary.

4. Use the list of phrases describing the sections to write the summary.

(p.23-24)
 3. Summary Grid

1. Use a grid to take notes on each paragraph by writing main ideas and supporting details in
separate columns.
2. Use your notes to create a summary of your article. A summary focuses on the main ideas
and details are not included, however, a specific example might be included.
3. Example:

(p.24)
 Two Steps for Writing a Summary

1.Write an introductory sentence or two that include three pieces of

information:
• The title of the article or source.
• The name of the author(s).
• The author’s thesis or main idea.

2. Write the body that describes the main ideas in the original source.
This may be one or more paragraphs, depending on the length of the original text.

(p.25)
 Summary

1. Reflecting

2. Open Reading

3. Paraphrasing
• Three Criteria for a Good Paraphrase
• Two Techniques for Paraphrasing

4. Responding to Writing
• Two Steps for Writing a Response
• Three Characteristics of a Response
• Techniques for Thinking about a Response
• Two Steps for Writing a Response

5. Summarizing
• Three Techniques for Identifying Main Ideas for a Summary