In university, students are often asked to write essays that are many pages in length, making the task of editing feel never-ending. However, there is a technique that can help students with the editing process: reverse outlining. While some writers choose to complete an outline before they begin writing, the reverse outline takes the opposite approach. Reverse outlining is a style of editing that is done after completing a first draft. This technique allows the writer to get an overview of their main points by breaking down the paper paragraph by paragraph. By reviewing the essay in sections, students are able to assess the structure and flow of their paper more easily. Let’s explore how to use this technique, the benefits, and what kind of writer may get the most out of reverse outlining!
There are lots of ways to approach the reverse outline. The basic method is reading through your paper, paragraph by paragraph, and writing a short sentence or description of each paragraph’s main points. This is kind of like the reading strategy called noting for gist in which you write short summary notes in the margins to create a brief outline of a reading. When you’re done applying this process to your essay, you will have an outline of your paper that you can then review. The hosts of the WriteCast podcast by the Walden University Writing Centre recommend printing out your paper and making notes in the margin (Helakoski & Philbrook, 2007). Alternatively, you can review your draft on your computer and make notes in a separate document or by using the comment feature in Microsoft Word found under the “Review” tab. The University of Toronto Scarborough’s Writing Centre recommends numbering each paragraph and writing your description on a separate document or piece of paper with the corresponding number (King, n.d.).
How ever you have chosen to create your reverse outline, you should now have a brief overview of your paper and its main points. This can help you identify a number of things in your paper. First, you will be able to determine if you have structured your paper appropriately. Are similar ideas paired together? Have you provided background information before analyzing the topics of your paper? Reviewing your paper paragraph by paragraph can make it easier to identify if your paper has a good overall structure as well as make it easier to move sections around if you need to.
Similar to identifying the structure of your paper, using a reverse outline can make repetition, redundancies, or the need for clearer transitions more apparent. Removing redundancies and including clear transitions helps with the flow of a paper and helps the reader understand your main points. If you notice the repetition of key themes or topics in your reverse outline, you can choose to remove paragraphs entirely. On the other hand, if a paragraph has a similar topic but can’t stand alone, consider combining it with another paragraph that has related information; this can strengthen a paragraph and overall argument as you are providing more evidence.
Reverse outlining can also help with creating transitions between paragraphs. As you read through your reverse outline, ask yourself if the paper flows; are your paragraphs in a logical order and do they build upon each other? Addressing this issue can be as easy as changing the order of your paragraphs or identifying missing information that will strengthen your overall argument.
Finally, reverse outlining can also help with paragraph development. You should be able to succinctly describe the topic of each paragraph. If you can’t, you may have too many ideas and should consider breaking up the paragraph. On the other hand, you may find that being too succinct reveals issues. If your paragraph is similar in length to the short description you write, your paragraph may be underdeveloped. Consider finding more evidence to support the topic of the paragraph, combining this paragraph with another, or choosing a different topic that you have more support for.
Students who take a deep revising approach to writing their papers or those who want to make sure they are meeting assignment instructions can also benefit from the reverse outlining technique. Deep revising is a style of writing where the writer begins with only a basic idea of how they want their paper to look. They often have multiple drafts and editing sessions before completing their final draft for submission. For some deep revisers, it can take a lot of work to begin editing their paper because it may not have a lot of form or structure developed. A reverse outline is a great way of simplifying an essay and giving an overview of the main points so you can begin improving your ideas.
Some instructors have detailed guidelines for students to follow when writing their essays. It’s important that these instructions are followed so you don’t lose any marks. There’s nothing worse than missing out on a good grade because you forgot an important part of the instructions in your paper! If your instructor requires a certain number of paragraphs dedicated to certain themes or topics or there is specific content that they want you to cover, using a reverse outline can serve as a checklist for these requirements. For example, if your professor wants at least one paragraph on background information, two on analysis, and one on personal reflection, you can add these to your notes when creating the reverse outline, then compare your outline to the assignment instructions and check them off.
Reverse outlining can be a great tool for many students. It can help to create structure, ensure flow, and identify areas that need to be stronger. By addressing these issues in the revision phase of a paper, students give themselves a great chance at success.
Happy writing!
Pilar Vergara-King Writing and Study Skills Assistant
It’s 3AM and I’m walking to the bus stop with two of
my friends and a backpack filled with only the essentials; we’re about to catch
a bus to Dublin airport to set off on another weekend getaway somewhere in
Europe. It might be Scotland, Austria, Portugal, or some other far-off European
land, but I don’t really care because, regardless of the destination, new
smells, sights, sounds and adventures are awaiting me. In order to get there,
the next couple of hours entail security lines, overpriced airport food, a
middle seat on a budget airline, and probably a train or two. Sure, it’s all
pretty exhausting, but the thrill of a brand-new, never-before-laid-my-eyes-on
place is exactly what keeps me buzzing with excitement all the way until the
flight back home touches down in Dublin!
An unusually sunny fall day on campus!
Last term, I spent the semester on a student exchange
at the University of Limerick (UL) in Ireland. In the five years that I have
been in university, my decision to go on exchange and pursue my dream of
travelling around Europe for an extended period of time has been the best
choice that I have made. While abroad, I made many new, life-long friends that
I share a special bond with, and I got the opportunity to explore my way
through nine countries. The memories that I made while on this adventure are
unique and priceless. So, I thought that I would write this post for any
students who are considering going on a student exchange; the following are
some of the things that I learned along the way that I wish I would have been
aware of prior to my time abroad.
However, with a student exchange comes the actual “being
a student” part; therefore, another key, albeit challenging, part of my
exchange was learning how to adapt to a brand-new school environment where
campus, classes, assignments and protocols were quite different from what I had
been used to for the past four years at Laurier.
Eating lunch on campus with a couple of friends!
Beginning classes at a new school felt like I was
starting university all over again. Granted, I was considerably older and now
used to being away from home; however, I didn’t know the campus, I had never
met a single one of my professors, and I didn’t even know how to log onto Sulis
(the UL equivalent of My Learning Space). Suffice it to say, I had to do a lot
of learning and adapting in order to adjust to my new academic setting.
Plan! Plan!
Plan!
First off, the class schedule and dynamic was
significantly different in Ireland in comparison to Laurier. For example, four
out of my five classes had mandatory tutorials where we would work on
supplemental course materials in smaller groups. Although this seems like a
minor difference to Laurier, it actually felt like quite a substantial change.
Not only did I have every class twice a week, or once for an extended period of
time, but I also had a 1-hour tutorial once a week for four of my courses. So,
I had to adjust to spending more time in class, and I also had to adapt to
having so many tutorials. These
tutorials required us to prepare separate readings and work on top of our
regular lecture preparations, so that we would be ready to discuss and do
activities. Therefore, one way that I had to adjust was by creating a schedule
for myself that would allow me to tackle this additional work. In order to do
this, I used my agenda to create daily task lists for myself based on what I
had to get done every week, and I used the weekly
schedule builder that we provide in Writing & Study Skills
Services to determine what times throughout the week would be best to complete
this work.
It is no secret that I used a lot of my free time to
travel. Most weekends I was exploring Ireland or a new city in Europe;
therefore, I was not able to do much school work on the weekends throughout the
term. This is the exact opposite of how I spend my time at Laurier. Although I
do study throughout the week, I typically devote a good chunk of study time to
Saturday and Sunday. I find that I am able to concentrate better when I do not
need to be popping in and out of the house for classes, work and extracurriculars.
However, when I was abroad, I knew that it was important to me to use my time
to learn in a new way by travelling as much as my wallet would allow.
Therefore, I had to, as a result of my own choosing, re-evaluate my time
management strategies and figure out how I could make this new lifestyle work.
For me, this meant lots and lots of planning ahead.
I learned to use several planning and time management
strategies that I already used, but in a new way! The two main time management
and planning strategies that I used were: an agenda and back-planning.
Immediately after I received my course outlines, I plotted all of the dates for
my assignments in my monthly agenda. This is quite similar to what I typically
do at home. The new strategy that I had to put into practice was back-planning
since I did not have as much free time to work with to complete my assignments.
Immediately, at the beginning of the semester, I worked out a plan for all of
the steps that it would take to complete my assignments. For example, one of my
projects was to create an informational video on one aspect of Irish folklore.
I wrote down all of the steps that needed to be completed to finish this
project in chronological order, while making notes about approximately how long
it would take to complete each step. Then, starting at the due date in my
agenda, I worked backwards and plotted in mini-deadlines for myself throughout
the semester as a plan for how I would successfully finish the video on time.
Here is an example of back-planning! I started with the due date at the top and then filled in a weekly schedule for myself according to the tasks that I had to complete. Then, I copied this into my agenda. You could also use a term schedule to plot the mini-deadlines.
This is an excellent strategy that any student could
be using but I found it especially helpful when I was on exchange because I was
going to be away from campus and “school life” a lot more regularly than when I
was at home. Fleet, Goodchild and Zajchowski (2006) discuss the value of
creating a “tentative schedule of study tasks” to complete within a specified
period of time (p.36). When students have these plans, they are able to remain
organized while also being flexible. By completing this process with all of my
assignments, I was able to plan ahead for my papers and projects, and eliminate
any stress about them while I was travelling on the weekends.
My big take away message here is that you may need to
implement new time management strategies in order to suit your new lifestyle
while you are abroad; what works for you at home might need to be changed or
adapted because your university experience will hopefully be new and different
from what you are used to at Laurier. Although it might take some time to get
used you, this is just another beautiful part of studying abroad!
There’s Another Citation Style?
Another interesting adjustment that I had to make while away was learning how to use the Harvard Citation Style. When I first heard my professors talk about this in class, I felt super intimidated. I knew all about the importance of citation and how there can be fairly dire consequences if citation goes wrong. So, I immediately began to seek out resources that could be helpful to me in order to ensure that I would ace the referencing section of the rubric! I was very lucky that my university provided an online guide to the Harvard Citation Style that I could access through the library website. Once I found the guide, I was able to read about all the Harvard rules of citation and follow the samples in the guidebook. However, it was still challenging to work outside of my comfort zones (hi there, APA, MLA and Chicago–I missed you!). In order to get extra reassurance that I was approaching the new citation style correctly, I took advantage of the writing centre on my campus and had the staff review my citations to make sure that I was on the right track. While this change was initially difficult and intimidating, it allowed me to gain a new, valuable skill that might come in handy one day in the future!
Overall, it is really important to be conscious of the fact that your professors’ expectations are most likely going to be different than what you are used to at Laurier. The unpredictability of the unknown might seem unnerving, and, frankly, it is. However, if you are at least prepared with the idea that expectations will be different, hopefully you won’t be too caught off guard. My best advice is to enter this new learning experience with an open-mind and a can-do attitude. If you keep an open-mind, you will be more willing to adjust your practices and learn new ways to approach academic tasks. And, with a can-do attitude, you will have the positive mind-set that you will need to approach these new tasks head-on!
A shot from the most peaceful community in the Aran Islands off the coast of Ireland!
It’s All Relative!
Another thing that I found interesting in the
classroom while I was abroad was that my professors would casually discuss
topics and give examples that I didn’t know anything about. My issue wasn’t
that I didn’t watch the news enough or that I wasn’t following the right people
on Twitter; the problem was that these examples were very specific to Ireland,
the UK and, sometimes, Europe in general. For example, my Education professor
would often use elements of the Irish school system, like certain curriculum
documents, to expand on points throughout his lectures. While this makes complete sense, because in his mind he
was talking to Irish students who were training to become teachers in Ireland,
it was completely disorienting to me! First of all, I was overwhelmed by the
fact that there were terms and concepts that I had literally never heard of but
that were clearly important to know for my success in the course. Additionally,
I was a fifth year Concurrent Education student in a second year Education
Curriculum course, so it was more than a little disheartening to feel lost in a
subject that I was usually so excited and confident about!
All in all, this was a challenge that I faced within
most of my classes while abroad. It never occurred to me while I was studying
at Laurier how contextual so many of my lectures were; thinking back to the
classes I’ve taken in Canada, I can think of endless times that my professors
used distinctly Canadian and North American examples to enhance lectures and to
frame assignments. However, I was never aware of the contextual knowledge that
was needed to understand these ideas because I never had to consciously put it
into practice. According to Writing
Across Borders (2005), this is something that is experienced by a lot of
students who study internationally. The video discusses how professors have
certain cultural assumptions that they presume all of their students will also
have; therefore, it can be a challenge for international students to follow
along during lectures or to write certain assignments that rely on these
assumptions. For myself, I found that I had to do some extra research after
class in order to make myself aware of the terms, policies, events, and so on
that my professors discussed in class so that I was able to understand their
examples and explanations.
The video also discusses how some international
students who come to North America experience discomfort when they are asked to
complete certain types of assignments. Fortunately, I did not run into any
assignments while abroad that I was not comfortable with, but this is something
that many exchange students do experience. According to Writing Across Borders (2005), it can be uncomfortable for students
to do things like criticize the government, the institution at which they are
studying, or society in general within a paper. This type of assignment can be
jolting for students because it is one that they might not experience at home;
therefore, I mention it here to make prospective study abroad students, or
current exchange students, aware of some of the types of cultural differences
that they can run into. If you find yourself in this position, there are several
strategies that you could use to make yourself feel more comfortable. Your
first point of contact might be your professors. If you explain to them your
concerns, they will more than likely be happy to chat with you about the
discomfort you’re experiencing and to reassure you about your ability to
complete this type of assignment. Furthermore, you might find it helpful to
reach out to other exchange students to see if they are experiencing similar
feelings. Knowing that you are not alone in your concerns will help you to face
the discomfort and meet your professors’ expectations. Finally, you could visit
your host school’s writing centre, if they have one. There, you will be able to
share your concerns with the staff and they will be able to guide you in the
right direction for completing your assignment.
Snapping a quick pic in our accidentally-matching corduroy outside of our house!
Overall, I wouldn’t trade even one day of my study
abroad experience for anything; however, there were some obstacles, like the
ones I discussed above, that I would have loved to have been aware of prior to
my departure. Therefore, I hope that if you’re reading this and you’re thinking
about taking on the best adventure of your life, you will feel more confident
in knowing that going to school in another country is different, and sometimes
challenging, but that there are so many strategies which can be used to help
get you through happily and successfully! Good luck Golden Hawks! Don’t be
afraid to spread your wings and fly!
Bon voyage! Kayla Peer Mentor
References:
Fleet, J., Goodchild, F., & Zajchowski, R. (2006).
Learning for success: Effective
strategies for students (4th ed.). Canada: Nelson.
The Oregon State University Writing Intensive
Curriculum and The Oregon State University Center for Writing & Learning
(Producers) & Wayne Robertson (Director). (2005). Writing Across Borders [Film]. Retrieved from https://media.oregonstate.edu/media/0_v4s6xtpp
You have finished your research, developed a thesis, constructed an outline and are now ready to begin writing your paper. Despite all of the ideas, points, examples, and research running through your mind, you can’t seem to get started. Where do you begin? How do you start your essay? Writing an introduction can be a very daunting task for students, especially when they are pressed for time. Even with all the research and knowledge one may have on a topic, it can still feel awkward and stressful to be face-to-face with a blank page. This post will examine some of the struggles students face when writing introductions, and the strategies available to help develop a better understanding of where to begin when writing an academic paper.
What is an Introduction?
Think of an introduction as a blueprint for your essay. Introductions are meant to foreshadow the structure of your paper, while providing clarity and background context for the reader. By outlining your arguments, intentions, and main points, you are able to demonstrate what the paper will be about and why the audience should care. Introductions should aim to do three things: inform, introduce, and engage the reader.
Reasons Why Students Struggle with Introductions and Writing Habits to Help
There are many reasons why students find it difficult to write an introduction. Here are some of the main challenges students face and possible ways to help combat the struggle of introducing your paper.
A. Not Sure How to Start?
It can feel awkward to just sit down and start writing an introduction. Oftentimes, students may have difficulty deciding what information to include in their introduction, especially given that they have not yet had the chance to talk about their topic and main issues. After all, “if you haven’t gone on the journey yet it is difficult to map where you have been” (Boyne, 2004).
Introductions do not have to be the first thing you write. If you are unsure about the direction of your paper, it is perfectly acceptable to write your introduction last. This ensures you have a good understanding of all the major points you wish to outline, and it can help you to clarify your overall thesis and argument of the paper. Some people find it more helpful to get their ideas out first and then edit and refine their work later. This approach gives the writer a chance to work on the body paragraphs first and the go back to complete the introduction and conclusion after the ideas have become more refined.
B. Avoid Clichés and Capture Your Audience’s Interests
Since the dawn of time students have been trying to use catchy “hooks” to spice up their paper. By focusing too much on trying to make a paper flashy, students can lose sight of the topic and rely on boring clichés because they are unsure of what else to include. This myth about creating a “hook” for a paper leads students to begin with cheesy quotations, dictionary definitions or gratuitous personal preambles. For example, “Oxford dictionary defines,” “At first I felt,” or my personal favourite, “Since the beginning of [time]” are common and clichéd ways to start an essay. This type of introduction takes the focus away from the topic being discussed, and does not effectively work to help outline the main point of the paper.
Although there is nothing wrong with including definitions or quotations in an introduction, keep in mind that they should add to your overall point. In fact, defining the terms you use throughout the paper can be a very effective way to make your argument clear, but be sure that the definitions are both relevant to your discussion and add to the focus of your paper. This sentiment remains the same in regards to quotations; be sure that the quotation you use captures the main focus of your writing and is not simply a filler or a ploy to get the audience’s attention. It is important to remember that the information you display in your introduction must have a clear link to your topic and argument instead of solely being for the purpose of catching the reader’s attention (Boyne, 2005).
C. Think Context, Not Generalizations
A good way to think about the introduction of a paper is to acknowledge a tradition of inquiry. Instead of focusing on broad claims, try to think about your paper in the context of an overall discussion on the topic. Providing specific examples, background information, academic discourse, anecdotes, or outlining dilemmas surrounding the topic can help ensure you are providing relevant information to the reader and giving them a proper background understanding of the topic.
By acknowledging a tradition of inquiry, an introductory statement such as “Since the dawn of time students have been trying to use catchy ‘hooks’ to try and spice up their paper” can be transformed into, “A problem students face when writing introductions is the perceived need for ‘hook’ statements to draw the reader’s attention, which results in the use of clichés and overgeneralizations, defeating the point of hooking the reader in a new or interesting way” (Boyne, 2005; Giltrow, 2009). This example demonstrates the current discourse on the topic through the acknowledgement of authors with similar research and beliefs. By acknowledging the tradition of inquiry, the reader is able to gain a better understanding of the paper’s focus and the problem being presented by the writer; the reader also gets a sense of where the paper is headed.
D. Overcompensation and Being Too Specific
Another thing to consider is the idea of overcompensation for generalization. This means that instead of giving the reader a broad statement, you use a blunt statement of intent, or an assumption of the audience’s knowledge in an attempt to remain focused on the specifics of your assignment. Although it is important to not be overly general with an introduction, depending on the assignment instructions, professor, etc., you must also make sure that your argument is clear to the reader. Usually, assuming the reader does not have any background information on the topic will help to ensure you are describing the topic and your argument clearly and effectively.
With Every End Comes a New Beginning
Hopefully this post has helped ease some of the stress of writing an introduction and gives you some strategies that can help you outline your topic effectively.
Now, if I could just figure out how this should end…
For more information on writing introductions, or any other writing and study skills inquiries, visit our website for writing resources (specifically, handouts on “Introductions and Conclusions” and “Ten Essential Features of Academic Writing”).
Best Wishes,
Rileigh
Peer Mentor
References
Boyne, M., Armstrong, M. & El Komos, M. (2005). Thinking it through: a practical guide to academic essay writing. (Third ed.) Peterborough: Trent University.
Giltrow, J., Gooding, R., Burgoyne, D. & Sawatsky, M. (2009). Academic writing: An introduction. (Second ed.) Toronto: Broadview Press.
Recently, the Modern Language Association published an 8th edition of MLA citation style. If you were already familiar with MLA style, you may be thinking, do I need to change how I use MLA style? The short answer is yes and no. The 8th edition of MLA style did make some changes, but many elements will still look very similar. The good news is that the updates in the 8th edition MLA were mainly to simplify the referencing process. In this blog post, I’m going to share some of the key changes and show you an example of developing a citation in the latest edition.
Note: In the Centre for Student Success, we recognize that not everyone is going to be ready to transition to the 8th edition, so we have both a 7th edition and an 8th edition MLA handout available. If you’re unsure of what edition to use, clarify with your professor.
What Changed?
In previous editions of MLA, you might have been used to memorizing a specific format based upon the source that you were referencing. For the most part, each source had elements in its citation that were specific to that source. This is where the biggest change between the 8th edition and previous editions of MLA is. The Modern Language Association recognized that the source by source format was overcomplicating the referencing process, so they have now introduced a standard format that can be used for all types of sources. Now the MLA provides a base format and asks users to fill in the information available and relevant to their source.
The basic format outlined by the MLA looks like this:
Author. “Title of source.” Title of container, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location.
(Modern Language Association 20).
You might remember adding a publication city in previous editions of MLA, but in the 8th edition location doesn’t mean a physical location, but rather the location of the work itself. In this spot you would put page numbers for printed works or the URL or DOI for online sources (Modern Language Association 46). Since the location section tells the reader what format your source was in, the 8th edition doesn’t ask for “print” or “web” anymore.
Let’s Practice
To show how to use the new 8th edition MLA, I will show an example using the following article:
Here is the base format again and now we’ll fill it in with The Star article’s information.
Author. “Title of source”. Title of container, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location.
Author: This article has a clear author, Darren Calabrese, so we can fill in the author spot.
Calabrese, Darren. “Title of source”. Title of container, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location.
Title of source: For a news article like this one, this section is going to be the title of the article, which is Postal Workers’ Union Rejects Binding Arbitration as Lockout Deadline Extended.
Calabrese, Darren. “Postal Workers’ Union Rejects Binding Arbitration as Lockout Deadline Extended”. Title of container, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location.
Title of Container: This section is the larger work that something is published within. For this article it would be Thestar.com.
Calabrese, Darren. “Postal Workers’ Union Rejects Binding Arbitration as Lockout Deadline Extended”. Thestar.com, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location.
Other Contributors: This is the place where you could put in other people credited for the work such as editors, producers etc. For this article we don’t have anything to put here so we would skip that part and move onto the next relevant element.
Version: Typically, newspapers don’t have a version, so this would be left out of this particular citation. Commonly, this element applies to journal articles or books with multiple editions.
Number: This also does not generally apply to newspaper articles. This section is for a volume number, which is most often seen in journal articles and books.
Publisher: Here we’ll add in the publisher. This is usually a corporation. For the article we’re using the publisher would be Toronto Star Newspapers, which I found at the bottom of the webpage.
Calabrese, Darren. “Postal Workers’ Union Rejects Binding Arbitration as Lockout Deadline Extended”. Thestar.com, Toronto Star Newspapers, Publication date, Location.
Publication Date: This one is pretty straightforward. Fill in as much of the date as is available and format it day/month/ year. We have the full date available for this article so we would include all elements.
Calabrese, Darren. “Postal Workers’ Union Rejects Binding Arbitration as Lockout Deadline Extended”. Thestar.com, Toronto Star Newspapers, 7 July 2016, Location.
Location: Since we have accessed this article online and newspaper articles don’t have DOIs, we will give the URL as the location of this source.
Now that we’ve filled in all the elements relevant to our source, our citation is complete. With the addition of a new base format for all sources, sourcing in MLA style has become even easier. For a more in depth discussion of the 8th edition of MLA style, check out our handout or visit us in the Centre for Student Success.
Chelsey Kerr
Summer Intern
Work Cited
Modern Language Association of America. MLA Handbook, 8th ed. 2016, pp. 1-146.
When do I quote? When should I paraphrase? What exactly is a summary? Academic writing can be downright confusing for students, especially knowing when to quote, summarize or paraphrase in their writing. In my consultations at the Centre for Student Success, I see this confusion often, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to explain further. To help explain each of the methods, I will use the following article from The Toronto Star as my source:
Province on the hook for $304M in cost overruns at Pan Am Games: Auditor general
First off I’m going to discuss quoting in academic writing. This is by far the most overused of the three I’ll be discussing today. Students are often concerned that if they use the work of someone else and don’t quote it, then they’ll be plagiarizing. This is not true. I’ll get to paraphrasing later on in this post, but it’s important to note that putting material in your own words and citing it properly is a fine substitute for quoting material in most circumstances. However, there are still some instances where quoting is the most appropriate method for incorporating a source into your writing.
When do I quote?
What the person said is important
How they said the information is important
I like to reserve quoting in my academic papers for instances when I just couldn’t word something any better or for statements of historical significance.
It is important to lead into a quotation in your academic writing so that it flows nicely in your work. You’ll want to provide a little context first just so your reader can see why you placed the quote there. Additionally, often when students quote, they forget to include a strong analysis following the quote. Even if you use a quote as your evidence, you still need to explain how that quote supports your thesis. For more information on the structure of an academic paragraph, see the Centre for Student Success Elements of an Academic Paragraph handout.
Lead-in
Quote
Explanation
Example: Following an investigation by the auditor general, ethical concerns were raised about the Pan Am Games’ gross overspending. According to The Toronto Star, “The report found 53 senior staff were paid $5.3 million in bonuses at the end of Games for finishing out the entire length of their contracts and meeting budget targets. Those payments come in addition to annual performance bonuses of $10.5 million” (Battersby, 2016).These figures show the unethical actions of the Pan Am executives, as they were paid high bonuses despite the fact that the Pan Am games were grossly over-budget. Since the province was asked to contribute a significant portion of the funding, the executives should be held accountable to tax payers about how the money was spent. The Pan Am Games are only one example of many, where public funding has been misused, which is why executives responsible for budgeting should be held legally responsible for their irresponsible spending.
Paraphrasing
The second method I’m going to touch on is paraphrasing. Paraphrasing is when you take an idea from a work and put it into your own words. It differs from a summary as it usually includes more detailed ideas or focuses on a more specific section of a work. As an example, you could summarize a full article, but you wouldn’t paraphrase a whole article. Paraphrases are often the same length or even longer than the original piece of text you’re referring to.
When do I paraphrase?
When what is said is the most important part, not how it is said.
The details or information are significant and important to your writing
Paraphrases still need to be cited!
Example:
Here is the original paragraph:
“Michael Coteau, minister of tourism, culture and sport responsible for the Games, said Wednesday that the Games had come in under budget according to the government’s calculations. While the auditor broke the numbers into two piles — one for operating the Games, and one for building the athletes’ village — the government sees the budget as a whole, he said. Part of the discrepancy also comes from the auditor adjusting the bid budget to cut out more than $200 million spent on preparing the West Don Lands for development, reasoning it would have been spent regardless. Coteau added later in an interview that costs the auditor put on the province are on the books of other levels of government, and some are fixed costs from within the ministries” (Battersby, 2016).
Paraphrased version of the same paragraph:
When assessing the total cost of the 2015 Pan Am Games, the auditor general examined the costs as two separate figures, the cost for the event operations and also for the construction of the athletes’ villages and found the project to be grossly over budget (Battersby, 2016). However, the minister of tourism, culture and sport, Michael Coteau, examined the total spending and argued that the project was under budget, as some of the construction and development were not solely for the Pan Am Games, but planned construction that would have been completed regardless (Battersby, 2016). Coteau also noted that the spending for the Pan Am Games will not be paid entirely by the province of Ontario, as some of the spending falls under the jurisdiction of other levels of government, which is why he argues that the project was not over-budget (Battersby, 2016).
Summarizing
Lastly, we have summarizing. Summaries are often used to provide context to a reader who may not be familiar with your topic. Summarizing focuses on the overall idea of a work. To create a summary, you would read through the work and then sum up the most important parts or the big idea(s) and briefly include this information for your reader. Usually, summaries are shorter than the original work.
When do I summarize?
It is best to summarize when you need your reader to have a general understanding of a topic, as opposed to a specific understanding of the topic. If you need your reader to have a more specific understanding, a paraphrase is more appropriate.
Summaries also need to be cited!
Example: Despite the Pan Am games being extremely over budget, the Pan Am executives still received high bonuses, which has raised ethical concerns (Battersby, 2016).
If you would like a more detailed discussion of quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing, please check out our new Summaries, Paraphrases and Quotations: What to Use and When handout, now available online and in the Centre for Student Success. We will also be running a Citing Sources Successfully workshop in the upcoming fall term, which covers quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing in depth.
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