English 0950

Practicing Summary, Paraphrase, Quotation,

and MLA In-Text Documentation

SUMMARY: Write a one-sentence summary for each of the following, and use a clear signal phrase and a correct parenthetical citation.

1.) Charles Macomb Flandreau’s entire essay:

• Charles Macomb Flandreau's excerpt from the fictional Diary of a Freshman tells of a student who goes to see his adviser in the hope of getting the adviser to change the student's grades on his failed exams (63-64).

2.) Samuel Scudder’s entire essay:

• Samuel Scudder's essay, "Take This Fish and Look at It," is about Scudder's experience with a famous natural history professor, who teaches Scudder two invaluable lessons about education: careful observation and attention to detail is extremely important, and recognizing how much we don't know is one giant step in the learning process (66-69).

3.) Michael Perry’s change from his previous occupation to his current occupation:

• Michael Perry, in his essay, "Scarlet Ribbons," explains that while he went to college and graduated with a degree in nursing, he eventually put aside nursing in favor of becoming a writer, in part because he couldn't remember all the drug interactions, and in part because he became fascinated with those things which speak to the soul and the spirit (259-262).

4.) Kate Boyes’ three in-class presentations:

• In her essay, "Signed, Grateful," Kate Boyes shows us that before finally giving an in-class presentation as herself, in her own voice, she first used a tape recorder in one class, and she disguised herself in a persona in a second class (263-266).

PARAPHRASE: Write a one-sentence paraphrase for each of the following; be sure to change both the words and the structure, and use a clear signal phrase and a correct parenthetical citation.

5.) Samuel Scudder -- p. 68 -- "But now I set myself to my task with a will, and discovered one new thing after another, until I saw how just the Professor’s criticism had been."

• Samuel Scudder realizes that his professor's admonition had been fair after Scudder eventually made many more observations about his fish once he set his mind to it (68).

6.) Jacob Neusner -- p. 187 -- "The grade B professor is one who can present coherently the larger theory and logic of the subject, who will do more than is required to convey his or her ideas to the students and who will sincerely hope he or she is inspiring the minds of the students."

• According to Jacob Neusner, a professor earning a B grade should exhibit three characteristics: (1) she should genuinely wish her students' minds have been inspired, (2) she should want to go beyond the basic expectations to be sure her ideas are clear to her students, and (3) she can present the bigger abstract ideas and the reasoning behind her subject matter in a very understandable way (187).

QUOTATION: Write correct and accurate quotations for each of the following, and use a clear signal phrase and a correct parenthetical citation.

7.) Andrew Hicks -- p. 60 -- second paragraph under August 25, 1995 -- first two sentences -- use ellipses to leave out the “not bad” phrase and end after “my Spanish teacher”

• Andrew Hicks tells us that "[t]hree of my 'instructors' are full-fledged professors . . . [and] [t]he other two instructors are ambitious grad students, including my Spanish teacher" (60).
• Andrew Hicks tells us that "[t]hree of [his] 'instructors' are full-fledged professors . . . [and] [t]he other two instructors are ambitious grad students, including [his] Spanish teacher" (60).
• According to Andrew Hicks, "Three of [his] 'instructors' [were] full-fledged professors . . . The other two instructors [were] ambitious grad students, including [his] Spanish teacher" (60).

8.) Samuel Scudder -- p. 68 -- the paragraph beginning with “This was the best” -- use ellipses to leave out the “as he has left” phrase, and substitute “I” for “we” at the end

• Samuel Scudder argues, "This was the best . . . lesson I ever had--a lesson whose influence has extended to the details of every subsequent study; a legacy the Professor had left to me . . . of inestimable value, which [I] could not buy, with which [I] cannot part" (68).

9.) Jacob Neusner -- pp. 184-185 -- the sentence beginning at the bottom of p. 184 and ending at the top of p. 185 -- use ellipses to remove everything between the two dashes

• Jacob Neusner describes his ideal teacher: "The teacher who read my writing and corrected not so much the phrasing as the mode of thought . . . and who composed paragraphs as models for what I should be saying is the sole true teacher I ever had" (184-185).

Any Questions?