Communication Commons

Consider this: According to Internet Live Stats (2020), a site that tracks internet activity, in an average second:

Think about this: How does this volume of information impact our ability to focus, pay attention, and engage with a source long enough to get a deep understanding of it?

Engage Actively

Prepare

This first step of engaging actively is about knowing yourself as a reader and finding a space that works for you, away from distractions. If possible, this space should also be a comfortable working environment. Physical discomfort can also interfere with your ability to focus.

For example, you might know that if you sit in a common area, you will be distracted by your roommates and their actions, getting side-tracked and involved in their activities rather than focusing on the source. Or having your phone at your fingertips with alerts buzzing and beeping will lure you onto social media and its enticing diversions.

Along with finding a good physical space, you should also give some thought to the time of day, and your fatigue and energy levels. You probably have a window of time in the day that is most productive for you. Perhaps it’s first thing in the morning when you’re the only one up and your place is quiet. Find that time and use it for tasks that require focus and attention. Put away distractions and set a timer; be prepared to focus for a planned amount of time.

According to an article titled “8 Ways to Improve Your Focus” on fastcompany.com, “If it’s too hot or too cool in your work environment, it could impact your focus. A study from Cornell University found that workers are most productive and make fewer errors in an environment that is somewhere between 68 and 77 degrees [20 and 25 degrees Celsius]. Another study from the Helsinki University of Technology in Finland says the magic temperature is 71 degrees [22 degrees Celsius]. If you don’t control the thermostat, you can opt to bring a sweater or a fan” (Vozza, 2015, para. 12).

Pause Judgment

In our polarizedpolarized world where people have strong positions on many topics, it can be easy to get caught up in offering opinions. You may navigate frequently through social media, posting and commenting, perhaps positively, perhaps negatively, since, in the digital world, opinions flow quickly and easily. The anonymity and protection of a screen contribute to this.

It is important at times, and especially for professional or academic purposes, to pause. Pause so that you can give quiet and respectful consideration to others’ viewpoints. Pause so that you can develop your own considered, evidence-based response that builds from your understanding, finds common ground, and, when relevant, disagrees constructivelyconstructively.

In this first stage of absorbing a source, you should practise pausing. Wait to hear and understand. Later, you will respond, analyze, and critiquecritique.

Quick Check

Ok, now that you’re comfortable, ready to focus, and have paused judgment, you should do one more thing before you start to work with a source: a quick check to frame it. This creates context for understanding and further investigation later. Be inquisitiveinquisitive about the source. Learn a little about it—who is the author? When was it written? Where was it published? What can we predict and learn from the title? This is a time when you might be reminded of how much you love your smartphone because all these answers are at your fingertips. Don’t spend too long on this; a quick internet search should be enough.

A quick check should take you no more than 3–5 minutes. Don’t spend more time on it. The benefit of framingframing a source is that you’ve begun your journey of engaging with the source, becoming curious about what you will read, and building respectful understanding.

Try It!

Do Your Own Quick Check

Directions:

1. Complete a quick check for “Forgiveness Story” by June Callwood in the table provided. Access “Forgiveness Story” here.
2. Compare your quick check to the model.

Recall what you know: Skimming, scanning, and reading closely are all strategies for engaging with a source. How are they different? Recall what you already know about these strategies by placing the descriptors below in the correct column.

Think about this: Before beginning to engage actively with a source, set a goal. What are you trying to achieve? How much time will you spend? What are the outcomes you are looking for? With this purpose in mind, you can choose how to interact with the source.

Quick Read: Skim and Scan

Skim First

When you skim a source, you go through it quickly so that you begin to grasp its focus, style, and content. The key word here is “quickly.” Remember that a full understanding will come later.

You’ll probably find that you’re adept at looking at content this way; it’s often how we approach the endless stream of media feeds on our devices.

You will engage with countless sources as part of your academic, personal, and professional experience. Your approach to skimming should vary by the type of source, its complexity, its length, and your reason for skimming. Are you skimming before doing a more detailed review of the source? Are you skimming so that you can decide if the source should be used for another purpose—e.g., as support for an argumentative essay you are writing? Are you using skimming to remind yourself of the key parts of a source you read a week ago?

The key is this: Don’t get bogged down when skimming. Focus on only the main points, headings, subheadings, and bolded or highlighted terms. It can be helpful to set a timer to limit how long you spend on this.

Approach to Skimming

Here are three examples of how the time and approach may vary by type of source:

Regardless of the source type, the goal of skimming is consistent: You are aiming for a general overview. You should also get a sense of how the source is organized, what the focus is, and keywords or concepts. You may also begin to identify areas that seem most challenging to you as a reader.

Scan with a Purpose

Scanning is also a quick-reading strategy, but when you scan, you’re on a mission. Scanning is not about understanding or absorbing a source as a whole. You are looking for specific content and only that content. You go through the source quickly until you find it, using your time efficiently to achieve your purpose. You could use scanning to

• look up definitions;
• find details such as a client name, technical term, a step in a procedure or experiment;
• search for content to use in a quotation;
• find the answer to a question; or
• locate statistics or data.

Engage Actively: Use Tools

To absorb a source, you will need to engage closely with it. This requires slow, focused attention on the whole source, but also on its parts. In this section, we will focus on tools that you can use to help you engage closely before moving on to work with the source in other ways (see Situate; Break Down a Source; Summarize; Paraphrase; Clarify, Respond, and Infer). There are numerous proven approaches and tools that can help you immerse your attention and focus on a source.

Annotate

One tool that can help with engaging actively is annotation.

When you annotate, you add comments, notes, and symbols. You might highlight or underline. You work right on the source, not on a separate screen or piece of paper. This means that the annotations become part of the source; this is the power of annotation.

Annotating has a number of benefits:

• It helps you sustain focus and attention on the source.
• It assists you in making personal connections with the source.
• It reminds you to look further if you encounter content, terms, or ideas in the source that you find challenging or are new to you (e.g. look up the definition of a new word).
• It creates a personalized record of your interaction with a source that you can refer back to at a later date.
• With digital annotation tools, you can collaborate and connect with others as you annotate.

Annotating should be personal in nature; over time, you will develop your own approach to annotating that makes sense. Perhaps you will use colour coding or develop a set of symbols, or a combination of both.

Research on Reading Strategies

Did you know? The effectiveness of reading strategies is supported by research.

As discussed in a study published in Educational Technology & Society, “Many studies have found reading strategies useful when implemented before, during or after reading (e.g., Brown, 2002; Ediger, 2005; Fagan, 2003; McGlinchey & Hixson, 2004; Millis & King, 2001; Sorrell, 1996). For example, reading strategies include rereading, scanning, summarizing, keywords, context clues, question-answer relationships, inferring, thinking aloud, activating prior knowledge, setting a purpose, and drawing conclusions” (Hsieh & Dwyer, 2009, p. 36).

A 2018 study published by TESL Canada Journal also discusses the importance of reading strategies: “Studies have shown that reading improves a reader’s vocabulary, grammar, and reading comprehension, and that using strategies when reading leads to improved reading comprehension (Anderson, 1991; Grabe & Stoller, 2011; Hudson, 2007; Mokhtari & Sheorey, 2008)” (Khatari, 2018, p. 80).

Further, a 2008 study published in Issues in Educational Research comments on the role of reading strategies in cognitive processing: “Successful comprehension does not occur automatically. Rather, successful comprehension depends on directed cognitive effort, referred to as metacognitive processing, which consists of knowledge about and regulation of cognitive processing. During reading, metacognitive processing is expressed through strategies, which are ‘procedural, purposeful, effortful, willful, essential, and facilitative in nature’ and ‘the reader must purposefully or intentionally or willfully invoke strategies’ (Alexander & Jetton, 2000, p. 295), and does so to regulate and enhance learning from text” (Cubukcu, 2008, p. 3).

Here are two examples of annotation systems that could work for you:

Many sources today are digital. Digital media can be annotated with annotation apps, and, subsequently, the annotation can be saved, printed, and/or shared. Digital annotation can be public and collaborative, allowing for conversations on the text. Comments can be added through voice recordings in some applications. Many digital annotation tools can be used in different ways. Here is a beginning list:

Kami

https://www.kamiapp.com

PowerNotes

http://powernotes.com/

Hypothes.i

https://hypothes.is/

Perusall

https://app.perusall.com/

VoiceThread

http://voicethread.com/

VideoAnt

https://ant.umn.edu/

(Note: Authors are not endorsed by these companies, and students should use at their own risk.)

More details on these digital tools can be found here:

• “Annotating Text, Images, and Videos Online” by Stanford University
• “Top Tech for Digital Annotation” by Common Sense Education

Reverse Outlines

You’ve likely used outlines to select, develop, and organize your ideas as part of the writing process. A reverse outline, as its name suggests, works in reverse. You take a published source and produce an outline from it. This can also be an effective first step in summarizing a source.

Other Tools

There are many additional tools that can help you actively engage with a source.

Graphic Organizers: Graphic organizers area visual representation of a concept, an idea, or information. They are used for various purposes and can be as simple as a table or as elaborate as a mind map with many connections. They are particularly effective for visual learners. You can find a description of graphic organizers, as well as templates and examples here.

Journals: Like annotations, journals can be physical or digital. They are useful for developing a permanent archive of ideas, connections, and questions related to sources. They can also be used to capture quotations and specific content such as data or statistics from sources that can be used in your writing. Examples of specific types of journals are provided in the book Reading Reconsidered; the authors, Lemov, Driggs and Woolway (2016), recommend the following journals: double-entry quotation journals, common-place journals, essential question trackers, hypothesis trackers, and theme or motif trackers (pp. 334–335).

Lemov, D., Driggs, C., & Woolway, E. (2016). Reading reconsidered: A practical guide to rigorous literacy instruction. Jossey-Bass & Pfeiffer Imprints, Wiley.

Text-to-Talk: If you are an auditory learner—someone who learns well by listening—your understanding will increase if you listen to a source. This can be used to accompany your reading. You can try out a free, easy-to-use, and versatile text-to-talk online tool called NaturalReader here.

SQ3R: This is a reading strategy that prescribes five steps in the reading process: 1) survey (skim the source); 2) question (identify questions); 3) read (go through the source thoroughly); 4) recite/recall (assess your ability to recite or recall what you have learned); and 5) review (refresh and ensure understanding through review at a later date) (Lumen, n.d., Chapter 12, para. 23–25). You can read more about this strategy here.

Active Reading Documents: This reading strategy involves capturing your understanding of a source and making logical connections between the source and other sources. This can work well for program-related content and assigned textbook readings. Like SQ3R, there are five tasks: 1) create visual representations of information; 2) depict personal understanding with short explanations and/or visual representations; 3) identify and explain logical connections within the reading; 4) identify and explain logical connections to other chapters or units; and 5) identify and explain logical connections to related academic content and to personal, social, or professional aspects of life (Dubas & Toledo, 2015, p. 29). You can read more here.

Self-Explanation Reading Training: Self-Explanation Reading Training (SERT) is “designed to improve students’ ability to generate effective inferences while reading complex text. Self-explanation refers to the process of explaining aloud the meaning of written text to oneself” (McNamara, 2017, p. 480). As the name suggests, when using SERT, you explain a source’s content to yourself, checking on your own understanding as you go. This involves a combination of comprehension monitoring, paraphrasing, elaboration, and using logic, predicting, and inferring (McNamara, 2017, p. 481). You can read more here.

Try It!

Freedman, L. (n.d.). Skimming and scanning. University of Toronto. https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/researching/skim-and-scan/

GradProSkills. (2017, September 21). Reading strategies: Skimming vs close reading [Blog post]. Concordia University. https://www.concordia.ca/cunews/offices/vprgs/gradproskills/blogs/2017/09/21/reading-strategies-skimming-vs-close-reading.html

How to annotate. (n.d.). English Composition 1. Lumen Learning. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/engcomp1-wmopen/chapter/text-how-to-annotate/

Skimming and scanning. (n.d.). Butte University. http://www.butte.edu/departments/cas/tipsheets/readingstrategies/skimming_scanning.html

Consider this: Society changes over time. These changes make the views of earlier generations outdated, only relevant in the context of their time and place in history.

Review the statements below. Which Canadian societal change makes the views in these statements outdated? Find the correct match.

Think about this: How does societal context impact an author’s views, opinions, and ways of expressing them? How important is it, when absorbing a source, to understand this context?

Why Situate

If you’ve already prepared and done a quick check (see Prepare, Pause, and Frame), you have a sense of the author’s background and know a little about when and where the source was published. This is an important first step. Now you’re ready to dig deeper into the source.

You should start by situating it, or placing it in a rhetorical context.

For example, imagine you are a student in 2040, reading an article written in 2020. To understand this article further, it would help to know more about the key contexts of the time. You’d find that the world in 2020 was in the midst of a global pandemic. This would help you understand the author’s choices and mindset at the time of writing the piece. It would also give insight into the outlook and attitude of its intended audience.

Or, perhaps, you’re reading a newspaper article in which an author expresses an opinion about fear of missing out (FOMO). The article was written in 2011. When you research further, you learn that iPhones were introduced in 2007, and social media platforms became more popular during the years after this. While the impact of social media is well known today, you find that the concerns of the author are insightful given its date of publication. You also gain a greater understanding of the observations and experiences shared by the author.

How to Situate

To situate a source, you should examine five elements: subject, genre, audience, purpose, and setting. By doing this, you consider why the source exists and determine how contextual factors led to its development and content.

Three sources are used as examples for “Rhetorical Context Defined.”

“Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Postsecondary Students” is a report from Statistics Canada published in May 2020. It is based on data collected from and about Canada and/or Canadians. You can find out more about Statistics Canada here.

“Pandemics Aren’t Wars” was published by Vox in April 2020 and was written by Alissa Wilkinson. Vox is a free online American publication that explains the news. You can find out more about the publication here.

“Most Common Panic-Buying Purchases During Coronavirus” was published by The Onion in May 2020. The Onion is an American satirical online publication that focuses on global and local news topics. You can learn more about the publication here.

How Does Audience Influence Language?

As a communicator, you make choices about language all the time, and many of these choices depend on your audience.

Imagine this: You will miss class due to a doctor’s appointment and are concerned about getting caught up on the materials.

You text your friend this message:

hey im not going to be in class due to drs appt can you send pic of notes ttul

You email your professor this message:

Dear Prof. Gupta, Unfortunately, due to a medical appointment, I will have to miss your class today. If possible, could you post your notes so that I can review them tonight? Thank you, Sophie

Think about this: Although the purpose of these messages is similar—to advise someone that you are missing class and to make a request about class notes—the language choices are quite different. The personal message to a friend is written in informal language with short forms of words and no punctuation. The message to a professor is more formal, using correct sentence form.

All authors make intentional language choices when they consider their audience and purpose.

In the following example, we will explore the rhetorical context of a source.

Try It!

Pandemic Lessons: An Effective Argument?

Read this: In a May 2020 cbc.ca article, Canadian Mark Sakamoto expresses this view on COVID-19: “This pandemic has highlighted how our globalized and deeply interconnected world can be so vulnerable to a virus. How quickly and widely it can spread—to devastating effect. However, it has also shown us that our knowledge and expertise and hope can be shared just as quickly” (para. 3–4).

Consider this: There is hope to this perspective. Do you share this view? Does it relate to your experiences during the pandemic? What would you want to know before evaluating this argument further? How could you ensure that you assess the argument fairly and respectfully?

Read the full piece here. Read more about the author here.

Why Break Down a Source

When you break down a source, you gain a clearer picture of how it is constructed. The benefits include

• furthering your understanding;
• identifying its parts and its structure; and
• laying the foundation, when applicable, for your development of a similar source, or for evaluation, interpretation, and critique.

For example, perhaps you must write a formal technical report as the culminating task for a capstone course in your program. Your professor provides you with a sample report from a previous student to use as a model. Your professor asks you to take the report apart, noticing its focus, support, organization, and style of writing. In doing this, you begin to understand how the report is constructed and think about how you will apply this understanding to write your formal report.

Or you are presenting an overview and interpretation of a recently released journal article in your field. You need to break down the article into its main idea and supporting points before you can interpret it. As you work on this, you develop a deeper understanding of the source’s position, and subsequently, you can begin to evaluate the strength and credibility of its support (see Rob’s Subtopics).

Arguments and Personal Narratives

(Content in this section is used with permission from Unit 6 of Centennial College 170 Online, Winter 2020.)

We will examine two types of sources further since they are often used in college-level communication courses: arguments and personal narratives. Both offer a perspective on an issue, question, or problem. Both have a message to share and provide support for that message.

However, they are different in several ways.

Arguments typically address a current issue and are persuasive—that is, the author has an opinion on a subject and intends to persuade the audience of their point of view. They do this by using various reasons and forms of evidence to influence the audience and substantiate their main idea or thesis. Their thesis is often directly stated.

Personal narratives address a problem or question and use first-person fact-based experiences, anecdotes, and life details to support the author’s perspective. Their main message is often implied and has to be determined by the audience after careful consideration.

How to: Break Down an Argument

(Content in this section is used with permission from Unit 6 of Centennial College 170 Online, Winter 2020.}

Most arguments contain some mixture of the following types of strategy, known as rhetorical appeals (Centennial College, n.d., para. 5):

Logical: The writer persuades through facts and reasoning designed to seem rational and reasonable.

Emotional: The writer persuades through imagery, words, and stories designed to make the reader feel an emotion—joy, horror, sadness, empathy, etc.

Ethical: The writer persuades through markers of credibility (writing that is fair-minded, accurate, and self-aware; but this may also refer to elements not directly in the text, such as the writer’s background, experience, education, and reputation).

When you take an argument apart, you will look for its issue, thesis, reasons, and evidence.

How to: Break Down a Personal Narrative

(Content in this section is used with permission from Unit 6 of Centennial College 170 Online, Winter 2020.)

Personal narratives are an essay about a particular moment, event, problem, or question that occurs in the author’s life. They are usually brief and tightly focused. They use the same narrative techniques as fictional stories—plot, character, setting, figurative language—but they are true and autobiographical.

When you break down a personal narrative, you should look for its problem, main message, and narrative strategies/elements.

We’ll practise breaking down a personal narrative by looking further at “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Try It!

Directions:

Recall what you know: What do you already know about summarizing? Take this quick true or false test to find out.

Think about this: Effective summarizing reflects your understanding of a source. Summarizing is simple, but not easy! This is where the time you spend on getting to know a source (see Prepare, Pause, and Frame; Skim, Scan, and Use Tools; Situate; Break Down a Source) will pay off. How effective are your summarizing skills? What can you do to improve them? How can you ensure your summaries have academic integrity?

Why Summarize

When you summarize, you condense and restate the essential meaning of a source. You use your own words but respect the message of the original without adding, interpreting, or assessing anything.

This is key: Your judgment and critical evaluation are on hold, for now.

Think about the areas of your life in which summarizing plays an important role. In an academic setting, some examples of summarizing include

• integrating content from a source into your work to add credibility to yourself as an author and/or to build an argument;
• showing your group members or professors that you grasp their ideas;
• making notes while studying, as you work independently or collaboratively on ensuring that you comprehend course material; and
• capturing findings from a recent journal article.

Beyond this, in academic, professional, or personal contexts, you can use summarizing in active listening, a valuable skill. You can also use it to share ideas, find common ground, identify and correct misunderstandings, and de-escalate conflict.

How to Summarize

You should only summarize after you have engaged actively with an author’s message to ensure that you have an accurate understanding of it. (See Prepare, Pause, and Frame; Skim, Scan, and Use Tools; Situate; and Break Down a Source.)

Summarizing involves

• grasping the core meaning;
• distinguishing between the most and least important ideas;
• explaining the main ideas in your own words accurately, respecting the author’s perspective; and
• omitting your evaluation or opinion.

In academic writing, you may need to write a brief summary of a source, and in other cases, you will write an extended summary.

Tips for summarizing in academic writing include the following:

• write in the present tense;
• acknowledge the source’s title, publication date, and author in the opening of the summary;
• capture the author’s main idea in the opening of the summary, and then summarize the key points in sequential order after that;
• use various verbs to give attribution to the author throughout the summary (see more in How to Give Attribution and Stay Neutral);
• avoid using exact words from the original source unless necessary (avoid looking at the source when summarizing to ensure that your wording is unique);
• be sure to quote (i.e. include content in quotation marks) if it is necessary to use exact words from the source; and
• cite appropriately (see a relevant style guide for various options).

How to Give Attribution

When you summarize, you must clearly indicate that the ideas you are condensing are not your own; they belong to someone else. This is where author attribution plays a role. Giving author attribution is a key part of ensuring that your summaries have academic integrity.

Stay Neutral

Staying neutral in a summary can be tricky because you may have a strong opinion on the source that you are eager to express. However, you need to hold back your opinion at this point since the purpose of a summary is to demonstrate a respectful and thorough understanding of a source’s ideas.

“Beets Bleed Red but a Chemistry Tweak Can Create a Blue Hue” by Carmen Drahl was published in April 2020 by sciencenews.org, a website that reports on findings in the fields of science, medicine, and technology. Read it here, find more about the author here, and learn about the publication here.

You’re summarizing a scientific finding that you read titled “Beets Bleed Red but a Chemistry Tweak Can Create a Blue Hue,” and you write this:

In a significant discovery in the field of food science, scientists discovered that beet juice, which is normally a deep red in colour, can be turned blue by modifying the bonds in the beet pigment (Drahl, 2020).

However, the use of the word “significant” reflects your opinion of this discovery and should be avoided when writing a neutral summary. You can correct this by just omitting that word:

In a discovery in the field of food science, scientists discovered that beet juice, which is normally a deep red in colour, can be turned blue by modifying the bonds in the beet pigment (Drahl, 2020).

Try It!

Directions

1. Watch this 3.27 minute TED Talk: “Why 1.5 Billion People Eat with Chopsticks” by Jennifer 8. Lee.
2. Practise writing a brief summary of this source. (Tips: Remember to include the source details (citation) as part of the summary and limit your summary to 1–2 sentences.)
3. Practise writing an extended summary of this source. (Tips: Include details of the source and its main idea first, use present tense throughout, give attribution to the author, and limit your summary to 100–150 words.)
4. Compare your brief and extended summaries with the model.

Freedman, L. (n.d.). Summarizing. University of Toronto. https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/researching/summarize/

Summarizing. (n.d.). Excelsior Online Reading Lab.

https://owl.excelsior.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Summarizing2019.pdf

Webster, M. (2017, January 18). How to write an academic summary. Thompson Rivers University. https://inside.tru.ca/2017/01/18/how-to-write-an-academic-summary/

Writing a summary. (n.d.). Las Positas College. http://www.laspositascollege.edu/raw/summaries.php

Recall what you know: Like summarizing, paraphrasing is an important skill for effective communication in many contexts. Do you know the similarities and differences between summary and paraphrase? Test your knowledge by dragging the descriptors into the appropriate columns.

Think about this: Think of times when you paraphrase in your day-to-day life—perhaps for professional or personal purposes. How important is it to ensure your paraphrase respects the original message’s meaning? Consider how this is a critical part of developing a paraphrase that has integrity and also supports your credibility as an effective communicator.

Why Paraphrase

When you take someone’s ideas and express them in your words while keeping the same approximate length, you are paraphrasing. You must ensure the meaning is consistent with the original source and avoid layering in your commentary or opinions so that the intention of the author is maintained.

When you paraphrase, you are doing more than just finding synonyms to replace individual words; instead, you create content that reflects and respects the original meaning of a source while using language and structure that feels fresh and unique. Like summarizing, this reflects a deep understanding of the original source’s meaning and consideration of the author’s viewpoint. Also, like summarizing, you can use paraphrasing in various contexts and situations: academic, professional, and personal. Some examples include clarifying misunderstandings, demonstrating active listening, and finding common ground with others.

In addition, paraphrasing is a tool for resolving conflict. This is explained in an article titled “Communicating in Conflict,” from the Vancouver Island University’s website:

Miscommunication happens when we assume we understand, but haven’t checked out that assumption. When we do, we may find that we are misinterpreting some of what was said, or missing some key element that is important to the other person. Paraphrasing not only checks for clarity and accuracy of understanding, but also lets the other person know they have been heard and understood. (Vancouver Island University, 2020, para. 5)

How to Paraphrase

You’re ready to paraphrase when you’ve spent time with a source to ensure that you understand it fully. Paraphrasing involves

• grasping the core meaning and logic of the original source;
• using distinctive wording and sentence structure, showing respect for the author’s voice and viewpoint;
• citing; and
• omitting your evaluation or opinion.

In your academic work, you will often need to paraphrase when using and accurately representing the ideas of scholars and professionals in your field of study.

While you are developing the ability to paraphrase in your academic writing, you may find it useful to follow a step-by-step process:

STEP 1 – Understand the author’s message and logic.

STEP 2 – Use synonyms when possible to replace original words.

STEP 3 – Put it back together.

STEP 4 – Use new sentence structure and order.

STEP 5 – Review your paraphrase to ensure that it is true to the original meaning.

STEP 6 – Clearly give attribution, contextualize, and cite.

Why Cite in a Paraphrase

Although you use your own words in a paraphrase, do you need to cite? Yes, absolutely.

It is a common misconception that you do not need to cite paraphrased content. This is incorrect. You must cite when you use content that someone else created even if you paraphrase it effectively, and if you do not, it is considered plagiarism. This rule encompasses, but is not limited to,

• ideas;
• explanations;
• research;
• data and statistics;
• website content;
• blogs;
• social media posts;
• interviews;
• music and lyrics;
• videos;
• collaborations; and
• any content that is not common knowledge to the audience.

One guideline is that you should not use more than two words in a row without citing the source. Using APA-style rules, parenthetical or narrative in-text citations should include an author’s name and year of publication. A reference list entry should accompany them.

Do you need to include location information—typically a page or paragraph number—in an in-text citation for a paraphrase? Not necessarily. An APA Style Blog post titled “When and How to Include Page Numbers in APA Style Citations” clarifies when location information is necessary:

When you include a paraphrase in a paper, you are required to include only the author and date in the citation. You are encouraged (but not required) to also provide the page number (or other location information) for a paraphrased citation when it would help the reader locate the relevant passage in a long or complex text (such as when you use only a short part of a book). (Lee, 2015, para. 3)

Try It!

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (n.d.). Avoiding plagiarism – paraphrasing. Academic integrity at MIT: A handbook for students.

https://integrity.mit.edu/handbook/academic-writing/avoiding-plagiarism-paraphrasing

Paraphrase. (n.d.). Excelsior College Online Writing Lab. https://owl.excelsior.edu/research/drafting-and-integrating/drafting-and-integrating-paraphrasing/

University College. (n.d.). Paraphrase and summary. https://www.uc.utoronto.ca/paraphrase

Why Clarify and Respond

Why Clarify

When engaging actively with a source, you will have questions about its content, its form, its author, its context. These questions reflect your immersion in and connection with the source. Clarifying involves addressing these questions by

drawing on prior experiences;

decoding areas of the source that are confusing;

looking for answers if possible or relevant; and

going beyond what is said by the author.

Why Respond

When you absorb a source, you will have a personal response to it since it will impact you in myriad ways. In some cases, you will share the author’s viewpoint; in others, you will disagree. You may find some ideas surprising, interesting, and persuasive. Conversely, at times, you will be confused, disinterested, or even upset.

Capturing your response is important since it

furthers your engagement with a source;

helps in identifying areas “in common” with the author;

creates conversations; and

can be a starting point for critical evaluation.

How to Clarify and Respond

How to: Clarify

When you clarify, your questions will vary depending on the type of source and your prior knowledge. You might have questions about

• the author’s life experience and background, including what motivated them to share their views;
• the political, social, or cultural environment at the time of writing or publication;
• the conclusions that were drawn by the author(s) and the support provided;
• verifiability of the source with others in the same field or on the same topic; or
• methodology, sampling, and data collection and use (if it’s a journal article or research study).

At this point, you will search quickly to find answers since a more thorough and research-driven evaluation or critique will come later.

How to: Respond Personally

When developing your personal response, a number of questions can guide you:

• Is the content relevant to me as a reader? Does it support or contradict my life experience?

• In what ways do I agree/disagree with the point of view, the argument, the conclusions?
• Am I persuaded by the content?
• What challenged me? What have I learned? How have my views changed as a result of reading this material?
• What do I want to know more about?

There are no right or wrong answers. However, your response should be respectful and considerate, informed by reflection on your connection to the content and an open-minded absorption of the source.

Why Infer

You have absorbed the author’s voice and perspective respectfully. Now, you’re ready to move on and make inferences.

When you make an inference, you connect further with the author’s message, draw conclusions, and read “between the lines.” You use knowledge of the world and your previous experience. You’re looking at what is written or said—the evidence—to form opinions about what is not.

When you infer, there is no right or wrong answer, but any inference should be supported with logic and evidence. Others’ inferences should be accepted and respected even if they differ from the conclusions you have drawn about the same source.

How to Infer

To infer effectively, you should

• understand background and context (see Situate);
• use your knowledge of the author and the rhetorical situation (see Situate);
• look for clues and keywords (see Skim, Scan, and Use Tools);
• consider the “how” and “why” related to the “what”;
• use facts, details, and evidence (see Break Down a Source);
• use your prior knowledge and personal experience;
• develop an informed opinion; and
• check and double check your logic.

When you infer, you can draw conclusions in a number of ways:

(Adapted from “Infer with Evidence” by Barbara Radner. http://teacher.depaul.edu. Used with permission.)

When making inferences, you should track, support, validate, and iterate your thinking. These questions can help:

• What is my inference? (capture the conclusion you are drawing)

• What information did I use to make this inference? (capture the textual evidence and, when possible, the background knowledge and life experience)
• How valid is my inference? Do I need to change my thinking? (reflect on your logic)

Try It!

Activity 2

Activity 3

Directions:

1. Review the following four passages. For each, answer which of the four statements that follow are inferences. Can you support your answer with logic and evidence?
2. Check your answers with the solutions provided.

1. “It’s not that digital immigrants are smarter or more talented than the digital natives that came after us. Our uniqueness, it seems, lies in the fact that we are the last of a dying breed and as such, living, breathing receptacles of a soon-to-be lost plane of human experience: empty yawning hours and days of nothing much at all” (McLaren, 2019, para. 11).

What inference(s) can you make from this passage?

1. The author is a digital native.
2. The author believes that digital immigrants are unique.
3. The author thinks that the human experience has been changed by technology.
4. The author does not like technology.

2. “So if you’re a person that wants to be an ally to the Black community, let’s begin here: Put down your phone. Just as neutrality won’t put you in good stead with the cause of righteousness, neither will claims that you’re ‘not racist.’ The notion is a myth; certainly 400-plus years of deeply ingrained social programming didn’t simply skip over you, regardless of your good intentions. Racism lives within all of us. Your active allyship work begins with letting this realization sink in, and then taking steps towards becoming anti-racist” (Fequiere, 2020, para. 3–4).

What inferences can you make from this passage?

1. The author thinks that being a Black ally is not justabout posting on social media.
2. The author believes that people want to be an ally to the Black community.
3. The author believes that becoming a Black ally begins with acknowledging your own racism.
4. The author believes that allies must take proactive and concrete action.

3. “Police use-of-force incidents across Canada have ignited public unrest and disapproval of law enforcement authorities. Many voices are calling for the widespread use of body-worn cameras to hold police officers accountable, while others are urging government to defund the police. An area that has not received the attention it deserves during this upheaval is police oversight” (Laming, 2020, para. 1–2).

What inferences can you make from this passage?

1. The author thinks that police should be defunded.
2. The author believes there should be focus on police oversight.
3. The author believes that police oversight in Canada should be examined.
4. This piece was written at a time of societal turmoil.

4. “Anyone who represents a ‘different’ point of view also needs to accept that questions may not be wrapped in a perfectly politically correct bow. That doesn’t mean we should stop the questions from being asked. We need to keep conversations going; I would much rather someone stumble over their words or offend me or not know the HRC-approved way to ask me which pronoun I prefer than stay silent. Silence halts change” (Beckham, 2014, para. 3).

What inference(s) can you make from this passage?

1. The author has been asked politically incorrect questions.
2. The author believes that dialogue between people of different backgrounds and identities is necessary for societal change.
3. The author wants to keep conversations going.
4. The author does not like questions.