Physics 008 (Scheibner)

When writing, you often paraphrase, summarize, and quote sources.  All require that your give attribution to your original source. For more information see "Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing" from OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab.

Paraphrase: slightly condensed text - different in structure & language than the original text

Summary: main ideas of a source concisely summarized

Quote: identical text from a source

"Choosing Whether to Quote or to Paraphrase"

• Quote sparingly and only if the language is particularly powerful or significant. 
• Paraphrasing is often preferred, particularly in the sciences.  Effective paraphrasing also shows that you understand your source.

Original Text:

Because of their unique perspective, Americans fear globalization less than anyone else, and as a consequence they think about it less than anyone else. When Americans do think about globalization, they think of the global economy as an enlarged version of the American economy.

(Source: Thurow, L. (1993). Fortune Favors the Bold (p. 6). New York: Harper Collins.)

Are the following acceptable paraphrases?  Why or why not?

Version 1:

According to Lester Thurow (1993) Americans fear globalization less than people from other countries and as a consequence spend less time thinking about it. Indeed, Americans see globalization as an enlarged version of their own economy. 

Version 2:

Lester Thurow (1993) maintains that because Americans see globalization simply as a bigger form of their own economy, they are less concerned about it than is the rest of the world.

These examples are from Academic Integrity at MIT.