In an essay, always state where ideas come from. Even if you do not quote another writer word for word but instead refer to and paraphrase his or her ideas, you still have to say where those ideas came from. You must state the name of the author, the title of the work, the place and date of publication, and the publisher. You do this by mentioning the author or title and the page number in parentheses in your text and then giving the full bibliographic reference at the end of the paper. (See item B in Troublespot 20 for examples.) Using another au- thor’s words or ideas as your own and not citing the source is plagiarism. This is not acceptable and probably illegal. For different methods of citing the sources of your ideas, consult your instructor or a handbook.
Exercise 4
Look at the passage from The Golden Youth of Lee Prince on p. 136. With the book open in front of you, rewrite the passage, changing all the direct speech to reported speech. Use no direct quotations at all. Begin like this:
Mrs. Stein told the people in the room that she and Marilyn were go- ing to a new Italian restaurant. . .
(See Answer Key, p. 167.)
Exercise 5
Now close the book and write another account of the conversation you re- wrote in Exercise 4. This time, rely on your memory. Paraphrase the passage, and do not use any direct quotations. Concentrate on conveying the main gist of the conversation. The reporting does not have to be an exact sentence-by-sentence replica of the original.
Editing Advice
If you have written about what somebody else said or wrote, ask these questions:
If you have used quotation marks, can you explain exactly why you want to quote the exact words rather than paraphrase them?
Yes No
Try writing this section as a para- phrase. See if you and a classmate prefer it that way.
If you have used quotation marks, does the rest of the punctuation follow the requirements for quoted material? (See item A in Troublespot 20, “Quoting and Citing Sources.”)
Yes No
Fix the punctuation accordingly.
(Flowchart continued)
GRAMMAR TROUBLESPOTS 21 145
Yes |
If you have not used direct quotation but have paraphrased, have you really moved away from the exact words of the original speaker or writer you are quoting?
Yes No
If you use someone else’s words without quoting them and stating the source, it is regarded as plagia- rism, a serious offense. So either quote directly or report in your own words; in both cases, however, cite your source. (See item B in Troublespot 20.)
Does your reported speech use your own words entirely or follow the conven- W
tions for reporting as listed in item B?
Yes No
Check again, and ask for help if you need it.
Now acknowledge the source of your information briefly in the text and then fully in a bibliographic reference at the end. (See item D in this chapter and Item B in Trou- blespot 20.)
Works Cited
Ahl, David, H. “Dulling of the Sword.” Creative Computing, 1984, p. 467.
“The Analysts Who Came to Dinner.” Newsweek, October 19, 1981, p. 92.
Baker, Russell. Growing Up. Congdon & Weed, Chicago, 1982, p. 42-43.
Beer, William. Househusbands. J. F. Bergin Publishers, 1983, pp. xix—xx.
Connell, Evan 8S. Mrs. Bridge, San Francisco: North Point Press, 1959, pp. 14-16, 113-114.
Doherty, Jim. “Mr. Doherty Builds His Dream Life.” Money, May 1982, pp. 77.
Goodman, Aubrey. The Golden Youth of Lee Prince. Greenwich, Connecticut:
Crest Books, 1959, p. 312.
Mencken, H.L. Smart Set Criticism. Cornell University Press, 1968.
Schnack, Mary. “Are Women Bosses Better?” McCall's, 1981, p. 39.
Sidel, Ruth. Women and Children Last: The Plight of Poor Women in Affluent America. Viking Penguin, 1986, 5—7, 61-62.
Sorrentino, Constance. “Changing Family in International Perspective,” Monthly Labor Review, March 1990, pp. 41-44.
Zongren, Liu. Two Years in the Melting Pot. China Books, 1984, pp. 26—29.
146
Appendix
Irregular Verbs
The -s and -ing forms of irregular verbs have been included only in in- stances where the spelling sometimes causes students trouble.
Simple Form -s
arise be beat become begin bend bet bind bite bleed blow break breed bring build burst buy catch choose cling come
cost costs
creep cut deal
dig do does
draw drink drive
148
-ing arising being beating becoming beginning betting biting
choosing coming creeping cutting digging
driving
Past arose was,were beat became began bent bet bound bit bled blew broke bred brought built burst bought caught chose clung came cost crept cut dealt dug did drew drank drove
Participle arisen been beaten become begun bent bet bound bitten bled blown broken bred brought built burst bought caught chosen clung come cost crept cut dealt dug done drawn drunk driven
Simple Form -s
eat fall feed feel fight find flee
fly flies
forbid forget forgive freeze get give go grind grow hang”
have hear hide hit hold hurt keep know lay lead leave lend let lie light lose make mean meet
pay pays
put quit read ride ring rise
run say says
-ing eating
feeling
flying forbidding forgetting forgiving freezing getting giving
having hiding hitting
laying leaving letting lying losing making meeting putting quitting reading riding rising running
Past ate fell fed felt fought found fled flew forbad(e) forgot forgave froze got gave went ground grew hung had
lit, lighted lost made meant met paid put quit read rode rang rose ran said
* Hang in the sense “put to death” is regular: hang, hanged, hanged.
149 Participle
eaten fallen fed felt fought found fled flown forbidden forgotten forgiven frozen gotten, got given gone ground grown hung had heard hidden hit held hurt kept known laid led left lent let lain lit, lighted lost made meant met paid put quit read ridden rung risen run said
Simple Form see seek
sell send set shake shine shoot show shrink shut sing sink sit sleep slide slit speak spend spin spit split spread spring stand steal stick sting stink strike swear sweep swim swing take teach tear tell think throw tread understand upset wake wear weave
“8 -ing
setting shaking shining
shutting
sitting sleeping sliding slitting
spinning spitting splitting
stealing
striking sweeping swimming taking
upsetting waking
weaving
Past saw sought sold sent set shook shone shot showed shrank shut sang sank sat slept slid slit spoke spent spun spit split spread sprang stood stole stuck stung stank struck swore swept swam swung took taught tore told thought threw trod understood upset woke
wore wove
Participle seen sought sold sent shaken set shone shot shown, showed shrunk shut sung sunk sat slept slid slit spoken spent spun spit split spread sprung stood stolen stuck stung stunk struck sworn swept swum swung taken taught torn told thought thrown trodden, trod understood upset waked, woken worn woven
Simple Form -s weep
win wind withdraw wring write
-ing weeping winning
writing
Past wept won wound withdrew wrung wrote
Participle
wept won wound withdrawn wrung written
Answer Key
Note: There is often more than one correct answer to an exercise. If your answer is dif- ferent from the answer here, do not assume that your answer is wrong. You may have found an alternative solution. Check with your instructor.