Using the Words of Others Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Responding in APA Style

University Writing Center & Learning Resource CenterCal Poly Pomona

The Purpose of This Workshop

• Students practice quoting, paraphrasing, and

responding to material in APA style.

• Students learn to

– Work with direct quotes.

– Paraphrase material in the form of reported speech.

– Put themselves and their ideas in dialog with the words of

others.

The Purpose of This Workshop (cont’d)

• Quoting, paraphrasing, and responding are absolutely

necessary for writing successful papers that utilize sources.

• These skills are required most often for the following types of

writing:

– Research papers

– Literature reviews

– Discussion of literature

The Article

Cech, E. A. (2014). Education: Embed social awareness

in science curricula. Nature, 505, 477-478.

doi:10.1038/505477a

Descriptive Outline

• Should social welfare content be addressed in STEM curricula?– Most STEM majors graduate with less concern for social issues

than when they started college.– STEM ethics courses are a start but do not go far enough to

address these issues in the overall curriculum.– Historically, technological advances have been biased in terms of

gender, race, and age and require more attention to public welfare.

• Therefore, social awareness issues should be incorporated into the curriculum of each STEM course taught.

Embed social awareness in science curricula?

Here is a passage from Education: Embed social awareness in science curricula by E. Cech set off as a block quote:

As a social scientist who is also trained as an engineer, I am puzzled by how often public-welfare and social-justice issues are viewed as irrelevant or tangential to 'real' technical work in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professions. I carried out a study, the results of which suggest that university education exacerbates this culture of disengagement.

Direct Quote

Cech (2014) stated, “As a social scientist who is also

trained as an engineer, I am puzzled by how often

public-welfare and social-justice issues are viewed as

irrelevant or tangential to 'real' technical work in

science, technology, engineering and mathematics

(STEM) professions.”

Paraphrase

Cech (2014) said that ethical issues are often not

reflected in the curricula of science, technology,

engineering, and mathematics majors.

Response

Cech (2014) has lamented the lack of emphasis on

“public-welfare and social-justice issues” in STEM

disciplines. However, these areas of study have more

to do with what can be quantified, known, and

innovated rather than what is ethical or moral.

Survey Results

Between 2003 and 2008, I surveyed a total of more than 300 engineering students in four US universities — a large state college, an elite technical college, a small engineering-only university and a small private liberal-arts college. Following students from their first year to 18 months after their graduation, I found that, on average, they left their degrees less interested in public welfare than when they began.

Direct Quote

Cech (2014) reported evidence of her findings: “Following students from their first year to 18 months after their graduation, I found that, on average, they left their degrees less interested in public welfare than when they began.”

Paraphrase

According to Cech (2014), students graduating with their degrees in STEM majors are becoming less and less concerned about the ethical issues within their fields.

Response

Cech (2014) may have surveyed 300 students at four different types of colleges and universities. However, she has only presented us with a general average of her findings and has not revealed the finer details, such as averages by institution.

Activity

• Spend 10 minutes practicing with another excerpt from the article.

• You will be• Quoting the excerpt• Paraphrasing the excerpt• Responding to the excerpt

Activity (cont’d)

Quote part of the following excerpt:

STEM practitioners and educators increasingly recognize that those who understand the role of their profession in society are better at solving real-world problems. Ethics courses for STEM students are proliferating. But adding a few courses is not enough. Social issues should be embedded throughout STEM curricula.

Activity (cont’d)

Now paraphrase part or all of the excerpt:

STEM practitioners and educators increasingly recognize that those who understand the role of their profession in society are better at solving real-world problems. Ethics courses for STEM students are proliferating. But adding a few courses is not enough. Social issues should be embedded throughout STEM curricula.

Activity (cont’d)

Now respond to the excerpt:

STEM practitioners and educators increasingly recognize that those who understand the role of their profession in society are better at solving real-world problems. Ethics courses for STEM students are proliferating. But adding a few courses is not enough. Social issues should be embedded throughout STEM curricula.

Airbag Gender Bias

This culture of disengagement is a concern because most STEM problems have cultural and political issues built into them. The early design of safety airbags in cars, for example, was subject to gender bias. In 1993, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration dictated to manufacturers that the rate of force for airbag deployment had to be strong enough to protect an unbelted, average adult male. Car designers did not test their airbags on dummies of the average weight and stature of women or children; injuries and deaths followed.

Combining Paraphrase and Quote

Cech noted that safety airbags in cars were initially

rated according to their performance protecting adult

males. She went on to say, “Car designers did not test

their airbags on dummies of the average weight and

stature of women or children; injuries and deaths

followed.”

Next Steps

• The material generated in this activity can be used to

write a response paper or a review of the article.

• The exercise can be repeated with another related

article or can provide materials for a “researched”

paper.

Potential Problems

• Students may write paraphrases that distort or

confuse the ideas of the original source.

• Students may not know what they think and thus be

unable to respond.

• Collaboration in dyads and triads may help students

understand the material better.

Conclusions

• The “Quote, Paraphrase, Respond” exercise gets

students involved in a fundamental academic activity.

• Students put their own ideas and words in dialog

with those of others.