INVESTIGATION 3 OF 6

Preserve meaning when you borrow words or ideas

Quote accurately, paraphrase independently and attribute both without altering conditions or uncertainty.

Why learn this? A changed qualifier can turn a cautious account into a claim the source never made.

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Quick recap: A quotation preserves exact wording. A paraphrase restates meaning in a new structure and wording. Both need attribution. Merely replacing a few words is patchwriting, not an independent paraphrase.

Choose your task depth

Choose either at any time. Your drafts stay with you.

1. Try — read before judging

Original fictional interview excerpt supplied for practice. You did not conduct this interview. Cite it as the course’s invented packet, not as a real participant testimony.

FULL EXCERPT, volunteer Noor: “We recorded ten objects working when people left. Some repairs may last, and some may not. We did not contact participants afterward, so I cannot say how much waste we prevented.”
DISTORTED QUOTE: Noor said, “We prevented waste.”
PATCHWRITING: They logged ten objects functioning when people departed.
QUESTION: What wording and attribution would preserve the account’s actual limits?

Go directly to the workbench

2. Predict — make a provisional choice

Which omitted words most change the claim, and why does the patchwritten version still need attribution? 0 / 16,000 characters · length is a storage limit, not a quality score

3. Experiment — test your reading

Create a source card with an exact sentence from the full excerpt and a separately written paraphrase. Name the fictional packet and excerpt as the locator.
Without looking at the sentence structure, draft the meaning from notes; then compare it with the source for fidelity and accidental borrowed phrasing.
Write one sentence introducing the quotation and one explaining its relevance. In your reflection, identify a qualifier you preserved and why it matters.

Your source dossier

Keep source wording, your paraphrase and your reasoning in separate fields. Locators are stored as plain text; the site does not fetch or verify them. Label fictional teaching sources as fictional.

Additional source notes 0 / 16,000 characters · length is a storage limit, not a quality score

Working draft / artifact 0 / 16,000 characters · length is a storage limit, not a quality score

Comparison draft

Save your first version here before revising. It will remain unchanged while you edit the working draft.

Revision commentary: what changed, why, and what remains uncertain? 0 / 16,000 characters · length is a storage limit, not a quality score

4. Understand — connect choice and effect

Change the wording without changing the claim

Noor’s account distinguishes an observation at departure from an unknown long-term outcome. Removing the uncertainty does not merely shorten the statement; it changes what Noor is represented as knowing. The distorted quotation is not present in the source and must not be placed inside quotation marks.

For a quotation, copy the relevant words exactly and check the surrounding sentence. Preserve negations, conditions and qualifiers. Use ellipses only when an omission does not distort meaning, and make editorial additions visible with brackets. If those marks make a sentence confusing, choose a shorter intact quotation or a faithful paraphrase.

For a paraphrase, take notes on the meaning, look away from the original and write a new sentence structure. Then compare both versions. Did you keep the outcome, timing, certainty and relevant conditions? Did you accidentally retain distinctive wording that should be quoted? This process helps avoid patchwriting; it does not remove the need for attribution.

Introduce the source in a way that identifies its actual status. Here it is an invented interview excerpt in a teaching packet. Do not write “I interviewed Noor” or imply that this is real reporting. In an independent project, record the actual source and locator without inventing missing details.

Choose quotation when the phrasing itself matters, paraphrase when the information matters, and omission when the detail is irrelevant. Every borrowed passage should do a job in your argument. Follow it with an explanation of relevance rather than leaving the reader to infer why it is there.

Patchwriting: Borrowing a source’s structure and much of its wording while making small substitutions, rather than producing an independent paraphrase.
Qualifier: Language that limits a claim’s certainty, scope or conditions.

Worked example — a possible revision, not the only answer

Before

Noor confirmed the café prevented waste.

After

In the fictional packet, Noor reports ten objects functioning at departure but says the absence of follow-up prevents a claim about avoided waste.

The paraphrase changes structure while retaining the observation, timing and limit. Attribution remains necessary because the information is borrowed.

Return to your workbench and reconsider a choice

5. Apply — make something and try a new case

Your main artifact

Produce one exact quotation, one faithful paraphrase and a paragraph explaining how each supports a limited claim.

Keep your artifact in the working draft above. Suggested lengths help you plan; they do not measure quality.

Unfamiliar passage

Original source: “The trial was promising for the six volunteers who completed it, but twelve people withdrew and we do not know why.”

Write a faithful paraphrase and a short quotation integrated into your own sentence. Explain why “The trial was promising” alone could mislead. 0 / 16,000 characters · length is a storage limit, not a quality score

0 saved attempt(s).

6. Continue — record work without claiming mastery

Completion means you worked through this investigation. Your interpretation and writing still need judgment using the project rubric; no automatic proficiency score is awarded.

Continue: Write a feature that keeps its evidence visible

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