Paraphrasing

When you are paraphrasing a passage from a source, you should completely rewrite the passage using your own carefully composed sentences. A paraphrase sticks closely to the original, following point by point, but you must use your own words and sentence structure. Therefore, while your paraphrase will mirror the meaning and tone of the original passage and have roughly the same number of words, the actual sentence structures and words used will be different. Quotation marks should be used around any words or phrases that are taken directly from the source.

DIRECT QUOTATION

Gregory Cerio describes how the Black Legend came to be:

"The Black Legend was born in the 16th century, when Spain controlled the greatest empire the West had ever known, stretching from Holland to Austria to Italy, and westward across the Atlantic to the Americas. The Spanish were prosperous, powerful, and smug. And almost everyone else in Europe hated them" (193).

PARAPHRASE

According to Gregory Cerio, the Black Legend sprang from the time period in which Spain held reign over the largest federation in Western history, the 16th century. Their power extended "from Holland to Austria to Italy, and westward across the Atlantic to the Americas." Not only were they strong and forceful, but they were also wealthy and self-satisfied. They were disliked by most of Europe (193).

E-mail your comments and suggestions to the YSU Grant Team (cardcat@bgnet.bgsu.edu).