Saturday, March 1, 2014

A Monarch Shmoops Off Cliffs, Sending Off Sparks: The No Fear Prison and Misprision of Paraphrase

          As I read students' first drafts in, let's say, my Shakespeare Survey course, I find myself drifting into boredom and disappointment--which, I know, means they were bored with Shakespeare and probably just Shmooped. Shmooping is my verb for sourcing online summaries and paraphrases--Shmoop, Monarch Notes,  Cliff Notes, Spark Notes, to name a few.

        On Yahoo! Answers students chat with each other to complete their paraphrasing assignment: "Explain the meaning of 'To be or not to be,'" iCarly (sic) writes. I cringe at the word "explain," for it is an invitation to "explain it away," a get-it-over-with mode. And then "the" meaning, as if there's only one way to interpret, and Shakespeare is just hiding it. Even a shopping list deserves more hermeneutic respect than that. The answers to iCarly are even more disturbing.  Here's Bob's response: "It's really along the same lines as 'Do or die'- it really just means do something, or don't do it. At least, that's what I think it means..." Or Krystina:  "just go to www.sparknotes.com and click on no fear Shakespeare."  Sure, let's get someone else 
to figure it out.  And, by the way, let's emphasize that Shakespeare is someone to fear. All this while ads for face lifts, images of storm-troopers, and the Geico gecko vibrate, flash, and fade in and out on the screen.

         Paraphrasing is a one of the core "skills" that we teach in our schools. But it is prison and misprision. Because paraphrasing is such a default mode--an invitation to shut down when you've "got it right"--I have done the unthinkable: I forbid paraphrase and summary.  I also relegate plot to the least important aspects of literature qua literature. Here is the official notice in my syllabus:

            "Any plot review systems, including, but not limited to CliffsNotes, Monarch Notes, SparkNotes,   Shmoop and online chats are not acceptable sources for developing literary appreciation and interpretive depth...This course is an opportunity to develop yourself as an original thinker.  Any papers that rely on summary, paraphrase, or plot outline will not be accepted for a grade."

         Paraphrasing exercises are perfect for assembly-line education--of teaching to the test and standardization. Paraphrasing teaches students that literary interpretation is boring, laborious, and disappointing. It tempts them to plagiarize. Paraphrasing teaches them that literature is somehow objective, something to do for someone else's approval--for the grade. Paraphrasing creates a power struggle, a get-it-right atmosphere in the class--frustrating to all. As a passionate reader, writer, and teacher, I find this abhorrent.

         But, but, but? Let's remember with Robert Frost, "Poetry is what gets lost in translation." And, Will knew this better than anyone--"a rose by any other name" would not be as sweet. What makes literature is not what it "says" but, to use John Ciardi's word how it says.  Let's return to "to be or not to be." What are some of the interpretive strategies we have to appreciate how Shakespeare characterizes Hamlet through language? The simplest is to look for language patterns, what Gertrude Stein would call "what repeats":

          the line starts with to be and ends with to be
          the word "or" is like a fulcrum of a seesaw between the start and end of the line
          to be and not to be are opposites
          to be is an infinitive verb  (at this point, I'm wondering why it's called "infinitive")
          to be is the most abstract verb      
          to has the lowest, most depressing sound-frequency vowel oo
          be has the highest, most energetic sound-frequency vowel ee
          the ts seem to spit here      
          there are no images in this line, the emotion is carried through sound
       
         What meanings might we draw from these few observations?  That Hamlet is seesawing between extremes. Given the sound patterns, he seems to be emotionally bipolar.  Since this is the beginning of his soliloquy and there are no images, we can hypothesize that words, themselves, are important to him--perhaps more than images, which are grounded in the body.  Since to be is the most essential of verbs, he's asking a very large question. Playing with the idea of the infinitive, he might believe in eternal life. We could then look for these and other patterns in the rest of the soliloquy and the play. The only use a paraphrase would have here is to show how utterly inadequate it is. To quote Bob, "It really just means doing something, or don't do it."  Duh.

          Speed-dial, For Dummies, Twitter Shakespeare. Paraphrasing is an instrument of instant gratification; of having, as Shmoop so jauntily puts it, Shakespeare in a "nutshell"; of avoiding fear, instead of embracing it as a necessary part of literary adventure and discovery. Paraphrasing digitalizes literature into right and wrong. It is handy for surprise quizzes and grade books. Paraphrasing hearkens back to the inferiority complex literature studies had when there were no English Departments. To establish credibility, scholars had to prove they were "scientific" and "objective." Now we have business as a model for academic credibility--make it quantifiable: multiple-choice-easy to calculate. One of my most gifted students and now brilliant teacher failed the praxis four times.What makes literature literature is that it is infinitely generative. That it resists reductio ad absurdum.

         We have been reduced, as teachers, to a litterbox model for education--coverage and control. Students know this, if only unconsciously.  They resist being herded with mechanical exercises.  They resent being told what to think. They resent being made to regurgitate.  You can fill in the metaphor from here.

         Mort reminded me of when paraphrasing exercises were called precis:  reduce Hamlet to three sentences.  Then why have Shakespeare at all?

© 2014 Susanna Rich





140 comments:

  1. Brilliant! Let's all spread the word and inject more life into the study of literature.

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  2. It is true we should not paraphrase at all. We all should be original writers and write things that just come to our minds that are original. But sometimes because of the media we can't be original because of what goes on in our heads, or what has already been placed in our minds. Being original takes a lot of time and effort. Look at me I once plagiarized all my favorite cartoons and placed them into my own stories. But once I got what was already in my head out, I decided to create my own original stories The Johnson Files. So that is all you have to do, try to blank your mind out and create your own original creations, that is how you stop paraphrasing.

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    1. Generra~I applaud your commitment to creativity!!!

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  3. Paraphrase is a good thing but also a negative when it is restricting the writer from creative activity. Right now in my Shakespeare class i am doing paraphrasing. I am bring fresh new ideas to the plate on Midnight summer dream and on Richard III however when my ideas are knocked down and i am told i am incorrect because i don't share "the Professor's" same views, or agree with whats out there, is when paraphrasing becomes a negative. when creative writers are restricted from growth and creativity; it makes literature boring when its really not. Literature is fun, creative and full of life! I know this because even when i create new ideas to these two Shakespeare plays i create them but have textual ideal to back these thoughts up.So what makes my idea less and a scholers ideas more important? Isn't COLLEGE created for higher education, learning, creativity, and growth so when we graduate we become SCHOLARS? Well no i've learned the hard way that its not the word paraphrase, creativity, expressing, and academic learning thats the problem; its politics, and the "professor's" that fall norm to the political values of "money" and not the knowledge of learning!

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    1. Deanna, we do need to remember that literature studies are part of the "humanities." Thank you for your reflections and creativity!

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  4. “Paraphrase” has twelve synonyms in the Thesaurus. When I looked up those 12 synonyms, I found even more synonyms, and then I looked up the synonyms for those synonyms, and so on, and so on. Then I started to do the math to see the total number of other words I could use instead of the word “paraphrase” but decided that adding up the number of synonyms wasn't going to work for me, since this isn't an addition problem, it’s a word problem.

    Then I looked up the word “paraphrase” in the dictionary thinking that it would give me some more insight about this topic. Here’s what I found online: paraphrase—n: 1. an expression of a statement or text in other words, especially in order to clarify; v: 1. to restate something using other words, especially to make simpler or shorter. OK. So “paraphrase” can be a verb or a noun. If I break the word down to its Greek origin, I get “para” meaning “beside” and “phrasis” meaning “to tell.” If I think about that in a literal fashion, then I guess I’d be standing next to someone and telling her/him something. So, how did it get to be a restating in other words? That question is probably best left to the wordsmiths of today, or maybe yesteryear, since they were the ones who changed/started it in the first place.

    Whenever I've written any research papers in college, I found that trying to paraphrase did me no good, since the original author had already stated it in the best way (whatever was stated), so I would just put quotes around the statement I wanted to use and then cited the author’s information in the bibliography. Why would I want to spend my time trying to restate the obvious? I don’t even like to try to paraphrase because I have a lot to say, and I’d rather say it in my own words.

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  5. As always, Mary Ellen, you put a special spin on these blogs. What a great idea to explore the many definitions of "paraphrase." And, yes, if it's said better by someone else, why dilute their words? Why delude ourselves that dilution is better?

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  6. Here's a delightful Facebook comment by Kenneth Wolman, copied in here with his permission: Kenneth Wolman: I'd hate to be in your class as a 19-year-old pisher, Susanna Rich. I'd hate to be in it NOW. My mother, little credit I give her for much else, gave me a birthday present in the 8th grade: the complete Rockwell Kent Shakespeare. It was a reprint from the 1936 edition. I don't remember who the text editor was but Kent did the illustrations: line ink drawings that were instant grabbers. I recall being home alone one Saturday night and reading aloud Othello's Act V soliloquy, "It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul" and figuring out he was going to kill Desdemona, and why. "What is WRONG with this man." Maybe I was old before my time (though hardly mature), but I didn't need a trot to figure out what was going on. Also, the text editor didn't mince words: "Othello is a Moor, a black man." No soft tan make-up here, but the real deal. How could it be otherwise when comments about him as "the thick-lips" infect the text? Shakespeare, early 17th century England, was a total genius. Othello was like Jackie Robinson in the service of the Venetian State: an outsider who they need, if even against their will. I learned later that Kent was treated by McCarthy as yet another goddamn Commie. An outsider, which is what he became. No--I never got to teach Shakespeare, dammit, even with a dissertation on the History plays; but if I did, I would not mince words about Othello either. It remains an imperfect but disturbing piece of drama because it IS about an outside to an insider culture. And no, Susanna, don't let the little momzers off any hook. : )
    Here was my request for "reprinting": Susanna Rich: Hey Ken, Thank you for the rightly mighty diatribe!!! May I transfer it over to the blog for posterity, or posteriority or, to wit, post haste it hence?

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  8. I honestly feel blessed having gone to schools where nearly all my teachers insisted that there were multiple ways of interpreting a text. As long as we provided our reasoning and gave examples, it was welcomed. It wasn't until I got to college that I had to change my way of writing. I needed to simply regurgitate what was given to me in class in my writing. I received good grades, but I was bored. There was not only one way to view a text, and yet my professors would teach me as if there only was one. Thankfully I still have my own personal writing to fall back on so I would not lose my voice. I'm grateful that now in my third year of college I can write freely about what I enjoy.

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  9. I really feel relieved to be in a class where I can interpret literature in a way in which no one will say "WRONG!" or "not quite". It's extremely discouraging and often times embarrassing. I believe literature is meant to be interpreted, we do not know what any writer was thinking in that one moment, or what exactly they wanted the reader to believe. I believe good literature leaves us with no one answer and often times leaves us feeling perplexed.
    I was always bored by Shakespeare because throughout high school I was taught that there was one correct answer and that was that. I remember reading Hamlet in my senior English class and basically forgetting I had ever read or had lessons on it. I found his work to be INCREDIBLY boring and often times confusing. However, just from our few class discussions and this post, I believe that there are many ways to interpret Shakespeare. My gears have been grinding thinking of what the meaning behind Hamlet really is and constantly analyzing the characters. Thank you for letting me actually use my brain in this class!

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  10. I have to admit that as much as I love English Literature and feel I was made to learn and appreciate it, I always felt a sense of confusion when transitioning from teacher to teacher. I was always told that there are rules to "decoding" poetry, or any literature for that matter. There was never consistency between teachers as I felt I had to change my way of thinking to satisfy them and get a good grade. Because of this misinformation on part of other teachers, I am lost as I am writing my first paper for Shakespeare Survey. In this class, I am being forced to look at Sonnets in a different way. I am looking at sonics, and rhyme scheme, whereas before I was looking for a paraphrase. I admit that I am struggling and I am trying to break down my misconceptions of poetry and build up new and fresh ideas. I think being told that "there is one answer to poetry" is the worst information I could have received from a teacher. It made me anxious about literature and made me feel like my interpretation was wrong. It made me feel as I did growing up and learning math, which I absolutely despised. There was ever only one answer. I am open to subjectivity. I embrace it. I feel mentally stimulated when I discover a new possibility. That is the beauty in literature. This is robbed from students when they feel they need to paraphrase and derive the "correct" meaning.

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  11. I have to agree with this post, we are all different and we view things differently. Writing and literature should help us express those viewpoints as we also express ourselves. We can each give new and exciting input that can be shared. When you get something from the internet or from your teacher, that creativity and free will is lost. You are now becoming apart of a group rather than standing out. Your words should be organic, but they should be you. What you have to say matters, it should matter. You shouldn't hide behind someone else's views or points. Their stuff is good, just like yours could be. You have to give yourself that chance, and you have to be free.

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  13. I like that you forbid the idea of summarizing and paraphrasing. As students, we should be free to be able to express our thoughts and ideas on a specific poem on our own, rather than going to other sources for help. Not all teachers and professors have really trained us enough on how to do this. I feel that for the longest times, our minds were so trained on how to summarize a piece of work, rather than using our creativity to come up with another method to do so. With the idea of offering us a paper on our favorite Shakespearean sonnet, we were given the challenge to complete a 2 page paper without using summarizing and paraphrasing. I must admit how truly hard it was not to do that, but appreciate how much time and effort went into thinking of how to plan this out accordingly. I feel that more teachers should be strict with your rule of no summarizing or paraphrasing to be able to open up more minds with creativity and originality. It will benefit a lot in the long run, and teach us that our creativity will be recognized more by following these rules.

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  14. This is a great topic. As students, teachers have always ingrained in us the importance of paraphrasing. But with summarizing we are not compelled to expand our creativity, rather we are enclosed to what seems to be summarizing. I can honestly say that analyzing and thinking in ways, never before my mental creativity has expanded far beyond my own acknowledgement. Teachers must allow students to explore their own creativity, often times we are refrained from doing so and many individuals have so much potential when thinking creatively it is rather astonishing. For me, I consider plot, and summarizing to be merely garbage we must think beyond our own capacity and we will be internally enlightened as to what we are capable of accomplishing.

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  15. Dr. Rich,
    I once substituted for a high school freshman English class. The students were in the middle of reading Romeo and Juliet. While reading an Act in class I noticed a lot of them had their laptops opened and were following along on “No Fear Shakespeare.” I sighed, because I thought they’re already too deep into it to even tell them that there’s no need for that silly site. I sigh again today, because I know I should have said something. It’s never too late to tell students that there isn’t just ONE interpretation for literature. I too was fixated on using “No Fear Shakespeare,” when I was in high school. The last Shakespeare one we read, Othello, was the only time I didn’t use it. I made inferences about the book that my teacher never thought of, but seemed to enjoy. For once I wasn’t paraphrasing or “regurgitating” a summary of Othello, I was speaking from my own thoughts about what I felt they were saying. I really enjoyed the line you mentioned that naming the site “No Fear Shakespeare,” emphasizes on making Shakespeare someone to fear. I really thing the students, and even teachers, overstressing about the “language being different from ours” really stirs up a panic in them. “To be or not to be'" the overly quirky English teacher that tells my students “Shakespeare is amazing, you’re going to love him,” “that is the question!”

    -Alessandra Finis

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  16. Dr.Rich,

    This post reminds me of when my English classes would read Shakespeare's works from the no fear Shakespeare series and all our individual interpretations would go out the window. I detested reading the books in the class. It sucked having our interpretations completely discarded because it wasn’t like the cookie cutter summary found everywhere online. I would have liked to have voiced my opinion on the pieces I had read in high school instead of being spoon fed their meaning. This is just another instance of how education can feel more like a drill session than a way for students to express themselves. I wish we placed more value on creativity, self-expression and originality more. The way this systems works, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were many brilliant minds who weren’t able to get their voices heard. I don’t think it’s coincidence that some of the most brilliant beings of our history didn’t attend school or quit the education system. Education has become suffocating for those who yearn to express themselves fully. I hope that with time we can have an educational reform that emphasizes and nurtures student learning from a place of wanting to see them grow. I believe that the future generations will bring those changes.

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  17. AHH PARAPHRASING! It was my favorite thing to hear in high school. I never looked at it from the perspective that you are looking from but I must say there is a lot of truth to what you are preaching! Much of the reason I loved to paraphrase was because 1. I was a lazy high school student who didn’t value my education, and 2. Because it allowed me to give all of my answer in a short piece without going into specifics which at the time I thought I loved. OBVIOUSLY now I can’t live without the little bits of information and detail that make a piece more enjoyable. I think what shifted was my appreciation for details because I realized that it is where the reader connects with the writer. I guess plenty of teachers rather have the paraphrase for not falling asleep while reading their student’s work purposes. They are as bored of grading and reading lifeless papers as students are tired of writing shitty papers without any exciting details. I am thankful that there are professors like professor Rich that allow students to see how much abuse we’ve endured through the education system. As a future teacher, this experience is a gold mine because it will one of the foundation of my teaching beliefs.

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  18. I couldn’t agree with you more on the topic that making paraphrasing an obligations on given assignments assigns a higher level of authority and legitimacy to what is being referenced, and I hate entertaining the idea of paraphrasing because there have been a number of times where I question what I am referencing. I won’t lie in saying that I have outsourced for information to complete an assignment in the past, but that was either because I was totally ignorant of the subject matter or I felt that. However, more times than not being given the opportunity to reflect or explain, just as I am now, is the ultimate invitation to offer your opinion, to speak your mind on the matter of something while going off of the “proclaimed” authority. To suggest paraphrasing can be an invitation to make use of someone else’s work and make sense of it in your own words, but in the end it’s still someone else’s work that is the focus of the task. Your words aren’t truly your own in the end, and if you can; offer your side of the story it doesn’t really feel like you’ve taken something away from a given experience, in fact, it diminishes the experience and stunts the thinking process. Much like you say in your syllabus, “This course is an opportunity to develop yourself as an original thinker. Any papers that rely on summary, paraphrase, or plot outline will not be accepted for a grade”, that should be the case with every class. Never try to make someone else’s work your own, but rather let it solely inspire/influence you to have a more unique outlook on whatever it is you’re focusing on.

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  19. Dr. Rich,

    I could not agree more with your last line, "then why have Shakespeare at all?"
    Some of the most important subliminal messages are hidden in the actual raw, physical text. There are lines to read *between* the lines of any Shakespeare work, and even those words can be interpreted a myriad of different ways.
    By a reading a plot overview or a summary, an individual is quite frankly robbing themselves of a wholesome Shakespearian experience. As we discussed in class last week, is the balcony scene a tender love-scene (as described in shmoop or spark notes), or is it a manipulative sexual coercion?

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  20. Dr. Rich,
    I understand the reason for needing to paraphrase when it’s appropriate. I’ve had classes where they wanted a paraphrasing of a poem, but they would also ask for your own interpretation. That’s when paraphrasing is necessary because you do need to give your reader context in order to explain how you interpret a poem or story. However, I’ve always hated writing anything that involves complete paraphrasing. Even though I’m putting the author’s work in my own words, I feel like I’m still copying them. Nothing feels like it’s mine, and what's mine is in small doses. Writing reveals the type of person we are and how can a reader know the writer if everything is paraphrased? I want my ideas to bleed into the paper, and not have someone else’s take over. Another issue with paraphrasing is creating a fear of misinterpreting the content. Students like myself have a fear of being wrong, and I never want to hand in something that I was unsure about. Sometimes it feels easier to check SparkNotes to see if your right, but you also fail yourself because you don’t trust your ability to understand the text. And if your opinion is different from the professor it’s alright. Students need the freedom to write what they want, and not use what someone else writes. Paraphrasing is needed when called for, but students should be expected to be the main force in a paper.

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  21. Dr. Rich,
    I have to start off by saying that me and paraphrasing have a love/hate relationship. Sometimes I find it very easy to paraphrase and then my own thoughts just come to me to include in my writing, but other times, when I try to paraphrase I just cannot come up with anything! During those times where I am having difficulty paraphrasing, I am tempted to just take the sentence and just use it as a quote, but I know that it just will not work in my paper. In high school, I am very guilty of using all of those summary websites such as Sparknotes, Schmoop, and No Fear Shakespeare, and I thought they were great. I never fully understand everything that Shakespeare wrote and I always depended on those websites to teach me about his plays, but it has only been a month of your class and I have learned so much more than I ever did on those summary websites. It really is a whole different world when you actually sit down and take the time to dissect sentence for sentence and word for word. I have more appreciation for Shakespeare and his works. It absolutely creates more pressure to try and take a sentence and try to just create meanings from someone else's words, it isn't always worth it.

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  22. I have never understood the point of paraphrasing things, not only does it take away from the original writer, it dumbs down something that a reader could otherwise get if they just stopped being lazy and thought a little harder. This is similar to being “confused” because you are failing to understand something initially the way it is presented to you , you present it in a way that makes sense to you, summarizing something that was already stated. Not only does this kind of suck, but it takes away from another creative way you can be inspired to write something else. Summarizing and paraphrasing are hindrances because they are more harmful than helpful in the writing process. I am definitely guilty of a lot of the behaviors presented in these blog posts, but the first step is admitting you have a problem. I definitley have been appreciating your posts for bringing light to issues and topics that most people overlook

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  23. This reminds me of the episode of SpongeBob Squarepants where Squidward tries to impress his rival, Squilliam Fancyson, by pretending to own a fancy restaurant. Desperate, Squidward recruits his only option, SpongeBob, to be the waiter. SpongeBob clears his mind of everything nonessential to the role of waiter. When asked a simple question he wasn't prepared for, he has a complete meltdown. He forgot his own name.
    We, as students, have been programmed into thinking that our own original thinking is flawed. We clear our brains of our own thoughts and regurgitate what we know our teachers want to hear.
    Those plot summaries were key to giving the teacher what they wanted- the right answer- and also key to our receiving a good grade. Suddenly having to 'search' for my own thoughts was eye-opening.
    My biggest take-away from the entire semester seems like a no-brainer, but it made a world of difference to my writing. It was: which lines speak to me?
    That simple question changed my writing forever.

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  24. Unpopular opinion here: I don't actually hate sparknotes. I think it's great for a shorthand reference. Sometimes I hdon't have time or true interest to read something, and shmoop or sparknotes or what have you work for a good short hand explanation / summary of whatever text I haven't read.
    It's not a substitute, and never will be for your own comprehension and experience of reading something yourself. Paraphrasing is, in my opinion, great for communicating with others, but not for actual learning value.
    There's a base value understanding to be offered through reading summaries, but not a thorough one; that would come from exploring your own thoughts.

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  25. With paraphrasing it is a good thing, but at the same it is bad. With paraphrasing especially if something like Shakespeare or poetry where something maybe interpreted by you differently than if it was someone else. Shakespeare with paraphrasing you get only half the real meat of what can happen in the play. With paraphrasing it can be something along the lines of describing Romeo looking at Juliet. If you were to paraphrase the lines it could something as simple as Romeo, found Juliet hot and sexy. If you actually read the play and describe the scene in great detail with how she walked, the playfulness in her eyes and cherry look of her lips the smile that showed white pearls that were once hidden. Poetry can interpreted differently if someone uses paraphrasing as well. If someone paraphrases poetry there can be many things that get loss in translation. What I am saying is that paraphrasing while good if having a normal conversation between someone who has little to no idea what it is you are talking about and then paraphrasing the plot to them to give them an idea of what this poem or play is about.

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  26. Dear Dr. Rich,
    I see paraphasing as a road that is cut to two different diverting paths. One can be helpful to you in ensuring you get home safe and quick, while the other leads to this dark foreboading environment that could put you into harms way. Paraphasing is like that with how it can give you the basic essentials of a story, but that just the starting point of the journey. Now since you have the basics, you have to dwell deeper into the story and get not only the core themes and elements of the show but look for your own perspective when reading the work. I must admit that during high school I was very guility of going on websites like Shoomp and Sparknotes in order to catch up on what the stories was about. Unfornatelt plot summaries isn’t going to get you far in the academic world. As a theatre major, we aren’t asked to just have the basic knowledge of the character, we are expected to knwo everything about the character as if we were him or her. The same applies for Shakespeare especially when writing paper cause that makes the process much more easier that trying to strench out four pages with filler. Thank you

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  27. Dr. Rich,
    I found some of your phrasing to be incredibly poignant: “let's emphasize that Shakespeare is someone to fear.” Particularly in my experience taking The Comedy of Jersey Errors on tour, I’ve heard the idea that Shakespeare is someone to be feared quite often; however, this is usually accompanied by the always-lovely “…until I saw such-and-such a production,” or “until I figured out what to do with such-and-such a scene.” It seems that the best way to overcome Shakespeare-phobia is, for lack of a better phrase, to do the damn thing – and, in the words of one of my theatre professors, to “find your way in.” To “find your way in” is to discover your personal link/connection/glorious epiphany in the script and let that guide you into its core, which, of course, can’t come from Shmooping. Your method of allowing students to develop their own paper topics is extremely conducive to this; even as a student who loves Shakespeare, I found that zeroing in on an aspect or interpretation of a script guided me into a much deeper understanding.

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  28. Paraphrasing is a helpful technique to understand the concept of a story or play you've read, but it defeats the purpose of your entire experience. Also, using Shmoop and SparkNotes ruins the whole experience as well. When you read something on your own, you create your own ideas and form your own opinions. You also interpret things different when you read the original works of something. For instance, reading Shakespeare's original works compared to the translation on SparkNotes is 100% not the same thing. You are now reading someone else's words, and someone else's translation, which is someone else's interpretation. You're now reading what they're thinking. But if you read the original Shakespeare works, you can use your imagination and your own ideas as to what Shakespeare meant. Don't get me wrong, SparkNotes and websites like that definitely do come in handy if you literally have no idea what's going on, but those websites are suppose to be used as guides, you aren't suppose to use that as your reading. Being able to use your own thoughts and really focus on certain areas brings you to have a stronger understanding of what you're reading.

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  29. Dr. Rich

    I think that sites like Shmoop and SparkNotes serves for good background information. I know that students abuse it and use those sites rather than reading the works, but I think that if they are missing the plot altogether when reading Shakespeare, they really have no choice. I think that as long as students are doing the reading and use those sites as comprehension tools, they are trying their best.

    With that said, I do have a huge problem with using such sites. As I said, SparkNotes should help. I does not mean that everyone should get every thought from it. By depending on these sites, students miss the details. They miss the poetry that goes into the language. They miss the opportunity to think for themselves. SparkNotes strips us of our own individual interpretations and thoughts. Isn't interpretation what Shakespeare and poetry is all about?

    SparkNotes takes away a student's ability to think for him or herself. It dilutes the material altogether. Summarization sources are a good reference in the event that there is confusion about the plot, but using it as a substitution for the real reading is inexplicable. Shakespeare is still an important figure in human history between the drama and poetry of it all. How can we know how we would truly feel about a work like A Midnight's Summer Dream if we were to trust some general site feeding us their own thoughts without leaving room for our own speculation?

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  30. Although I have been guilty of only looking for the popular meanings of literature and using plot summaries I have never shmooped. I have never gone online on Monarch Notes, Cliff Notes, or Spark Notes because I have actually read the entire book. I have also been guilty of reading without truly trying to understand the literature deeply because I knew the English teacher would tell me the correct meaning in class. I only wanted to remember the correct information. I have dyslexia, so my mind often thinks about things in a unique way. I thought I have been giving literature my all by merely reading to read.
    I will admit that my favorite part of literature is the plot and characters and I do not see that ever changing, but I am excited to delve into the deeper understanding of literature. I think the biggest thing that plot summaries and paraphrasing has robbed me of is my creativity and personal understanding. Even though I have always loved literature I do feel I have always resented that one way of interpreting the literature is considered what the author intended. No one but the author knows what was intended. This assumption also puts down other people’s interpretations. Literature should have more than one correct answer and should mean something different to every person. Everyone is different and has their own personal experiences that they can use in interpreting literature.
    I plan to be an English teacher and I wish to encourage all my students to tell me what they think the literature is telling them.
    By: Kathleen Conaty

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  31. Dear Dr. Rich,
    I would like to say that I agree with a lot of the negative things that you had mentioned about paraphrasing. But first, I unfortunately have to admit that I used to use websites like Shmoop and Spark notes in order to get a better understanding about the literary work that I read back then, including some of Shakespeare’s work. I only did this because I was taught by my teachers that there is only one correct answer for a literary work and that I must find it in order to write my paper; which is of course consisted of paraphrasing. But now things changed, I never noticed how these websites really limit one’s thinking about a literary work. A literary work can be interpreted in many different ways; and there is never a right or wrong answer about the way you think of a literary work. I wish I was taught that in school rather than being told to repeat and to paraphrase what the right answer could be according to the teacher. I personally hate paraphrasing for many different reasons. First, it is extremely tedious, tiring and uninteresting to write. Second, I feel like it limits my train of thoughts because I am just regurgitating someone else’s interpretation about a certain literary work. And finally, it is simply boring! I hate repeating someone else’s ideas but in my own words just for a grade. To conclude, I respect these two sentences written on paragraph five stating “Paraphrasing teaches them that literature is somehow objective, something to do for someone else's approval--for the grade. Paraphrasing creates a power struggle, a get-it-right atmosphere in the class--frustrating to all”. I could not agree more with these sentences enough.

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  32. Dr. Rich,
    I feel torn when it comes to this topic. On one hand, I completely agree with your sentiments about paraphrasing and the premise that there are many ways to interpret a literary piece. Students should not be required to regurgitate what the professor believes to be the correct meaning. Personally, I truly enjoy English Literature - exploring texts and interpreting the potential meanings behind them, which is why I chose it for my content area. And so far, I have been extremely lucky throughout my college journey to have professors that allowed me the opportunity to explore my own ideas and interpretations. But this is a far cry from 20 years ago when I was in high school! There was no such thing as interpreting a text! It was simply, "Read this and then summarize and tell me what it says in your own words." I do believe though that our current education system places more of an emphasis on creative thinking, and I see it with my own children who are in middle and high school. But sadly, the reality is that teachers are still required to prepare students for standardized testing, and so while it is not the entire focus, I do not think the task of paraphrasing will disappear anytime soon.
    Now on the other hand, when it comes to websites like Shmoop and Cliff Notes, I believe that students can benefit from using those sites as supplemental tools. My son is a junior in high school and he has always struggled with reading comprehension, as well as understanding and interpreting a text. Many times it has left him extremely frustrated. But there have been times where he has read a brief summary on one of those websites, and then he developed a better understanding of the text and from there, was able to dig deeper and further develop his OWN thoughts and ideas. As long as a student is not solely relying on those sites, I think they offer some benefits, especially to the struggling student.

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  33. Dear Dr. Rich,
    This is a very important point in our student life. When I first encountered college (the first time around- in the 90’s) we didn’t have the tools we have now. I didn’t even owned a computer, every research had to be done by reading books (yes, encyclopedias too). Now I agree that the motion of getting online, searching a topic and then copying and pasting is not the way to get the best education. Students will not learn a thing this way, neither will they learn how to have an original thought. It is such a bland way to go through life, you don’t get to put those cerebral neurons to work… what a waste. And lets not get started on the retention rate, how would you remember something unless you take it apart, break it down, examine it and put it back together? I do have to agree with what other people have posted here, these websites are of certain use if you know how to use them. For example, sometimes I have to read a book and I like to go online and get a glance of what the book is about, what other people thought of it, the summaries, etc. and to me, gathering this information can help me better understand the task at hand. Now that I am back in college (26 years later) I have to learn my way around, what is new, how to do things quicker and although I still go to the library and physically read (and research) books, I still see benefit in these shmoop and spark type of sites. I guess the important factor here is that a student should not paraphrase verbatim another persons work, but put your own thought into your work, make it yours. After all it is your individualism you are nurturing and it is your opinion you are sharing.

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  34. Dr. Rich,
    Throughout high school, my classes were always told to do plot summaries. I do not think I ever wrote a paper for an English class that did not involve paraphrasing or summarizing. And to be honest, it is boring to write papers that had to be plot summaries. We were never really taught to get creative with our writing. Sometimes, it can even be harder to write a paraphrased essay because you don’t really get in to and the reason why is because it is not stimulating. For me, writing comes easier when I get some freedom in the writing because I become more interested. Last Friday, in your Shakespeare Survey course, you were teaching the class about the sound and the rhythm of Shakespeare’s writings. Talking about how the sound of the words in the poem can show you how the character is feeling, just like you mentioned in the Hamlet example. It was truly mind blowing how you can dissect a single line in such a way. I feel like if I had learned that in high school, it would have made writing about Shakespeare’s work more fun and less dull. Getting rid of paraphrasing will definitely help students get more excited and creative about writing.

    Sarah Zebro

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  35. All of my literature classes would give me anxiety. I would always get asked “what does the author mean” or “look deeper into the text”. I wanted to shout from the top of my lungs “OKAY LET ME JUST CALL UP THIS AUTHOR AND ASK THEN WHAT THEY MEANT”. Paraphrasing is hard. It taught me to just retell the events and plot so I could get that approving head nod from my professors every students yearns for. I admit this new way of looking at Shakespeare’s work seemed silly at first. Patterns? I honestly just thought he wrote in a different version of English to just romanticize his work. But his poems and plays itself are works of art. The recurring themes and phrases give a deeper meaning that paraphrasing could not tell. It gives me a different way of reading and gives my brain something to do than to just boringly read word from word and not understanding the whole thing. Sparknotes doesn’t teach you to look for these things. They just retell you the events that happen in the play. They don’t tell you why they were worded the way they were. Why the words were placed the way they were and why certain words need to be emphasized more than the others to get the real in depth meaning.

    Jazmine Howard

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  36. As good as paraphrazing somthing can be it also stunts a our growth in creative thinking. By paraphrazing all the time your not really getting a chance to think out side the box. personally i think it kinda kills the conversation when people can show there own ideas and input new ideas in to a topic. Its alsways nice to hear the creative thinking of others. I get that for some people it is perfered and easier but for others it shuts down the creative minds of others which in most english classes were taught to just paraphrase and be mindless zombies which in my opinion isnt fun at all.

    From daniel kohl

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  37. Nadia Radwan: I really agree with this blog post. I genuinely struggled a lot in the 6th grade because we would have to write 100-word summaries on every chapter we read. Younger me was so confused and perplexed by this, and quite frankly just overwhelmed. I would cry to my mom and say “but there's so much, how am I supposed to know what’s important and what's not?!” And I mean that question still holds, because like you said Dr. Rich everyone's interpretation of what's important in literature differs and students are pressured to all intrinsically know what the teacher's idea of important is. Summarizing literature was so hard for me that I just wouldn't submit them. I remember creating many different ways to summarize the chapters that this teacher would ask for. Looking back on it now I would say my most comical attempt was literally rewording every sentence in the story. The funny thing is I actually really loved the stories we read, I remember that being the class that introduced me to taking reading seriously and challenging my reading level. I would of my own will go and buy 500-page books and 13 book series, I would skip-free period to sit in that same teacher's class to read. I still can't understand how a teacher who managed to make me love reading so much also managed to make me hate it. I would have things I really wanted to discuss the books we read like foreshadowing I noticed or possible themes I thought were extremely interesting but was never able to because there was no room for it. Ultimately the summaries she made us do were a complete waste of not only our time but our thoughts, in that they prevented our freedom of thought and expression. I still am amazed by what a discussion on even a single stanza poem has on not only me but the class. Our exchange of ideas is just an incredible resource for everyone, I remember hearing things being discussed in classrooms that may not have been necessarily useful for any assignments or papers at the time, but that I was able to use in another class for a completely different assignment. I mean that right there is just amazing and quite frankly why I enjoy school so much. Overall I still struggle even now with paraphrasing. I am still unable to say with confidence that I summarize correctly and I still am nervous when I am asked to hand in an assignment that asks this of me.

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  38. I must admit that plot summaries are mostly what I have been taught so I’ve never needed to write any other way. In Dr. Rich’s class I have learned many new techniques to make my essays better. In one class she told it is possible to write a paper based on one word or just one line in a poem. I thought that was crazy but I tried it. Our first essay was on Timon of Athens. I wrote about the first word that was spoken by the protagonist of the play, Timon. He said the word “imprisoned.” So I based my whole essay on how this one word foreshadows the rest of the play. In the book How to Enjoy Shakespeare, Fallon talks about how literature becomes more interesting when people can relate to it themselves. So I related the imprisonment of Timon to the imprisonment people in modern society may be facing. I didn’t think that I would get more than a paragraph out of writing about one word in the whole play, but I was able to get two pages, and I haven’t finished yet. The fact that the paper only had to be two pages long was beneficial because there is no room for “fluff.” The point must be made and it must be made quickly because two pages is not a lot. We also talked about so many other ways to write including binary opposition and content analysis, but I chose to take a risk and just focus on one word.
    If I were to hand in my paper to any other English professor that I’ve had, they probably wouldn’t like it because it has nothing to do with plot. If I submitted that paper, the professor would probably think that I don’t understand the text because I didn’t read it. But what they don’t understand is there is no “understanding” Shakespeare. He isn’t around for us to ask him what “To be or not to be means.” I have already learned a lot in this class, and I can honestly say that I am very proud of the paper I’ve written. It is outside of my comfort zone, risky, and it’s not boring.
    Priya Jhaveri

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  39. I completely agree with this blog. In highschool i was always taught to summarize, or paraphrase, never to take someone else's work or you would be caught with plagiarizing. I always thought highschool was going to prepare us for college but in the sense of writing papers it didnt do that. As an english major ive used to many different techniques in writing that wasnt nearly remotely close to the way that i used to write in highschool. I will admit i would use schmoop and i would never read the books and i made it out of highschool completely fine. I put not effort into my papers and still managed to do well. The only issue with that and the way were taught in highschool is that you cant write like that in college. You will fail and no one will take you seriously. I have always been someone who loved to write and i still have such a passion for writing and the techniques that i use now make writing that much more fun and exciting. personally i love the technique of the "paper clip". it was wasnt until i got into your class that I ever heard about such a thing but I love it. This technique makes it easier for us as individuals to write about something that we like and have a passion for. It gives us the opportuniy to put our opinion and twist in our papers. As i write this first paper I feel good about it and there is no such thing as a perfect paper and no matter how strong of a writer you are there is always room for improvement but its nice to be able to take one little piece of the play or story and compare it to something else. As a future english teacher i certainly will not encourage my students to ever schmoop or paraphrase. I will of course make it clear to never plagiarize but i will give them the opportunity to compare the story or play to something else that they are passionate about and see how well they write. When you are forced to write about something you dont care about, which for me is shakespeare, if you are allowed to put your opinion in it and take risks about the story it was makes it more engaging for you as the writer. I have never been a fan of shakespeare and going into this class scared me but seeing all the different techniques we can use to write our papers makes me feel more confident about writing about shakespeare and his plays. Im not afraid to take a risk and say why i dont agree with this or that, and it makes the readers more engaged too because they get to see other peoples opinions and takes on the story. I am very glad I am no longer the same writer that i was in highschool because writing can be fun especially if you can write about what you want even if it is related to something you dont really enjoy.
    -Melanie Azevedo

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  40. I’ve always liked Shmoop because of its casual tone and simple breakdown of plots and characters. It made the stories I read feel less daunting to unravel, like those of Toni Morrison, Faulkner, Hemingway, and especially Shakespeare. I was never one to skip the reading, but I always checked Shmoop afterwards to make sure I got it “right”. I thought it was really interesting when you said “Paraphrasing teaches them that literature is somehow objective, something to do for someone else's approval…”. It made me consciously realize that literature is made for an audience, for me. As a theatre person, I know that my art would mean little to nothing without an audience to observe and interpret it. I also know that, as a theatre person, I’m more excited to hear about what people think of my show, what really struck them, and what they understood from it, rather than giving them a list of motivations behind the designers’ and actors’ choices. How have I never understood that literature is the same way? That all art is the same way? Of course, a writer, painter, composer, designer etc., have their own points of view, but 9 times out of 10, they’re more interested in the conversation that arises from their piece. Rather than degrading it to black and white conclusions, people should be more willing to experience art for themselves, whether it be on stage, on canvas, or on paper, opening their minds to find meaning on their own.
    -Adalhia

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  41. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  42. When it comes to writing a paper for a class I often struggle with getting started because I have in my head all of the professors expectations (which often differ from professor to professor) therefore I am not coming into the assignment with a clear head or any room for my creative juices to flow. Paraphrasing is also something that I struggle with because again I get caught up with questions like: Did I use enough of my own thoughts on what this person said so that it is not considered plagiarism?, Did i fully understand and restate in my own words correctly? Do i need to cite this? etc...I've found that it's easier for me to just start to type my own ideas then go back into the text to find support for my idea rather than read somebody else's idea and piggy back off of their idea. I just try my best to not paraphrase so that I am nowhere near that fine line of paraphrasing and plagiarism.

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  43. I'm not gonna lie -- I google, spark note, for dummies, etc. I also research, research, research and research. Like anything else, there is good and bad in all. De todo un poco. I like to go to the easy read resources to get my basic explanations, especially when reading Shakespeare, because it's almost like another language. I would do the same if I had to read something that contained a lot of French words I didn't recognize. I think that's fair. However, when it comes to really getting at Shakespeare for my own personal enjoyment, I read his work first. I read it, see it, hear it, feel it, even at times it feels like I can taste it. That's the part you miss if you only read schmoop, etc. Don't rob yourselves, friends. PLEASE read and enjoy for yourselves.

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  44. Dr. Rich,

    I agree with your post and the idea that the education system sets us up for failure when it comes to analyzing literature. As you said, they are confined to a litter box of one meaning, of right and wrong answers, following plot, and characters. They limit our minds to these simple things as if that is all we have to look at. Their tests and quizzes on plot summary make it easy for us to turn to things like No Fear Shakespeare and Shmoop. Literature is more than that. It is about the words on the page and reading between the lines, not just plot.

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  45. I believe that Shakespeare Survey is the first class where the literature has been completely up to my interpretation. Usually, professors or teachers tell us what the work is about, or is “supposed” to be about according to them. Yet, no one really knows what is exactly meant by the poems of some late writers. So truly, can anyone actually tell us what we think he or she meant is wrong? Well, even though the instructor can write comments on our papers telling us that we missed the mark or misinterpreted the literature, did we really? We have been educated to stick to the mainstream views of writing and that what the teacher says is the only correct answer. However, that is never the case when it comes to poetry and other forms of written expression. This actually happened to me in college freshman year. I thought that my English classes would be different and more flexible when it came to interpreting a text, but I was wrong. I do not recall what the name of the class was, but we had an assignment based on a reading we did all together. She explained to us what she thought the author meant by what they wrote and we basically had to rewrite her thoughts in essay form. She interpreted the writers work positively when I thought it was more of a negative tone emanating from it. Therefore, I wrote from my perspective and was told to redo it because I was “wrong”. I was upset of course, but I needed the grade so I followed her directions.

    -Madeline Romero

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  46. Dr. Rich,

    I am furious. Furious because it is my junior year of college, and I waited this long to take your class. I was able to get by in classes such as American Literature and British Literature, where my professors were heavy on paraphrasing. However, there were a few classes like "Reading and Writing about Literature" and "Creative Writing" that required me to be a little bit more, well, "creative." I struggled with those two classes in particular, because high school programmed me to paraphrase. I had the Holy Trinity on my side- Sparknotes, Gradesaver, and Shmoop...I thought I was unstoppable! Looking back on it now, I regret ever taking those sites seriously. From this point on, it is going to be my own interpretation. Yeah, there may be times where I struggle to understand what going on in a certain text, but from now on I am going to break away from these websites and interpret the text myself. No longer will I continue to "get by" in college.

    Thinking about it now, it would be a disgrace if I continued to use such websites.The whole reason I am going to college is to become an English teacher. If I were to base my teaching off of somebody else's work, then that would say a lot about who I am. When I start teaching, I am going to make it known that using such websites is strictly prohibited. I do not want kids to make the same mistake that I made in high school. I missed out on a lot of opportunities to exercise my creative mind, and I do not want the future generation to do the same.

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  47. I think there's good and bad about paraphrasing. I understand that some believe that it limits our creative thoughts and process but I think it can also help focus our ideas and topics. I've been taught to paraphrase and to use my own creative thoughts. My six grade teacher taught me how to use both in a way that still keeps my own creative thoughts seen throughout my paper. I also believe that too much paraphrasing should be to a limited, so that the reader sees what you the author has to say. Ashley Coates

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  48. Dear, dr. rich

    Paraphasing i feel really can hurt our writting. Throughout most of my education i have been taught to just paraphase and i see how big of a problem that can be now. This also shows how much they have destroyed my creative writting process for all those years because they wnat to take the easy way out.

    daniel kohl

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  49. Dear Professor,
    Being a student of one of your classes, I finally understood how paraphrasing could be damaging in writing a paper. Even though I am aware of it, sometimes I go back to my old ways without realizing that I am doing it again. The paperclip method that will always be forever in my brain helps me to focus on one thing, specifying, using my own idea and my own interpretation. I am beginning to comprehend to what it means to write a critical paper. I am glad that Professor Rich taught me that and of course with many and many practices I will be able to write a decent papers as any college deserves. I learned that with just one word can mean many things, being specific is the key, and in writing a good paper. Let’s not forget to use creativity is what makes the reader interested in what is written. I really appreciate my college education and I noticed that all this time never really knew how to write a great paper without taking any chances to be me. Paraphrasing does limit creativity, and it does make very dull to read. I appreciate how you gave the workshops and helped me to write a more constructive paper, not many professors cares, or have time to help.

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  50. Before this class I never really noticed how much of my work in other literature courses consisted of paraphrasing. Now that I think about it, it doesn’t really make much sense to me at all. How can anyone appreciate a work of literature when they have been trained to focus on the plot and stay on the surface instead of diving deep into the work itself? I completely agree with the idea that students feel pressured to summarize and paraphrase because they worry about tests, quizzes, and grades. Unfortunately, many of us have been taught from a young age to value grades over education. It’s hard to stop and appreciate the literature when you are so worried about the letter grade you’re going to get. I have to admit, I’ve used almost all of these summary websites like Shmoop, Cliff Notes, and Sparknotes at one point in my life to prepare for an exam or an assignment. Did I do well on these assignments? Sure, but did I appreciate the literature, challenge myself, or express my creativity? Not at all. Your class, Dr. Rich, has taught me so many new techniques when reading literature like really paying attention to the sound patterns and language. These are strategies that I find myself applying to almost everything I read now. My favorite part of this blog post is when you say “What makes literature literature is that it is infinitely generative. That it resists reductio ad absurdum.” Paraphrasing and summarizing puts boundaries on a subject that it limitless.

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  51. Paraphrasing takes the meaning out of literature. Students stop thinking and just start typing for a fast answer. Some don't do anything don't even read the book thinking why read 200 pages when I can read a page blurb. There is so much that you miss with reading a summary online. It's giving up on something you don't even know if you would not like or struggle with. However seeing the notice in the syllabus would have scared me as a student. Even if I read the story and have my own thoughts there are other points I might have missed I do check online. Just seeing that warning would make me think automatically that the teacher would be strict. I agree paraphrasing temps people to plagiarize it's all right there they wrote it so well and you agree! Once you read someone else's work you try and mimic what their thoughts are and that is selling yourself short. If students are expected to interpret literature there should not be one clear answer that pressures us to all have the same thing. I've had teachers that have shut me down for my meaning of something in literature next time I wanted to see what others had and check online. I think the teachers demeanor really shapes the class if they want genuine work they need to be more open to varying interpretations.

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  52. Dr. Rich,
    While I do agree that using websites such as Shmoop, Sparknotes, Cliff Notes, etc. are not the best when it comes to learning about Shakespeare, I also think that it is not bad in the sense that it can help someone who is having difficulty understanding what is happening in the text. Paraphrasing is something that has been instilled in us since grade school where teachers wanted you to summarize the text and find out what the author meant. They wanted an interpretation without really getting an interpretation. For me when I was in elementary school, my teachers did not like said websites but wanted us to paraphrase the story and give what they thought deemed a ‘rightful’ answer. Summarizing and paraphrasing does take the joy out of learning about Shakespeare because you think you would understand but you don’t. I have learned through this class how to really interpret what is being read and learn that there are many different meanings and understandings. There is no right or wrong answer. However, I don’t think students should rely on these websites for an exact meaning of the text. It is good on giving background information and having a better understanding of the text, it does however reduce the material to plot points and generalizations. You miss the real meat of the story without really reading it.

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  53. You make a very valid point Professor. Just as I have mentioned in a previous post of yours, all we (students) were taught in most of our academic careers was to just summarize the play or the book. Never did I get to pick out a detail in the work that I thought was interesting to elaborate more on it. I could not really go into the depth and meaning with a certain characteristic with the story because we had to stick to the schedule of keeping with the curriculum. So, I would have to keep that idea and sentiment to myself and more on. But, thankfully that is very much not the case in your class. You give us that freedom to have our own creativity insights on the work that we are admiring together in class. That was a very startling thing in the beginning, not only for myself but for the entire class who have never had you before. Because all our lives we were always given the prompt on what to summarize but then you gave us that freedom to write about what we wanted. Which was pretty funny in the beginning because we all looked around at each other like we just woke up from being unplugged from that cocoon in the Matrix.
    Grace Carranza

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  54. copying and paraphrasing takes away from your own writting and you only hurt yourself in the end. The whole point is to grow and make new ideas and not just copy and past anothers. Theres no origionality and the only one your hurt is yourself in the end because your taking away from those incredible origional ideas that you may have yourself. summarizing doesn't help at all either because it doesn't prove anything. It doesn't even show that you know anything or learned anything from the topic at hand. Your need to be origional and grow. You only taking away from your creativity.

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  55. Nadia Radwan
    I actually got an ad today on youtube for essay bot. Which according to them writes your essays for you, free from plagiarism. I definitely gave it the side eye, and was honestly just judging the hell out of anyone who uses that. I mean put aside morality, it's just plain stupid. They are claiming in this ad that it takes works and paraphrases them. I mean how could you fall for that. That is 100% plagiarism. And what teacher would want to read that crap anyway? So you would basically prefer to spare yourself what? 2 days of drafting and research, pay someone to write a shitty paper, and then fail anyway? You're probably going to have to redo it anyway, that is of course you don't get caught, or if they even let you redo papers. I mean teachers are usually always able to tell writing styles and what someone wrote and what they didn't anyway. I think that actually writing the essay yourself and putting the work is way better. Not only do you feel proud but you know that even if you do poorly it's not because you took the easy way out.

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  56. Out of all these online platforms, I’m familiar with Spark notes the most because I was introduced to this website when I came to the United States. I was a very confused twelve years old because i barely knew the language and I definitely did not know what was going on in class most of the time. My classmates introduced Sparknotes to me in 8th grade. That was how I learned most of this stuff. It became my go-to when I was lost. What I had not realized was that I was being fed someone else's opinion. I was not given the original source of these passages. I noticed that my classmates and I always had the same answers to all the question, but my teachers knew and did not do anything about it. I decided to take things into my hands and started reading. Idod did not care if I understood or it was for adults, I read whatever I could get my hands on. I started doing the same thing with my school work. I enjoyed reading and I became happy to have my own opinions about different books and articles we read in class.
    Priscilla B.




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  57. My whole educational career I was taught to paraphrase. Over the years it just became the norm to me. But it wasn’t until I started college, that I met some professors who really challenged me and encouraged students to write creatively. Dr. Rich, you are one of those professors. You’ve shown us that our knowledge and opinions DO matter! Besides I feel like as a teacher reading papers all day, it be more interesting reading peoples actual work versus reading the same information paraphrased a million times.

    On another note, this whole thing about using Sparknotes, Shmoop, etc. really conflicts me. I do believe that websites like these are good tools if you want to find out about a book. However, I don’t think they should be used in any way, shape, or form when it comes to using them as a source for writing. Those websites aren’t credible sources. A lot of these websites allow people to submit information. For example, Wikipedia lets anyone write information on their website, so you can never be sure if the information your receiving is 100 percent correct.

    Overall, I’m grateful for posts like these because they challenge me and inspire me to have the same values when it becomes my turn to be an educator.

    Arlyn A.

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  58. While I don't remember a lot of the specifics from my grade school to high school education, I do remember being discouraged from regurgitating plots and summarizing texts. I consider myself extremely lucky to have gone to a high school that encouraged this, but more importantly too, to have high school English teachers who pushed for this kind of thinking and analysis.
    I never thought of paraphrasing as a way to tempt students to plagiarize, as you stated, but upon reading that a lot of pieces of the puzzle fell into place for me! I've always had trouble paraphrasing in essays and instead resort to quoting sources because I am so afraid that something I write will be considered plagiarism. I don't think we've been taught how to properly paraphrase any kind of source, whether it's an academic/scholarly article or a piece of literature. How do we, as students and writers, write something in our own words without disrespecting the author OR potentially stealing their work? I think this is something that needs to be explained, however, in all my years of writing essays, I have never gotten a concrete answer to this. Is there one? Or is it something that should be done away with entirely? As you implied, it really seems more like a trap than a helpful skill in writing.

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  59. I completely agree with Melissa Faitoute. While I do vividly remember my high school teachers encouraging students to simply synthesis the plot into a five sentence summary, I now see how narrowminded it seems. As a Education major, I understand why this was done, due to Common Core Standards and regulations, but I do recommend readers and English majors to find unique and abstract angles in a text. I also tend to "quote in bulk" on my essays as I fear plagiarizing a writer by mistake. But keeping the cliché in mind, "great minds think alike," how do various writers, who have been birthed with the same mentality and writing etiquette, differentiate from each other without overlapping on at least a few points. I truly wonder if this age old question will ever be solved. If anyone knows the answer, please feel free to respond.

    Thank you,
    Robin Gill

    ENG-3215-01

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  60. In terms of my opinion, I see the use of Shmoops, Cliffnotes, Sparknotes, and so on as a source of resource to better guide us students and reassure ourselves that we are understanding a literary work accordingly. I would rather review Shmoops of a literary work then let my mind wonder off forming a wrong interpretation of a literary work. I know the point of avoiding these resources is to help us be an original thinker but if I feel like my interpretations do not make sense and I were to voice out my opinions to another person it would just be a confusion situation.

    When you broke down how to interpret the meaning of “to be or not to be,” I did not realize some of the common observations that you have pointed out. For example, the repetition of to be, comparing the word “or” to a seesaw, and the sound frequency of the words. If I were to learn more strategies or analyze the strategies commonly throughout my work, this would then be a great start for me to become an original thinker in my own time without the use of Shmoops and Cliffnotes.

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  61. From my experiences, primary education was at least partially ruled by fear. If you want to live a good life, you have to do well in school. To do well in school, you have to get A’s in all your classes. To get A’s in all your classes, you have to study hard, memorize what you have to memorize, synthesize information, pray you do well on tests, and above all else don’t plagiarize. If there was one lesson to take away from my high school History and English classes, it was that plagiarism should be avoided at all costs. Plagiarize, and you fail the assignment, fail the class, get kicked out of the school, and probably ruin your life forever. I know this sounds like a slippery slope (or a fear of impending doom), but that fear paralyzed me for much of high school. How do you handle a text without plagiarism? The solutions offered was paraphrasing and summarizing; handle as little of the text as possible to keep the plagiarism demon away. Personally, I think I am quite good at those 2 tools; I have avoided the block quote whenever possible, and at this point in my education I feel comfortable synthesizing information. Never the less, I still feel the ever-present fear.

    I can understand why students fear Shakespeare. For high school students, especially those who have to start studying at 7:30 am, it can be daunting to take in Chemistry, Biology, Calculus, History, and English studies (let alone understanding them). Hand them texts from over 500 years ago like Beowulf, The Odyssey, Gilgamesh, and anything from Shakespeare (as World Literature classes so often do), and the problem is exacerbated. The works may be poetic and hold a lofty reputation in the western canon, but they are difficult to understand by modern standards. If the goal is do well in a class and get an A, then students’ priorities are not so much to appreciate Shakespeare’s skillful use of iambic pentameter as they are to get quick answers on important details that will be on the next test. What happened in the story? Who was the protagonist / antagonist? What was the theme of the play? What do half of these words even mean? I admit to having used Spark Notes and No Fear Shakespeare myself during high school when reading Julius Caesar, if only to get a general gist of the plot while still analyzing the text. Until today, I had no idea what a Shmoof was; I have not used education help services like that in quite some time. Education can feel like work and stopping to appreciate the arts can be difficult if you have a 7:30 am class to attend.

    The problem, I have felt, is that studying Shakespeare has been mandatory in primary education for so long. The idea of introducing important literature to the masses while they are still young is a good idea in concept, but the execution has been less so. In trying to make old texts understood by the lowest common denominator, the works have been simplified, overexplained, and /or robbed of their potential artistry. I remember that in my 9th grade World History class we used a version of Romeo and Juliet that had two different versions on opposing pages: the original, and a more modern “translation”. The “translation” lacked iambic pentameter and did away with some of the original’s poetry but was still difficult to read. I loathed being forced to read Romeo and Juliet, where it felt less like appreciating a piece of work and more like dissecting a frog. Shakespeare Survey was an elective for me, and I hope that I can find some means to better appreciate Shakespeare.

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  62. This post really hit home because I have always gone through school and most of my college life paraphrasing and it’s interesting to see a professor not look for that. Paraphrasing has been such a big part of everyone’s writing and yes it makes sense to a degree but thinking and making your own thoughts into your papers is a one of a kind trait. Not saying it is impossible but I would much rather take the time to form my own thoughts and write it down rather than taking what someone else has thought of and just rewording it. To me this takes more skill to be original but in the end is more rewarding because you can say this is your work and your own ideas. I feel by eliminating paraphrasing it opens up your mind to new ideas that can make you become more creative as a person and not so dependent on others thoughts. This would help a lot of people when it comes to their career and being more creative and having an open mind. I’m looking forward to this semester without paraphrasing and in the future I plan to use less paraphrasing and more of my own creativity to really use my full potential when it comes to writing. I feel this could be a real learning experience for me although it’s gonna be a struggle it will still be very good to learn how to form my own thoughts and put them on paper.

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  63. Hello Dr. Rich, so as I read this I wanted to disagree with most of it, but I definitely see where you are coming from. In high school, I had a very tough time understanding Shakespeare and it was to the point that, most of the time, I wouldn't do the reading for the next class because I knew I would not understand it anyway. I do owe a lot to those websites you listed because, without them, I would not have passed those lessons/tests. I know now how horrible it is to paraphrase Shakespeare, but those sites are needed because teachers in high school really don't know how to explain Shakespeare's language. They know how to paraphrase it. When they can't explain it that way, the students resort to other means. It is an unfortunate fact of high school. Those websites were my teachers because I felt like no one really understood it, so I had to find out some information some way. I can understand how students, like iCarly, feel when reaching out for answers. It's frustrating when teachers can't help you the way you need and when you feel like the internet is all you can turn to nowadays. However, I can't tell you how happy I was when Teresa Choate gave me a few handouts for Period Styles of Acting. I understood exactly what I was saying and who I was talking about. I actually wanted to cry. I have never in my life realized how brilliant Shakespeare was until that moment and it really did change my life as a student and actor. I can't wait to see what Shakespeare Survey has in store for me. I hope, one day, those websites are not needed, and teachers realize and teach the beauty that is Shakespeare because it really does change lives.

    -Sofia Feggulis

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  64. While I agree that’s paraphrazing isn’t the most useful technique to teach younger writers, I strongly disagree that it is a form of plagiarism. That’s a very strong word to use for summarizing a passage, not to mention a very harsh view point, since plagiarism is a crime. The way I see it paraphrasing doesn’t need to be as robotic as you make it seem. When I was in high school and even my freshman year at college I was thought how to paraphrase correctly, which is something I believe you haven’t seen. It’s just a way of summarizing another writer it’s a way to understand the work yourself. It’s the idea of writing it down and piecing together your thoughts, it beneficial for the student to understand the work they are reading, or to give you their interpretation of the work. If I just give my opinion on a poem without paraphrasing, I’m not only limiting myself from fully understanding the work but also you by not having you see my point of view on the work. Shakespeare it’s self is summarized, perhaped even paraphrased for all we know. So for one to make such a bold claim that paraphrasing is like plagiarism is absurd. Paraphrasing can add authentic to your work and will allow any reader not just someone who has read the play/act/work to understand what you are talking about.
    -Hajrah Malik

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  65. After reading the syllabus for this course, Shakespeare Survey, and viewing how papers and presentations cannot include summarization and paraphrasing I began to feel worried, yet excited. I have been given countless assignments that instructed me to give a summary of a text the class read. I recall having difficulty with summarizing/paraphrasing certain texts due to the uncertainty of what occurred in a specific scene or questioning if I interpreted the story correctly. Due to this, I can admit that I have utilized websites such as Shmoop, SparkNotes, and Cliff notes. I find that these websites give me insight on what occurred in the text and can lead me into summarizing/paraphrasing the correct information.

    On the contrary, after reading your blog I can agree that these “plot review systems” have prevented me from formulating my own ideas. I always believe that there is a strict right or wrong answer due to what I view online. I believe that my use of online summary websites prevents me from creatively thinking. When professors distribute assignments that permit me to utilize a topic of my own or include my opinion on a topic I often freeze because there is not a firm right or wrong. Although I am used to guidelines, I am excited to see what this course has in store as it will permit me to tap inside my own thoughts and ideas without leaning on and basing my writing off of what I view online.
    -Bailey Vick (3215-01)

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  66. Paraphrasing is something that has been in many students lives for a long, long time. We weren't necessarily taught to go Sparknotes a paper, but never told not too. Sometimes my classes I didn't even need to use Sparknotes because my teacher basically told us word for word what the book was about and depicted all the main parts of the literature. I am not blaming paraphrasing on teachers, but they certainly do not help with babying us.
    Paraphrasing in my eyes is also not always a bad thing. Taking someone’s ideas word for word is obviously not right and should not be allowed, but asking people for help to understand something to me isn’t entirely wrong. When I read “To be or not to be”, I had no idea what it meant. I still look at it with a funny face and wonder what am I actually reading. Would it be nice to ask Shakespeare what he actually meant, yes, but can I, no. Sometimes when reading something I can break it down so many ways and still not truly understand the meaning of something even with my own creative mind. I believe going to other sources for a little help isn't a horrible thing, but not something a reader/writer should depend on.
    I am excited though to start exploring my own ideas in your class of Shakespeare Survey. I feel your class will help me explore and excel in interpreting text and finally understanding it through my eyes. It will take time to fully grasp this talent, but I am excited to finally put all words on a paper that I completely thought of and not someone else.
    - Antonia Errico

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  67. Paraphrasing has its pros and cons for sure, but paraphrasing is not the worst thing in the world. For example, if a class is having a discussion on Shakespeare’s Macbeth and a student wants to participate because he read something about it once, is he not allowed to because he doesn’t remember the what he read word for word? Paraphrasing here would allow the student to participate in the discussion as well as use the information they had stored from the article they read. However, I do understand where the line should be drawn because you should be looking into the text and finding your own interpretation of Shakespeare’s words. There are many different ways to interpret Shakespeare’s words and the student should interpret it into their own words. Schmoop, No Fear Shakespeare, Cliff Notes, etc., they are all useful tools when someone is in a pickle and they really do not understand what Shakespeare means. I personally have a very hard time with Shakespeare, but I choose not to use these websites because I want to be able to get everything I can out of his words. I do know some people though who rely on these websites because they truly do not understand what “the correct interpretation” of his words. There is no correct interpretation of his words, I believe, because everyone is going to take something different out of his writing; for example, to be or not to be can be taken as a) he is trying to choose whether he should take his life or not or b) to be present or not in this situation. Clearly, after reading the passage a couple times, the reader will see that he is debating this extreme decision of to kill himself or not, but someone who is not familiar with Shakespeare may not get that at first unless they ask for help from someone.

    -Victoria Matthies (Shakespeare Survey 01)

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  68. Out all literature classes I've taken in the past, this one has me the most intrigued. First, I must be completely honest after viewing the syllabus, I like most, was a little curious about the part where copying and paraphrasing, when writing papers were completely out of the question. However this gives me an opportunity to become more original in my writings. Which applies highly to me as a theater arts major. In my honest view, paraphrasing, while it isn't bad it wasn't great for me in a lot of ways either. Just look at a few of my grades from middle and High school. In closing, Dr. Rich if you're reading this I hope in the future to take a lot from your class lessons and apply them later in life.

    -Jordan Brown (Shakespeare Survey 01)

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  69. I agree with what this post is trying to say. Paraphrasing is an easy cop out. I'm not gonna lie, I have paraphrased in papers a lot. It's an easy skill to have to fill in space for a paper or answer so I can get a faster, easier grade, like most who paraphrase do. Sometimes I paraphrase a question in an answer to make a complete sentence. I paraphrase when I can't really explain something in my own (professional) words that wasn't already in the text. But what that does is that it prevents students from really understanding the text because once we do it and we get a good grade out of it, it's not really important to us. In high school, if I forgot to do a reading, I never even used SparkNotes. I either read it quickly or hoped that I didn't get called on.

    Basically, I agree that paraphrasing, though useful sometimes, is a skill that holds us back from deeper understanding of text or visuals. I'd love to go in depth and analyze something. It's a lot more interesting than repeating what the text said, like what this reply was, but that's because I can't find any other words to describe why I agree with this post. I tend to be a very unopinionated person sometimes, so that and my fear of sound too pretentious stunt me from delving into literary analysis. But that's my problem that I'll deal with.

    -Joe San Agustin (Shakespeare Survey 3215-04)

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  70. Wow! First and foremost, I do believe that growing up, I have been taught to mechanically think and write. The process that I was taught throughout my early years of school has been in a series of straight lines rather than the freedom to curve, twist, and bend those lines with creativity and critical thinking. In high school, I did not pay attention or embrace the time I had with Shakespeare because I was always forced to memorize lines or come up with a broad answer to what Shakespeare meant when he said something like "to be or not to be." Which by the way, was no where near the depth of analysis that is broken down by Dr. Rich instead it was accepted to give an answer close to Bob's "to do something or not to do it."
    Well, that is the difference between University literature courses and High School literature classes....in high school we were asked to memorize definitions or take the easy way out and take side of the popular response of Shakespeare but in college we are required to critically think and analyze a piece with more depth and self integrity to expose our individual ideas and thought process rather than copy someone else's.
    Finally, I do believe I am going to take a lot away from this Shakespeare Survey course and apply it to my own life. I also hope to fall in love with Shakespeare and terminate the reason of why I never loved it in the first place. I feel like my story of getting to know Shakespeare was a romantic tragedy within itself that I will embrace for the rest of my days.

    -Marilyn Hernandez (Shakespeare Survey 3215-04)

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  71. Wow! First and foremost, I do believe that growing up, I have been taught to mechanically think and write. The process that I was taught throughout my early years of school has been in a series of straight lines rather than the freedom to curve, twist, and bend those lines with creativity and critical thinking. In high school, I did not pay attention or embrace the time I had with Shakespeare because I was always forced to memorize lines or come up with a broad answer to what Shakespeare meant when he said something like "to be or not to be." Which by the way, was no where near the depth of analysis that is broken down by Dr. Rich instead it was accepted to give an answer close to Bob's "to do something or not to do it."
    Well, that is the difference between University literature courses and High School literature classes....in high school we were asked to memorize definitions or take the easy way out and take side of the popular response of Shakespeare but in college we are required to critically think and analyze a piece with more depth and self integrity to expose our individual ideas and thought process rather than copy someone else's.
    Finally, I do believe I am going to take a lot away from this Shakespeare Survey course and apply it to my own life. I also hope to fall in love with Shakespeare and terminate the reason of why I never loved it in the first place. I feel like my story of getting to know Shakespeare was a romantic tragedy within itself that I will embrace for the rest of my days.

    -Marilyn Hernandez (Shakespeare Survey 3215-04)

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  72. Ever since I could remember, all my English teachers would ask “what does the writer mean by this?” or “what do you think he/she was trying to say”, but by reading your article, you reminded me that poetry is not supposed to be dissected in that way. You are supposed to read the writing and enjoy it. Unless you are the author, you really don’t know what the meaning behind the writing is, and that’s how it should be. I don’t think that summarizing or paraphrasing should be allowed in a classroom setting. It does not teach the students anything, and will not expand their knowledge. Being able to express your opinion is something that should be worked on in the classroom. Even if it is the most ridiculous outlook on a piece of literature, a student should be able to feel comfortable to express it and even write about it. The classroom should be a safe haven from any judgment. Making every student write about the same exact thing gets rid of all individuality and turns them into drones. I agree with everything that Dr.Rich touched upon in this article, and that teachers should not be asking for summaries or paraphrasing of literature. Let students expand their mind rather than keeping them in a “shmooping bubble”.
    - Jessica Ryan

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  73. Fernando Faura (ENG 3215*01)
    I agree that paraphrasing takes away from the source material. It would be similar to trying to convert an English sentence into a Spanish one and expect a coherent sentence in the end. That wouldn’t be the case because information would get lost in translation. However, I don’t completely rule out paraphrasing. I feel that it can be conducive in the proper context. Paraphrasing should be used collectively with the source material. This way the reader will have the best of both worlds by being able to enjoy the mechanics of Shakespeare's language patterns and also by being able follow along with the plot.

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  74. When it comes to Shakespeare, I always found that paraphrasing has both its positives and negatives. On one hand the paraphrasing can be beneficial for new Shakespeare readers. It can make it easier for readers to understand the premise of the poem or play. For instance, when paraphrasing “the Balcony Scene” in Romeo and Juliet re-wording the speeches allowed me to understand what was happening in the play—that the lovers were declaring their love for each other. However, the issue that comes with the paraphrasing, as you addressed, is that it puts the readers and performers into a box. It doesn’t allow us to interpret the works into our own thoughts and feelings. It makes the works appear like they have only one meaning and one meaning only, which I can’t imagine any writer, especially Shakespeare, wanting their readers and performers to get from their works.

    When you reword the poet's works you miss out on all the different interpretation of the speeches, characters, and themes. As we've discussed in Shakespeare Survey, there are many different aspects that can come out when just looking at one word or phrase. It can say something about the character, their relationship, and the truth about the world they are living in. When you paraphrase or summarize these words you're taking away the incredible feelings and interpretation of these speeches and putting them into a shorter sentence that won't have the same effect. The paraphrasing prevents us from digging deeper and deeper into the works and seeing the story and characters from different points of view. This is really an issue with websites like SparkNotes, where they usually give the list of characters and only give one version (a very dull version) of who the character is. For instance, when looking at the character of Stephano from the Tempest on SparkNotes he is categorized with Trinculio as such:

    "Trinculo & Stephano - Trinculo, a jester, and Stephano, a drunken butler, are two minor members of the shipwrecked party. They provide a comic foil to the other, more powerful pairs of Prospero and Alonso and Antonio and Sebastian. Their drunken boasting and petty greed reflect and deflate the quarrels and power struggles of Prospero and the other noblemen."

    Although the description of the two characters could be taken as a true interpretation, it is too simple of a description and does not give the characters as much credit in the play as they may deserver. After have taken the time to read the play, discussed the play and characters in class, and written a paper about it (using the play itself as a source), I can honestly say that there is more to the character of Stephano and summarizing the character, as shown in SparkNotes, is doing to him a disservice.
    - Anna Lee

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  75. Being that I am a Psychology majored student, paraphrasing is something that I am used to and completely comfortable with. In majority of my psychology classes I am often asked to read and break down the reading assignments by paraphrasing what I learned in the text and comparing it to my own life experiences in the subject matter. I appreciate the fact that in my Shakespeare Survey course I am challenged to step out of my comfort zone and try something new by using my imagination. I often find it very challenging to do so and hard to make 4 paged paper based on my own imagination because I don’t consider myself to be a creative person. At first I found this very stressful and hard to do, I thought of quitting many times and just accepting my grade for what it was being that this is my last semester and I am overwhelmed with so much work but I feel like this course has challenged me as a writer and pushed me to break away and find myself in my writing.
    What I appreciate about Shakespeare and the Shakespeare Survey course which I am enrolled in is that it allows me to use someone else’s work (Shakespeare) and create my own meaning of the text. I am allowed and challenged to be creative with the characters lines and determine the characters emotions and meaning through them. I am also able to play around with the words and create my own visualization out of them. I also appreciate the fact that no other professor through out my four years of college has pushed me in my writing skills. No one has ever questioned my writing ability and I have never received a grade under a B on any of my writings until this course which made me really step back and look at my writings in a very different perspective.

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  76. Paraphrasing is not a negative thing, it just revokes a young reader of this generation to think deeply of a situation. Today, professors in college are dealing with a mixture of two different generations. Generation Z and the millennial, which have two different ways of thinking when it comes to the perspective of life. People would say generation Z is the lazy generation, born into the life of cellphones and technology, never remembering how things were before rising of electronics. For this type of generation, those group of kids will use paraphrasing as a tool to get out of doing the actual work for a paper or an assignment. As for most millennial, they would actually use paraphrasing as an opportunity to understand a situation more and then give a more in-depth input as to what they think. I personally was born right in the middle of the divide between millennial and generation Z. I was born in ’97 where there are multiple debates to see where would I lie in the generation scheme of things. I remember personally how life was without smartphones but I was so young so of course, technology still had a big impact on me. I personally love to paraphrase and read paraphrases because when it comes to most papers, it is easier, to sum up, your explanation. But if the paper really does need an in-depth view than it will be easier for me in that paraphrase to split my thoughts a bit more. I could easily say for Hamlet that he was just talking about whether or not he wanted to commit suicide in that soliloquy but if I break it up as you did in the blog post then yes it could make more of a compelling view as to what it means. Compelling but will be boring to read that to the new generation rather than just going straight to the point.

    ~Asia McKnight

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  77. After reading the syllabus for this course, Shakespeare Survey, and viewing how papers and presentations cannot include summarization and paraphrasing I began to feel worried, yet excited. I have been given countless assignments that instructed me to give a summary of a text the class read. I recall having difficulty with summarizing and paraphrasing certain texts as I often found myself questioning if I interpreted the story correctly. Due to this, I can admit that I have utilized websites such as Shmoop, SparkNotes, and Cliff notes. I find that these websites to help me in gaining insight on what occurred in the text. Due to this, I would be able to grasp and write about the correct information in my traditional papers where professors don’t ask for my own thoughts.
    On the contrary, after reading your blog I can agree that these “plot review systems” have prevented me from formulating my own ideas. I always believe that there is a strict right or wrong answer due to what I view online. I believe that my use of online summary websites prevents me from creatively thinking. When professors distribute assignments that permit me to utilize a topic of my own or include my opinion on a topic I often freeze because there is not a firm right or wrong. Although I am used to guidelines, I am excited to see what this course has in store as it will permit me to tap inside my own thoughts and ideas without leaning on and basing my writing off of what I view online.

    Bailey Vick

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  78. Where did you find information about the positive site, this post? I just read some articles on your website, and I really like your style. Thank you for the millions and keep working effectively.and also found some interesting topic is sign up for apple pay and get $5 iTunes gift card

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  79. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  80. Dr. Rich,

    Every English professor I have ever had has always been the "paraphrase-get to the point-and only their interpretation is correct" type. It is extremely frightening as a student to put yourself out there and give your own opinion only to have it completely judged and ridiculed, leaving me embarrassed to say anything out loud in class ever again.

    Being a new Shakespeare reader, I think maybe paraphrasing is not a bad tool to use. It can make it easier to understand the poem or play. I can see your frustration with paraphrasing and how it dulls the mind of the readers and does not allow readers to experience literature the way the author might have intended. Literature is meant to be fluid, with no right or wrong answer because everyone views life differently because of their life experiences. I grew up in a generation that was taught just to pass the standardized tests, so as a student I’ve learned to paraphrase and use it as a guide to understand the literature from the professor's point of view.

    I think it is a great idea to “retrain” our minds in class, and use our brains to really push ideas out, I think it will benefit us all, not only as students but also in our careers. As intimidating as it may be, I look forward to exploring the "right side of my brain" as you say and turn on the light that has been dimmed for so long.


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  81. Victoria Savino
    ENG 3215: Shakespeare Survey

    Dr. Rich,
    I am so glad that you assigned this blog post for this week because it directly relates to what some of us were experiencing in class last week during our group work on imagery. A lot of us have been trained to read something, and paraphrase what we read for professors whether it is in a paper, a group share, or an independent sharing. We are so inclined to just read an assigned reading in order to be able to share with the professor or our classmates what we read. We have never been asked to read every word within a four to five line stanza, and truly analyze it and feel what we are reading, as we did in our assignment in class last week. It wasn’t until I truly got to sit down with the work, and read line by line to truly understand it. I am so pressured to make sure that I quickly read something that is assigned, so I am prepared to be able to answer questions on the assignment, or pass the test or quiz. It is in your class that we are truly able to take the time to read the reading that is assigned, take it all in, and truly understand what we are reading without the pressure of having a quiz or exam on it. So thank you for that.

    I will be the first to admit that I used to live on paraphrasing of texts that I truly just could not understand due to the language it was written in. I truly felt like I had a hard time and would never be able to understand some of the major works of literature that we were assigned. It was in high school that I remember being handed Hamlet, which I called “Hamlet for Dummies” because on the left side of the book, it was written in old English, and on the right side of the book it was paraphrased. Truly looking back on that book, which at the time I enjoyed, I see how much I truly missed out on. I was thinking about that during your class last week, where you would read a stanza, and then you would paraphrase it as if someone else was reading it and breaking it down. When you paraphrased it, you truly lost all of the emotions and things that the work made you feel. You basically just got a gist of what was being said, but you were missing out on all of the extra details that made it more worth reading.

    I really like the quote you put in your blog post from Robert Frost, which reads, “Poetry is what gets lost in translation.” I truly relate that to paraphrasing, especially when you were paraphrasing in class. When you were “summing up” or “paraphrasing” what we were reading in class, we were truly losing some of the major that was written within Venus and Adonis. So much gets lost when you rush through reading something, and don’t truly get to enjoy and experience what you were reading. If there is one important thing that I have learned within the two short weeks in your class, it is that reading major works of literature is all about what you feel as you are reading it, and not just reading to get an assignment done. I can’t wait to see what else I learn as the semester continues on.

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  82. Dr. Rich,
    I am really glad that you included a post about paraphrasing. All throughout my years of going to school and being educated, I was always taught that there was nothing wrong with paraphrasing. Yes, paraphrases still had to be cited but it was supposedly making it an easier read for the reader who, in most cases, would be teachers/professors. However, after last weeks class, I have realized that there was no need for me to Shmoop things up , especially if it had to do with Shakespeare. All of the beauty in the writing and language is wasted.

    I don't deny, these websites provide us with a modern American translation of Shakespeare, which used to make it easier to understand. Now I feel that maybe I just didn't have the patience to understand. After reading Fallon's chapter on Language and reading Venus and Adonis, I am slowly able to understand what each word could possibly mean. Obviously, I will never know what Shakespeare really wanted to say, but as a 21st century reader, I am glad that I can read it and relish each word and line without having to miss out on the poetic writing style.

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  83. Greetings Dr. Rich and fellow classmates,

    During last weeks class when Dr.Rich had mentioned to a fellow student that he had paraphrased, I looked down at my own stanza and realized not only had I also discussed what I "thought it meant," but also I had spent all of Venus and Adonis trying to twist Shakespeare's words into my own understanding and perspective. For as long as I can remember, despite writing papers and learning the rules of the English language, all I ever discussed was paraphrase/summary.

    The unknown often features feelings of fear, discouragement, or in some, even excitement. In this instance, it coaxes a deep, excited breath as I look toward my own feelings, and further test my academic skills as I pick apart the literary devices used.

    Looking forward to it,
    Ellen

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  84. I think what draws people to looking up through Sparknotes or all the other analysis websites is the difficulty of Shakespeare. Some of the teachers don't understand it themselves and have difficulty teaching the students. Some don't explain Shakespeare or teach students how to understand Shakespeare and it leaves the students confused and having to look at MonarchNotes or Sparknotes.

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  85. ENG-3215-04

    To be completely honest, I have used SparkNotes and other websites for summaries of poems, plays, etc. I've always found it extremely difficult to read works of literature that are written in Old English and it is often too much work for someone as lazy as me to continuously google or look up vocabulary words that don't seem to make sense in certain sentences. I also realized that I tend to use websites like these for shortened summaries because I don't have a lot of patience or I tend to just read through the passages simply to read it, not to understand it. However, after class last week, I've realized the importance of actually sitting down and engaging in the literature to understand what is written and how there is no one way to interpret something. Also, for a long time, I've been taught to paraphrase sentences or lines within literature rather than to interpret it. I feel as if it is so ingrained that it becomes hard for me to deviate from paraphrasing to finding multiple different interpretations of a specific line(s).

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  86. Dr. Rich,

    Every English class I've taken, both in college and in high school, have encouraged this paraphrasing idea and paraprashing is a slippery slope into speaking for the author. In this classes case, we cannot speak for Shakespeare or say for sure what he meant by his verses. While it helps readers get the main point of a section of writing, it eliminates the art of the play or poem. When you eliminate paraphrasing it opens both reading and writing up to more thorough ideas and allows us to focus more on the art rather than our insticitual tendency to interpret what the author is saying. As an English major, I am very guilty of paraphrasing but I am very appreciative that this course helps focus more on creative writing rather than a cookie-cutter mindset of interpretting readings.

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  88. Dr. Rich,
    my whole life I have been asked to find what I thought certain things meant in a text, I was told to make whatever I was reading mine and try to find out what the author meant, I was told to find clues, follow and connect certain things to make MYSELF understand the message behind the authors words. But the truth is that no one can know with certainty what the author means in a passage unless they directly say it. Sadly every time we read we cannot call the author and ask "hey, do you mind telling me what you meant? I was told to find out and I really don't know what you mean", with that said, I think that during last class you made us understand it is completely impossible to find out whatever it is that authors mean exactly, and we should just enjoy what we are reading without further concerns. It is crazy how before you actually brought that up I hadn't realized my whole life I had been doing the same thing trying to find out what something meant instead of enjoying the actual work in front of me. I want to a point where I can enjoy and completely take in the stories without worrying about the shmooping question "what does it mean to you?"

    Arianni Rodriguez
    9/17/19

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  89. Dr. Rich,

    It is interesting how you describe paraphrasing as a prison. I have never thought of it that way. I had always thought of it as clarification through confusion, when you are unsure of the author's meaning, to try and push through and paraphrase a gist of something that everyone could agree on. But I have never really relied on paraphrasing too much. I have always enjoyed dissecting texts and coming away with my own interpretation. I guess I just thought that for people who might have had a hard time understanding a text like Shakespeare, paraphrasing might be necessary in order to make sure they "understand what is going on in the text. However, I think that is misguided. The last class we had proved this. I truly did feel freed in the class discussion, and I could tell my classmates did as well. It was freeing to be so specific and take so much time to really look at the sounds and letters that make up the words Shakespeare wrote so carefully and creatively. To approach his words with the same creativity and care that he used to write them was an awesome experience. I look forward to many more classes in which we move away from paraphrasing.

    -Kathleen Peregrin

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  90. Dr. Rich

    For me, Shakespeare is very intimidating. It is almost like reading a different language. However, when I do take the time to analyze the text, I find reading Shakespeare enjoyable. It also helps reading along with the class and hearing the input from others. It never occurred to me to read Shakespeare, with rhythm and tunes in mind. I'm sure with practice, the intimidation of reading Shakespeare will be a think of the past.


    Robert Rand

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  91. I find it so crazy how years of being in school I have been taught to automatically go into paraphrasing mode when reading Shakespeare or any poem. Instead of reading a piece of literature and experiencing its beauty and meaning. I have learned that when I paraphrase I take the fun and excitement away. Trying not to paraphrase is similar to breaking a habit, in which for me breaking this habit will be difficult.

    Zoe Nardacci

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  92. Admit I think paraphrasing has a purpose, It can be a sea map to help prepare for the full exploration on the ocean of meaning...that was a forced metaphor I know. But still analysis and interpretation is tough, for many students it involves something most dread...

    exposing how you feel, and that can legit be difficult, doubly so for anyone with mental issues or such. I know still paraphrasing is the mcdonalds to a actual interpretations feast.. but sometimes you got to have a poor framework to make something good~.

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  93. After reading this blog post, I have realized for how many years we have been taught to paraphrase, guess what the author is trying to say, and come up with a plot summary. I am not very familiar with Shakespeare’s work and I always assumed that his work would be challenging to understand therefore, my automatic thought was that I can simply do a quick search to understand what Shakespeare’s literature is about. I now realize that it is almost impossible to get a personal observation of the emotions expressed and observe his usage of words by using a plot summary website. Literature is how we believe it is expressed. How we feel and what we experience while reading it. Reading a plot summary takes all the excitement away. Paraphrasing makes it boring and takes away the imagery and excitement. As we continue to learn more about Shakespeare's work, I hope to open the creative part of my brain to read his work in a more exciting way rather than the "this is what he meant" way.

    Jacqueline Perez

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    1. Jacqueline, I totally agree with you! I used to hate Shakespeare as I didn't understand the meaning of the words. Moreover, I used to look on internet for the summary of them. However, after being in Professor Rich class, I understand how to read Shakespeare properly by word to word. Now, after understanding Shakespeare language, I began to love Shakespeare.
      - Nimra Mian

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  95. Dr. Rich,

    I agree-- reading through a paraphrase is quite a boring activity. And overall, it does take away the beauty of the original work ten fold. However, my philosophy on it is, I see that reading through or creating your own paraphrase summary is sometimes a necessary step for students in their process to decode and understand a line in a poem or a paragraph from a soliloquy in Shakespeare's plays. Students should not rely on them as their primary source of information because they would miss out on how the author carefully crafts his/her work. But using them as a means to check your understanding is not a bad idea in my opinion. As long as you can look back at the original text and then appreciate the words on the page more with a more confident overview of what is going on, then by all means, look at a summary.

    Alex Toscano

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  96. When writing things that do not interest me or are out of my comfort zone I am guilty as charged. I find myself turning to forums or others for help or their input on the task at hand. It is extremely difficult to write about something that is not completely understood. This is my first time really coming across a course where paraphrasing is not wanted. I am not against it, but it is most definitely a different writing experience. It has been drilled for years to paraphrase and summarize, and I never thought anything of it because that was what I was told to do. It creates an environment where my thoughts and ideas are not welcome because “this is what it says, this is what it means and that's it”. Well what if I interpreted the text another way? Is my interpretation wrong because it is not the same as my teachers? There are many times I found myself in that position. I was taught that the text meant one thing and one thing only, but I had a completely different idea. But, that idea was not valid because there was only one meaning behind it being taught. It is a constant struggle for me. I find this class more open to my ideas, and allows me to explore my ideas while finding support for them within the text.

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  97. Dear Dr. Rich,
    I am very grateful that you put this idea out there. I do believe that paraphrasing kills creativity to some extent. It limits our interpretation for literature and restrain our imagination from going wild. When I paraphrase an article, I do not focus on interpreting the article anymore. I focus more on finding the correct word so I can rewrite it. It is actually counter-productive regarding understanding the articles. This feels like prison in some way. However, it is sad and awkward because a lot of college classes still require us to do this. The essence of a piece of literature cannot be reflected and understood through paraphrasing. We have to start putting more focus on really dig into the readings.
    reply

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  98. In highschool I never liked reading Shakespeare because when it was time to discuss a certain piece of literature of his, I could never see the “correct” meaning of it. My views were always incorrect and it would always end up leaving me frustrated. Hence when it came time to right papers on it, I would always rely on Google to find my answer for me. Never learning how to appreciate what the piece of literature meant to me. I remember one time in English class my teacher gave me and my classmates a writing prompt where we had to take a simple scenario and write a continuation of that. But when it came time to read our stories aloud we were all apparently “wrong”, we didn’t do it the “correct” way. At the time I was fully discouraged from writing and honestly it killed my creativity. But since your poetry class I find myself diving into my creative mind again. And I’m really enjoying what I find.

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  99. I am starting to see now why paraphrasing is considered such a no-no. In terms of Shakespeare especially, there is no need to paraphrase. We will never know what Shakespeare actually meant or why he said what he said. And Dr. Rich as you had mentioned in class once before, he probably didn't even know what he meant. The reason I love English and literature is because it's not black and white like other subjects. Any meaning can be right, as long as there is solid evidence from the text to support one's answer. But wouldn't English literature lose its charm if everyone tried to find out what the original author of the story/ play, etc. tried to say? There will never be an answer, although no one will be wrong. Each reader should have the freedom to come up with their own beliefs on the story and feel what they choose to feel. No one should be told how to think of a story because of what Shakespeare MIGHT have wanted to say. It's been ages since Shakespeare has left and gone, and there's no point digging into his meaning now. However, there is always time for the reader to relish the plays and its language and use their knowledge of language and English literature to find their own meaning and create a love for Shakespeare. There's nothing wrong in custom-making English literature as long as each opinion is on track and supported by the text itself.

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  100. Dr Rich

    Admit feel paraphrasing can be useful if applied right, It can be a map to help char the sea of meaning a phrase or work has. For me it can help simplify my words, as you can probably tell from my other comments on post you have done my words tend to come out in a jamble, confused and trying to reach a point, by typing and then paraphrasing what I typed it can help me understand my thoughts better.

    Can this be overused? Yes. Can this lead to ignoring the meaning of words? YES. It is a dangerous to overuse, when I type I try to think of an endpoint if I can for my words a Destination to travel too as I sail from words to the next like islands in an ocean. (Apologies forever for this Boat-ing analogy I am using. ) Though if a paraphrase can better allow someone to understand it and act as a springboard for further knowledge in a subject then I can see no real major issue with it;s use if not overdone. ( and I am referring to people reading paraphrases, not paraphrasing itself)



    (and no, shall never apology to that awful pun)

    From James Patti,

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  102. Dr. Rich,

    I relate so much to what you said about teachers and teaching to the test. As a student studying to be a teacher, I can attest that there are so many aspects of the way I am being taught to teach that I disagree with. In one of my current education classes, we are learning about the importance of teaching students to summarize and the helpful uses of effective summarization as a way of testing and assessing students. The textbook for this class is a perfect example of a flaw in the system. There are great theories and practical tactics for effective teaching in this book, but the emphasis on paraphrasing and summarizing is astounding. Even an education textbook is teaching future educators to beat the originality out of students. What is so frustrating about this situation is the fact that these teaching methods are reflected in assessment of students. So even if teachers do not agree with the methods being used, they need to teach a certain way so that their students pass the test. Because if their students do not pass the test, it reflects poorly on the teacher and the teacher's job could be in danger. The entire system is oppressive and prescriptive. Frankly, it makes me angry to be paying money to be educated in this way. I do not want to waste my money in order to learn how to manipulate my students to produce carbon copies of the same text.

    -Kathleen Peregrin

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  103. Dr. Rich,
    I honestly didn't think that paraphrasing was that bad. I would refrain from doing it on a paper myself.I do agree that the reader will get more out of a text when they learn line and thoughts verbatim. This requires discipline that many of us have not prepared for. As far as Teachers I can understand why hey have to be more tolerant of paraphrasing because at least there is some comprehension that is attached to the ability to paraphrase and actually know what they are talking about. So maybe it is acceptable in elementary school but I is something that we have to grow out of as college students.
    Najeeah

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  104. One of my biggest problems with education is that many English teachers assert that their interpretation of a piece of poetry or a book is the correct and only interpretation. I feel this contributes to the prison of the mind tha you speak of! Paraphasing is another imprisonment. We are taught and told to practice paraphrasing as a reading and writing skill but it works against creativity and true education. It's easy to spit out a line on what a line or verse means. It's harder to take that line and look at all of the dynamics that make it beautiful and make it art. I am excited to have the practice of kicking the old habits and writing in new ways!
    Edward Wagner

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  105. Dr. Rich

    I admit that paraphrasing is a tough habit to break when it comes to writing about literature. It is what we have been taught from the beginning of our education. What makes it even more difficult is that many teachers and professors believe there is only one way to paraphrase, their way. All professors have different expectations for written assignments which cause difficulty when writing. I am grateful to have assignments that require my own interpretation of literature because there does not have to be a "right" way to do it, as long as there is evidence to help support my claim.

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  106. "Paraphrasing teaches them that literature is somehow objective, something to do for someone else's approval--for the grade" This was my favorite part of the blog this week. I think knowing how to paraphrase is important, as there are times when it is absolutely necessary like when we want to describe the plot of a TV show to our friends. Where it really has no place is in a paper that's asking for an opinion or thought. By the time an academic paper is being written the teacher trusts that the student not only has read the material, but that they can find meaning in it, and paraphrasing does little to convey an original thought.

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  108. Paraphrasing is the opposite of appreciation. It is a way to bulldoze through a piece of work instead of pondering over it. While it’s much easier to write three sentences as opposed to three pages worth of thoughts you lose so much in the process. Especially in works created by some of the most talented writers of all time. As you wrote about in the blog, each time Shakespeare wrote “to be” he carefully chose and those words, while they are not a part of the “plot” of Hamlet, the mean so much to the story. Paraphrasing would erase the hard work that went into constructing and selecting each line written. “Then why have Shakespeare at all?” Why have Shakespeare’s Hamlet be taught in schools instead of Twilight? Shakespeare deserves to be remembered for the way her crafted his works without paraphrasing and lost meanings.

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  109. Dr. Rich I really like the fact that you put the concept of paraphrasing as a prison. Moreover, you are right about the fact that students use websites; such as sparknotes to get the summary of the story and then write an essay on it by doing paraphrasing. The sad part is that they may get their grades; however, they won’t learn anything. In my previous classes, I have attend literature classes. In those classes my professors were really easy with their students. They won’t mind if we would use sparknotes websites to do a paraphrase in our paper. However, this semester, my professors want us to go deep in the literature work, look each word carefully and discuss why that word was chosen and what is the meaning of it and paraphrase it in our own words. Furthermore, we have some exercise activities that help the students understand the real meaning of literature. I was very surprised to see that literature is read and written in a different way than what I have learned in my previous classes. Additionally, this semester the assignments given by my professors are completely different than what I used to have. The assignments are given in such a way that we can’t paraphrase it through helping websites; such as sparknotes, shampoo and Cliffsnotes. Rather students have to use their own mind to look for each meaning of word, sound/tone of it and summarize it correctly. Now, I know that reading literature is not an easy job; you have to work really hard for it, especially when your native language is not English.

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  110. What is the meaning of life? If the meaning of life to be happy? Perhaps the meaning of life is to experience pain so that we can heal, grow, and then finally become happy, shiny, beautiful, people? How about we, as a people, entertain the thought of not being beautiful? What kind of shame would we get? If we introduced this on a stage, would we get rotten tomatoes thrown at us? Or, would people place their right hands under their left jaws while their legs are crossed, tilt their heads to the left, and say, “huh” in a monotone voice. It is all about perspective, and how perspective has been built, and then grown. Shakespeare was a brilliant poet, author, and founder of life. However, to put it simply, he is dead. No longer with us. Modern people - sometimes those - happy, shiny, beautiful people - are the ones who cannot fully grasp that concept. But ah - they are beautiful! And shiny! And happy! Does not every person strive to be happy? I believe that Shakespeare did not. He was happy writing poems and stories. I could bet you my left leg that Shakespeare has rolled around in his grave in response to how people have interpreted his poems. He made the length a certain length for a reason! Perhaps it was due to the way that he was feeling throughout some point in his life. Perhaps the particular piece was in reference to one of his children. Maybe he was hungry, or horny, or horngy! Once again, he is quite irrlevant because, ya know, he is dead! We are not, and there is always room for mature interpretation.

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  114. I don’t personally find paraphrasing helpful when I’m trying to digest a text. I think paraphrasing just puts a limit on what I have to say and makes me feel like there’s some wrong or right answer when in reality how you digest a text is solely on you. Growing up teachers often stressed the importance of summarizing and paraphrasing which often to me feels like in a sense we’re all plagiarizing a bit. I’ll never forget handing a paper into Turnitin and I had a two percent plagiarism percent for paraphrasing a idea similar to another author. I was originally shocked by this instantly denying my plagiarism to my professor afraid to have hi, think I cheated the system somehow or that I took something without credit. The blogpost makes me think about all the work constantly recycled titled under paraphrasing. I wish that more people would stray away from it altogether and maybe open up more space to digest text and not be limited to the same one continued idea of what something can and can’t be about. The process of learning changes when you stop trying to paraphrase and instead you just fill out the text and define it how you desire. I find it difficult for people to never consider the last effects of utilizing Sparknotes and other engines vs just allowing the text to speak and be digested through conversation. You don’t learn anything by taking summaries from other people’s putting them in your words cause you already lost the experience. --Lester 2.0

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  116. Dr. Rich,
    I agree with your post, and I can definitely say that many of my past English teachers had emphasized the importance of the plot so much that it takes away from the actual experience of reading the story. You are the first teacher I have had that wants us to focus on the language and how it is written instead of the plot of the story. I find this to be a nice break from how my other English classes have operated for over 10 years of my life. I have always had to cram in stories so fast that I was never really able to appreciate what I had read. I felt like reading was just a monotonous task to get the basic information that I needed in order to complete my assignments, but you have helped to show me that is not the case. I have always enjoyed reading Shakespeare as I found his stories to be unique over the other stories I had to read, but I have never had a teacher go as in depth about the language he used as you do. It makes me appreciate his work much more and prevents me from looking up summaries online. I do admit that in the past for previous classes I have used websites, such as Shmoop, to help ease my workload and my mind because I found reading to be a daunting and unenjoyable task. However, I have found a greater appreciation for reading since being in your class, and it has only been a few weeks in. While Shmoop is helpful for students that want a basic plot summary, it definitely takes away from the experience of reading the story itself, especially with Shakespeare. Shmoop could never portray the same tones, rhythm, and rhymes as Shakespeare, and it is sad to see his beautiful work being simplified into a boring summary.

    -Jennifer Stavole

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  117. Paraphrasing is commonly used by every college, high school or even middle school student. It’s definitely a needed tool in college specially when it comes to writing essays or research papers. But it also seems to be a double-edge-sword not allowing you think outside the box and only be glued to one simple idea from a text, magazine, website or book. The problem is that most students are too comfortable with paraphrasing, so when it comes to reading a poem or text by an author that wants you to use your imagination and solve a puzzle of words, most students over-think and all they do is type it in the search bar of google and hope they find the “right” answer. Finding the right answer is something students were thought in every subject because if they are wrong, they will fail. Teachers are told to help students find the “right” answer instead of letting students use literature as puzzle and dive in to solve it. “paraphrasing is a tool for instant gratification…” it is because it just allows you to think one thing of the text rather than have multiple thoughts and ideas about it. When it comes to Shakespeare, he’s not asking for the right answer or what a society of students agree, he’s asking each individuals representation of the story through their own personal emotions and personality. Shakespeare is not meant to be a right answer, I believe Shakespeare is meant to be right for you and what you make of it.

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  118. I can understand why when reading the responses, you like more feeling and emotion about the piece that we are writing about due to the fact that there is a significate amount in each stanza alone. So why are the papers you receiving in a bad way boring to read? Students now have all these recourses to help them achieve success but still somehow do not and write papers that resemble just trying to rush and get on to the next assignment. For assignments like these it is best when like it says to kind of go word by word and to go from there. This meaning like it says not exactly plagiarizing but breaking it down and get the feelings and emotions from the play or poem on to the paper that you are writing. But especially with writing an analysis you need to go in to detail about. I think reading this could be helpful to some people due to the fact that paraphrasing can be a useful for getting a deeper understanding of what the play and or poem that was read. But reading Shakespeare you kind of have to go word by understand the tone and the meaning to what he is writing. Most times students do not do this because they do not find it particularly necessary to spend time doing this because it takes longer. I do agree that students should not use the websites to search for analysis or for a summary due to the fact that they are bland and do not give you a clear enough picture that is what Shakespeare is trying to get across.

    Kathleen Weideli

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  119. When it comes to an English or Literature course, students jump to conclusions that it’s going to be a boring class to read stories and summaries what they have read. Of course if they don’t care as much about Shakespeare, they will use sites such as Spark Notes, Cliff Notes, and Shmoop to summarize just the plot of his stories. Before I transferred here, I took World Literature at MCC and my professor made me see a little clearly, how Shakespeare used his words in his plays. Reading the story “Othello” and comprehending the lines together in class, there were some words that sound wow and powerful. A line I remembered in the book when Desdemona’s father found out about his daughter marrying Othello he said in his part that went “how could my daughter run to a sooty bosom such as tho?” (Not sure if that’s right), but reading it out loud it can be heard that the father was angry. Shakespeare using his words has strong meaning of the characters in his plays. Using the word ‘sooty bosom’ it is referring to that out of all of the men that is Desdemona’s kind and could have been with, he was in surprise that she chose a black man (sooty bosom) as the love of her life.

    In every classes that has to deal with reading for our assignments, we have to paraphrase what we read for professor’s paper, quizzes, and tests to be graded on the comprehension of each chapter. From what I’m getting from your point of view of this topic is that students, even teachers aren’t grasping enough words and imagery that are put into characters feelings and emotions what they are saying in stories. Teachers and students are not putting energy to fill the shoes of how this person feels, for the example of “Hamlet” to be or not to be line. Of course it means in a way you’re damned if you do or damned if you don’t, but put yourself in his place of the choice he has to do. His emotions are swimming in his head on what to do and in all reality we can relate to choices like a seesaw to weigh what’s right or wrong. Shakespeare has also connected a deep root about the world in his plays for us to relate in the character’s positions how to emotionally feel by his writing. No other professors are like you who go into depth reading Shakespeare’s language. Yes, it is true that teachers just want summary of stories from students and get graded and students will just cheat to get sources from elsewhere to sum it, but it creates less interest to enjoy the art of literature.


    Tia Taylor

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  120. Paraphrasing to me is a brief summary of the information you have. It comes in handy when you want to give someone a quick overview on something or when you have to write something quick. Paraphrasing can range from anywhere between 1 to 3 sentences depending on the amount of information you have. I understand that you would rather a full explanation because that is how you will be able to tell if a student knows the material. If a student is able to elaborate on a subject it shows that he/she knows the material. When paraphrasing you do not copy someone else’s work and paste it on your page without citations. Instead, you have to use the information you found and change the wording into your words in a simpler way. You can use the paraphrasing method when writing any form of essay and even while texting. Another benefit for paraphrasing is that you can take out the useful points of any form of information instead of using the whole thing. When you use another person’s information, you have to cite. There are many different ways to cite. You can use mla format or apa, and there are many more ways. Websites that you can go to for quick paraphrased information is shmoop, yahoo answers and cliffnotes.com. These websites come in handy when you have a multiple choice question to answer and or just want to know something fast. Professors may be against these websites because of how quick a student can get information but it comes in handy.

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  121. I agree with Dr. Rich’s frustration with the summarizing websites such as Cliff Notes, Spark Notes, Shmoop, etc. These websites aim to ‘help’ students understand and be able to discuss the material at hand, however it does nothing more than water down important information that could be easily understood with a little bit of thought and effort. These websites could be helpful to make sure that you are understanding the reading, once you’ve ACTUALLY done the reading, but they should not substitute for completing the assignment itself.

    Paraphrasing is a dangerous game in the academic world, because it never allows you to showcase your own abilities and interpretations, aside from the fact that it is borderline illegal if you do it incorrectly. You just take on a voice that isn’t your own to be done with an assignment or to give the “correct” answer. A point that I took and agreed with from this post is that there is no right answer/ interpretation, and that is what Shmoop and Cliff Notes often aims to provide. When we take a closer look at text and its meaning through the words it employs, we can often draw a deeper meaning that isn’t represented through Shmoop’s general summary.

    As an educator, it is crucial to stress the concept that there is no cut and dry interpretation of any piece of literature. From a young age, students need to learn to create their own interpretations and find the facts to back them up within the text. Even if these interpretations are not necessarily the full truth, it is important for them to learn to take risks within the classroom and to learn that it is okay to fail.
    Katie Lewandowski

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  122. Dr. Rich, I won’t lie to you. I have paraphrased PLENTY of times in my academic career. The reasons for this usually vary because each occasion is different. For one, some days I’m just not in the best mood. I get a writer’s block, I don’t connect with the piece, or I’m just having a bad day. My second reason is that I end up procrastinating. That’s no one’s fault but my own. My favorite reason however and one you might agree with as well is because teachers nowadays are just feeding us through the system. They don’t work to our abilities, cater to our needs, and due dates (excuse my language) are just flying out the ass. Students aren’t learning anymore! We are defined by a few numbers. If your GPA isn’t high, no organization wants you. If your test scores aren’t high enough, that college you’re interested in won’t even blink at you. When all that’s needed is just a grade to pass, students aren’t soaking up the information. They’re not gaining any skills to use. They aren’t benefiting from the circumstances at all. With all this going on, the easy way out is just to paraphrase. Does it make it right? No, but you also have to realize it happens. The only thing you can do is help break this habit and teach students in a way they won’t find Shakespeare boring. Otherwise, they will wait until the hour before the class to paraphrase their essay worth 15% of their grade.
    Taizha Blue

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  123. I have always had problems with falling into the deadly path that is paraphrasing. I always had to use it so taking this class and focusing more on the individual elements instead of the whole of a body of work is a vastly different change of pace for me. I am glad that I am learning how to use other element rather then simple summarizing. Simply put most body of works can be summarized and summarized inutile their whole narrative is reduced to a bumper sticker of a description. This of course mean any and all emotional or humane element are lost in the emotionless desire to summarize a work in the least amount of word possible. This means that any reader will earn no emotional connection or enrichment. Summarizing is that fast food of illiteracy in that its fast, cheap and offer no real value or nourishment. Less is most certainty more because when one can break down individual sentence and read emotional feeling in nuance in the moment to moment of reading a novel, they will have received a far richer and deeper experience for it.

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  124. Yup, indeed, a good question, Dr. Rich. "Then why have Shakespeare at all?" And the title of this blog sums it all up. Then again, if only I could answer in a brief paragraph. I do not have any such idea as to why have Shakespeare at all when all we do is paraphrase it.

    Upon reading yet another one of your compelling blog posts, such as this one, I find myself at a loss in a few words. It appears that I have more questions than answers. For instance, how could I have ever known that it seems we students, since the age of time, have been erroneous taught the difference between paraphrasing and translating? Or how should I draft a correct paper? With all that stated, I’m beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed and consumed. Need I say confused. There is just so much information taught from one teacher to the next until it’s merely challenging to appease them all.


    However, one thing is sure that teachers are reduced to a litter box model for education--coverage and control. I, as a student, a few unconsciously things regarding this matter. There are moments when I wish that I resist herded with mechanical exercises. And that I resent told what to think in this manner. Resentful of being made to regurgitate. Well, that’s all.

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  125. When it comes to paraphrasing texts like Shakespeare, I have always been worried about being right or wrong as there was only the teacher's way or the highway in high school. After all, how could the teacher have a test on Shakespeare that takes into account all the alternate takes on the source material? It made me dread Shakespeare and hate writing in general at the time as got hammered with test after test asking me to regurgitate the same perspective crated by the teacher. However, as I entered college and began to write for my English courses, I found that my opinion of the courses was quite positive. Why the sudden change? Simply put, the aspect of paraphrasing was removed as now rather than tests, I was given papers on texts. These assignments were more than just five pages of paraphrasing as students were expected to give their opinion on texts and back it up with in text information. This allowed me to form my own interpretation as along as I could back it up with quotes from the text. I enjoyed this approach so much that I decided to try to take a couple of English courses to give the topic a second chance so to speak and I ended up taking English Writing as my major instead of Biology. By forcing students to regurgitate the same information about Shakespeare texts as well as other stories, they are scaring people away from what is ultimately a very open ended subject that many of them could enjoy. By institutionalizing English, they are killing the subject by scaring people away.

    By
    Matthew Ponte

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  126. Right away “A Monarch Shmoops off Cliffs, Sending off Sparks- The prison and Misprision of Paraphrase” brought me back to high school and how I felt when a teacher would say “No, that is not what the author was saying.” Our whole school careers we have been given so much structure and direction. I was always the kid that had so many ideas and my mind would just run with them. I remember getting shut down so many times and thinking to myself, “how do you know what he/she means, did you write it for them?” But so many years with intense structure I find it hard when I am given little direction and I guess I would chuck that up to fear of being wrong or not enough. The education system means well but sometimes it is given many cholden a huge injustice. In our society today we have so many different sources to count on when we “don’t understand” which can be good and bad. As a whole we definitely abuse our resources. I think students need to be taught to be more confident in their ideas. Instead of always being told they are wrong on how they read a Shakespeare poem. Like Dr. Rich says, “I don’t know what he means, he is dead.” I want to rely and trust myself more when I read Shakespeare or really any writer. It is okay to be “wrong” as long as you can back it up what you have to say.

    Alyssa Ortiz

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  127. I will share my response but it's not necessarily geared towards paraphrasing but more about passion. I think passion in almost anything is nonexistent. In order to have passion, not only do you want something but it peaked your interest, inquiring minds want to know more. Nowadays, passion is found or provided for us and in many ways, it isn't passion just a mere presentation of the quick and easy. Staples has a big, red easy button for a reason and that's to lure you into wishing things were easier. I won't say that I never used cliff notes or spark notes because that's a big lie. I have but I never used it to as a means to finish my work or an easy A. My teacher actually introduced spark notes/cliff-notes to the class in either middle or high school. Shocker, huh?

    I was mesmerized by Shakespeare at the young age of seven. My first introduction was walking in on my grandfather watching Hamlet with Mel Gibson. I guess you would think, why or what is wrong with this child? Does she understand the story? Well, I did and I absolutely loved it. I felt it was beyond dimensional. My grandpa took his time and explained everything in the end and answered all my questions. I wanted to watch it again and again. Then he told me that it was a play. Well, for my eighth birthday my grandparents bought me the book and then a black and white version of the movie. I watched it multiple times. I felt if this was Shakespeare then I need to know more. This was passion being ignited. I eventually met Othelo, talked with Macbeth, Tamed the Shrew, listened to Romeo & Juliet's dilemma, realized it was much ado bout nothing and etc. Students/people lack the passion for reaching therefore they paraphrase (seek shortcuts) to stay afloat. I could be wrong, but doubt it?

    Meagan AWP 5000

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  128. Fintech has caused a surge in the number of investing and also savings apps in recent times. Even more than ever before, the barriers to investing are being damaged down by companies like Robinhood, Stash and also Acorns. While these applications vary in strategy, each uses a combination of savings and also very easy, little buck spending to present customers to the markets. Bruc Bond endeavor to lead the financial sector with sustainability, customizable product offering, and open communication. At Bruc Bond we aim to make 21st century banking straightforward, simple, and transparent.

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  129. Perhaps the desire of concrete definition alludes to an animalistic need to become one with the herd. Out of fear of ostracism, we combine our minds and create one "right way" of thinking. Engaging in this groupthink soothes the internalized fear that if we speak the abnormal, we may veer from the shared mindset of our peers and, in turn, be ostracized from the group. But who is truly able to define an abnormal thought? There is no one power that has set up a realm for what is considered to be "correct." The term correct itself can hardly be applied to much. Sans scientific proof, it is difficult to find something that has an overall shared though. This is why political parties are divided- every group serves to fight for what they deem to be advantageous to their society, even if it steps on the toes of each other. Religions, albeit more strict in their terms of morality, all seek to harness divinity within their individualized behaviors and practices, most of which contradict each other. There is no one truth. That is the beauty of individualism.
    On a smaller scale, with something as creatively undefined as a poem, we still seek out correctness. This learned trait is difficult to break. I find myself often looking for the decided meaning of things- hoping that an esteemed reviewer or scholar has defined the "right" answer. But perhaps, deep down, we all no that there is no one answer and that in and of itself is daunting. Poetry has no one meaning. Literature does not either. Films can harness a myriad of interpretation. Paintings were created to spark inquisitive thinking. The world is constantly challenging us to create our on perceptions. It is up to us to disengage from a shared mentality, not fearing if we will be deemed ludicrous for our outsider thoughts, and create our own meanings.

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  130. The term Fintech (Financial Technology) refers to software and other contemporary technologies utilized by organisations that provide automated as well as imporved monetary solutions. FinTech Weekly is an information solution that keeps you up to day with the most vital devlopments in the company. Bruc Bond endeavor to lead the financial sector with sustainability, customizable product offering, and open communication. At Bruc Bond we aim to make 21st century banking straightforward, simple, and transparent.

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  131. Unfortunately, paraphrasing is a word I heard often in high school. I assume that's why I have the habit now of over-summarizing my readings in important papers. Literature is so much more than paraphrasing. I have now come to learn to appreciate and enjoy my own interpretations of different poems, plays, etc. Growing up, I was taught one way to look at certain pieces of literature. As for Hamlet, I was taught that a prince just wants revenge, and was forced to constantly paraphrase the play. Now, I have a deeper understanding and appreciation for literature. I know look at stories through a different lens, and do away with paraphrasing. I am upset that my education prior to college consisted of the mentality that only one interpretation is correct. It often made me doubt my work, my creativity, and my ability to the mind of myself and others to a new way of thinking through my writing. However, I am also grateful, because now I know to do away with that mentality, and to take pride in what I produce.
    -
    Jessica DeLuca

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  132. In High School there were tons of classes that told me to summarize the plot in a portion of my paper. I hated doing it then, and I hate doing it now. I hated the fact that I would have to do this being that, there is so much meaning behind why everything is written. It was not until this class that I really found the love of interpreting the work in a way that makes sense to me. Without this class, I do not believe that I would have received the love of literature that I have now.

    David Rivera, Jr.

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  133. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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