Paraphrasing is at the center of scholarly writing. One of the habits that many undergraduate students develop when discussing information from references is to quote that information. As graduate students, you are expected to advance your academic writing style to rely on paraphrasing—or putting what you read into your own words; however, the ideas and information are still always cited.

To prepare for this Discussion:

Review the Study Notes: Introduction to Scholarly Writing: Finding a Scholarly Voice and the Writing Center webinar on paraphrasing.
Identify a favorite song and locate the exact words of the song and its composer.
With this information in mind:

By Day 3, directly copy eight lines of lyrics from your song (choose lyrics that do not contain offensive language). Cite your information, including the composer. Explain why copying the lines of lyrics is not paraphrasing.