Week 10 — Borrow the Idea, Not the Sentence

Assignment 9 of the term — audit a patchwritten sentence and replace it with a real paraphrase, integrate a quotation with all four parts, summarize a short source in one sentence, and explain the difference to someone outside the course.

This adaptive assignment uses a coaching dialogue to help you turn a first attempt into source work a reader can trust: a paraphrase that is yours, a quotation that is framed, and a summary that is fair. You remain the author. The coach asks questions, checks the reasoning you show, and waits for you to revise before it produces the required report. In Week 2 you learned to summarize a text neutrally in your own words; this week that skill becomes one of the three honest moves. This week's lecture tutorial, quiz, discussion, and Writing Studio practise the same moves from other angles; this assignment is where you put them together.

The task

This week you bring a source into your own sentences without losing track of whose words and ideas are whose. Your material is a short passage from an illustrative library report, written for this course and attributed to no one; treat it as page 4 of the report. Here is the passage, one sentence per line:

1. "Libraries that stay open later in the evening draw more working adults, because many people with daytime jobs cannot visit before the doors close at five."
2. "When one branch added two late nights, its evening visits rose and its quiet study tables filled."
3. "Longer hours cost money, so the report recommends trying them at a single branch before changing the whole system."

Part A — audit a patch and write a real paraphrase. A classmate turned sentence 1 into this version and added the report's name after it:

"Libraries that remain open later in the night attract more working adults, because many people with daytime jobs cannot come before the doors shut at five."

Work this problem, showing your reasoning:

1. The source sentence in Part A has 26 words, and the patched version keeps 21 of them in their original places. How many single-word swaps did the patch make?

List each swap the patch made, word for word. Then explain in 2–3 sentences why adding the report's name does not fix the patch. Finally, run the cover-the-source test on sentence 1: cover it, write your own paraphrase from memory, and credit the report with a signal phrase. Say what you changed in the structure, not only the words.

Part B — integrate a quotation and summarize the source. Work the second problem:

1. An integrated quotation has 4 parts: signal phrase, exact fragment, page, and the writer's own analysis. A classmate's sentence supplies 1 of them, the fragment alone. How many parts must the revision add?

The classmate's sentence is: "'its evening visits rose.'" Rebuild it into one sentence that has all four parts. Choose a signal verb that matches what the report does, copy the fragment exactly, keep the page in parentheses right after it, and end with your own analysis of why the fragment matters to a reader deciding on library hours. Then write a one-sentence summary of the whole three-sentence passage, neutral and in your own words, with credit to the report. Keep your own opinion of the report out of the summary.

Explain it to a non-expert

A coworker putting together your team's newsletter copied two sentences from an industry report, changed a few words, and added the report's name at the end. They ask you why that is a problem when they gave credit. Write a 3–5 sentence message that explains, in everyday words, why credit does not fix borrowed sentences and what to do instead. Use your Part A audit as your example. Name one honest limit — for example, that sharing a few ordinary words, like "library" or "adults", does not by itself make a paraphrase a patch. Explain any term your coworker might not know.

For a different, ungraded example, imagine a neighbor making a flyer for a community garden who copied a seed packet's planting directions word for word and wants to know if that is all right. Model answer: "If you want the packet's exact words, put them in quotation marks and say they come from the packet. If you only need the idea, close the packet and write the directions the way you would explain them to a friend, then check that your sentences do not line up with the packet's. Either way, say where the advice came from. Common words like 'seeds' and 'soil' are fine to share; it is the packet's sentence shape you should not borrow."

Use that pattern for your coworker, with your own explanation of your audit.

Reflect on your revision

After you revise, answer one of these two options in 2–4 sentences; they carry the same weight:

• (a) Which change turned your first paraphrase into one that passed the cover-the-source test, and what in the skeleton showed you it was needed?
• (b) Which part of your integrated quotation changed most after feedback, and what does it now tell a reader that it did not before?

Part 1 — Student instructions

1. Draft Part A, Part B, and your message to your coworker before opening a chatbot.
2. Open any course-approved chatbot. Copy the entire Coach Prompt box, including its first and last marker lines, and paste it as one message. The coach will ask for your draft and then work one question at a time.
3. Answer in your own words. Use the coach's feedback to revise at least one part of your paraphrase, quotation, or summary, even if your first attempt was strong, and then answer reflection option (a) or (b).
4. Continue until the prompt's exit condition is met.
5. Save the chat's share link and copy the final report exactly as the coach gives it.

The chatbot is a coach, not a ghostwriter. It must draw out your reasoning rather than write your paraphrase, quotation, or summary for you. If it offers you a quotation from any source, check the words against the passage above before you use them.

Coach Prompt

COPY EVERYTHING BELOW THIS LINE
ROLE: You are a careful writing coach for a first-year college writing course. Draw out and challenge MY thinking about integrating sources. Do not write my swap list, my paraphrase, my integrated quotation, my summary, or my message for me, do not "improve" my sentences into smooth generic wording, do not supply quotations from any source, and do not invent work I did not show.

ASSIGNMENT: Work through these two problems in order, one at a time. Do not invent, replace, or reorder a problem. The illustrative library report passage I am working with, written for my course and attributed to no one, page 4: (1) Libraries that stay open later in the evening draw more working adults, because many people with daytime jobs cannot visit before the doors close at five. (2) When one branch added two late nights, its evening visits rose and its quiet study tables filled. (3) Longer hours cost money, so the report recommends trying them at a single branch before changing the whole system. The classmate's patch of sentence 1: Libraries that remain open later in the night attract more working adults, because many people with daytime jobs cannot come before the doors shut at five.
PROBLEM P1: The source sentence in Part A has 26 words, and the patched version keeps 21 of them in their original places. How many single-word swaps did the patch make?
PROBLEM P2: An integrated quotation has 4 parts: signal phrase, exact fragment, page, and the writer's own analysis. A classmate's sentence supplies 1 of them, the fragment alone. How many parts must the revision add?
For P1 I must also list each swap, explain why the report's name does not fix the patch, and write my own paraphrase of sentence 1 with the source covered, credited with a signal phrase. For P2 I must also rebuild the classmate's sentence "'its evening visits rose.'" into one sentence with all four parts and a fitting signal verb; then write a one-sentence neutral summary of the whole passage with credit; then a 3-5 sentence message to a coworker in everyday words that names one limit. After revising, I answer reflection option (a) or (b) from my assignment page.
The course meanings I must use: a quotation is a source's exact words, copied from the real text, inside quotes; a paraphrase restates one specific passage in my own words and my own sentence structure, at about the original's length, with credit; a summary boils a longer passage or a whole source down to its gist, with credit; patchwriting keeps a source's sentence and swaps in synonyms, and it is plagiarism even with a citation attached; the cover-the-source test is read, cover, write from memory, then compare my skeleton against the original; a signal phrase names the source, and its verb matches what the source does.

SCORING CRITERIA: Score only evidence I supply, out of 100 points. Patch audit and paraphrase (P1): 30 if I list every swap the patch made, get the swap count without error, explain that a citation credits the idea but not the borrowed sentence shape, and write a paraphrase of sentence 1 with a new structure, the same meaning, and a crediting signal phrase; 18 if the count is right and the paraphrase is mine but one swap is missing from the list or the paraphrase keeps one stretch of the source's wording without quotes; 8 if the count or the list is attempted but the paraphrase still follows the source's skeleton; 0 otherwise. Integrated quotation (P2): 25 if the rebuilt sentence has a signal phrase with a fitting verb, the fragment copied exactly, the page in parentheses after it, and my own analysis at the end, and states how many parts were added; 15 if all four parts are present but the verb overstates the source or the analysis stays general; 5 if it adds one part but still lacks a signal phrase or my analysis; 0 if no rebuild. Summary (P2): 15 if one sentence covers the whole passage, stays neutral, uses my own words, and credits the report; 9 if it covers the passage and credits it but leaves out one sentence's point or lets an opinion slip in; 3 if it is attempted but restates only one sentence or borrows the passage's wording; 0 if missing. Plain-language explanation for a non-expert (P2): 15 if the message to my coworker uses everyday words, explains why credit does not fix borrowed sentences and what to do instead, and names a limit; 8 if it can be followed but omits the limit or leaves a term unexplained; 0 if missing. Revision and reflection (P2): 15 if I show a before-and-after change prompted by feedback plus a reflection on why it is better; 8 if only one of the two; 0 if neither.

Do NOT invent grading rules.

DIALOGUE RULES: Ask exactly one question per message and wait for my answer. Start by asking for my complete first attempt. Build each next question from my exact words. When I list a swap, ask me which source word it replaced. When I write a paraphrase, ask me to compare its skeleton with the source sentence. Keep the conversation focused on questions rather than completed work, and take no side on any public question.

ENGAGEMENT GUARDS: A greeting, copied prompt, yes/no reply, or one-word answer is not a substantive exchange. Do not flatter or accept agreement as evidence. Praise only a concrete move I made. If evidence is missing, say what is missing and ask for it. Require a real revision plus a short reflection on why the revision is better. Do not issue the report early.

EXIT CONDITION: Continue until at least five substantive exchanges have occurred AND I have supplied both problems with their swap list, paraphrase, integrated quotation, summary, and message AND revised at least one part AND reflected on the revision. Stop only after whichever requirement happens last.

REPORT: After the exit condition is satisfied, output exactly these labelled lines in this order. Replace X with the exact earned score. Base every line only on evidence in this chat; write "Not supplied" for missing evidence and never raise the score for polished chatbot prose.
STUDENT'S SCORE: X/100
EVIDENCE FOR THE SCORE: [specific evidence from my swap list, paraphrase, integrated quotation, summary, and message]
REVISION MADE: [what I changed and why]
STRENGTH: [one earned strength]
NEXT STEP: [one concrete improvement]
Then tell me to submit this report, my revised work, and the share link.
COPY EVERYTHING ABOVE THIS LINE

Deliverables

Submit these three items in the assignment entry:

• your revised work: the Part A swap list, explanation, and paraphrase; your Part B integrated quotation and summary; your message to your coworker; and your reflection — written, or recorded as audio or video with a transcript; every form is graded by the same scoring criteria;
• the coach's five-line report; and
• the conversation share link.

Submit in any accessible file type or as a link; a recorded response may be submitted as audio or video with a transcript, or as text.

Equivalent route (no AI required)

This route assesses the same Week 10 skills — telling patchwriting from a real paraphrase, integrating a quotation with a signal phrase, an exact fragment, a page, and your own analysis, summarizing a source neutrally with credit, and explaining the difference to someone outside the course — for comparable time and effort, about 90 minutes, the same as the coached route. Complete Part A, Part B, the message to your coworker, and one reflection option. Then audit your own first draft against the attached scoring criteria, criterion by criterion: cover the source and compare your paraphrase's skeleton with sentence 1, underline any run of three or more words you kept, label the four parts of your integrated quotation, and check that your summary covers all three sentences without an opinion. Write a second draft. Add a 150–200 word revision memo that names one change you made, the test that prompted it, and one question you still have. Submit the revised work, your completed criteria checklist, and the revision memo in the assignment entry; together they replace the share link and the coach's report. This route uses the same scoring criteria and the same points, with no penalty for choosing it.

How you'll be graded

The full analytic rubric is attached to this assignment in Canvas.

Academic integrity and AI use

The swap list, the paraphrase, the integrated quotation, the summary, the message, the revision, and the reflection must be your own words. Do not ask the chatbot to write any of them or to supply quotations. Quote only words you can find in the passage above, copied exactly; a chatbot's "quotation" is unverified until you find it in the source. Submit an honest share link from your own dialogue. The equivalent route keeps the same workload and evidence and requires no AI account.

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