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Citing properly and writing in your own voice
Can do: Quotes, paraphrases and cites correctly, and knows exactly where the line is.
Why it matters
Plagiarism penalties start being real. More importantly, paraphrasing is a comprehension test that copying skips entirely.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Changes a few words and believes that's a paraphrase, or uses AI output as their own without understanding it.
โฑ๏ธ Two-minute check
Give a paragraph. "Paraphrase this and cite it."
Solid looks like: Genuinely restructured, same meaning, with the source named.
The full activity for this topic ยท 20 minutes
Quote, Paraphrase, Summarise
- 1Do all three with the same passage and label each.
- 2For the paraphrase, close the source first โ that's the only reliable method.
- 3Compare the paraphrase to the original and check no phrase of four or more words survived.
- 4Write the citation for each, in whatever format the school uses.
- 5Discuss the AI question directly: using it to understand versus using it to submit.
If it's too hard
Paraphrase one sentence at a time.
If it's too easy
Blend two sources into one paragraph with both cited accurately.
Say this
"Close it and say it in your own words. If you can't, you don't understand it yet โ that's the real problem."