Identifying an Acceptable Paraphrase (MLA Style) - Quiz 10 question

Question 1 (1 point)

 [Ed: error here relates to close wording]

Theoriginal vision of charter schools in 1988, when the idea waspopularized, was that they would be created by venturesome public schoolteachers who would seek out the most alienated students, those who haddropped out or those who were likely to do so. The teachers in theseexperimental schools would find better ways to reach these students andbring what they'd learned back to the regular public school. Thefundamental idea at the beginning of the movement was that charterschools would help public schools and enroll students who needed extraattention and new strategies.

From Ravitch, Diane. "Why I Changed My Mind." The Nation 14 June 2010: 20-24. Print. The passage appears on page 22 of the article.

Question 1 options: A or BARavitchnotes that the original vision for charter schools gave support to thework of public schools by helping some of the most alienated studentswho would benefit from extra attention and new strategies (22).B

Ravitchnotes that originally charter schools were supposed to reach at-riskstudents with better strategies and creative teachers. These teacherswould then also find ways to share these innovations with moretraditional public schools (22).

Question 2 (1 point)

 [sentence structure too close]

PaulRevere's ride is perhaps the most famous historical example of aword-of-mouth epidemic. A piece of extraordinary news traveled a longdistance in a very short time, mobilizing an entire region to arms. Notall word-of-mouth epidemics are this sensational, of course. But it issafe to say that word of mouth is—even in this age of masscommunications and multimillion-dollar advertising campaigns—still themost important form of human communication.

From Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point. New York: Little, Brown, 2002. Print. The passage appears on page 32.

Question 2 options: A or BAPaulRevere's well-known ride is the best example in history of aword-of-mouth epidemic. His piece of important information covered along distance in no time, preparing large numbers of neighbors forbattle. However, Gladwell states, not every word-of-mouth epidemic isthis significant. Yet even given our era of mass media andadvertisements, word of mouth is "the most important form of humancommunication" (32).B

Accordingto Gladwell, the best known example from history of a word-of-mouthepidemic may be Paul Revere's ride. His news covered great distances,quickly preparing his neighbors for battle. Not every word-of-mouthepidemic is this significant. But even in our era of mass media, word ofmouth is "the most important form of human communication" (32).

Question 3 (1 point)

 [wording too close, citation missing]

Scientistssay juggling e-mail, phone calls and other incoming information canchange how people think and behave. They say our ability to focus isbeing undermined by bursts of information. These play to a primitiveimpulse to respond to immediate opportunities and threats. Thestimulation provokes excitement — a dopamine squirt — that researcherssay can be addictive. In its absence, people feel bored.

From Richtel, Matt. "Hooked on Gadgets, and Paying a Mental Price." New York Times. New York Times,7 June 2010. Web. The article was accessed online, in a version that appeared without page numbers.

Question 3 options: A or BAResearchshows that juggling messages, calls, and other information can affectour behavior. These bursts of information are changing our ability tofocus by working on our primitive need to respond to immediateopportunities. Later, without these stimuli, we become bored (Richtel).B

Researchersexplain that we erode our ability to focus when we expose ourselves toconstant e-mail, messages, and other bits of information. These stimuliexcite the brain but can become addictive so that when the stimuli areremoved we become bored (Richtel).

Question 4 (1 point)

 [cover same points in same order]

Assangealso wanted to insure that, once the video was posted online, it wouldbe impossible to remove. He told me that WikiLeaks maintains its contenton more than twenty servers around the world and on hundreds of domainnames. (Expenses are paid by donations, and a few independentwell-wishers also run "mirror sites" in support.) Assange calls the site"an uncensorable system for untraceable mass document leaking andpublic analysis," and a government or company that wanted to removecontent from WikiLeaks would have to practically dismantle the Internetitself.

From Khatchadourian, Raffi. "No Secrets: Julian Assange's Mission for Total Transparency." New Yorker. TheNew Yorker,7 June 2010. Web. The article was reprinted without page numbers online.

Question 4 options: A or BAAssangemakes sure that videos on WikiLeaks cannot be deleted, using multipleservers and back-up sites in locations around the world. His goal is tomake WikiLeaks documents impossible to trace or censor and to make thesystem impossible to dismantle (Khatchadourian).B

Assange'sgoal is for documents leaked on WikiLeaks to be impossible forgovernments or companies to trace or censor. The WikiLeaks content ismaintained on multiple servers and back-up sites in locations around theworld (Khatchadourian).

Question 5 (1 point)

 [sentence structure]

BearStearns and Lehman Brothers in 2008 more closely resembled normalcorporations with solid, Middle American values than did any Wall Streetfirm circa 1985. The changes were camouflage. They helped to distractoutsiders from the truly profane event: the growing misalignment ofinterests between the people who trafficked in financial risk and thewider culture. The surface rippled, but down below, in the depths, thebonus pool remained undisturbed.

From Lewis, Michael. The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. New York: Norton, 2010. Print. The passage appears on page 254.

Question 5 options: A or BALewisexplains that changes to Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers by 2008 madethem appear more like typical American companies. These new values werenot deeply held. They enabled these Wall Street firms to mask theirdeeper interests. There appeared to be change, but below the surface,the culture of big bonuses was not touched (254).B

By2008, changes made Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers appear to havevalues more like those of typical American companies. These values wereonly superficially held, Lewis explains, to mask risk from outsiders. Inreality, the culture of big bonuses at these firms was unchanged (254).

Question 6 (1 point)

 [missing citation/signal phrase]

Unlikethe staggered luncheon sessions I observed at Walton High, lunch wasserved in a single sitting to the students in this school. "It'sphysically impossible to feed 3,300 kids at once," the teacher said."The line for kids to get their food is very long and the entire periodlasts only 30 minutes. It takes them 15 minutes just to walk there fromtheir classes and get through the line. They get 10 minutes probably toeat their meals. A lot of them don't try. You've been a teacher, so youcan imagine what it does to students when they have no food to eat foran entire day. The schoolday here at Fremont is eight hours long."

From Kozol, Jonathan. The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America. New York: Crown, 2005. Print. The passage appears on page 176.

Question 6 options: A or B AKozolobserves the strain on Fremont's students at lunchtime, where all ofthe 3,300 students in attendance are served in one 30-minute mealperiod. One teacher calculates that the extended the walk to thecafeteria and long food lines create a 10-minute window for students toeat. What often results is that many students go all day without a meal(176).B

Thereis obvious strain on Fremont's students at lunchtime, where all of the3,300 students in attendance are served in one 30-minute meal period.One teacher calculates that the extended the walk to the cafeteria andlong food lines create a 10-minute window for students to eat. Whatoften results is that many students go all day without a meal.

Question 7 (1 point)

 [wording too close]

Becauseof physiological and behavioral differences, exposures among childrenare expected to be different from exposures among adults. Children maybe more exposed to some environmental contaminants, because they consumemore of certain foods and water per unit of body weight and have ahigher ratio of body surface area to volume than adults. Equallyimportant, rapid changes in behavior and physiology may lead todifferences in exposure as a child grows up.

From United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook (Final Report). Sept. 2008. Web. 5 November 2009. The passage appears on page 1-1.

Question 7 options: A or BAInits handbook, the United States Environmental Protection Agency setsout factors for assessing children's exposure to various contaminantsand pollutants. Children are more vulnerable to chemicals than adultsbecause they consume more food and water as a proportion of their bodyweight. Children's exposure to environmental pollutants through theirbody surface area may be significantly higher than that for adults. Andas children grow and behaviors change, their exposure also changes(1-1).B

Inits handbook, the United States Environmental Protection Agency setsout factors for assessing children's exposure to various contaminantsand pollutants. Children may be more exposed to some chemicals thanadults because they consume more food and water as a proportion of theirbody weight. A child's exposure to environmental chemicals throughtheir body surface area may be significantly higher than that foradults. As important, changes in behavior and children's bodies meandifferent exposures (1-1).

Question 8 (1 point)

 [sentence structure]

ThomasJefferson had made it unmistakably clear to Lewis and Clark that theirforemost objective was to find "the direct water communication from seato sea formed by the bed of the Missouri & perhaps the Oregon." Butin his detailed letter of instructions to Lewis, Jefferson devoted morewords to the Indian nations than to any other topic. Not only wasJefferson intensely curious about the tribes, he wanted Lewis and Clarkto wean their loyalties away from the despised British traders andenfold them into the orbit of American trade and commerce.

From Jones, Landon Y. William Clark and the Shaping of the West. New York: Hill-Farrar, 2004. The passage appears on pages 130-31.

Question 8 options: A or BAThomasJefferson's instructions to Lewis and Clark laid out their main goalwhich was to find a water route west to the Pacific Ocean. Jefferson'sletter, however, also made clear his great interest in the Indiannations they would meet and his secondary objective: Lewis and Clarkshould work to persuade Indian nations to trade with Americans and notthe British (Jones, 130-31).B

ThomasJefferson clearly explains in his instructions that Lewis and Clark areto find a direct water route to the west coast. But he also goes on atlength about Indian nations in the letter. Not only did Jefferson wantto find out more about the tribes, he was eager for Lewis and Clark topersuade Indian traders to abandon ties with the hated British and bringthem into the sphere of American traders (Jones, 130-31).

Question 9 (1 point)

 [order is not the same as in the original, also wording]

Yokobecame the epitome of Fluxus multimedia antiart. Her works tended to besculpture, or rather three-dimensional collage, assembled fromquotidian objects and usually inviting physical contact with theobserver. Sometimes the creation would be a piece of theatre, with therole of the artwork played by the artist and the audience's reactionsserving to illuminate some truth about the nature of art or the humancondition in general.

From Norman, Phillip. John Lennon: The Life. New York: Random, 2009. Print. The excerpt is from page 474.

Question 9 options: A or BAYokoOno's multimedia antiart, as Norman describes it, illuminated truthsabout the human condition with Ono herself playing the role of theartwork. Some pieces were sculpture made up of assembled objects, whileother pieces were like theater pieces that involved human contact (474).B

YokoOno's multimedia art, as Norman describes it, included sculptures madeout of everyday objects while often encouraging the viewer to come intocontact with the art. Her work, particularly the pieces that were liketheater, challenged viewers to react and to think about the definitionof art (474).

Question 10 (1 point)

 [wording; wrong citation]

Somerecent studies have explored the existence of behavior in toddlers thatis "altruistic" in an even stronger sense — like when they give uptheir time and energy to help a stranger accomplish a difficult task.The psychologists Felix Warneken and Michael Tomasello have put toddlersin situations in which an adult is struggling to get something done,like opening a cabinet door with his hands full or trying to get to anobject out of reach. The toddlers tend to spontaneously help, evenwithout any prompting, encouragement or reward.

From Bloom, Paul. "The Moral Life of Babies." New York Times Magazine. New York Times,9 May 2010. Web. The passage appears on page 47.

Question 10 options: A or B ANewstudies reveal that toddlers engage in altruistic behavior. Bloomreports on experiments where toddlers came to the aid of a strangerstruggling with a physical task, without external prompts (47).B

Newstudies reveal altruistic behavior in toddlers who are observed givinghelp to strangers working on a difficult task. For example, withoutencouragement or reward toddlers spontaneously offer help to an adultstruggling to complete a difficult task like getting an object that isout of reach (Warneken and Tomasello 47).