The actual
information that you record on the index card is rather small: a few
statistics or a sentence or two, and not much else. You take such
small bits of information to make it easier to "shuffle" your
notecards into the sequence in which you'll use them in writing the
rough draft. There are three ways of recording the information on
notecards:
- Directly quoting it, copying the information directly from
the source word-for-word
- Paraphrasing it, retaining the full detail of the information
but in your own words
- Summarizing it, condensing the main points in the information
- in your own words
Direct quotation. In most technical reports, direct quotation is
needed only for the following situations:
- Statements by important or well-known authorities or leaders
- Controversial statements you do not want attributed to you
- Statements expressed in unusual, vivid, or memorable language
Here is an example notecard with a direct quotation:
Myers, author of The Nuclear Power Debate and somewhat of
a supporter of nuclear, emphs heavy inspect and penalties:
During the period between July 1, 1975 and September 30,
1976 the NRC listed 1,611 items of noncompliance. Only six
of these were considered serious violations, 923 were classi-
fied as infractions, and 682 were noted as deficiencies. The
NRC issued fines to ten utilities totaling $172,250 between
July 1, 1975 and December 15, 1976. NRC officials report
that the limited use of fines and the efforts to get industry
to regulate itself have worked. "By and large," one NRC offi-
cial told IRRC, "I think our enforcement program is working."
H, 46 |
Figure 4. Original passage and notecard with
direct quotation
When you copy a direct quotation onto a notecard, remember to do a
few extra things that will save time and frustration later on:
- Write a lead-in to introduce the quotation, citing the author's
name and any other important information about the author.
- Write a brief explanation, interpretation, or comment on the
quotation you've just copied.
There are essentially two types of direct quotation: "block"
quotations and "running" quotations. Here is an example of a block
quotation (any quotation over 3 lines long, which is indented):
In Myers' view, the nuclear power industry has every reason
to comply with the NRC's regulations to the very letter:
The NRC issues an order to shut down or imposes
civil fines only after repeated violations have in-
dicated what the NRC considers "a pattern of non-
compliance." The NRC argues that, particularly with
power plants, civil penalties are unnecessary for the
most part. "The greatest penalty," one official said,
"is to require the plant to shut down, forcing it to
buy replacement power (often at a cost of $100,000 to
$200,000 per day) elsewhere. A civil penalty's largest
cost--the NRC is limited to a $5,000-per-violation
ceiling per 30 days--is the stigma attached to it."
(8:46)
The "stigma" refers to the fact that, once a nuclear power
plant is fined, it will likely be the target of public con-
cern and even more stringent and frequent NRC inspection. |
Figure 5. Block quotation and a running quotation
"Running" quotations are direct quotations that are trimmed down and
worked into the regular sentences of a report. Notice how much
smoother and more efficient the running quotation is in the revised
version below:
Ineffective direct quotation
There are two types of light water reactors: the pressurized
water reactor and the boiling water reactor. "LWRs of both types
convert heat to electricity with an efficiency of about 32
percent--significantly less than the best fossil-fueled plants,
although about equal to the national average for all thermal
electricity generation" [13:438]. As for harnessing the energy
potential of uranium, LWRs are estimated to average only between
0.5 and 1.0 percent.
|
Revision with running quotation
There are two types of light water reactors: the pressurized
water reactor and the boiling water reactor. According to Paul
Ehrlich, who has been a consistent critic of nuclear power, both
these types of LWRs "convert heat to electricity with an
efficiency of about 32 percent--significantly less than the best
fossil-fueled plants, although about equal to the national
average for all thermal electricity generation" (13:438). As for
harnessing the energy potential of uranium, LWRs are estimated
to average only between 0.5 and 1.0 percent.
|
Figure 6. An ineffective block quotation revised as a
running quotation
Guide for using direct quotations
When you use direct quotations in your report, keep these
guidelines in mind.
Paraphrasing. In technical-report writing, usually the better
approach to note-taking is to paraphrase. When you paraphrase, you
convey the information fact-by-fact, idea-by-idea, and
point-by-point in your own words. The writer of the original
passage ought to be able to read your paraphrase and say that it is
precisely what she or he had meant. Here are some example
paraphrased notecards:
BWR--fuel assembly
(III,A,1,3)
fuel assembly--63 f rods spaced, supported in a sq
(8 x 8) arrangement by upper + lower plate
3 kinds: (a) tie rods; (b) water rod); (c) stand
f rods
3rd, 6th f rods on a bundle's outer edge act as
tie rods
the 8 tie rods screw into castg of lower tie plate
water rod: acts as spacer support rod, as source
of moderator material close to the center of f
bundle
K, 2001
|
BWR--fuel assem
(III,A,1,3)
fuel channel--enclosure for f bundle; f bundle +
f channel make up fuel assem
is a tube with a square shape, made of Zircaloy
dimensions: 5.518 in. X 5.518 in. X 166.9 in.
function: channel core coolt thru f bundle and
guide control rods
K, 2001
|
Figure 8. Paraphrased notecards
Paraphrases are necessary and preferable for a number of reasons:
- You paraphrase because the content of the passage is so
important to your report that you need every bit of it.
- When you paraphrase, you adjust the wording of the original to
meet the needs of your audience, the purpose of your report,
and your own writing style. In other words, you "translate"
other writers' material into your own.
- A report of mostly direct quotations would be hard to read.
- Readers tend to skip over direct quotations, particularly
long ones.
- One final reason for paraphrasing: you are actually writing
bits of the rough draft of your report as you paraphrase.
Here is an example of an original passage and its paraphrases, with
the unique wording of the original (which must be changed in the
paraphrase) underlined.
Original passage
About a third of light-water reactors operating or under
construction in the United States are boiling-water reactors.
The distinguishing characteristic of a BWR is that the reac-
tor vessel itself serves as the boiler of the nuclear steam
supply system. This vessel is by far the major component in the
reactor building, and the steam it produces passes directly to
the turbogenerator. The reactor building also contains emergency
core cooling equipment, a major part of which is the pressure
suppression pool which is an integral part of the containment
structure. . . . . earlier BWRs utilized a somewhat different
containment and pressure suppression system. All the commercial
BWRs sold in the United States have been designed and built by
General Electric.
Several types of reactors that use boiling water in pres-
sure tubes have been considered, designed, or built. In a
sense, they are similar to the CANDU, described in Chapter 7,
which uses pressure tubes and separates the coolant and mo-
derator. The CANDU itself can be designed to use boiling light
water as its coolant. The British steam-generating heavy-
water reactor has such a system. Finally, the principal reac-
tor type now being constructed in the Soviet Union uses a
boiling-water pressure tube design, but with carbon modera-
tor.
Anthony V. Nero, A Guidebook
to Nuclear Reactors, Berkeley:
University of California Press,
1979.
|
Paraphrased version
Boiling water reactors, according to Anthony V. Nero in his
Guidebook to Nuclear Reactors, either completed or constructed,
make up about one third of the light-water reactors in the
U.S. The most important design feature of the BWR is that
the reactor vessel itself acts as the nuclear steam supply
system. The steam this important component generates goes
directly to the turbogenerator. Important too in this de-
sign is the emergency core cooling equipment which is
housed with the reactor vessel in the reactor building.
One of the main components of this equipment is the pres-
sure suppression pool. The containment and pressure sup-
pression system currently used in BWRs has evolved since
the early BWR designs. General Electric is the sole design-
er and builder of these BWRs in the U.S.
The different kinds of reactors that use boiling water
in pressure tubes are similar to the CANDU, which separates
coolant and moderator and uses pressure tubes also. CANDU
can also use boiling light water as a coolant. The British
have designed a reactor generated steam from heavy water
that uses just such a system. Also, the Soviets have de-
veloped and are now building as their main type of reactor
a boiling pressure tube design that uses carbon as the
moderator. [12:232] |
Figure 9. Avoiding the original wording
in paraphrases
Guide for writing and using paraphrases
Here are some guidelines to remember when paraphrasing:
- In most cases, paraphrase rather than use direct quotation.
- Avoid the distinctive wording of the original passage.
- Do not interpret, criticize, or select from the original
passage.
- Include bibliographic information on the author, source, and
page numbers.
- In the rough draft, cite the author's name and other important
details about her or him just as you would if were quoting
directly. In Figure 9, notice how the paraphrased author's
name is given early.
- Refer to the paraphrased author in such a way to make it clear
where the paraphrase begins and ends. (See Figure 9.)
- Document a paraphrase just as you would a direct quotation.
Mark the area of the paraphrase by citing the paraphrased
author's name at the beginning of the paraphrase and by
inserting a footnote or parenthetical reference at the
end. (Again, see Figure 9.)
Summary. Summaries are usually much shorter than their
originals. A summary concentrates on only those points or ideas in a
passage that are important. Unlike in a paraphrase, the information
in a summary can be rearranged. Here is a passage from which
summaries below will be taken:
Numerous systems are available for controlling abnormali-
ties [in boiling water reactors]. In the event that control
rods cannot be inserted, liquid neutron absorber (containing
a boron compound) may be injected into the reactor to shut
down the chain reaction. Heat removal systems are available
for cooling the core in the event the drywell is isolated
from the main cooling systems. Closely related to the heat
removal systems are injection systems for coping with de-
creases in coolant inventory.
Both abnormalities associated with the turbine system
and actual loss of coolant accidents can lead closing of
the steam and feedwater lines, effectively isolating the
reactor vessel within the drywell. Whenever the vessel is
isolated, and indeed whenever feedwater is lost, a reactor
core isolation cooling system is available to maintain
coolant inventory by pumping water into the reactor via
connections in the pressure vessel head. This system oper-
ates at normal pressures and initially draws water from
tanks that store condensate from the turbine, from con-
densate from the residual heat removal system, or if neces-
sary, from the suppression pool.
A network of systems performs specific ECC [emergency
core cooling] functions to cope with LOCAs [loss-of-cool-
ant accidents]. (See Figure 6-9.) These all depend on
signals indicating low water level in the pressure vessel
or high pressure in the drywell, or both.
Figure 6-9. BWR emergency core cooling systems
The systems include low-pressure injection, utilization
of the RHR system, and high- and low-pressure core spray
systems. The high-pressure core spray in intended to
lower the pressure within the pressure vessel and provide
makeup water in the event of a LOCA. In the event the
core is uncovered, the spray can directly cool the fuel
assemblies. Water is taken from the condensate tanks and
from the suppression pool. On the other hand, should it
become necessary to use low-pressure systems, the vessel
must be depressurized. This can be accomplished by opening
relief valves to blow down the vessel contents into the
drywell (and hence the suppression pool). Once this is
done, the low-pressure core spray may be used to cool
the fuel assemblies (drawing water from the suppression
pool) or RHR low-pressure injection (again from the sup-
pression pool) may be initiated, or both. The RHR system
may also be used simply to cool the suppression pool.
(Two other functions of the RHR are to provide decay heat
removal under ordinary shutdown conditions and, when neces-
sary, to supplement the cooling system for the spent fuel
pool and the upper containment pool.)
Anthony V. Nero, A Guide-
book to Nuclear Reactors,
Berkeley: Univ. of California
Press, 1979, pp. 104-107.
|
Figure 10. Passage to be summarized
Sentence-length summaries. Often summaries are only a sentence
long. To create sentence-length summaries, use one or a combination
of the following methods:
- Locate a sentence or two in the original passage that
summarizes the information that you want, and simply rewrite it in
your own words. Find the sentence in the third paragraph of the
original that is the basis for this summary:
BWR--safety sys
(IV,B,2)
The systems that perform emergency core cooling functions in
loss-of-coolant accidents include low-pressure injection,
utilization of the RHR system, and high- and low-pressure core
spray systems.
I, 104
|
- If no individual sentence will work, locate several sentences
that contain the right information, and combine them. (This summary
sentence is built from paragraphs 1 and 2 of Figure 10.)
BWR--safety sys
(IV,B,2)
In case of problems with control rods or loss of coolant, BWRs
use an absorber to stop the reaction or emergency systems to
replenish and maintain coolant around the reactor core,
respectively.
I, 104-107
|
- Sometimes, the summary sentence is like a new sentence,
scarcely resembling any in the original. Here is a different summary
sentence on the passage above; notice how new it seems:
BWR--safety sys
(IV,B,2)
If the control rods malfunction, a substance can be introduced to
shut down the reaction altogether, and if water is prevented from
reaching the reactor core, BWRs are equipped with backup sources
of coolant that can be sprayed or injected into the pressure
vessel.
I, 104-107
|
Extended summaries. A summary can be longer than a single
sentence because of the important information contained in the
original passage. (Remember, however, that a paraphrase is a
point-by-point recap of the original, while the summary is a
selection, reordering and condensation of the original.) Here's an
extended summary of the passage above on BWR emergency safety
systems (Figure 10):
Boiling water reactors use numerous systems to control
abnormalities in reactor operations. If a problem with control
rods occurs, a liquid neutron absorber can be injected to halt
the chain reaction. If coolant is cut off from the reactor core,
a reactor core isolation cooling system can maintain coolant
inventory by pumping water from various storage areas. This
system includes low-pressure injection, the residual heat removal
system, and the high- and low-pressure core spray systems. The
water supply for these various emergency systems ultimately come
from the suppression pool.
|
Guide for using summaries
Whenever you summarize, you must handle the resulting summary the
same way you would a direct quotation or paraphrase.
- Cite the name of the author and other important information
about that author.
- Document that summary using whichever system is appropriate for
your report.
- If it is an extended summary, make it clear where that summary
begins and ends, for example, by referring to the author's name
at the beginning and placing a footnote or parenthetical
reference at the end.
| Step 3. With the notetaking system described above, take at least
10 notes using the following steps: (a) find information that you
want to summarize, paraphrase, or directly quote; (b) take each note
on separate index card; (c) key each notecard to your outline; and
(d) include bibliographic information on each card.
|
Plagiarism. If you follow the guidelines presented in the
preceding, plagiarism should not be a problem at all, but make sure
you understand what it is. Plagiarism refers to two kinds of theft:
Plagiarism is bad business: the plagiarizer can fail an academic
course or lose his or her reputation among business and professional
associates. It only takes simple documentation to transform a
report with plagiarized material in it into one with legally
borrowed material. The section on documentation
explains these procedures in detail.
