Paraphrasing Activity – “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”

For this assignment, you will use Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” to help you practice the important rhetorical skill of paraphrasing.

Original Document
http://okra.stanford.edu/transcription/document_images/undecided/630416-019.pdf

Audio Recording
http://okra.stanford.edu/transcription/audio/630416001.mp3

Be sure to address the following:

• State the purpose of the letter. Be sure to paraphrase the speech throughout your analysis.
• Describe one strategy for development of the letter. This should be one that you identify with or think is effective. Base your description on this Module’s readings and the course activities you participated in.
• Remember that your paraphrase should end up being about the same number of words as the original material that you cite. Please note that you are not paraphrasing the entire document but more like a sentence or two. This is similar to what you might do with a quote, but with your own words. A paraphrase is not the same as a summary.
• Explain why you think the strategy is effectively used in the letter.
• Incorporate at least one quote from the speech, and properly cite the quote on the References page.
• Explain how you plan to use the development strategy in your Portfolio Project.

Requirements:

• Your written paper should be two to three pages in length, not counting the title and reference pages, which you must include.
• You must accurately insert a quote and paraphrase in your analysis to provide in-text evidence from the essay or article you selected, and you must comment on the quote to demonstrate you are thinking in a critical manner.
• Your paper must be formatted according to the CSU-Global Guide to Writing and APA.