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How to Use Sources Have
Confident Control |
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At all times, stay in control of your argument and let your own voice speak for you.
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Frontload your point about the source in the essay, paragraph, or sentence:
| Example: Although literary critic Ann Romines states that Pa's gun is a phallic symbol that gives men power in the "Big Woods," she fails to notice that the gun is also a symbol for the "Little House" and female domesticity (Romines, "Preempting the Patriarch: The Problem of Pa's Stories in Little House in the Big Woods"). |
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Make an outline of your paper and ensure that your points-not just the sources-constitute the points on the outline.
Weigh Your Options
You should include ideas from other sources only when those ideas contribute to your thesis by:
- supporting your point
- providing background for your topic.
- offering a counterargument for you to refute.
Get to the Point
- Do not select quotations that repeat your points.
- Avoid quoting more than is needed.
- Most of the time, brief quotations suffice.
- Too many lengthy
quotations occlude your argument and voice.
| If you have an entire paper full of quotations or sources, your professor will have no sense of your abilities to integrate research into your own argument. He/she may be grateful for the review of the field, but he/she does not need to review for an exam-and your grade will suffer. |
Integrate and Explain
- Be sure to integrate all ideas from other sources into your own discussion. Introduce direct quotations with your own words, which explain to your reader how to understand or interpret the quotation.
- After quoting, explain the significance of quotations.
Your
Words vs. Their Words
Use direct
quotations only when the author's wording is necessary for your analysis
or particularly effective.
Hand-Me-Downs
If you
are using material cited by an author and you do not have the original
source, introduce the quotation with a phrase such as "as is quoted
in...." Then be sure to use the correct citation form.
Be
True to the Original
End citation
alone is not sufficient for direct quotations; place all direct quotations
within quotation marks. Be sure to copy quotations exactly as they appear,
using ellipsis to omit words or sections, and brackets for modifications
to grammar.
Seek
Out Advice
It is not always clear exactly when or how to use sources, and sometimes you will need advice. First consult your discipline's main professional reference material on writing, produced by MLA for English and foreign language departments, the University of Chicago for many humanities disciplines, the APA for psychology departments, and AAA for sociology department. Ask your professor if you are still unclear.
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