Integrating Sources 4
Academic writing needs to be supported with evidence, which can be incorporated into your own writing through direct quotations, paraphrased ideas, summaries, statistics, graphs or other external sources. Remember, sources cannot do the work for you. You must use your sources to support your own ideas. You also need to clearly show how ideas relate to each other and contribute to the central point. This is what is meant by providing a context for your sources. Remember that good paragraphs should be unified, coherent, and well developed. Keep these points in mind as you integrate your sources. Follow a source with a comment that helps to interpret the information.
TIPS FOR INTEGRATING A SOURCE
! Use direct quotations when original words are more effective or when you need exact wording for accuracy
! Provide background information or a context for the quotation
! Use a lead-in phrase to introduce a quote, paraphrase or summary
! Only cite words that help develop an idea or support a point.
! Use ellipses (…) to eliminate unnecessary words or sentences from original source & square brackets to add words to maintain grammatical sense.
! Provide the author’s title, or affiliation and full name the first time you cite a source to establish the authority of your source and add support to the claim.
Examples:
§ The Honorable Justice Murray Sinclair explains that …
§ Medical Researcher James Lock has discovered a new fungus that….
! In subsequent citations, only mention the last (family) name of the author
Examples:
§ Sinclair also argues …
§ Lock’s discovery means that….
MAKE SURE YOUR QUOTES MAKE SENSE:
Sometimes when you are using a partial quote it is necessary to insert a word or some explanatory phrase so that you avoid quoting out of context and maintain correct grammar in your text. USE SQUARE BRACKETS [ ] when you need to insert your own comment into quoted material in order to clarify an idea or term.
Example:
Legal scholar Jay Kesan notes that “[a] decade ago, losses [from employee computer crimes] were already mounting to five billion dollars annually” (311).
SETTING UP LONG QUOTATIONS
Quotations longer than 4 lines are set-off from the rest of the text. MLA style requires indenting quotations 2.54cm from the left margin. CMS and APA style require indenting quotations 1.27cm from the left margin. Quotations are introduced with a lead-in phrase, without quotation marks, and are usually followed by a colon. In MLA, the period is placed before the bracket. Below is an example, using MLA format. For assistance with other citation styles, consult the sample papers on the Academic Writing Styles page.
DEFINE WORDS OR CONCEPTS
Remember to explain words or concepts that your readers may not be familiar with:
Kant describes all human action in terms of hypothetical and categorical imperatives. A hypothetical imperative is simply a plan of action while a categorical imperative is a requirement that makes the action morally right. The categorical imperative is closely related to the so-called biblical golden rule: ‘do unto others as you would have done unto you’.
INTRODUCING A SUMMARY OR PARAPHRASE
Lead-in phrases are used to indicate that an idea belongs to someone else, provide information, explain a concept, support a claim, or refute an argument.
The lead-in phrase in the following example helps link the entire paraphrase or summary to the main argument. By omitting the lead-in phrase at the beginning, readers may assume that only the sentence at the end is being cited.
EXAMPLE: UNSUCCESSFUL INTEGRATION OF A QUOTE
SUCCESSFUL INTEGRATION OF A QUOTE
Remarks:
The second example is better because the lead-in phrase, “according to …” helps blend the quotation better with the author’s words. It also includes the name of the organization, which lends some extra credibility to what the student writer is saying. The quote is also followed by a commentary that helps interpret it. Since this is a quote from a webpage article that does not identify the author, the title of the article is used as the identifier in the in-text citation.
EXAMPLES OF LEAD-IN PHRASES
As Hedges and Burchfield (2002) have noted, “…”
Jackson answered objections with the following analysis: “…”
Hopkins and Taylor (2004), medical researchers, pointed out that “…”
In the words of Sagan, “…”
Researchers Maxwell et al. (2003) offered a compelling argument for this view: “…”
Smith and Jones remarked that “…”
Literary Critic Arthur Knowles offers the following interpretation:
COMMON VERBS USED IN LEAD-IN PHRASES
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Integrating Sources 4
acknowledges
adds
admits
advises agrees
analyzes
answers
argues
asks
asserts
believes
challenges
claims
clarifies
charges
comments
compares
complains
concedes
concludes
concurs
condemns
confirms
considers
contends
criticizes
declares
denies
describes
disagrees
disputes
emphasizes
endorses
examines
evaluates
explains
expresses
finds
grants
holds
illustrates
implies
informs
insists
interprets
lists
maintains
notes
objects
observes
offers
opposes
points out
predicts
proposes
reasons
refers to
refutes
rejects
remarks
replies
reports
responds
reveals
says
shows
speculates
states
suggests
thinks
writes
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Integrating Sources 4
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Integrating Sources 6
INTEGRATING STATISTICS AND OTHER FACTS
You do not need to use a lead-in phrase to introduce numerical information or statistics as it is generally assumed that the citation refers to the numerical facts.
Roughly 60% of responding companies reported disciplining employees who had used the Internet in ways the companies deemed inappropriate; 30% had fired their employees for those transgressions (Greenfield and Davis 347).
THINGS TO AVOID: QUOTING OUT OF CONTEXT
When referencing sources, it is crucial that you do not distort the meaning of the original quote. Sometimes, simple carelessness can lead to errors. For example, choosing the wrong verb in a lead-in phrase can cause the quote or paraphrase to have the opposite meaning of what the author originally intended. Also be careful when using sources that are quoting from other sources. Sometimes writers intentionally take quotations out of context in order to support their own arguments.
EXAMPLE: A religious article titled “Life – How did it get here?” takes a quotation by evolutionist Steven M. Stanley out of context in order to support its claim against evolution. Ellipses were used to omit crucial information to change the meaning of the original text.
To support its claim that life appeared suddenly, “Life – How did it get here?” presents the work of evolutionary scientists in the following way:
In the layers above that Cambrian outburst of life, the testimony of the fossil record is repeatedly the same: New kinds of animals and new kinds of plants appear suddenly, with no connection to anything that went before them. And once on the scene, they continue with little change. The New Evolutionary Timetable states: “The record now reveals that species typically survive for a hundred thousand generations, or even a million or more, without evolving very much … After their origins, most species undergo little evolution before coming extinct" (Stanley 63).
Below is the original phrase by Steven M. Stanley. Notice it clearly states that species do evolve. By deleting this phrase the author of “Life – How did it get here?” and misinterpreting the quote in the lead-in phrase, the author implies the opposite meaning.
“The record now reveals that species typically survive for a hundred thousand generations, or even a million or more, without evolving very much. We seem forced to conclude that most evolution takes place rapidly, when species come into being by the evolutionary divergence of small populations from parent species. After their origins, most species undergo little evolution before coming extinct" (Stanley 63).
Successfully Integrating Sources:
SAMPLE PARAGRAPH
Those with a history of back issues or who believe they might be susceptible to injury should seriously consider a counterbalance backpack. Recommended by some experts (Safikhani et al. 4-5), the counterbalance back-pack basically drapes over the shoulders and has compartments at both its front and back. It allows for optimal distribution of weight and hence it minimizes forward lean. Concluding their study, Safikhani et al. note:
According to the finding of this study the counterbalance
backpack allows [a] person to [maintain his or her] upright
position, by shifting the gravity of the loan forward…. When
considering the kinematics ergonomics of load carriage, the
counterbalance backpack has significant benefits. (5)
Of course, the counterbalance pack also allows easier access for items such as keys and wallets and cell phones the user might like to get at without putting their pack down. Unfortunately, they are not yet widely available. Perhaps they are unpopular among students because they make them look like they are wearing a life jacket and because they hide and wrinkle cool shirts, blouses, and sweaters. They are hard to find in stores and are seen often on hiking trails than on campuses. This might change if the trend towards increased incidences of back strain continues.
Remarks:
The topic sentence opens the discussion and provides context for the first source. Reference 1 provides support for the claim, and describes the benefits of the counterbalance pack. Likewise, Reference 2 elaborates on the advantages of the counterbalance pack. All remaining ideas are tied to the central idea. The block quotation is introduced with a lead-in phrase. It is followed by an interpretive comment and the closing comment wraps up the main point. This is an example of a good synthesis of sources because it is unified, coherent, and the ideas are well developed.
This handout was compiled with help from the following:
“About Jellyfish”. Oceana.org. 2013. Web. 2 June 2014.
“Evolution Quotes”. RationalWiki. 20 Apr. 2014. Web. 25 May 2014.
Hacker , D. and N. Sommers, Canadian Writer’s Reference (5th ed.) Boston: Bedford-St. Martin’s, 2012. Print.
Soles, Derek. The Essentials of Academic Writing, Canadian Ed. Toronto: Nelson Education, 2014. Print.
Wysocki, Anne Frances et al. The DK Handbook, Canadian Ed. Toronto: Pearson, 2013. Print.
Academic Writing Tools:
To outline your essay see Outlines: Short Essay (fewer than 5 pages) or Extended Essay (more than 5 pages).
If your instructor has requested an annotated bibliography, see Writing Guide: Annotated Bibliography.
For help with writing a thesis statement, see Writing Guide: Writing a Thesis Statement.
For information about citing your sources see the Citation Style Guides links on our ‘Academic Writing Styles’ page.
For additional help, please make an appointment with a Writing & Learning Centre writing instructor at: https://alexander.mywconline.com/
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