Integrating Source Material
Integrating Source Material
As Stephen Reid, editor of the Prentice Hall Guide For College Writers, says, "Research papers… are not just reports of other people’s ideas or evidence. What you, the researcher, observe and remember and learn is important, too" (516). In other words, your professor is not simply interested what other authors had to say about your topic -- she is interested in what you have to say. What are your thoughts? What do you think the research means? What conclusions can you draw from the evidence presented in your paper?
Dropped Quotes
Diana Hacker, author of A Writer’s Reference, advises us to "avoid dropping quotations into the text without warning" (264). This can be confusing for your readers, and fails to demonstrate that you’ve thought about this information and truly understand what it means. Hacker offers the following example:
Although the bald eagle is still listed as an endangered species, its ever-increasing population is very encouraging. "The bald eagle seems to have stabilized its populations, at the very least, almost everywhere" (Sheppard 96).
The student who wrote this paragraph included a proper citation (the author’s last name and a page number in parenthesis), but the quote seems to come from nowhere. Why tell us this fact? Why is it important? Does the writer of this paper really understand what the quote means? And who is this Sheppard person? A much stronger way to present this fact would be . . .
Although the bald eagle is still listed as an endangered species, its ever-increasing population is very encouraging. According to ornithologist Jay Sheppard, "The bald eagle seems to have stabilized its populations, at the very least, almost everywhere" (96).
We now know that Jay Sheppard is an ornithologist – a scientist who studies birds. Now the purpose of the quotation is clear: it serves to back up our claim that the bald eagle’s population is encouraging. The student writer has now properly attributed the quote to Jay Sheppard.
Proper Attribution
When you choose to quote an author, it is usually advisable to introduce her and mention her credentials directly in your sentence – (in addition to providing the necessary citation in parenthesis). You might mention the name of the book or article you are quoting, and perhaps even give some context for the quotation. A few author tags, or "signal phrases," might include:
In the words of researcher Herbert Terrace, " . . ."
As Flora Davis has noted, ". . ."
The Gardners, Washoe’s trainers, point out ". . ."
". . . ," claims linguist Noam Chomsky.
Psychologist H.S. Terrace offers an odd argument for this view: ". . ."
Terrace answers these objections with the following analysis: ". . ." (Hacker 265)
Additional Author Tags
Diana Hacker offers the following list of words to use in author tags. She advises student writers to "choose one that is appropriate in the context. Is your source arguing a point, making an observation, reporting a fact, drawing a conclusion, refuting an argument, or staging a belief?" By choosing the right word to introduce your quote, you can make your point even clearer.
acknowledges
comments
endorses
reasons
adds
compares
grants
refutes
admits
confirms
illustrates
rejects
agrees
contends
implies
reports
argues
declares
insists
responds
asserts
denies
notes
suggests
believes
disputes
observes
thinks
claims
emphasizes
points out
writes[pic]Sources: Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford, 1995.Reed, Stephen. The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers 4th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1998. Adapted from the handout by Barbara Love, Northampton
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