Lesson: Integrating Sources

integrating sources

ENL 101

Why engage other sources in your writing?

Source Visibility

Key question when quoting: how much do you want to emphasize the "otherness" of a source? How visible or invisible do you want the author you're quoting to be?

NEARLY INVISIBLE

VISIBLE

NEARLY INVISIBLE

VISIBLE

But dont nobody's language, dialect, or style make them "vulnerable to prejudice." from Young

In his book white flights, the writer Jess Row says that “America’s great and possibly catastrophic failure is its failure to imagine what it means to live together.” from Hong

What makes these examples more or less visible?

When might you want to make a quote less visible? More?

In-Text Quotes

NEARLY INVISIBLE

VISIBLE

Best for shorter quotes, especially terms and phrases.

Flexible use for quoting a sentence of less.

A difference of signaling

Visible quotes use key verbs, called signal phrases, that let the reader know you're about to quote another text. Less visible quotes use only quotation marks.

Signal phrases

In MLA, signal phrases should always be in the present tense (says), while APA requires the past tense (said).

Examples

As Hong explains, "the immigrant’s first real introduction to surviving in English is profanity."

Fish claims that "unless writing courses focus exclusively on writing they are a sham."

Young challenges Fish's argument: "Black English dont make it own-self oppressed. It be negative views about other people usin they own language."

Paraphrase

Block Quote

NEARLY INVISIBLE

VISIBLE

INVISIBLE

HIGHLY VISIBLE

The two dialects sometime naturally, sometime intentionally, co-exist! This is code switching from a linguistic perspective: two languages and dialects co-existing in one speech act (Auer). from Young

Paraphrase

• Paraphrasing allows you to capture an author's idea in your own words.
• Paraphrase (rather than quote) to...
• Distill a large idea (a whole chapter, article, or argument) into its core points to provide background or context for your reader.
• Unpack a specific, complex idea or passage in clearer, more direct terms.

Block Quote

• A block quote sets a long passage off from your main text with a double indentation.
• Use a block quote when...
• You're integrating a longer quote (typically 3+ lines of text).
• Quoting a critical passage that you want to analyze closely.

Signal phrase

Quote

ANATOMY

Analysis

Always include analysis

• Regardless of the technique you use to integrate a source, the most important part is your analysis of the quoted or paraphrased text.
• Your analysis shows the connection between the source and your writing process

Using overly long (or too many) quotations.

Excess

Crediting the wrong person - or not giving credit at all.

Common quotation pitfalls

Misattribution

Quoting a passage out of context.

Contextomy

Quoting a passage incorrectly.

Misquotation

Dropping a quote with no warning or further explanation.

Plopping

Citations (in MLA)

• Invisible sources
• Author's last name and page number of cited text in parenthesis at the end of a sentence (after the quotation mark but before the period).
• If quoting or paraphrasing twice in a row from the same source, only use author's last name on first mention.

Judging by how popular media portrays Asian people, the Asian accent is "one of the last accents acceptable to mock" (Hong 3). But then again, what is the Asian accent? Certainly it's not the slow, sweet, made-for-sitcoms accent used exclusively by Asian American actors on American television shows (3).

Citations (in MLA)

• Visible sources
• If your signal phrase names the author you are quoting, only put the page number in parentheses.

Young challenges Fish's argument: "Black English dont make it own-self oppressed. It be negative views about other people usin they own language" (110).

Quoting quick-tips

1. Choose quotes that relate to your essay's proposition and/or reasons
2. When in doubt, introduce quotes with a signal phrase
3. Know your quoting strategies:
1. In-text — for key quotes of a sentence or less
2. Paraphrase — for distilling the main points of or providing a clearer explanation for complex ideas
3. Block — for quotes >3 lines long that you intend to closely analyze
4. Always analyze the quote's connection to your main ideas
5. Always cite the source text using parentheticals at the end of the quoted sentence