Transcript Writing from Scratch - Western New England University

Writing from Scratch:
Incorporating Sources in Academic Writing
The Writing and Reading Program
At Western New England University
Getting Started

Academic writing
requires close,
active reading, a
reasoned
interpretation and
conclusion, and
valid, welldocumented
evidence.
 The
evidence used in academic writing
is known as source material.
 There are three types of sources:
 Primary
sources
 Secondary sources
 Tertiary sources
Primary Sources

Primary sources are
often called
“firsthand”
documents. They
include original
writings or records.

An example might
be:

A diary or poem
Writing with Primary Sources

College level assignments often require you
to read carefully and offer a personal
interpretation of a specific text.
 In this instance, you are dealing exclusively
with a primary source.
 In some cases, you may be asked to examine
the whole text and offer a thorough
explication.
 In other cases, you may be asked to examine
a specific element or aspect of the text and
offer an analysis.
The Explication

The goal of an explication is to show your
thorough reading and grasp of the text.
 An explication requires a focused
examination of every detail, paragraph by
paragraph, stanza by stanza, or line by line.
 Writing an explication of a text can prepare
you for using other rhetorical strategies by
making the purpose of the work and the
author’s techniques clear.
The Analysis

The analysis essay requires several key
steps.




First, be able to identify and discuss the various
elements in the literary work.
Focus on one particular element and study its
function in depth.
Develop a topic and thesis based on a close
reading of the text.
As your essay takes shape, be prepared to utilize
the art of explication as you make your points
clear to the reader.

Once you can
formulate a
reasonable
interpretation, you
must find examples
in the text that
support your
position.
Focus: Primary Sources
Don’t forget that your essay must be
based on your views and interpretation.
This sentence represents the writer’s view of
Francis Ponge’s work.
Francis Ponge expresses the value of nature by
highlighting the wonderful surprises found in the
natural world.
 Every
major point must be
supported with evidence from the
text:
Francis Ponge expresses the value of nature by highlighting the
wonderful surprises found in the natural world. In his poem,
“The Oyster,” he explains a magical occurrence,
“Sometimes very rare a formula pearls in their gullet of
nacre, whereby / is found at once an adornment” ( 21).
This quotation supports the author’s
point, but there is something missing.
 It
is critical to explain every quotation.
 Don’t assume the reader understands
the significance of a quote, or its
connection to your thesis or topic
sentence.
Secondary Sources

Secondary sources
restate, evaluate,
interpret and/or analyze
primary source
documents.
 Secondary sources
often argue a particular
viewpoint, and many
are published by
scholars in academic
publications.
T.S. Eliot’s essay on
Shakespeare’s Hamlet
would be an example of a
secondary source.
The text of the play, Hamlet,
would be the primary source
that Eliot interpreted.
From Secondary to Primary
Let’s suppose you are interested in writing a
paper about T.S. Eliot himself.
 If you glean information about Eliot from his
letters and essays, then these materials serve
as primary source documents.
 In this instance, the Eliot essay written about
the play Hamlet becomes a primary source
document, telling you about the poet and
critic T.S. Eliot.

Tertiary Sources
 Tertiary
Sources organize, summarize,
and condense secondary sources of
information.
 Most reference books fit into this
category.
Tertiary Sources
Tertiary sources are useful
when you are scouting for
materials to substantiate
your argument or thesis.
Tertiary sources can guide
you to meaty, useful articles
and books that can help you
make your point more clearly
and authoritatively.
An example of a tertiary
source would be
MLA International
Bibliography.
Writing with Secondary
Sources


Once you formulate a
thesis statement or
controlling idea, you
must find sources that
support your position.
Your thesis statement
must express your
position and telegraph,
or forecast to the reader
the steps you will
undertake to defend this
position.
Finding Sources
 The
most authoritative sources come
from refereed [or peer reviewed]
journals.
 Use
scholarly publications
 Look for signed articles
 Check for a bibliography
 Make sure the article really pertains to your
topic
Quotations = Evidence

Beware! Make sure
that your paper is
not merely a
compilation of
quotations!
 Refer to secondary
source material only
when required to do
so.

Read your sources
thoroughly. Don’t
remove a quotation
from a text without
understanding the
context thoroughly.
 Follow protocol for
incorporating source
material.
Use a Direct Quote*
When the author’s language is expressive
and effective for your particular purpose
 When you are looking for technical accuracy
 When a person’s opinion should be
expressed in his or her own words
 When you can appeal to a noted authority
 When you are analyzing or interpreting a text

*This segment of the presentation is an adaptation of Diana Hacker’s
chapter called “Integrating Quotations” from her excellent text, A
Writer’s Reference.
Use Quotations Effectively

A “dropped”
quotation
California law prevents the
killing of mountain lions
except for specific lions that
have been proved to be a
threat to humans or
livestock. “Fish and Game is
even blocked from keeping
mountain lions from killing
the endangered desert
bighorn sheep” (Perry B4).

Using a “signal” verb
or phrase”
California law prevents the
killing of mountain lions
except for specific lions that
have been proved to be a
threat to humans or
livestock. Tony Perry points
out that, ironically, “Fish and
Game is even blocked from
keeping mountain lions from
killing the endangered desert
bighorn sheep” (B4).
A “signal” verb
Signal Verbs

Suggests
 Illustrates
 Contends
 Asserts
 Claims
 Points out

An example:
In her book on
Venezuela, Maggie
Cunniff asserts that
Chavez Frias will
“adopt a political,
rather than
economic solution to
[his] country’s ills”
(50).
Quoting Correctly

Sometimes it’s more
effective to use just
a phrase from a
source:
In late 1923, author and
journalist Morgan Fleming
wrote that spiritual and
philosophical notions were
buried in the customs
practiced by the “spirited
tribes of the Pacific
Northwest” (124).
Quoting Correctly

Use ellipsis marks [. . .] to indicate that a
segment of the passage has been omitted.
This is useful when you want to condense a
lengthy quotation:

Martin Xavier contends that the “life of the poet…
should never steer the interpretation of individual
poems, but may inform us about the writer’s
complete oeuvre” (55).
In this example, the key segments of the quotation are used and
extraneous material is represented by the ellipsis marks.
Rules Governing the Ellipsis
 If
you intend to omit a full sentence or
more, use a period before the three
ellipsis dots.
 Ellipsis marks do not belong at the
beginning or end of a quotation.
 Be sure that your use of ellipsis marks
does not lead to a misrepresentation of
the original text.
The Bracket [ ]
 Brackets
are a nifty way for you to
legally insert your own words into
quoted material.
 Use brackets to clarify a point.
 Use brackets to maintain grammatical
consistency. For example, the text you
are citing may be written in a conflicting
verb tense.
Robinson felt that “ the impossible [was]
likely anytime you [didn’t] expect it” (4).
The Long Quotation

Make a sensible and effective transition to
long quotations, usually with the aid of a
colon.
 Do not use quotation marks; just follow the
standard indented format (ten spaces or one
inch from the left margin with no adjustments
on the right margin).
 Do not single space long quotations.
 When using a long quotation, place in-text
citations OUTSIDE of the final period.
The Long Quotation – An
Example
Freccero clearly elaborates the connection
between pilgrimage and conversion:
The process of the poem, which is to say the progress of
the pilgrim, is the transformation of the problematic and
humanistic into the certain and transcendent, from
novelistic involvement to epic detachment, from a
synchronic view of the self in a dark wood to a diachronic
total view of the entire world. (13)
Documentation
 Use
the Modern Language Association
format (MLA) for most papers in the
Humanities.
 MLA relies on signal phrases and brief
in-text citations.
 Keep track of all pertinent information,
especially when you are using
databases.
MLA Axiom # 1
 Introduce
a source with a signal phrase
that includes the author’s last name.
 In
this case, follow the quotation with a
brief in-text citation listing the page in
parentheses.
 Remember that the period of the sentence
belongs OUTSIDE the final parenthesis.
Wellington claims that “rubber boots are a requirement of life
when walking in the Cotswolds” (40).
MLA Axiom # 2
 If
you use no signal phrase or provide a
paraphrase with no direct reference to
the source, you must include the
author's last name in the parentheses
with the page number:
If you have a chance to take a walking vacation in the
Cotswolds, you will need to include rubber boots in
your supply pack (Wellington 40).
MLA Axiom # 3
 Cite
works with no author by using an
abbreviation of the title.
 This
occurs frequently when citing Web
resources:
Public bathing facilities were more elaborate in Herculaneum,
but “Pompeii rivaled any city of its time in the availability of
plumbing conveniences” (“Pompeii”).
MLA Axiom # 4
 Always
keep a text nearby to guide your
citation and bibliography format.
 The
Penguin Handbook by Lester Faigley
offers a complete section of rules and
examples for using MLA.
 Academic
reading and writing
challenges your convictions, broadens
your experience of the world, and brings
you knowledge of yourself.