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Evaluating Sources

  • Brandi Bradley
  • Jan 28, 2019
  • 6 min read

Outlines are due TODAY (Monday 1/28) before 11:59 pm. Be sure to follow the P1 Outline Guide. I do grade outlines and provide feedback on them. I gave you a guide for a reason. Also, THIS IS NOT A FIRST DRAFT. Because I review these and provide feedback, I DO NOT want it to look like a paper. Bullet point what you plan to write about so I can be sure you are on the right track. If your outline looks like a first draft, then it is not an outline and I won't award points.

Be sure to read Bedford Book of Genres 314-348

We will be meeting again in Video Conferences again next week!!! Don't delay signing up to get the spot which fits best in your schedule. Remember missing a conference will result in two absences and no feedback on your first draft. I do not hold make-up conferences if you miss your appointment and you will receive a Zero on your draft.

First draft for Project 1 is due FRIDAY FEBRUARY 1 before 11:59 pm. Your draft must be posted to your P1 page and the correct link must be uploaded to Canvas by the deadline. If your draft is uploaded late or if you upload a broken link, you will receive a Zero and no feedback on your draft.

Furthermore, I don't give extensions and I do not excuse absences. Life happens, usually when you are on a deadline.

Twitter Assignment: Read The New American Epidemic and create a thread explaining the fallacies and misinformation in the article. Comment on your classmates threads in order to start a conversation about the article.

Now that you have found your 10 Peer-Reviewed sources and begin to write your paper, you may be confused about where to begin.

You are writing an informative paper, which means you are using this research to teach the reader about what you discovered while you investigated the research question that you posed. Make sure you are not treating the paper like a showcase of research. What do I mean by a showcase of research? Showcasing when you weave a series of facts together with no insight on what any of it means. Basically the writer is just locating and pointing to facts.

The writer's responsibility is to show:

  • How do these ideas connect?

  • How are these ideas interpreted?

  • Do these statements contradict?

You have posed a research question and embarked on a journey to find the answer. You might not find a definitive answer. That's fine. As long as you are teaching the reader about what you were able to discover. **Note: there is a huge difference between not being able to find a definitive answer and lazy research.**

Why so many sources?

Multiple sources provides context for your ideas and offers evidence for your claims. Also, having multiple sources shows how your sources relate to other sources: how your sources agree & how they contradict?

When using sources, you have multiple ways to present the information: paraphrase, summary, and direct quotes. You already know how to do this. Anytime you have relayed a story or an exciting scene from a movie, you have likely paraphrase, summarized, or used direct quotes.

Watch Andy from Parks & Recreation paraphrase, summarize & direct quote his favorite movies

Quotes

Quotes are for situations where you want to use the source author's exact words.

You must give credit to the author, use their exact words, and use quotation marks around those exact words.

It might look like this:

"Krispy Kreme glazed is the culmination of doughnut perfection." (Bradley 3)

Remember: Who's the boss? Whenever you use a quote, the voice of the composition changes. When you bring in a scientist, the paper takes the tone of the scientist. Using quotes is like handing the mic over to another person. You don't want to use too many quotes because the writer will no longer be the dominant voice of the paper. You are the writer: remember who is talking here.

When should you quote:

  • When you need an expert to weigh in - If your paper focuses on soda consumption of preteens and you claim that soda is unhealthy...Who do you need backing you up?

  • When a paraphrase or summary would alter the author's meaning - Any situation where language or word choice is debatable Especially useful when writing about laws or rules. For example, were you aware of this rule while playing Uno?

Check the rules if you don't believe me. Because this is a little-known rule in Uno, you would want to quote it directly from the source material to ensure you have gotten it right, but also so no one can dispute you.

  • When a paraphrase or summary would not capture the essence of the author's clear and memorable words and tone. Think about how we use quote cards and memes.

  • When the purpose is to analyze the text - this is especially useful for literature. When looking at a passage from a book or a poem, it is useful to dissect the actual words from the text.

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is then you take the idea and put it in your own words.

It might look like this:

Bradley affirms the pinnacle product of all doughnut franchises is the Krispy Kreme glazed variety. (3)

A paraphrase should:

  • Provide big picture message of source

  • Be in your own words or voice with the same level of formality and vocabulary as the rest of the piece

  • Change both the words and the order of the ideas presented in the original.

  • Usually the same length

  • Give credit to the author

When to paraphrase

  • When you don't want to quote - Perhaps you want to make sure your voice is in control of the paragraph.

  • When your audience is very different from your source author's audience - if you are teaching 5-year-olds thermodynamics, you will likely spend more time paraphrasing than direct quoting.

  • When you want your tone to dominate

How to paraphrase

1. Read, view or listen to source material

2. Put source material away and write passage from memory

3. Restate the passage in your own words.

4. Compare the original to your version, make sure they are not too similar

5. Make sure you haven't altered content

6. DON'T FORGET: CITE, CITE, CITE

Make sure that when you start a paraphrase to use signal words. Often you can tell that a fact has been paraphrased or summarized when you see these triggers:

  • According to...

  • In the article...

  • (Author's name) claims...

Summarizing

Like paraphrasing, but the intent is to condense a long passage. Perhaps you have a page worth of material you need to condense down to a paragraph.

It might look like this:

Brandi Bradley's review of doughnut franchises applauds Krispy Kreme's quality of product, while highlighting Dunkin Donuts as the superior corporation due to its flavorful coffee and customer service.

What's the difference between Summary and Paraphrasing?

A summary:

  • Captures the main idea

  • Is Considerably shorter than the original

  • An article becomes a page

  • A page becomes a paragraph

  • A paragraph becomes a sentence

How to Summarize

  1. Read, view or listen to source material

  2. Put the source away and write from memory

  3. Look over main ideas and organize them

  4. Don't add opinions

  5. Compare summary to revision

  6. Be sure to cite.

Plagiarism

When putting together sources and sifting through so much information, it is important not to incidentally plagiarize. To incidentally plagiarize is to write the information as if it was your idea and not your sources idea. Always make sure that you give credit to your sources.

How to avoid plagiarism:

  • Exact words: Always in quotations and cite it.

  • If you paraphrase it : Cite it

  • If you summarize it : Cite it

Here are a few tips and tricks to keep in mind while researching:

  • Immediately document the source citation, author and author

  • Put quotes around anything directly copied

  • DON'T TRUST YOUR MEMORY - Document where you found everything

  • Paraphrase twice

  • When in doubt, cite it anyway

Don't Forget:

 
 
 

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