An Overview of Writing with Research as a Process
When you create a text in college or in the professional world, you are participating in and contributing to an ongoing conversation about the topic in question. Your writing is no longer merely the purview of the classroom alone. You are now working toward becoming a professional yourself, and the texts that you create need to reflect and form and quality of “real-world” writing. Doing this successfully requires effective source acknowledgment, integration, and documentation.
One key thing to keep in mind is that you are the one writing the paper. Your voice should always control an essay. Sure, you may allow others in as guests to offer informative opinions or as a source for hard data. However, you, like any good host, are responsible for introducing these sources to the reader and then doing something productive with the information that they present.
This chapter will explain how to effectively bring in the voices of others and responsibly use their ideas to build your own argument. The woven tapestry that this process creates is the essential fabric of all academic and professional writing. If you have never had to use outside research in your work, the process can look intimidating at the outset, but this chapter will provide effective tips strategies and activities that can quickly put you in a position to be successful going forward.
Note: this section deals exclusively with how to use outside sources effectively. For help with citations, review the Documentation and MLA Formatting chapter.
An Overview of How to Weave Outside Information Into Your Writing
Use the following content, which has been adapted from from Katelyn Burton’s “How and Why to Cite,” to hone and expand the ways in which you weave outside information into your writing.
What is a quotation?
A quotation is one way you may make use of a source to support and illustrate points in your essay. A quotation is made up of exact words from the source, and you must be careful to let your reader know that these words were not originally yours. To indicate your reliance on exact words from a source, either place the borrowed words between quotation marks or if the quotation is four lines or more, use indentation to create a block quotation.
Once you have determined that you want to use a quotation, the following strategies will help you smoothly fit quotations into your writing. We will discuss these strategies in more detail later in this chapter.
- Signal phrases help you integrate quoted material into your essay.
- Quotations must be made to work within the grammar of your sentences, whether you are quoting phrases or complete sentences.
- Quotations must be properly punctuated.
- Quotations must contain a citation.
When should I quote?
Quote when the exact wording is necessary to make your point. For example, if you were analyzing the style choices in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, you would quote because it would be important to illustrate the unforgettable language or to use exact wording in a discussion of word choice and sentence structure. You would also quote if the exact wording captures information, tone, or emotion that would be lost if the source were reworded. Use quotations to assist with conciseness if it would take you longer to relate the information if you were to put it into your own words. Finally, if you cannot reword the information yourself and retain its meaning, you should quote it.
Source: It has begun. It is awful—continuous and earthquaking.
Quoting to preserve emotion: One nurse described an exchange between the two sides as “awful—continuous and earthquaking” (Burton 120).
How long should a quotation be?
Quote only as many words as necessary to capture the information, tone, or expression from the original work for the new context that you are providing. Lengthy quotations actually can backfire on a writer because key words from the source may be hidden among less important words. In addition, your own words will be crowded out. Never quote a paragraph when a sentence will do; never quote a sentence when a phrase will do; never quote a phrase when a word will do.
Source: It has begun. It is awful—continuous and earthquaking.
Quoting everything: One nurse described an artillery exchange between the two sides. She wrote, “It has begun. It is awful—continuous and earthquaking” (Burton 120).
Quoting key words: One nurse described an artillery exchange between the two sides as “awful—continuous and earthquaking” (Burton 120).
See the following video from M. J. Glover, of the University of Cape Town’s Writing Centre, for a quick overview of how to weave quotations into your writing:
What is a paraphrase?
A paraphrase preserves information from a source but does not preserve its exact wording. A paraphrase uses vocabulary and sentence structure that is largely different from the language in the original. A paraphrase may preserve specialized vocabulary shared by everyone in a field or discipline; otherwise, the writer paraphrasing a source starts fresh, creating new sentences that repurpose the information in the source so that the information plays a supportive role its new location.
When should I paraphrase?
Paraphrase when information from a source can help you explain or illustrate a point you are making in your own essay, but when the exact wording of the source is not crucial.
Source: The war against piracy cannot be won without mapping and dividing the tasks at hand. I divide this map into two parts: that which anyone can do now, and that which requires the help of lawmakers.
Paraphrase: Researchers argue that legislators will need to address the problem but that other people can get involved as well (Lessig 563).
If you were analyzing Lessig’s style, you might want to quote his map metaphor; however, if you were focusing on his opinions about the need to reform copyright law, a paraphrase would be appropriate.
What is effective paraphrasing?
Effective paraphrasing repurposes the information from a source so that the information plays a supportive role in its new location. This repurposing requires a writer to rely on her own sentence structure and vocabulary. She creates her own sentences and chooses her own words so the source’s information will fit into the context of her own ideas and contribute to the development of her thesis.
Source: Citizens of this generation witnessed the first concerted attempt to disseminate knowledge about disease prevention and health promotion, downplaying or omitting altogether information about disease treatment.
Effective Paraphrase: Murphy pointed out that in the first half of the nineteenth century, people worked hard to spread information about how to prevent disease but did not emphasize how to treat diseases (415).
When does paraphrasing become plagiarism?
A paraphrase should use vocabulary and sentence structure different from the source’s vocabulary and sentence structure. Potential plagiarism occurs when a writer goes through a sentence from a source and inserts synonyms without rewriting the sentence as a whole.
Source: Citizens of this generation witnessed the first concerted attempt to disseminate knowledge about disease prevention and health promotion, downplaying or omitting altogether information about disease treatment.
Potential plagiarism: People of this period observed the first organized effort to share information about preventing disease and promoting health, deemphasizing or skipping completely information about treating diseases (Murphy 141).
The sentence structure of the bad paraphrase is identical to the sentence structure of the source, matching it almost word for word. The writer has provided an in-text citation pointing to Murphy as the source of the information, but she is, in fact, plagiarizing because she hasn’t written her own sentence.
See the following video from Queensland’s University of Technology for a quick overview of how to paraphrase effectively:
Activity 5.1
Try creating an effective paraphrase of the following quote from Ernest Hemingway’s short story “The End of Something.” As you do this, be sure to make the wording your own and try to get to the essence of what is being conveyed:
“In the old days Hortons Bay was a lumbering town. No one who lived in it was out of sound of the big saws in the mill by the lake. Then one year there were no more logs to make lumber. The lumber schooners came into the bay and were loaded with the cut of the mill that stood stacked in the yard. All the piles of lumber were carried away. The big mill building had all its machinery that was removable taken out and hoisted on board one of the schooners by the men who had worked in the mill. The schooner moved out of the bay toward the open lake carrying the two great saws, the traveling carriage that hurled the logs against the revolving, circular saws and all the rollers, wheels, belts and iron piled on a hull-deep load of lumber. Its open hold covered with canvas and lashed tight, the sails of the schooner filled and it moved out into the open lake, carrying with it everything that had made the mill a mill and Hortons Bay, a town.
The one-story bunk houses, the eating-house, the company store, the mill offices, and the big mill itself stood deserted in the acres of sawdust that covered the swampy meadow by the shore of the bay.”
Hint: Keep things simple. Read the passage, look away from the text and then try to say in your own words what you just read. Remember that you can also quote useful phrases in your paraphrase.
How to Work Quotations and Paraphrases Into Your Own Writing
How and why to use signal phrases
Signal phrases identify who the author of the outside source is and note something that indicates their credibility on the topic.
They are an essential element of not just academic writing, but any form of communication that brings in the voices of others. Imagine what would happen if a news segment were at the scene of a crime and suddenly the reporter lets another person begin talking without telling the viewer that they were owner of the store where the robbery occurred. The viewer would have no idea who the person is or why they were speaking, and they would struggle to put it all together when they should simply be focusing on the important information being conveyed to them.
In other words, signal phrases are ways of “signaling” to the reader (get it?) why you have let this person’s voice into the essay and why the reader should listen to what they have to say. They may seem unimportant on the surface, but signal phrases form the bedrock of any academic or professional essay.
Thus, you use signal phrases that mention your source to help your reader distinguish between the source and your own ideas. You never want to not drop quotes into your paper with no setup or explanation–as in the news report example noted above.
Quick examples of what effective signal phrases look like:
Paraphrase with a signal phrase:
- As the author points out, quotations are great, but sometimes paraphrases are better (DeVries 3).
Quotation with signal phrase:
- In her diary, the nurse lamented that “one of the most stabbing things in this war is seeing the lines of empty motor ambulances going up to bring down the wrecks who at this moment are sound and fit” (Burton 413).
What information does an effective signal phrase include?
When writing an essay in MLA format, an effective first signal phrase usually includes two key elements:
- The author’s full name
- Something about that person that adds to their credibility (e.g., their profession) or something about the work itself (e.g., an article title, the title of the book, journal, or newspaper in which an article appears, etc.)
See the examples below:
- Scott Ortolano, Professor of English at Florida SouthWestern State College, relates…
- Writing in “An Overview of Writing with Research as a Process,” Scott Ortolano argues…
Notice that both of these examples perform the essential function of giving the reader enough information to identify who the author of the source is as well as something that indicates their credibility on the topic.
What to do in a signal phrase when there is no author
When there is no author or the author is an organization or corporation, use information that performs the same “signaling” function noted above. For example, you might use the organization’s name, with a short descriptive line for context, or note the title of the article or the source from which it comes.
See the examples below:
Organizational signal phrases
- According to the National Coffee Association, America’s most prominent advocacy organization for the coffee industry,…
- A poll conducted by the non-partisan Pew Research Center found…
Signal phrases that use titles for credibility
- A New York Times article contends…
- A historical overview that appeared in Smithsonian Magazine explains…
As with the signal phrases that appeared when an author was present, the above examples help to contextualize and add credibility to the information that will be drawn from them.
What about subsequent references to the same source?
You want to think of using signal phrases like introducing someone at a party. Once the source has been introduced, you can just use a shorthand reference to them.
This is easy to do if you used the author’s name in the initial signal phrase. In this case, you would simply use the person’s last name. See the example below:
- First use of the source: Playwright William Shakespeare reminds use that…
- All subsequent uses: Shakespeare also maintains…
To make writing easier, be strategic when you introduce sources so that you have an easy way of referring back to them if they appear again in your essay. Because signal phrases can take a myriad of forms, it is up to you to choose a structure that is effective and appropriate for your argument.
Be mindful of the verbs that you use to introduce information
A signal verb introduces the quote that is coming and indicates your stance towards the material. You want to use different verbs of expression to avoid being monotonous but also because some verbs are better for setting up the point you are making. For example, to stress weakness in a source’s argument, you might choose to write that your source admits or concedes a point.
Some Sample Signal Verbs
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acknowledge
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emphasize
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admit
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illustrate
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agree
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note
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argue
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observe
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assert
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point out
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claim
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report
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comment
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state
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compare
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suggest
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complain
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summarize
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describe
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write |
Watch the following video from the Oregon School of Library Information (OSLIS) on how to create and use effective signal phrases before moving on to Activity 5.2:
Activity 5.2
Let’s practice using signal phrases! Below, you will find a list of sources, craft an effective signal phrase that could be used to introduce this person to the reader.
Importantly, there are many correct ways to formulate a signal phrase. When you’ve finished, compare your work with other classmates and discuss what motivated the choices that you made.
Remember, you want to choose information that is informative and relevant but which also doesn’t overwhelm the reader. It is often best to stick to the principle of two (identify the person’s name, if available, and then one other key piece of information).
Let’s start with one example that has all of the information that you need to create an effective signal phrase
- Brandi George, Professor of English at Florida SouthWestern State College, accomplished poet, author of Gog (Black Lawrence Press, 2015), which won the gold medal in the Florida Book Awards.
Again, use the author’s full name and one other detail to craft a signal phrase that is informative but also not disruptive. Give it a try and then share what you have with your peers.
Okay, now that we’ve done that, do some quick research on your own to craft an effective signal phrase for the famous people listed below
- Albert Einstein
- Emily Dickinson
- Mahatma Gandhi
- J. R. R. Tolkien
- Margaret Atwood
- Josh Allen
Working Quotations into Your Writing
How do I make a quotation work with the grammar of my own sentence?
Each quotation should be an element inside one of your own sentences and should not stand alone.
Example of an incorrect placement of quotation:
The author wrote about conditions for nurses during World War I. “One of the most stabbing things in this war is seeing the lines of empty motor ambulances going up to bring down the wrecks who at this moment are sound and fit” (Burton 441).
Notice that the quotation stands alone. It is not an element within one of your own sentences. Some beginning writers might try to correct the problem by changing the period after “World War II” to a comma. However, that simply tacks one sentence to the end of another and creates a punctuation error. Instead, each quotation must work within the grammar of one of your sentences.
One way to make a quotation work with sentence grammar is to place it after a verb of expression.
The author states, “One of the most stabbing things in this war is seeing the lines of empty motor ambulances going up to bring down the wrecks who at this moment are sound and fit” (Burton 498).
How do I make a quotation work with the grammar of my own sentence if I am not quoting a complete sentence?
A quoted phrase can play any number of roles in the grammar of a sentence: verb, subject or object, adjective or adverb. Look at the example below and pretend that there are no quotation marks. Would the sentence still be grammatical? Yes. That shows that the quoted material works with the grammar of the sentence.
The nurse makes the ambulances sound like tow trucks going to retrieve demolished vehicles when she writes that it was horrible to watch “empty motor ambulances going up to bring down the wrecks” of men (Burton 72).
To integrate a quotation into a sentence, omitting words from the source is acceptable if you follow two rules: use ellipses (…) to signal the omission and avoid distorting the source’s meaning. It is also acceptable to adjust capitalization and grammar provided that you follow two rules: use brackets [ ] to signal the change and, again, avoid distorting the source’s meaning.
Lessig argues against the position that “[f]ile sharing threatens… the ability of creators to earn a fair return from their creativity” (Lessig 203).
When he wrote his book, nearly everyone in the music industry felt that “[f]ile sharing threaten[ed]…the ability of creators to earn a fair return from their creativity” (Lessig 203).
What punctuation should I use with quotations?
Place quotation marks at the start and the end of direct quotations unless the quotation is long enough to justify the use of the block quotation format (four lines or more).
The in-text, or parenthetical, citation shows your reader where your quotation or paraphrase ends. In-text citations are inserted after the final quotation marks. An in-text citation is not found in the words that you are quoting; it is something you create to identify the source for your readers.
If the quotation immediately follows a verb capturing the act of expression, place a comma after the verb:
As the author wrote, “A free culture has been our past, but it will only be our future if we change the path we are on right now” (Lessig 287).
Under limited circumstances, a colon (:) can be used to introduce a quotation. The quotation must re-identify or restate a phrase or idea that immediately precedes the colon.
Lessig reached a radical conclusion about copyrighted material: “It should become free if it is not worth $1 to you” (251).
Activity 5.3
Let’s try working outside information into your writing with an excerpt from another Ernest Hemingway story. This excerpt comes from the short story “Big Two-Hearted River” (published in 1925).
Remember, quotations never occur in a vacuum. They are information that you bring in to support and build your own arguments. For the sake of this argument, pretend like you are writing about the devastating effects forest fires can have on the surrounding landscape and then do the following:
- Craft an effective topic sentence that conveys the topic to the reader (your point about how devastating forest fires can be).
- Introduce the quotation with an effective signal phrase (remember, this was written by Ernest Hemingway), and weave in a quote that effectively conveys the fire’s devastation on the area.
- Build on the quote in your own words. What, exactly, makes the information relevant to the argument? How does it show the devastation that forest fires can create?
“The train went on up the track out of sight, around one of the hills of burnt timber. Nick sat down on the bundle of canvas and bedding the baggage man had pitched out of the door of the baggage car. There was no town, nothing but the rails and the burned-over country. The thirteen saloons that had lined the one street of Seney had not left a trace. The foundations of the Mansion House hotel stuck up above the ground. The stone was chipped and split by the fire. It was all that was left of the town of Seney. Even the surface had been burned off the ground.
Nick looked at the burned-over stretch of hillside, where he had expected to find the scattered houses of the town and then walked down the railroad track to the bridge over the river.”
Onward to MLA!
Now that you’ve had some practice working without outside sources, the next section will discuss how to effectively document this information in your writing in MLA format. We have covered quite a bit in this chapter, and you may still feel a little unsure of yourself. If this is the case, remember that the Writing Center, Tutor.com, and, most importantly, your professor are all resources that you can turn to for support.
Sources Used to Create This Chapter
The majority of the content for this section has been adapted from OER Material from Katelyn Burton’s “How and Why to Cite,” in Kathy Boylan, et al’s Let’s Get Writing! (2017). This work was published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Radford University Core Handbook, Laurie Cubbison et al., CC-0.
Excerpts from Ernest Hemingway’s short stories “The End of Something” and “Big Two-Hearted River” come from In Our Time, Boni & Liveright, 1925. This book is in the public domain, and the excerpts that appear in this chapter were drawn from Wikisource.
