ENGL 1101Using Secondary Sources

Professor Bob Cooper and Dr. Alice Ridout

Chapter 6: Interacting with Texts (p. 104)› Active Reading (p. 105)› Annotating (p. 105)› Scanning/Focused Reading (p. 107)

Reading Secondary Texts

Chapter 8: An Introduction to Reading Texts› The Reading-Writing Connection (p. 123)› Kinds of Texts (p. 125)› Academic and Non-Academic Writing (p.

126-7)

Reading Secondary Texts

Why?

Support your own point Disagree with a relevant study Explain a relevant concept or theory Compare/contrast findings with others Include other authors in your

“conversation”

INTEGRATING RESEARCH

Use references and facts to give your argument authority

Think of referencing as the scholar’s equivalent to the police officer putting on his/her uniform.

Kinds of Evidence

The kind of evidence you need can depend on your purpose, audience, topic, and essay type

It will vary according to discipline Hard evidence has authority

› Facts, statistics, research findings Soft evidence may help explain or

convince› Experts, examples, analogies, anecdotal or

personal experience

Issues of Credibility

KnowledgeAppearing well-informedProviding strong support

ReliabilityFollowing conventionsWriting grammatically and clearly

FairnessAvoiding biasMentioning other sides and viewpoints

What is a “peer reviewed” article?

Peer Review Process

How can I tell if a source is credible?

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/02/

Who is the author?

Credible sources are written by authors respected in their fields of study. Responsible, credible authors will cite their sources so that you can check the accuracy of and support for what they've written. (This is also a good way to find more sources for your own research.)

How recent is the source?

The choice to seek recent sources depends on your topic. While sources on the American Civil War may be decades old and still contain accurate information, sources on information technologies, or other areas that are experiencing rapid changes, need to be much more current.

What is the author's purpose?

When deciding which sources to use, you should take the purpose or point of view of the author into consideration. Is the author presenting a neutral, objective view of a topic? Or is the author advocating one specific view of a topic? Who is funding the research or writing of this source? A source written from a particular point of view may be credible; however, you need to be careful that your sources don't limit your coverage of a topic to one side of a debate.

What type of sources does your audience value?

If you are writing for a professional or academic audience, they may value peer-reviewed journals as the most credible sources of information. If you are writing for a group of residents in your hometown, they might be more comfortable with mainstream sources, such as Time or Newsweek. A younger audience may be more accepting of information found on the Internet than an older audience might be.

Be especially careful when evaluating Internet sources!

Never use Web sites where an author cannot be determined, unless the site is associated with a reputable institution such as a respected university, a credible media outlet, government program or department, or well-known non-governmental organizations. Beware of using sites like Wikipedia, which are collaboratively developed by users. Because anyone can add or change content, the validity of information on such sites may not meet the standards for academic research.

Techniques1. Summary2. Precis3. Paraphrase4. Direct Quotation5. Combining Methods

INTEGRATING RESEARCH

What it includes:

Main ideas or most important points only Use your own words

1. SUMMARY

What it includes:

Main points of a work Same order Leaves our most sub-points and all

detail Your own words ¼ to 1/3 of the original in length

2. PRECISAlso called a Stand-Alone Summary

When to use it: Include another writer’s points in your

paper

How to use it: (See page 23) Integrate into your writing smoothly

2. PRECIS

What it includes:

All of the original Your own words Structure changed (if possible)

3. PARAPHRASE

When to use it: Refer to material directly relevant to

your point

How to use it: Small but significant passages

3. PARAPHRASE

What it includes:

Words and punctuation of the original Quotation marks

4. DIRECT QUOTATION

When to use it: Important material Memorably phrased or Difficult to paraphraseHow to use it: Integrate grammatically and smoothly. Brackets [ ] and ellipsis (…) when

needed.

4. DIRECT QUOTATION

Summary› Uses main idea(s)› Uses your own words› Omits detail› Is shorter than original

Paraphrase› Includes all the original› Uses your own words› Is about the length of the original

WRITING THE ROUGH DRAFT: INTEGRATING SOURCES (p. 82)

Direct quotations› Use words of original› Include quotation marks around passage

› In general, do not quote directly if you are citing statistics you are giving factual information the passage is easy to summarize or

paraphrase› Do quote directly if

the words or phrasing is significant the source is authoritative the passage is difficult to summarize or

paraphrase

WRITING THE ROUGH DRAFT: INTEGRATING SOURCES, CONT’D

Combining direct quotations and summary/ paraphrase› Contributes to efficient writing› Stresses significant words

Omitting unneeded words in direct quotations› Use three spaced dots (. . .) to show one or

more words omitted› Use four spaced dots to show words

omitted to end of sentence

WRITING THE ROUGH DRAFT: INTEGRATING SOURCES, CONT’D

Use square brackets […] to indicate changes to a direct quotation

Adding or changing words › To correct grammar› To make stylistic change› To clarify or add needed information

WRITING THE ROUGH DRAFT: INTEGRATING SOURCES, CONT’D

Always remember to cite!

Read “Some Summary Writing Strategies” on page 25.

Can you think of any other strategies for successful summary writing?

Read “Outline to Summary: an Example” on pages 25-27.

Is the summary on page 27 successful? Answer the “Review Questions”

together on page 28.

Group Work - Chapter 2: Writing Summaries