Please mention one important thing that you took away from the “Using Sources” (Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz, pp. 180-195) reading. Discuss how this one thing either refined something you already knew or how it taught you something new about writing research papers. Your response should be at least three sentences long.
8 thoughts on “Blog Post #13: Using Sources”
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I found the section “Framing Materials You Borrow with Signal Words and Introductions” extremely helpful since I’ve never been taught that before. There should be a proper introduction to borrowed words or ideas and in doing so also adds emphasis on the overall message like the use of “worries” and “argues” instead of simply this person “said.” I think using the right signal verb when incorporating quotes is a good skill to have in a research paper that will only add to your credibility.
The section “Avoiding ‘Patchwriting'” was the one that caught my attention. It talks about how some writers, especially new writers, have a temptation to use materials they found and essentially stick them together with a few connecting words. This caught my attention because it made me realize that I used to do this and still sometimes have a habit of doing this. However, we shouldn’t be using our source’s words but instead try to analyze the main idea that the sources are trying to convey.
The section that was most helpful to me was “Summarizing Texts” because of how it refined my knowledge of summarizing sources. This was helpful because it helped me distinguish between paraphrasing and summarizing. I sometimes put too much information on what is supposed to be a summary and include most of what was said by the author instead of focusing on the point that they are trying to convey. The example provided that talks about a play Language Play are very helpful as it gives an example.
Correction:
The section that was most helpful to me was “Summarizing Texts” because of how it refined my knowledge of summarizing sources. This was helpful because it helped me distinguish between paraphrasing and summarizing. I sometimes put too much information on what is supposed to be a summary and include most of what was said by the author instead of focusing on the point that they are trying to convey.
The examples provided from the book Language Play are very helpful. It starts with the original text, then shows the paraphrased version, and finally the summary of the same text.
One thing that caught my eye was the analogy of a 5 paragraph essay to “ab belt doohickeys”. The 5 paragraph is a standard all through high school. However, it is never found in higher academic work. Spreading your ideas across multiple paragraphs leads to a more cohesive essay.
The section I took away from the most is “Framing Materials You Borrow with Signal Words and Introductions.” I tend to only use “said” when using quotes and analyze them afterwards. However, you can place quotes in a specific context from the get-go with signal words, which is necessary for an argument-based research paper. Reading this section led me to remember the importance of framing sentences.
The part that I kept thinking about was the statement about circumstantial evidence. Often times, I do a quick Google search and base my information off that. Even though I usually start my research from Google and branch off into looking at other sources, sometimes, I end up going back to the quick summary that Google provides. I need to be mindful to use information that has actual evidence and not just assumptions. Assumptions are a good starting point for the research but I should learnt to be less hung up on it. They should not be an ending point.
I found the section “Framing Materials You Borrow with Signal Words and Introductions” to be the most helpful. This section taught me that using signal phrases can help make my argument more effective. It talked about how using words such as “worries” or “argues” when citing from a source can help create an urgent effect. Additionally, this section gave out many examples of frequently used signal verbs.