Using Source Material

1. Using Source Material Source: Contributed by Hinds Professor Leah Speights

2. KNOW YOUR REQUIREMENTS • You must use 2-4 quotations total. These quotes need to be in the body paragraphs, not the introduction or conclusion. • You can only use material from the article on your topic, unless I approve another article for you specifically. You must request to use extra sources by Wednesday, March 9th . • You must cite the author each time you quote. • You must include a works cited page.

3. Know Where to Put Source Material • Never put source material at the beginning or end of a paragraph. Quotations always go in the middle of paragraphs. • Always comment on the source material. Don’t just expect the material to explain itself.

4. Choose Appropriate Source Material Straight information • Specific facts or statistics • Information gathered from research Interpretation • Analysis from an expert • Analysis from a critic • Discussion by a journalist • Comments by affected individuals Do Task #1 Now.

5. Direct Quotations • Direct Quotes use quotation marks and repeat word-by-word from the original source. • All direct quotations have 3 parts: • Lead-in  introduces who is speaking or other info • Quotation  gives the exact words in quotes • Citation  references the author and page number As Time reporter Gilbert Cruz explains, “Researchers estimate that low-income students can lose two months of math and reading achievement owing to a lack of reinforcement during the summer break” (2).

6. Creating a Separated Lead-in First Option: 1. Use the author or speaker’s full name. 2. Establish the authority of the speaker. 3. Use a suitable introductory verb in the present tense. For example, don’t use “argue” if the author is simply reporting an observation. (Note the difference in the articles.) 4. Add a comma after the verb. Example: Chris Gabriella, chairman of the group Massachusetts 2020, reasons,

7. Creating a Separated lead-in Second Option: 1. Use the author or speaker’s full name. 2. Establish the authority of the speaker. 3. Create a sentence setting up the quotation. Verbs should be in the present tense. 4. Add a colon after the sentence. Example: In her article “Text-Messaging Behind the Wheel,” journalist Sarah Lynch describes the difficulty of carrying out texting bans: “A texting ban is difficult to enforce because, unlike cell phones that drivers hold up to their ear, texting is often done with the phone held lower down on or propped on drivers’ laps” (1).

8. Notes About Separated Lead-ins • After you have introduced the author for the first time, you may refer to him/her by last name only. • If you have already mentioned the name of the source or where it was published, you do not need to repeat this information. • If you mention the name of the author in the lead-in, you do not need to repeat it in the citation. Do Tasks #2, #3, #4, and #6 Now.

9. Quotations • Direct quotations use quotation marks and repeat word-by-word from the original. • Separated Quotation: • After the comma/colon and a space, create a set of quotation marks. • Capitalize the first word of the quotation (even if it is not capitalized in the source). • Type the quotation exactly as it is in the source. • End with the last set of quotation marks. Do NOT put the period in the quotation. • Example: As Time reporter Gilbert Cruz explains, “Researchers estimate that low-income students can lose two months of math and reading achievement owing to a lack of reinforcement during the summer break” (2).

10. Ellipses and Brackets • Use ellipses to indicate that you’ve taken out part of a sentence. You will need to take out portions when the section is too long or there is some part that would make the quotation awkward. • Use a bracket around letters you need to make lower-case after the ellipses. • Example: “Our children are no longer working in the fields,” Duncan says. “And Mom isn’t waiting at home at 2:30 with a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich.” • Corrected: Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education, explains, “Our children are no longer working in the fields . . . [a]nd Mom isn’t waiting at home at 2:30 with a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich” (qtd. in Cruz 1).

11. A Warning about Quotations • Never “dump” the quote. A dumped quotation does not have a lead-in. Dumped Quote = Drop to a C at least! Example: “Atexting ban is difficult to enforce because, unlike cell phones that drivers hold up to their ear, texting is often done with the phone held lower down on or propped on drivers’ laps” (1). Solution: Create a sentence prior to the quotation that sets up the issue in the quotation. Then, put a colon instead of a period after that sentence. Corrected: In her article “Text-Messaging Behind the Wheel,” journalist Sarah Lynch describes the difficulty of carrying out texting bans: “A texting ban is difficult to enforce because, unlike cell phones that drivers hold up to their ear, texting is often done with the phone held lower down on or propped on drivers’ laps” (1). Do Task #7 Now.

12. Parenthetical Citations Direct quotations REQUIRE you to use parenthetical citations within the body of your paper. • Immediately following the end quotation mark, create an open parenthesis mark. • Inside the parentheses, you will: • give the author and page number if the author’s name isn’t in the lead-in • give only the page number if the author’s name is in the lead-in • c) use the term “qtd. in” before the author’s last name and page number if you are quoting someone within the article that is not the author • End with a closing parenthesis mark and the period.

13. Parenthetical Citations: Examples • As Time reporter Gilbert Cruz explains, “Researchers estimate that low-income students can lose two months of math and reading achievement owing to a lack of reinforcement during the summer break” (2). • Chris Gabriella, chairman of the group Massachusetts 2020, observes,“Focusing on the students that are furthest behind is where it makes the most sense. Middle-class kids, they get a lot more learning time outside of school – they get tutors, they get arts programs, they get music programs, they get summer camps” (qtd. in Cruz 2). • The Governors Highway Safety Association notes, “30 states, D.C. and Guam ban text messaging for all drivers” (“Cell Phone” 1). *Note that this entry does have a page #. Do Task #8 Now.

14. Plagiarism • Plagiarism occurs when a writer uses the words and/or ideas of a source without giving credit or using correct documentation.  Examples • Exact words lifted without using quotation marks Researchers estimate that low-income students can lose two months of math and reading achievement owing to a lack of reinforcement during the summer break (Cruz 2). • Quotation given without in-text citation “Researchers estimate that low-income students can lose two months of math and reading achievement owing to a lack of reinforcement during the summer break.” • Slightly rewording the original version without quotation marks Researchers estimate that poor students lose months of math and reading achievement during summer (Cruz 2). • Slightly rewording the original version without quotation marks or an in-text citation Researchers estimate that poor students lose months of math and reading achievement during summer.