Writing the Autoethnography

1. Writing the Autoethnography Notes and Tips

2. Frequently Asked Questions • How much of my own experience do I use? When do I bring in research? • The answer will vary based on your topic. • Think about arranging different “blocks” or “modules” of evidence into paragraphs. • Each paragraph is a conversation with 2 – 3 “speakers” • One of these speakers may be you!

3. A Sample Paragraph • Topic sentence – Link back to the thesis • Source A • Use a “quote sandwich” or a “paraphrase sandwich” • Introduce Source A • Lead-in to quote or paraphrase • Analyze quote/address implications • Transition to Source B (Create a “Bridge”) • Source B • Another “quote sandwich” or “paraphrase sandwich” • Conclude paragraph by summarizing what has been said and creating a bridge to the next topic.

4. A Sample Paragraph • Topic sentence – Link back to the thesis • Source A • Use a “quote sandwich” or a “paraphrase sandwich” • Introduce Source A • Lead-in to quote or paraphrase • Analyze quote/address implications • Transition to Source B (Create a “Bridge” • Source B • Another “quote sandwich” or “paraphrase sandwich” • Conclude paragraph by summarizing what has been said and creating a bridge to the next topic.

5. Quotation • Quotations must match the source document word for word. • Every time you use words directly from a source, you should use quotation marks to indicate that. • E.g. Speaking about her father, Bechdel writes, “He would perform, as Daedalus did, dazzling displays of artfulness” (9). • If the quote ends with a period, the quotation/citation should follow this form – ” ( ). • If the quote ends with a question mark or an exclamation mark, it should follow this form -- !” ( ).

6. Quotations (Cont’d) • If you need to take information out of a quotation, mark the place where you took it out using ellipses (Easy Writer 129-130). • Use brackets [ ] to indicate information that you are adding within a quotation. You may often have to use it to clarify pronouns. • If you have a long quotation (more than four lines in MLA), indent it one inch (two tab stops). See Easy Writer 122 for an example.

7. Try it • Find a quotation from one of your sources. • Introduce the source (author and title, if useful) • Introduce the immediate context • What does the reader need to know? • Introduce quotation • Include citation • Interpret or address quotation

8. Paraphrase • A paraphrase summarizes a text without using any phrases from the original text. • A paraphrase does not include any quotation marks, but it does include a page number.

9. Paraquote • A paraquote combines a paraphrase and a quotation. All parts of a phrase that are quoted directly are enclosed in quotation marks. • A paraquote is useful when you want to use a significant phrase or word from a quote, but you don’t want to use the whole thing.

10. Example • In Fun Home, Alison Bechdel tells us that the Stonewall riots occurred just a few weeks before her family visited New York (104). Although she admits “the absurdity of claiming a connection to that mythologized flashpoint,” she also asks the reader, “Might not a lingering vibration, a quantum particle of rebellion, still have have hung in the humectant air?” (104).

11. Try it! • Write a sentence that paraphrases a quotation from your source and another sentence that uses a “paraquote.” • Make sure to cite author and page number for both the paraphrase and the paraquote!