Adding Secondary Sources and Conclusions

Secondary sources What is it? A secondary source is an a source other than the primary text that gives insight into what you are researching. It is most likely a scholar who has researched the same topic that you are and because of their expertise, brings more ethos or credibility to the argument.

Why use them? It is important in any field to have conversations with those are experts in their field. This how we grow, learn and communicate. It brings credibility to your own argument to bring a scholar into your own argument.

How do you use secondary sources? There is etiquette to using secondary sources. The first, most important, is that you CITE the source and give the source credit. The next, most important, is that you do not let the source’s words overwhelm your own. This is still YOUR WRITING. You need to let your voice be the prominent voice in the paper. Let the source support you, not the other way around.

Where to use source material: Use your own language to structure the paragraph.  Next, introduce the first detail and defend it with whatever kind of support is appropriate. You may then use a quotation or paraphrase from a source to add support and develop the idea more. If you use a paraphrase, your expression of the idea should be clear, but sometimes a direct quotation from a source needs further analysis to be clear to the reader. This pattern of presenting a detail and developing it may be repeated several times in a paragraph before the conclusion sentence. Thus, a very basic pattern for a paragraph with source may look like this:

Where to use source material See the link on the class website “Using sources well” for a complete explanation. Topic sentence Introduction of detail Development of detail (with statistics, primary source quotations, description, etc) Introduction of a quotation or paraphrase from a secondary source Explanation of the source material Conclusion sentence

Source material Remember: To cite. (Use easybib.com if necessary.) If you use google scholar or mel.org the articles with have the citation completed for you. Don’t allow the source material to overwhelm your voice. This is your paper!

Conclusions Just like every portion of your paper, a conclusion must be purpose driven. If it is only a summary, there is no purpose and your conclusion is needless.

Conclusions. What new ideas or questions might be considered if your thesis is true? What can you leave your reader thinking with as he/she exits your paper? However, you are NOT to introduce new ideas of support for your thesis. This is something different.

Conclusions Do not write “In conclusion” “To sum up” or anything similar. You are to avoid these approaches.