Incorporating Quotations, Claims, & Evidence How to effectively Use your sources

When to Use Evidence When it supports your claim Not just to state or restate your claim When it illustrates your claim When it contradicts your claim And then argue against (refute) that evidence and therefore strengthen your position

Types of Evidence Quotations Paraphrase Summary Statistics, data, charts, graphs, photographs, illustrations, etc. ALL TYPES ARE CITED ALL THE TIME

Use Quotations If… You can’t say it any better You are taking a position that relies on the reader understanding exactly what another writer says about the topic You are using a particularly authoritative source and you need the author’s expertise to back up your point You are analyzing diction, tone, or a writer’s use of a specific word or phrase Take ten minutes to review three of your quotes and consider if they need to be quotes

How to Use Quotations Always introduce or incorporate into your own words Aka avoid dropped quotes Always explain the quote What does it mean? Why does it matter?

Example There is a section on education where Guerra explains, “as much as Mexicano parents want to improve their children’s chances for an advanced education, they face a number of problems that…are beyond their control” (45). This is specifically said for Mexican parents, but other ethnic groups are faced with the same issue since they probably don’t know the English language either. All their children will go to school where they can’t be there all day long to control what they do.

Example In her article she says, “until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself” (Anzaldua 38). What the people did in Arredondo’s article is exactly that what she expresses in the quote, they were themselves because they didn't assimilate. Not only does that give Chicago its’ diversity, but it shows that all three aspects looked at here as in culture, language, and identity weren't changed since assimilation was not taking place.

Paraphrase When You… Want to introduce a writer’s position, but his or her original words aren’t special enough to quote Need to draw on a certain place in a text that supports your point Want to present a writer’s view on a topic that differs from your position or that of another writer Want to comment on a particular example that another writer uses Need to present information that’s unlikely to be questioned

Statistics, data, charts, graphs, Percentages, etc. This type of evidence can be a solid backbone for your argument You still need to create context for your reader and draw the connections you want him or her to make This type of info is always open to interpretation Guide the reader through the interpretation process

Statistics, data, charts, graphs, Percentages, etc. In use since 1981, ART has resulted in 61,564 healthy infants in 2010 alone. Today, over 1% of all American births involve some form of ART. The problem of infertility needs attention because the solution is already present. The medical technology abounds, yet there is a certain stigma associated with its use. To fully embrace this technology is to potentially exterminate one of the great global tragedies in our existence: the inability to have a child.

How to Explain why Your Evidence Matters Review three of your choices for evidence and consider the following questions: So what? Why is it interesting? Why should anyone care? What does this information imply? What are the consequences of thinking this way or looking at a problem this way? Why is this information important? Why does it matter?

How to Explain why Your Evidence Matters Review three other choices for evidence and consider the following questions: How is this idea related to my thesis? What connections exist between them? Does it support my thesis? If so, how does it do that? Can I give an example to illustrate this point? I’ve just described what something is like or how I see it, but why is it like that? I’ve just said that something happens-so how does it happen? How does it come to be the way it is?

Questions to Consider Have I offered my reader evidence to support each claim I make in my paper? Do I thoroughly explain why/how my evidence backs up my ideas? Do I avoid generalizing by specifically explaining how my evidence supports my claim? Do I use evidence to test and evolve my ideas, rather than to just confirm them? Do I cite my sources thoroughly and correctly?