 By Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein

 Quoting  Documenting  The need to introduce and discuss your sources

 There are innumerable ways to “use” or discuss a quote.  The rules: o Again, you get thirty seconds to think of as many ways to “use” a source in the manner I direct. Winner of each round gets extra credit.

 Introduce what “they” say. Just the source/ideas, not a direct quote. o A number of sociologists have recently suggested the X’s work has sever fundamentals problems. o It has become common today to dismiss X’s contribution to the field of sociology o In their recent work, Y and Z have offered harsh critiques of Dr. X for _____________.

 Explaining a quote: (full sentences) o Basically, X is saying ______________. o In other words, X believes ____________. o In making this comment, X argues that _______________. o X is insisting that _______________. o X’s point is that _______________. o The essence of X’s argument is that _______________.

 Disagreeing, with reasons. o I think X is mistaken because she over looks______________. o X’s claim that _______________ rests upon the questionable assumption that ______________. o X contradicts herself/can’t have it both ways. On the one hand she argues _________________. But on the other hand, she also says _____________. o By focusing on ________________, X overlooks the deeper problem of ______________.

 Agreeing with a difference o Those unfamiliar with this school of thought may be interested to know that it basically boils down to _____________. o X surely is right about ___________ because, as she may not be aware, recent studies have shown that _______________. o X’s theory of ____________ is extremely useful because it sheds insight on the difficult problem of_____________. o If group X is right that ___________, as I think they are, then we need to reassess the popular assumption that ___________.

 Agreeing and disagreeing simultaneously o Although I agree with X up to a point, I cannot accept his overall conclusion that _________________ o Though I concede that ________________, I still insist that __________. o Although I disagree with much that X says, I fully endorese his final conclusion that ________________. o Whereas X provides ample evidence that _______________, Y and Z’s research on _____________ and ____________ convices me that ______________ instead.

 Similarly, making concessions while still standing your ground o Although I grant that ______________, I still maintain that ________. o Proponents of X are right to argue that ____________. But they exaggerate when they claim that _____________. o While it is true that _______________, it does not necessarily follow that ______________. o On the one hand, I agree with X that _____________. But on the other hand, I still insist that _____________.

 Establish why your claims matter o X matter/is important because _______________. o Although X may seem trivial, it is in fact crucial in terms of today’s concern over _______________. o Ultimately, what is at stake here is ____________. o These findings have important consequences for the broader domain of ______________. o My discussion of X is in fact addressing that larger matter of ____________. o These conclusions/this discovery will have significant application in__________ as well as _____________. o Although X may seem to concern only a small group of ____________, it should in fact concern anyone who care about ___________.

 There are other ways to use sources. You just have to think about what the relationship each source/quote has with your material.

 Graff, Geralf and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say I Say. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., Print.