1. Incorporating Source Material
English B50
Incorporating Source Material

2. Source Material
When you use source material, there are three main rules of thumb that you need to remember:
Introduce the quote using a signal phrase explaining who is talking
Cite the quote by including an in-text citation at the end of your sentence.
Explain the relevance of the quote in the context of your essay. In other words, you should never end a paragraph with source material.
Remember the handy acronym ICE—introduce, cite, and explain

3. Initial Introduction
When introducing a source for the first time, you need to give a full introduction. Mention the author’s first and last name, any relevant credentials, and the title of the work.
Afterwards, when you mention the source again, you need only refer to the author by last name; your audience can refer to your initial introduction if they need reminding.

4. Introducing Source Material
Signal phrases are used to introduce source material after the initial introduction.
Signal phrases explain who is talking.
Some example signal phrases include
Marsh argues
According to Morin
Michaels contends that

5. Citing MLA citation style uses parenthetical in-text citations.
In-text citations contain the page or the paragraph number that the source material appeared in if there are no pages listed. It comes in parentheses after the sentence that contains the quoted material.
Mac Donaldclaims the bake sale “triggered a storm of ludicrously clueless outrage” (para. 3).
Note that the quote is introduced by a signal phrase, and the in-text citation is followed by the end punctuation for the sentence.
If the author’s last name does not appear in the text of your sentence, then you’ll need to include it in the citation, too. (Michaels para. 3).

6. Ways to Use Source Material
There are three main ways to use source material:
Quoting, or taking the direct words from a source and putting them into quotation marks.
Summarizing, or taking the main ideas of a piece and putting them into your own words.
Paraphrasing, or translating the entire piece of a text into your own words.

7. Quoting
When quoting from a source, you must keep the words exactly as they appear in the original.
If you need to add material for clarity, you put that material in brackets.
Korbe explains, “the sale’s pricing structure will take all [college] admissions factors—including family incom, legacy status, and athletic ability—into account” (para. 2)
If you need to delete material for brevity, you put an ellipsis to replace the deleted material.
Williams states, “Every morning Jessie would stand on the side of the door taking lunchboxes” (para. 1).

8. Summarizing
When summarizing a piece, it is important to be brief and put the ideas of the piece into your own words.
According to Dillon, the girls of the Delta Zeta sorority were viewed by others as social outcasts (para. 1).
Remember to introduce and cite your summary just like you would a quote.

9. Paraphrasing
When paraphrasing a source, you must include all the ideas presented in the original but in your own words.
Hanes claims that parents, schools, and young women are joining together to create a better environment by fighting the pressure of advertisements unfairly targeting young girls (para. 14).
Remember to introduce and cite your paraphrase just like you would a quote.

10. Practice
Working together in small groups, paraphrase the following paragraph from Jennifer Conlin’s article “The Freedom to Choose Your Pronoun” (para. 5) Teenagers are by nature prone to rebellion against adult conventions, and as the gender nonconformity movement gains momentum among young people, “it is about rejecting the boxes adults try to put kids in by assuming their sexual identify labels their personal identity,” said Dr. Ritch C. Savin-Williams, director of the Cornell University Sex and Gender Lab. “These teens are fighting the idea that your equipment defines what it meas for you to be a boy or a girl. They are saying: ‘You don’t know me by looking at me. Assume nothing.’”