Chapter 15-Using Sources Effectively

This chapter is all about sources and how to incorporate them into your paper. There are three parts to this chapter, 1) Using sources to accomplish your purpose as a writer 2) Ways to integrate sources into your draft and 3) How to document sources

Using your sources to accomplish your purposes as writer is the first step. Sources are good ways to provide support for your ideas, and other's ideas, as well as ways to clarify statements, and provide examples. Sources are generally presented in your paper in three ways,a quotation, an image, or numerical information. Keep in mind your readers and what you think will appeal best to them when it comes to choosing which type fits best where.  You also want to make sure that you provide all sorts of evidence and support for your claims so your readers are more likely to "accept your argument" (249). For example, instead of just stating something, use a source than can back it up. But when you do use a source don't forget to provide the author at the end of the source.

The next step is the ways to include those sources into your paper. One thing you want to do is use attributions and in-text citations. For example, "according to or as the author points out- alerts your readers that the point is not your own" (251). However you're going to want to mix up the different attributions that you use so it doesn't become repetitive. Providing in-text citations lets the readers know where that information came from. Also if you add some context about the source and how it connects to your paper, your readers will be able to understand it more and know how it relates to your topic. Another thing you should do is quote strategically. You can use block, partial, or complete quotes. When choosing between these think about which one will convey the message best. You can also modify quotes so they will fit into your paper better, all you have to do is bracket the word you are changing. There are many rules to punctuate your quotes correctly, here are just a few:

• Use double quotation marks (" ") around partial or complete quotations. Do not use quotation marks for block quotations
• Use single quotation marks (' ') to indicate quoted material within a quotation
• In most cases, place punctuation marks such as commas, periods, question marks, and exclamation points inside quotation marks.
• Place colons and semicolons outside quotation marks

Paraphrasing your ideas and arguments and summarizing are two more good tools. But when or if you use either of these be sure to include the citations. And like quotes, you can also "summarize an entire source, parts of a particular source, or a group of sources to support your argument" (257).

The last step in this chapter is how to document your sources. Along with your in-text citations you also want to include publication information for all of your sources, most likely in the form of a bibliography. First, you should figure out which system you should be using. Such as, MLA, APA, Chicago, or CSE. Then you'll want to provide the publication information such as, the authors, title, publication date, publisher and city, periodical name, and the URL and access date. Next, double check for unattributed sources in your document. Lastly, you  want to make sure that it is clear what ideas are yours and what ideas aren't so your readers don't get confused.