Writing Analytically - Ch7 PDF

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These are the book notes for Chapter 7 of the Fresno State Edition of Writing Analytically....

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Writing Analytically: Ch7 - Conversing with Sources: Writing a Researched Paper 1. Use Sources Analytically  a. Do not ignore sources  b. Converse with sources, they are not answers, but voices  c. Sources expand understanding  d. Guidelines: i. Locate and highlight what is at stake in your source  1. What is most important?  2. What does it modify or refute?  ii. Look for ways to develop, modify, or apply what is said by the  source rather than   agree   or   disagree  iii. If you challenge a source, represent it fairly  1. Give the source credit and identify what you agree on  2. Discuss what you want to complicate or dispute  iv. Look for sources with different perspectives  1. Look for common ground, but different views  v. Be a mediator when sources disagree  1. Clarify areas of agreement or disagreement between them  2. “Source Anxiety” and What to do About It  a. It can be hard to find a new idea in an ongoing conversation, but it can be  done b. Do not ignore sources in order to leave more room for ideas  c. Find a middle ground between an entirely new idea and what has already  been said  d. Form a tentative position then weigh that with what others have said  3. The Conversation Analogy  a. Explain quotes to connect the gap between other sources and what you  are thinking  b. Reject the idea that sources are final and complete answers  c. Use sources to build on each other  d. Be analytical with your research (these two studies are similar, but they  have different purposes/results…)  e. Two Methods for Conversing with Sources  i. Pick one sentence from your primary source and one from your  secondary and   reveal   what   they   say   about   each   other  ii. Pick one sentence from source A and one from B.  How does A  speak to   B?   Vice   versa? 

f. Local, not global - find small things within instead of focusing on the  overall piece  4. Conversing with a Source: A Brief Example (pg 184-185)  5. Ways to Use a SOurce as a Point of Departure  a. Make as many points as you can about a single representative passage  from the   source,   then branch   out   from   the   center   to   analyze   nd F  ocus t o identify   what   you   find   most   strange   in   the   source  b. Use Notice a in order   to   cultivate   curiosity   ethod t o identify c. Use The M   the   most   significant   organizing   contrast   in   the  source in order to   find   what   the   source   is   wrestling   with  d. Apply ideas in the source to other subjects  e. Uncover the assumptions, them build on the point of view and extend  implications f. Agree with the majority of the source but find small issues  g. Identify a contradiction in the source then explore implications without  coming to   a solution  6. Six Strategies for Analyzing Sources  a. Make Your Sources Speak  i. Quote, paraphrase, or summarize to analyze  1. Don’t assume your source to be self evident  ii. How has the source led you to a conclusion  1. Avoid putting a generalization and a quote together  2. Fill space between a claim and evidence with your view  3. Example pg 187 b. Attend Carefully to the Language of Your Sources by Quoting or  Paraphrasing i. Only quote if the actual language they use is important to your point  ii. Analysis almost always benefits if you pay attention to how the  information was   presented   in   the   source  iii. Goals: 1. Quote, paraphrase, or summarize to analyze. Explain how  you interpret the   source   and   why   it   has   led   you   to   a certain  conclusion 2. You are better off using only a few quotes and digging deep  into them   than   sprinkling   quotes   everywhere  3. Paraphrasing can help lead you to interpretation  iv. Supply Ongoing Analysis of Sources (Don’t Wait ‘Til the End)  1. Think of how people bud in during a conversation 

a. It would be weird for me to say everything I believe  then go   around   the   circle   giving   everyone   a chance  without any   communication   in   between  2. Example pg 189 v. Use Your Sources to Ask   Questions, Not Just Provide Answers  1. Avoid to plug in things that are only answers and have no  room for   exploration  2. Consider the source in other contexts  3. Sources may not answer all questions  4. There may not be a solid right or wrong answer  5. Examples pg 190-191 vi. Put Your Sources into a Conversation with One Another  1. Agreeing and Disagreeing are not the only possible  responses 2. Consider many positions on the topic  3. State what you agree with them continue with what you  dispute or   intend   to   complicate  4. Examples pg 192-193 vii. Find Your Own Role in the Conversation  1. If you are in strong agreement of a source…  a. Apply to another context to expand ar qualify  implications (uncover   new   implications)  b. Find other perspectives to broaden your horizons (use  sources to   gain   critical   distance)  2. Referee the conversation between 2+ sources  3. Example pg 194 7. Using Sources Analytically: An Example (pg 195-196)  8. Integrating Quotations into Your Paper  a. Let readers know you are using the ideas of others even when you are not  quoting b. Always attach a quote to some of your own language, DO NOT let it stand  alone c. Important Things to Remember  i. Acknowledge sources in your text, not only in quotes  1. It is good to introduce sources even if they are in the  footnote or   parenthesis   at   the   end   of   the   sentence  2. Identify what one sources says from another easily  ii. Splice Quotations onto Your Own Words  1. Tag Phrase - “According to So&So...” or So&So states…” 

2. Use colon at end of independent clause then list quote after  iii. Cite Sources After Quotations  1. Citations are in parenthesis at the end of a sentence  iv. Use Ellipses to Shorten Quotations  1. Helpful with long quotes to cut out the things you do not  really need.  2. Should only leave out a small amount of text; not too big of a  jump 3. Example pg 197-198 v. Use Brackets to Alter or Add Information in a Quote  1. Sometimes words need to be added to contextualize or  make sense   of   a quote  2. Example pg 198 9. Preparing an Abstract  a. Non-evaluative summary of a source or even your own paper  b. Paragraph 1: identify the sources main points and perspective  c. Paragraph 2 (&3 if necessary): discuss the source’s organization and  method d. Conclusion: Briefly go over source’s conclusions  e. Example pg 199-200  10. What Does   Plagiarism   Do   to   the   Conversation?  a. Poisons the Environment  i. Hard on students who do not cheat because some do and get away  with it  b. Defeats the purpose of going to college  i. We go to college to LEARN not only to get good grades  11. Frequently Asked   Questions   About   Plagiarism   (pg   201-203)  12. Assignments: Conversing with Sources: Writing the   Researched   Paper  a. Make one Source Speak to Another   assage B  ased F  ocused F  reewriting t o Converse b. Use P   with   Sources  c. Use a Source as a Lens on Another Source  d. Compose a Research Sequence  e. Compose an Informal Perspective  f. Conduct a “What is Going on in the Field” Search, and Create a  Preliminary Set   of   Sources  g. Write and Abstract of an Article (Or Book Chapter)  h. Write a Comparative SUmmary of Two Reviews ...