Using Sources
• Use sources as the backup singers - you are the LEAD SINGER
• Choose reliable source material
• Select sources that BEST fit the
argument or point you are making
3 Ways to Incorporate Sources
• Summarize
• Paraphrase
• Quote
Summarize
• Use your own voice and words
• Condense material -- leave out minor
details.
• Give credit to your source in text or
parenthetically.
You do not need to quote or change:
• Names (George Bush, Michael Jordan)
• Geographical Locations (Elgin High,
Maine, New Hampshire, USA)
• Date and Figures (Dec. 1, 2004,
146,795)
• Key Terms (Democrat, Republican, Title
IX)
The Focused Summary
• Focuses on a specific question or issue -yours or an instructor’s
• Condenses helpful information from
throughout the source
• Uses a topic sentence
• Uses specific detail
• Uses ONLY your words -- no quotations
Use Transitions and Signals
Words to signal critical
thinking
• Make your logic
transparent
• Use frequently
• Use correctly!
• See list in HP
Terms of qualification
• Indicate your level
of comfort with the
source and your
interpretation of it
• Indicate levels of
doubt expressed or
suggested in the
source
• See list in HP
Signal & Transition Examples
Brady clearly believes that the main
area of concern over Title IX today is
athletics.
Obviously, Title IX is not a perfect concept.
Undoubtedly, as Kerryann Cook suggests,
the fact that, to date, not one school has
lost funding as a result of Title IX decreases
the law’s effectiveness.
REMEMBER:
• YOU MUST GIVE CREDIT EVERY TIME
YOU SUMMARIZE A SOURCE
•
•
•
•
ACCORDING TO ________. . .
_________ SAYS . . .
________ SUGGESTS . . .
_________ INDICATES . . . .
Sample Focused Summary:
Use a
Topic
Another great benefit to Title IX is that students are treated
Sentence more fairly in public schools. As stated in “Achieving
Success Under Title IX,” Title IX has played a large role in
Credit
improving attitudes, assumptions, behaviors, and overall
the
understanding of how discrimination against one specific
Source
sex can limit educational opportunities for all. For
example, the dropout rate is decreasing as a result of new
Briefly laws that deny schools the right to suspend, expel, or
discriminate against students (like teenage mothers) in
state
educational programs and activities.
the
point
Sample Focused Summary:
Use a
Topic
Sentence
Qualify
the
source
Credit
the
Source
Female athletes who finished school before the
passage of Title IX have recognized the positive
effects that Title IX has had on the female
athletes. One example would be Mary Jo Kane, a
fifty-year-old sports sociology teacher, who as a
child loved to play sports. Kane would play
football, basketball, and baseball with her
brothers, but she was not given the opportunity
to play anything, except for golf, in high school.
According to Lynch, Kane is impressed by Title
IX’s success in making women’s sports possible.
Focused Summary Check List
Topic Sentence – restate the
question
 Source Reference– in text not
parenthetical
 Completeness and accuracy
 Student voice
 Transitions and clear wording
 Accurate spelling and punctuation
