Download Integrating and Citing Source Texts

Integrating and Citing Source Texts
How can you develop strong skills for integrating sources of
information?
To strengthen your skills at integrating sources of information, use
the following strategies.
Strategy 1: Evaluate the reliability of each source.
Strategy 2: When integrating multiple sources of information into your
writing, use a standard format for citation.
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Strategy 1: Evaluate the reliability of each source.
• Check a Web site’s About page to learn about the group behind the
site. Read the mission statement to identify the group’s viewpoint.
• Check the credibility of the writer. Find out if he or she has expertise
in the area you are researching.
• Check the date of the article. Always use current information.
• The three letters at the end of a Web site’s domain name can
suggest the site’s reliability. The reliability of common domain names
are described in the chart on the following screen.
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Domain
Organization
Reliability
.com
for-profit company
may be unreliable because they usually
focus on selling a product or service
.edu
educational body
often reliable, although pages of
individuals reflect their personal
perspectives
.gov
government
generally reliable
.org
nonprofits and other
groups
reliability varies greatly
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Directions: Which Web site would have the most reliable information
about changes in the Supreme Court’s role since 1950?
• an entry on the Supreme Court found on wikipedia.org
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Directions: Which Web site would have the most reliable information
about changes in the Supreme Court’s role since 1950?
• an entry on the Supreme Court found on wikipedia.org
Wikipedia is widely used, particularly for noncontroversial
information. However, since it allows anyone to contribute and it does
not list authors, the reliability of any one article is uncertain.
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Directions: Which Web site would have the most reliable information
about changes in the Supreme Court’s role since 1950?
• an entry on the Supreme Court found on wikipedia.org
Wikipedia is widely used, particularly for noncontroversial
information. However, since it allows anyone to contribute and it does
not list authors, the reliability of any one article is uncertain.
• a chart from the Federal Judicial Center, the educational and
research agency for the federal courts (www.fjc.gov)
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Directions: Which Web site would have the most reliable information
about changes in the Supreme Court’s role since 1950?
• an entry on the Supreme Court found on wikipedia.org
Wikipedia is widely used, particularly for noncontroversial
information. However, since it allows anyone to contribute and it does
not list authors, the reliability of any one article is uncertain.
• a chart from the Federal Judicial Center, the educational and
research agency for the federal courts (www.fjc.gov)
As a government Web site, this is factual and reliable.
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Directions: Which Web site would have the most reliable information
about changes in the Supreme Court’s role since 1950?
• an entry on the Supreme Court found on wikipedia.org
Wikipedia is widely used, particularly for noncontroversial
information. However, since it allows anyone to contribute and it does
not list authors, the reliability of any one article is uncertain.
• a chart from the Federal Judicial Center, the educational and
research agency for the federal courts (www.fjc.gov)
As a government Web site, this is factual and reliable.
• a blog about legal issues on a major news network Web site
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Directions: Which Web site would have the most reliable information
about changes in the Supreme Court’s role since 1950?
• an entry on the Supreme Court found on wikipedia.org
Wikipedia is widely used, particularly for noncontroversial
information. However, since it allows anyone to contribute and it does
not list authors, the reliability of any one article is uncertain.
• a chart from the Federal Judicial Center, the educational and
research agency for the federal courts (www.fjc.gov)
As a government Web site, this is factual and reliable.
• a blog about legal issues on a major news network Web site
Reporters attempt to be accurate, but bloggers often combine facts
and opinions to advocate a position, so they are less reliable.
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Directions: Investigate five Web sites that present information about
one of the three branches of government or the way power is divided
among them. Include a mix of sites, including ones from government
agencies, educational institutions, and advocacy organizations.
Categorize each one as
• highly reliable
• fairly reliable
• not reliable
Write a short explanation of your evaluation.
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Strategy 2: When integrating multiple sources of information into your
writing, use a standard format for citation.
When you use various sources of information, you should
• reproduce the information accurately
• acknowledge the source appropriately
The following screens provide examples of how to integrate three
commonly used types of information.
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Whether you get information from printed books, online sources, or
personal interviews, you want to use it accurately and acknowledge
the source appropriately. The following screens provide examples of
how to integrate three commonly used types of information into your
writing:
• short direct quotations
• long direct quotations
• paraphrases of content you read
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
The following excerpt is from The American Political Tradition, by
Richard Hofstadter, page 12. Hofstadter is analyzing why the writers
of the Constitution divided power among multiple branches.
The screens following the excerpt will demonstrate how to
integrate the information into an essay.
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Each element [the wealthy and the poor] should be given its own
house of the legislature, and over both houses there should be
set a capable, strong and impartial executive armed with the
veto power. This split assembly would contain within itself an
organic check and would be capable of self-control under the
governance of the executive. The whole system was to be
capped by an independent judiciary. The inevitable tendency of
the rich and the poor to plunder each other would be kept in
hand.
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Parenthetical Citations: Identify the source in parentheses by
listing the author’s last name (or the organization’s name) and the
page number (if available).
Example: If your source was page 12 of The American Political
Tradition by Richard Hofstadter, your entry in your works cited list
would look like this:
Hofstadter, Richard. The American Political Tradition.
New York: Vintage Books, 2009. Print.
Your parenthetical citation in your writing would look like this:
(Hofstadter 12) or (12) if the author’s name is mentioned in the text
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Short Direct Quotations: These are word-for-word quotations that are
four lines or shorter. To tell your reader exactly where the direct
quotation begins and ends, use quotation marks before and after the
passage.
Example of Citation of a Short Direct Quotation
The writers of the Constitution believed that by dividing the power
of the government, “the inevitable tendency of the rich and the
poor to plunder each other would be kept in hand”
(Hofstadter 12).
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Long Direct Quotations: If a direction quotation is four lines or longer,
set it off as a block quotation. It should be indented one inch from the
left margin, double-spaced, and include a reference to the source.
Since the text is set off visually, you do not need to use quotation
marks around it. Do include a parenthetical source.
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Example of Citation of a Long Direct Quotation
The men who wrote the Constitution divided legislative
power among two houses because they hoped they would
check each other.
This split assembly would contain within itself an organic
check and would be capable of self-control under the
governance of the executive (Hofstadter 12).
This hope has been realized. The House and the Senate
often disagree with each other.
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Paraphrases: These are passages written in your own words that
express information that you learned from another source. Do not use
quotation marks with these but do include a parenthetical citation.
Example of Citation of a Paraphrase
Hofstadter suggested that the writers of the Constitution wanted a
government strong enough to prevent the poor from oppressing
the rich—or vice versa (12).
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Example of parenthetical citation from a source with no author
listed: When citing information from a Web site that does not list an
author, use a key word from the title of the article.
“The Legislative Branch.” www.whitehouse.gov. Web.
15 Feb. 2013.
Congress has the power to authorize borrowing to make up the
difference between income from taxes and tarriffs and spending on
governmental services (“Legislative Branch”).
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Statistics: Integrate statistics just as you do text. For example, the
chart below shows the number of presidential vetoes in selected
terms of Congress. The middle two columns indicate whether the
president’s party held a majority in the House and the Senate.
President
House
Majority
Senate
Majority
Number of
Vetoes
Franklin Roosevelt,
1935–36
Yes
Yes
148
Harry Truman, 1947–48
No
No
75
Richard Nixon, 1969–71
No
No
11
Bill Clinton, 1993–94
Yes
Yes
0
Source: The American Presidency Project
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Here is an example of how the information in this source would be
integrated into a sentence.
Even though Franklin Roosevelt’s party controlled both the House
and the Senate in 1935 and 1936, he vetoed a high number of bills—
148 (The American Presidency Project).
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Directions: Use the statistics in the following chart to write a
statement about the relationship between the number of presidential
vetoes and whether the president’s party controlled the House and
the Senate.
President
House
Majority
Senate
Majority
Number of
Vetoes
Franklin Roosevelt,
1935–36
Yes
Yes
148
Harry Truman, 1947–48
No
No
75
Richard
Nixon,
1969–71
No
Source: The
American
Presidency Project.
No
11
Bill Clinton, 1993–94
Yes
0
Yes
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Richard Nixon’s party did not control either the House or the Senate,
but he vetoed only 11 bills (The American Presidency Project).
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Works cited page: A works cited page is a record of all the sources you
used to write your paper. It is a separate page included at the end
your paper and records information on the author, title, date, and
type of each source. Many schools follow a standard format such as
MLA or APA styles. Here are some examples of entries on a works
cited page using MLA format.
Book: Hofstadter, Richard. The American Political Tradition.
New York: Vintage Books, 2009. Print.
Web page with no author listed: “The Legislative Branch.”
www.whitehouse.gov. Web. 15 Feb. 2013.
Article: Brenner, Stephen. “Obama Should Know Better on Supreme
Court’s Role.” CNN.com. April 3, 2012. Web. 15 Feb 2013.
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Integrating and Citing Source Texts
Below is what a works cited page might look like. Notice the entries
are in alphabetical order.
Works Cited
Brenner, Stephen. “Obama Should Know Better on Supreme Court’s
Role.” CNN.com. April 3, 2012. Web. 15 Feb 2013.
Hofstadter, Richard. The American Political Tradition.
New York: Vintage Books, 2009. Print.
“The Legislative Branch.” www.whitehouse.gov. Web. 15 Feb. 2013.
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