Question.3470 - There are two skills fundamental to this first essay, and the second is the incorporation of 'research'. I put the word 'research' in scare quotes because, of course, you are making up all of your research for this essay as I honestly could care less what your argument ends up being (although of course make sure it is appropriate). What I do care about is how you incorporate your 'research'. In order to do so appropriately, you will need to quote your 'research' and cite your research correctly according to the standards of our chosen academic style, the Modern Language Association. In the previous lesson we discussed formatting, and in this lesson we will discuss quotation and parenthetical citation standards. The reason why it is vitally important to incorporate your quotes correctly is to give proper 'credit', often called attribution, to the person that actually conducted the research and made the initial claim. Proper attribution also helps avoid accusations of plagiarism, which in a world full of websites and AI that will write essays for students is increasingly important. So let us begin. Firstly, when you incorporate information from an outside source, your initial decision needs to be whether or not you wish to incorporate a direct quotation, a full quote written exactly like the original source, or paraphrase, re-writing an idea from a source in your own words. In most cases, I would default towards a direct quotation, especially if the idea you wish to reference from your outside source is articulate and concise (a single sentence or two). I typically only paraphrase a source if the idea I wish to reference is a full page or more in the original source, and I am confident I can articulate it in a single sentence. For the purposes of the Mock Essay, I would like you to reference your fictional sources by referencing direct quotes only. Regardless of whether you choose to directly quote a source or paraphrase it, you must still include a parenthetical citation, and it is also a good idea to tag your research with an attributive tag. Thus, regardless of whether you choose to incorporate a direct quote or paraphrase, it is wise to follow the following structure for all research: intro - tag - quote - cite - explain. Let us unpack this formula piece by piece Intro Before you reference a source, it is wise to set up the idea you wish to explore in your own words first (this is why a writer should never start a paragraph with a quote). Taking my initial example argument of why M&M should no longer include green or red M&Ms in their candy in order to be more inclusive to color blind people, let us start a paragraph by introducing our central idea with a strong topic sentence first that sets up our first source. Example:      Color affects the way everyone perceives the world around them not just through sight but also through taste.  In this example sentence, I am setting up the idea/claim I wish to explore with the use of some of my research. Because an essay is primarily the writer's argument, the focus should always be on the writer's ideas and the research should expand and develop the writer's own ideas. An introductory sentence is key for maintaining that focus on your ideas as effective research should be a conversation between your various sources and yourself.  Tag After you have introduced an idea, you are free to introduce the source you wish to use to develop your point. This should include an attributive tag that establishes what the source is and why it is authoritative/credible. This can often be accomplished by referencing the author and the publisher or the author's inherent credibility as an expert in his or her field. An example might help: Example      According to Dr. Emilia Clarke, professor at Westeros University, the brain's ability to interpret signals sent from your eyes is directly adjacent to the region of the brain where it interprets taste.  In this example I introduce both the author's full name (the first time you reference an author always use their full name, and then after that just their last name is sufficient) and what makes them credible (their position in this fictional university). I could have also mentioned where their article was published (the name of the website like The Washington Post or the name of the journal The Journal of Brain Chemistry) as an alternative, but the importance lies in establishing what makes a source credible. If you are referencing a source with no author, than the title of the source and where it was published is sufficient, but it becomes even more important that the publisher is extremely credible (like a government website or a well established news website) to avoid accusations of false or misleading information (for that reason I would highly suggest picking sources that have credible authors).The reason writers use outside research is to develop and expand their own credibility as a writer  (you are currently fairly limited in your credibility as a writer as a college student) by referencing writers who have far more credibility (professionals and experts).  Quote and Cite After you have introduced the central idea you wish to discuss and you have tagged your source it is time to write your quotation and cite your source. We are focusing on direct quotations, and in my experience there are three types of direct quotations: a short quote, full quote, and block quote. In your mock essay you must include all three, so let us discuss each. Regardless of which type you choose you must include a direct quotation with the author's last name and a page number (if it is coming from print source). The parenthetic citation should come after the direct quote right before the period at the end of the sentence like the following (Clarke 126). If there is no author, use the first three major words of the article's title along with a page number if there is one such as ("Sight Equals Smell"). If the source is a short source (like a website or news article) put the title in quotation marks and it it is a long source (like a novel or film) put it in italics. If you reference the author or title leading into the quote you only need the page number in the citation, otherwise you need the full citation. I am going through a lot here, so make sure to check out Purdue OwlLinks to an external site. for more information or to review. The short quote often includes part of sentence from a source - often a phrase or concept. These are very useful to quickly establishing an idea before you develop it further. Example:      Clarke argues that the "siribellum, or sight processing center of the brain" is directly adjacent to the "smellobellum, or taste center of the brain" (153). The long quote includes a full sentence from the outside source, which makes it the most common type of direct quotation, which is often setup with a comma or colon. Example:      The makeup of the brain is the reason why sight and taste are so interlinked: "The proximity of the siribellum and smellobellum clearly links these to processing powerhouses of the brain together" (Clarke 164).  The block quote is for direct quotations are for quotes that are more than four lines of text in your essay. I would use these very infrequently in the essays we are writing in this class, but one or two would be fine (and you must include one in the Mock Essay). My example here will be from Purdue Owl's website explaining how to block quote, so please read these instructions closely. Example: Incorporating a block quote into an essay is a bit tricky, but allows you to use an outside source to discuss a complex idea directly, which I am currently demonstrating: For quotations that are more than four lines of prose or three lines of verse, place quotations in a free-standing block of text and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented 1/2 inch from the left margin while maintaining double-spacing. Your parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark. When quoting verse, maintain original line breaks. (You should maintain double-spacing throughout your essay.) ("MLA Formatting Quotation")   Explain After you introduce, tag, quote, and cite your source, all that remains is to explain the source's idea in your own words and link it back to your overarching thesis. This is where thinking about research writing as a conversation is valuable. The most important aspect of any research is to clearly explain its importance and how it develops the point you are trying to make. Example:      Clarke proves that taste and smell are intrinsically linked, and thus creating food that fails to consider this biological fact is a type of discrimination.    The Full Research Body Paragraph Now that we have discussed how to properly incorporate a direct quotation from an outside source, you can probably surmise how a research writer can quickly create a full, meaty paragraph from a single source. It starts with a topic sentence that introduces an idea in your own words that is important to your overall argument. You then introduce your source and establish its credibility before incorporating your direct quotation. Finally you explain that quotation, tying it back to your larger argument in a couple of sentences before transitioning to a second source if you wish to develop this idea further or to a new body paragraph if you are ready to move on to your next point. Intro-tag-quote-cite-explain is the life-blood of all competent research writers.   Assignment Okay, now that we know the basics of how to incorporate research into a paragraph, for this assignment you will create a two, 150 word, properly-formatted body paragraphs and then upload it to this assignment. I am only interested in formatting, so focus your attention on creating a proper document (which you can then use for your draft due this week as well) and remember all of your 'research' is and should be made up! Here are some details on the assignment: This document will need to be made on a word processor of some type. MACC offers free versions of Microsoft Word as part of the Microsoft Office suite to all students (I put the link in the last assignment). You may also use other popular word processor applications like Google Docs or Apple's Pages, but regardless you will need to export your file as a pdf, pages, or doc when you are finished to upload it here Each paragraph must include one direct quotation (short, long or block quote) along with a proper introduction, attributive tag, parenthetical citation and explanation You must have one paragraph with a short quote and one paragraph with a block quote (the whole goal is practicing different types of citations). Each paragraph must be 150 words Do not start or end a paragraph with a quote. Keep the focus of the paragraph on your ideas. Your source is just there to complement and develop your ideas Remember, the actual research is made up by you. The goal of this unit is on structure, not actual research Export the file from your word processor and upload it to this assignment. I will only accept .pdf, .pages, .docx or .doc. Anything else will be given a zero. This is due by Friday at 5:00 PM, but I would finish this early in the week so you have time to peer review and submit your final draft by Friday (all the work you are doing for this assignment can be part of your final draft for your Mock Essay).       PreviousNext  

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