Providing Evidence and Citing Sources

1. Providing Evidence and Citing Sources Mrs. Eleftheriades English 101

2. Thursday, April 24 Aim: How can evidence support the claims in your thesis statement? Objectives: • To evaluate sources for use in a paper • To implement quotes seamlessly • To cite evidence appropriately and according to MLA standards

3. Paraphrasing vs. Quoting • Paraphrase- to restate an authors ideas in your own words, maintaining the same meaning that the author intended • Quote- to use the exact wording of the author because the original language is important in supporting your ideas • When should you use each? • How do you incorporate the ideas of others into your own writing?

4. Quotes • Use them sparingly- a good rule of thumb is to use one quote per page (as a maximum) • Let your ideas lead to finding quotes that support them, don’t rely on quotes to lead your ideas • Whatever appears between quotation marks should be exactly what the text says • Integrate quotes seamlessly into your writing using attributive tags • Explain and connect the quote to your main idea rather than letting the quote speak for itself

5. Example: • The use of second person in this advertisement, “turn on your adventure,” makes the consumer feel like he or she is being personally invited to take a joy ride in the Volkswagen Amarok. The perception of the personalization of the invitation allow “consumers [to] find social acceptance” (292). It can be assumed, by the wording, that those who cannot afford this vehicle do not have access to adventure and therefore cannot belong to this particular social group.

6. Using Evidence • Evidence is the proof used to support a claim. • The closer connected the evidence is to the claim, the more powerfult it is. If it is a stretch, writing can get wordy, and less effective. • In addition to supporting their position, the writer acknowledges and refutes stances that object it. • Types of evidence include, but are not limited to: • Expert testimony • Personal experience • Hypothetical cases (avoid) • Analogies • Statistical data

7. Testimony of Experts • While your argument should derive from your own reasoning, you can further justify your stance and add considerable weight to your opinion if it is backed by authorities in the field. • If you are quoting an authority, be sure that • He/she is an authority in the field • His/her testimony is free from bias • The opinion is not outdated

8. Testimony of Experts • Expert testimony is used to: • Point out a casual connection • Offer a solution to a problem • Make future predictions • Expert testimony is NOT the foundation of an argument. • It is the writer’s responsibility to create an independent, well-reasoned argument, that can stand on its own. Expert testimony only strengthens that argument.

9. Personal Experiences • Personal experiences help illustrate, document and substantiate a writer’s thesis • There are a number of ways to illustrate personal experiences, including, but not limited to: • A memorable incident • An account drawn from records • Eyewitness reports • A personal narrative account of a crucial incident

10. Analogies • Analogies can help persuade the audience that if two subjects share a number of observed qualities, then they probably share some unobserved qualities as well. • Strong analogies serve as proof • Figurative analogies help clarify or illustrate a claim • All analogies help simplify complex ideas • The similarities need to be overwhelmingly larger than the differences (otherwise your comparison is a stretch, that would need some explaining, get a little wordy, and lose validity).

11. Statistics • Should be recent (up-to-date) • Come from reliable and verifiable sources • Not meant to draw conclusions from it, but rather to support your already well-written argument