Demystifying Citation and Documentation

Demystifying Citation and Documentation

Why do we have to document or cite anything anyway?•Engaging with ideas through writing typically means considering what others think.

•Demonstrating that you’ve “done

you’re homework”—that you’ve looked into what others have said on a topic, and how that relates to what you think—helps give your writing credibility

•Following agreed-on expectations for any area or subject indicates that you are serious

What’s a “source”?•A source is anything—an article, book, website, or person—that supplies information or a perspective•Sources can be reliable or unreliable, depending on the situation•If you are personally knowledgeable about the topic, you can also be a reliable source, presuming you explain your expertise•Sources are voices—you might agree with some and disagree with others. Your own response to sources and how they affect your thinking is often an important part of an essay or project.

Okay, but why do I have to cite and document sources?

•It gives us a reason to trust you•It gives your reader the necessary information to find these sources

•Shows you’re playing by the rules

Documentation and citation looks hard. And I don’t know anything

about this stuff. I feel lost.

Advice…•Don’t panic•Keep things in perspective•This is a small but important part of building credibility in what you write

We’ll start with some of the nuts and bolts of citing sources…

There are two common ways to cite sources in writing:

•In-Text Citations

•End-of-Text Citations

IN-TEXT CITATIONSThese are citations that are in the writing itself. For example:Studies show that college students who use writing center services earn higher grades than those who don’t (Crovitz 56).

These are sometimes called “parenthetical” citations.

IN-TEXT CITATIONS•In-text citations let the reader know that the information comes from a certain source.

•What goes inside the parentheses depends on the documentation style you’re using.

•If you found information from somewhere else, you should cite it.

Crovitz explains that statistically, students who use this resource earn higher grades (56).

BUT WHAT IF…There’s no page number?

Just use the author’s name: Crovitz explains that statistically, students who use this resource earn higher grades.

• It’s an article with no author? Just use the first major word that appears in the end-of-text citation list: Students who use writing centers earn higher grades (“Writing” 25).

E.g., from “Writing Centers are Awesome.” WC Weekly. June 2005. 25-28.

• It’s a website with no author and (obviously, no page)? Just use the first major word in the citation list. If practical, you can use the paragraph number: Students who use writing centers earn higher grades (Centers). Students who use writing centers earn higher grades (Centers ¶ 5). E.g., from Centers and Students. Website. May 2008. March 2011. <www.centersandstudents.com>.

DON’T…Include all the citation information in an in-text citation: way too clunky.

Students who use writing centers earn higher grades (“Writing Centers are Awesome.” Writing Center Weekly. June 2005. page 25). That’s why writing centers are valuable.

• Worry. Just keep the in-text citation brief.

Secret Tip #1

•Think of your in-text citations as “links” to your end-of-text citation list.

END-OF-TEXT CITATIONS•These citations are a list of your sources on a separate page at the end of your essay.•This list provides complete information about each source.•All the sources you cite in your essay should appear in this list.•The list should be alphabetical and follow the correct format.

DOCUMENTATION STYLES…•The style you use to cite your sources depends on the academic field you are writing within.

•The two most common academic styles are MLA and APA, but there are a number of others.

MLA•Used in English composition, literature, and related fields•For in-text citations, MLA stresses the author’s name and page number:Researchers agree that cliff-diving is hazardous, especially when there is no water below (Wilson 22).

APA•Used in education, social sciences, and similar fields•For in-text citations, APA stresses the author’s name and the year:Researchers (Wilson, 2002) agree that cliff-diving is hazardous, especially when there is no water below.

SIMILARITIES•For end-of-text citations, MLA and APA use the same information but in different formats:

MLA end-of-text citation for a book:Wilson, Percy. Desert Cliff-Diving and Other Extreme Sports. Tucson: Putnam, 2002.

APA end-of-text citation for the same book:Wilson, P. (2002). Desert cliff-diving and other extreme sports. Tucson: Putnam.

What if my sources include a book, a website, an article, and interview…?

Secret Tip #2:You don’t need to memorize all the citation formats…you just need to know

where to look for help.

WHERE TO LOOK FOR HELP•The manuals•Online:•Purdue’s OWL resources•Bibme.org•Citationmachine.net

DO I WAIT UNTIL I’VE FINISHED THE WHOLE ESSAY BEFORE CITING SOURCES, OR…?•Concentrate first on what you want to say•Any sources should be support for or in conversation with your own voice and ideas. •If you took out all the sources, your writing should still be coherent and make sense (though it might be less persuasive)

•Keep track of the research you’ve collected and used, or plan to use

GETTING SOURCES INTO YOUR WRITING•There are two ways to include material from sources into your writing:

QuotingParaphrasing

QUOTATION•taking the exact words from a source

• when it is important to show the original wording

it’s unique or powerfulyou can’t say it better

SECRET TIP #3

Most people quote way too much……often, they should be paraphrasing instead.

Quote sparingly!

SECRET RULE OF THUMB TIP 3.5

•Don’t assume the meaning/importance of a quotation is obvious to a reader.•For each quotation you use, figure on 1-3x as much explanation/interpretation from you•If it’s important enough to quote, it’s important enough to explain or “contextualize”

Activity!!!

INTEGRATING YOUR QUOTATIONS Beer drinking has been a popular social activity for thousands of years. “Since the Egyptians first fermented grain along the banks of the Nile, beer has been a part of almost every society.”

DRAFT TWO

Beer drinking has been a popular social activity for thousands of years. “Since the Egyptians first fermented grain along the banks of the Nile, beer has been a part of almost every society” (Williams 65).

DRAFT THREE Beer drinking has been a popular social activity for thousands of years. According to Paul Williams, “since the Egyptians first fermented grain along the banks of the Nile, beer has been a part of almost every society” (65).

DRAFT FOUR Beer drinking has been a popular social activity for thousands of years. Anthropologist Paul Williams writes that “since the Egyptians first fermented grain along the banks of the Nile, beer has been a part of almost every society” (65).

DRAFT FIVE Beer drinking has been a popular social activity for thousands of years. In his well-regarded study The Birth of Beer, anthropologist Paul Williams writes that “since the Egyptians first fermented grain along the banks of the Nile, beer has been a part of almost every society” (65).

WAYS TO MAKE QUOTATIONS FLOW WITH YOUR OWN WORDS

•Leading In Professor Roy Perez asserts that Hemingway's reputation “is in large part dependent upon the real-world exploits of the author” (23).

•Leading Out “They can run, but they can't hide,” warned President Bush during a press conference.

•Breaking “Education without attention to the arts,” explains theorist Elliot Eisner, “would be an impoverished enterprise” (1).

SECRET TIP #4

Avoid the “floating quotation”!

SECRET TIP #5

Don’t let quotations “speak for themselves.” Part of your job is to explain meaning, importance, or relevance.

Because it’s important enough to say again…

PARAPHRASING…Expressing information or ideas from a source in your own words. to summarize or talk about general ideasto establish and maintain your own voice in discussing outside sources and informationto create a sense that you have thought about and evaluated what is important in a source—you’re in charge!

Ex. In his article, Levy discusses several aspects of basketball tactics, including zone defense and the full court press (22).

PARAPHRASING

•Make sure your own words are significantly different from the original•Students find paraphrasing hard. Why?

•Like quotations, cite paraphrased material. (It still originates from a source.)

Another Activity!!!

AN EXAMPLE…Source: “Why Braveheart is Bad” by Darren Crovitz

Original sentences from the article:

Mel Gibson’s 1995 film Braveheart tries to convince us that William Wallace, the 14th-century Scottish rebel, was actually a handsome, multi-lingual scholar who not only makes love to the Princess of Wales, but is the father of her future child. This romantic nonsense is not based on historical fact, and dooms what might have been an interesting and worthwhile film.

Original sentences from the article: Mel Gibson’s 1995 film Braveheart tries to convince us that William Wallace, the 14th-century Scottish rebel, was actually a handsome, multi-lingual scholar who not only makes love to the Princess of Wales, but is the father of her future child. This romantic nonsense is not based on historical fact, and dooms what might have been an interesting and worthwhile film.

Poor Paraphrase #1 Darren Crovitz, a film reviewer, writes that the problems of William Wallace's character in Braveheart dooms what could have been an interesting and worthwhile film (23).

Original sentences from the article: Mel Gibson’s 1995 film Braveheart tries to convince us that William Wallace, the 14th-century Scottish rebel, was actually a handsome, multi-lingual scholar who not only makes love to the Princess of Wales, but is the father of her future child. This romantic nonsense is not based on historical fact, and dooms what might have been an interesting and worthwhile film.

Poor Paraphrase #1 Darren Crovitz, a film reviewer, writes that the problems of William Wallace's character in Braveheart dooms what could have been an interesting and worthwhile film (23).

Original sentences from the article: Mel Gibson’s 1995 film Braveheart tries to convince us that William Wallace, the 14th-century Scottish rebel, was actually a handsome, multi-lingual scholar who not only makes love to the Princess of Wales, but is the father of her future child. This romantic nonsense is not based on historical fact, and dooms what might have been an interesting and worthwhile film.

Poor Paraphrase #2 Braveheart, by Mel Gibson, attempts to persuade the viewers that William Wallace, a medieval hero from Scotland, was really an attractive student of languages who has sex with an English princess, and fathers her soon-to-be-born child. This idealistic silliness is not founded in real history, and destroys what could have been an intriguing and rewarding movie (23).

Original sentences from the article: Mel Gibson’s 1995 film Braveheart tries to convince us that William Wallace, the 14th-century Scottish rebel, was actually a handsome, multi-lingual scholar who not only makes love to the Princess of Wales, but is the father of her future child. This romantic nonsense is not based on historical fact, and dooms what might have been an interesting and worthwhile film.

Decent Paraphrase In his article “Why Braveheart is Bad,” Darren Crovitz notes that unrealistic ideas in the movie, including William Wallace's knowledge of language and his relationship with the Princess, harm the overall quality of the film (23).

RANDOM THOUGHTS ABOUT PARAGRAPHS…•Make them reasonably-sized•Meatloaf vs. slices of meatloaf

•Transitions•Explicit (“The second reason that meatloaf should not be served for school lunch is that…)•Implicit (“Taste alone is not the only reason for supporting a meatloaf-free school. Consider that most ‘loaf is prepared with cheap ground beef, hardly the healthiest food available…”)

•Generally, more voice is better than less

CITATION, DOCUMENTATION, QUOTATION, PARAPHRASING…

Plagiarism!!!???

•A few random thoughts…

REMEMBER…

•You don’t need to be an expert—look it up!•In-text citations act as “links” to the list at the end•Getting them right shows you care

For quotation and paraphrasing•Quote less, explain more•Paraphrasing is your friend--but you have to

do some thinking (so sad…)

For citing and documenting