The Rhetoric of Source Citations: An Argument & Implications for Teaching

Elizabeth Kleinfeld, Ph.D. Associate Professor of English & Writing Center Director Metropolitan State University of Denverekleinfe@msudenver.eduSlides are at http://www.slideshare.net/lizkleinfeld

“Source Citation”

source citation = “cover your ass” move

A PatchwriteOriginal Patchwrite

• “Sousa’s outrage is not hard to understand. Though he was a famous conductor, some of Sousa’s income came from the copyrights he had secured in the work he had composed and arranged.”

--from Lawrence Lessig’s Remix

• Sousa’s anger isn’t hard to comprehend. Although he was well known as a conductor, he also made money from copyrights on musical compositions and arrangements. (Lessig 23)

When we focus on

•what sources do, •what we do when we cite them, and•what source citations themselves do

the conversation shifts from “here is the template for a works cited entry” to “How does this source citation direct readers’ attention?” and “How does this source citation reflect upon the author?”

source citation = “cover your ass” move

Questions 1. How does the writer signal the reader that source material is being

referred to?

2. What types of sources does the writer cite?

3. To what degree does the writer rely on paraphrase, summary, and quotation?

4. What does the writer do with those sources? Does the writer elaborate on the source material? Interpret the source material? Something else?

5. How do the citations make you feel toward the source material? For example, do you feel invited to go to the source material?

6. How do the citations make you feel toward the writer? For example, do you feel close or distant?

7. Describe the writer’s voice. How do the citations contribute to the writer’s voice?

8. How does the writer come across (serious, trustworthy, goofy, etc.). How do the citations contribute to this impression?

9. How is social capital or a network being created?

Student Comments

•FYC: “In the past, I would have just picked the top source, but now I’m thinking do I want to be associated with that source?”

•Upper Division: “Now that I understand that readers may actually go look at my sources, I think more about the sources I associate myself with.”

Implications

1. We have to create hands-on classroom activities.

2. Grading practices will need to be brought in line.

3. There will be colleague pushback.

Works Cited Downs, Doug. “Rhetoric, Not Modes: The Inadequacy of ‘Critical’ Reading for

Writing-about-Writing.” Conference on College Composition and Communication Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV: March 2013. Conference Presentation.

Fister, Barbara. “Docudrama: Why Sources Matter—And Why Citing them Correctly Doesn't.” Conference on College Composition and Communication Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA: April 2011. Conference Presentation.

Howard, Rebecca Moore. Standing in the Shadow of Giants: Plagiarists, Authors, Collaborators. Stamford, CT: Ablex, 1999.

Jamieson, Sandra and Rebecca Moore Howard. “Phase I Data.” The Citation Project, n.d. Web. 1 Jul 2011.

Power, Lori G. “University Students’ Perceptions of Plagiarism.” The Journal of Higher Education 80.6 (2009): 643-662.

Rheingold, Howard. Net Smart: How to Thrive Online. Cambridge, MA: MIT P, 2012. Stout, Diana. Teaching Students About Plagiarism: What it Looks Like and How It Is

Measured. Dissertation. Western Michigan University, 2013.