Integrating Sources
Let's talk about the importance of integrating sources into your essay! As you write your analysis, you will incorporate direct quotations or paraphrased portions of your selected article into your writing. It should be clear that those words or ideas are not your own, but are coming from another author. The quotations or paraphrased portions you use should also be smoothly connected to the rest of your writing, and your citations should be incorporated so that they do not interrupt the flow of your writing.
All words or ideas that come from another author and are not your own need to be cited with an in-text citation (sometimes called a parenthetical citation).
Check out the next page, Citing Your Sources, for more assistance with citation styles and in-text citations.
Paraphrasing and Summarizing
Paraphrasing is taking the ideas and information from an original source and writing it in your own words. Because paraphrasing involves carefully thinking about the original source, it can help you understand the material better. Also, it reduces the number of direct quotations in your paper and maintains your voice throughout your writing, which gives your paper greater readability.
Just as with direct quotations, it should be clear in your writing that the ideas you have paraphrased come from another author. A properly formatted in-text citation will indicate to your reader that you are paraphrasing another author's work.
