Evaluating and Summarizing
Sources
They Say, I Say Ch. 2
Preparing for College Level Research
• Tell me about a time when you had to do
research. This might be research you did for
school, research into a product you were
thinking of buying, research into how to apply
for student aid, etc.
– What did you need to find out?
– Where did you go for information?
– How did you know which sources of information
to trust?
There are Three Steps to Using
Sources:
• Find sources and choose the best ones for
your purpose.
• Read the sources carefully, keeping track of
your own reactions to the author’s ideas and
using your sources as a springboard for your
own contribution to the discussion.
• Use the sources in your essay, giving proper
credit in the body of the essay and at the end,
using MLA format.
Finding/Choosing Sources
• Why do you need to include sources in your
essays?
– To show your audience that you are aware of the
conversation that is already going on.
– To give your audience context for an argument
you will make.
– To support a point you are making.
– To provide an example of an opposing point of
view that you will then counter.
Where Can I Find Sources?
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College Databases (digital copies of sources)
College Library (physical copies of sources)
Public Library
The Internet
Library Resources
• Library Databases can be accessed through
the College Library website.
– Databases are collections of articles that have
appeared, either in print or online, in various
publications.
• Potentially useful databases:
– EBSCO (Academic Search Premiere)
– Academic OneFile
– Ethnic News Watch
Some Tips on Using the Databases
• If you don’t get many results at first, try changing your
search terms.
• Pay attention to the suggestions the databases make about
related subjects.
• Pay attention to the key words your sources use, and do
searches with those phrases.
• Make sure to check the “full text” search option so that you
will be able to access any results you want.
• Email or save any results that interest you to read later. You
may also print out articles here if you have a print card.
• Make sure that you keep a record of any sources you use
from the databases.
Evaluating Online Sources
• Any sources you find through the databases are
likely to be “reputable” sources, but what about
typing your search terms into google or another
search engine?
• This can be an excellent way to find resources
that are very new and haven’t been included in
the databases yet, BUT there’s a lot of junk out
there.
• SO, how can you tell the junk from the good
stuff?
Evaluating Online Sources
• Who takes responsibility for the piece of writing? Is it a
print publication with an online presence? Is it an
online-only publication with a history and/or a good
reputation? Is it an organization with a good
reputation?
• In what ways does the author establish credibility?
• Is the piece of writing presented well? (Are the points
well argued/explained? Does the author display an
awareness of the ongoing conversation? Does the
piece of writing use clear grammar, spelling, and
punctuation?)
Step 2: Read the Sources You Chose
• Read them all the way through. Unless you decide
after the first paragraph that the source is not useful to
you, how can you possibly respond to a source you’ve
only skimmed?
• Identify the author’s big claims. Do you agree with
them? If so, do you have anything to add to the
author’s support? If not, how would you counter the
author’s argument?
• Keep notes on your sources. Highlight. Write questions
in the margins. Make connections between what one
source says and another source says.
Step 2: Read the Sources You Chose
• A couple more things about sources…
– Just because you find a source and read it doesn’t
mean you have to use it. If you read a source and
don’t like it, keep looking.
– Keep researching throughout the writing process. If
you find a wonderful source with all kinds of good
ideas you want to respond to after you wrote a draft,
that’s fine. Include that source and your response
when you revise.
– Keep track of every source you use ideas or quotes
from in your paper. You will need to be able to find the
source again when you give it credit.
What does this mean for OUR Essay #1
specifically?
• Right now you need to be reading everything you
can find about your specific topic relating to
diversity and the media.
• For each source, ask yourself: Why is this source credible? What
makes the author/organization believable? Why would
ideas/quotes from this source be a useful addition to your
paper?
• Read general articles about pop culture and
diversity to start out if you would like, but you
need to be reading articles that address your
narrowed topic as well.
Step 3: Using Sources and Giving
Credit
• You’ve found your sources, read them, annotated them, and
you’re ready to use your sources in your essay.
• So… which quotes should you use?
– Quotes that contain ideas you want to respond to.
– Quotes where the original source’s wording is especially good or
important to your response.
– Quotes where the original source explains a complex idea clearly and
succinctly.
– Quotes that contain ideas that would make most people want proof.
• Any quote you use should have an explanation/response that is
TWICE AS LONG as the original quote. If a quote takes up two full
lines of your paper, the explanation/response to that quote
should take up FOUR.
Review ofThey Say, I Say Ch. 2
1. What is the purpose of summarizing others’
material in your own writing?
– Fairly represent what an author says.
– Prepare for your own response (focus on points that
will be important for you).
2. How can you avoid a “list” summary? (And why
do you need to do this?)
1. Summarize with regard to your own interests.
2. Avoid “says” or “discusses” to describe your sources
points, using more interesting and accurate words
instead.
Summarizing In Essay #1
• In your first essay, you may find yourself summarizing
an entire essay we read in class or a whole source you
found yourself in a few lines. Make sure that after you
summarize, you give credit.
Example:
According to the article “TV Diversity: Whose Job is it
Anyway?” The people involved in making movies offer
many reasons that there are fewer African Americans
than one would expect being cast in mainstream roles.
Many of these reasons, though, do not hold up to
scrutiny (Walden). These weak excuses suggest that
while we have made many advances towards racial
equality, there is still work to be done.
Practice Summarizing with Previous
Essays
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So far, we have read the following essays:
“Pop Culture: An Overview” (posted online)
"Mickey Mouse as an Icon: Taking Pop Culture Seriously" on p. 5-9
“Do I Look Like Public Enemy Number One?" p. 45-49
"TV Diversity: Whose Job is it, Anyway?“ (posted online)
Your task is to write a summary of one of these articles using the
strategies in Chapter 2 of They Say, I Say. (See example on p. 34-35)
• 1st paragraph should SUMMARIZE the source, making sure to
summarize in your own words and give credit in MLA format when
you finish summarizing. Your summary should also prepare for your
response. (This means the issues you focus on in your 2nd paragraph
should receive a lot of attention in your first.)
• 2nd paragraph should respond to the source, using the summary as
a springboard for discussion of your reactions/ideas.
• Any further paragraphs should continue to respond to the ideas
summarized in the 1st paragraph.