Pigeon Drop
Explanation
&
Practice using the
4-Step Method
What is a Pigeon Drop?
They happen when you
attempt to integrate your
source information in order to
help prove your thesis and you
do NOT introduce the source
and/or the author…you
literally “drop” a quote or info
into the sentence.
Sample 1
My grades began to suffer in junior
high school and I began to despise
school. “School should feel less like a
prison than it does” (Nathan Glazer, 1984).
Sample 1 Fixed
In junior high school, many students find
that their grades begin to suffer, and
they start to despise school. In the
words of Nathan Glazer, in his journal
titled “School—the Next Frontier,”
“School should feel less like a prison
than it does” (23). If students were given
freedom of choice along with more
hands-on activities many would be
more successful.
Sample 2
An alarming amount of identity theft
victims has a personal relationship with
the thief of were family members.
“According to the Identity Theft
Clearinghouse report in 2002, persons
in their thirties were most susceptible to
victimization of identity theft”
(Obringer).
Sample 2 Fixed
An alarming amount of identity theft
victims have a personal relationship with
the thief or their family members. In the
Identity Theft Clearinghouse 2002 Report,
Daniel Obringer suggests that “persons in
their thirties were most susceptible to
victimization of identity theft” (7).
Obviously, people in this age group tend
to encounter more people in their
everyday lives of work, play, and family.
Sample 3
Instead of throwing away things with
any personal information, you should
shred them that way no one can steal
any information. “If you’re traveling,
have your mail held at your local post
office, or ask someone you know well
and trust, another family member, a
friend, or a neighbor to collect and
hold mail while you’re away” (“Identity
Theft and Identity Fraud”).
Sample 3 Fixed
Instead of throwing away papers with any
personal information, one should shred such
papers to avoid having his or her identity
stolen. The article “Identity Theft and Identity
Fraud, "discusses the best way to prohibit
possible theft of personal identity, via the
mail, while one is away on vacation. The
article states, “If you’re traveling, have your
mail held at your local post office, or ask
someone you know well and trust…” (6). It’s
easy to protect one’s personal effects with
the use of simple measures and common
sense.
How to fix the Pigeon Drop
4-Step Method
Step 1
State the main idea of
the source—preview it
for the reader.
Step 2
Use an identifying tag to
introduce the source
info/quote.
Avoid using the verb says!
Step 3
Quote, paraphrase, or
summarize the source
material.
Step 4
Add your own comment
or response on the
material cited.
You Try
Look at the example on
your worksheet titled
“’Have it Your Way’:
Consumerism Invades
Education”
On your worksheet…
complete step 1
What do you think the
main idea of the article is?
On your worksheet…
complete step 2
Tag: introduce the article
& the author (vice versa).
On your worksheet…
complete step 3
Quote / Paraphrase /
Summarize
On your worksheet…
complete step 4
Comment on the information
you just quoted, paraphrased,
or summarized.
Rate the following
Examples…
use the scale below
0=
1=
2=
3=
Ridiculous
bad
okay
Awesome
#1
In his essay “’Have it Your Way’
Consumerism Invades Education,”
Simon Benlow, writer and
composition teacher, notes that
[consumerist students] see only
black and white words—where
they anticipate smashy colors and
extravagant tools for getting their
attention. (p. 173) I completely
agree with this wonderful idea.
Rank: 1
#2
College students nowadays expect
teachers to entertain and amuse them. In
his essay entitled“’Have it Your Way’
Consumerism Invades Education,”
Benlow argues “[consumerist students]
see only black and white words—where
they anticipate smashy colors and
extravagant tools for getting their
attention”(173). So far, I find that college
has a lot of very good teachers who
really know and love their subjects.
Rank: 2
#3
Students today are entering college with
a bad mindset form the consumerist
society in which they live. Writer and
composition teacher Simon Benlow points
out in his essay “’Have it Your Way’
Consumerism Invades Education,” that
“[s]tudents who come to college with this
consumerist attitude are lost […] In the
face of pure ingredients (the stuff for
making meaning) they will be confused
and ultimately, terribly bored” (173).
# 3 cont.
Everyday in our classroom I see students
who seem angry that a college
education is hard; they are put off by the
fact that A’s re not being handed to
them just the way that they want them—
like a whopper or a happy meal.
Rank: 3
#4
Most students come to college with
the idea that a university operates
pretty much like a shopping mall. In
his essay on consumerism and
education, writer Stephen Below on
page 173 says that consumers love
excitement in their movies and sex
and French fries and cherry Cokes.
No one wants to watch black and
white films from back in the day!
# 4 cont.
I believe that you can easily see why
college students are bored and seek
entertainment in the classroom.
Rank: 0
My Sample Answers:
Step 1: Today’s students have consumerist attitudes.
Step 2: Simon Benlow author of “Have it Your Way
Consumerism Invades Education” brilliantly
explains This idea.
Step 3: “[s]tudents
who come to college with this consumerist
attitude are lost […] In the face of pure ingredients (the stuff for
making meaning) they will be confused and ultimately, terribly
bored” (173).
Step 4: Students want school to be like a store and
they want to be treated like customers.