Introducing sources: summary, paraphrase, or quote
Some people might object that, since SSR is generally not tested, students are
likely to avoid engagement. Bryan, Fawson, and Reutzel (2003) make such an argument
when they note that “simply providing students time to self-select their own books and
read silently” does not “guarantee” that students will, in fact, read silently; further, some
students might even “use books as a prop for pretend reading or other non-engaged
reading behaviors” (p. 47, emphasis theirs). This objection actually highlights a much
larger problem in education today: the fact that high-stakes testing is narrowing the
curriculum. John Forster and Tom Chapin (2008) have a song, “Not on the Test,” that
begins with these lines: “Go on to sleep now, third grader of mine. / The test is
tomorrow but you'll do just fine. / It's reading and math. Forget all the rest. / You don't
need to know what is not on the test.” NCLB legislation didn’t create the attitude that
anything not tested isn’t worth doing, but it certainly seems to have intensified the
practice of shrinking the curriculum to the point that “if [a subject] is not on the test, [it]
has been cut from the curriculum” (Fazzio, 2009, p. 105). Students recognize what is
happening; they see that “untested” means “unimportant” at the curricular level, so they
reasonably deduce that “untested” means “unimportant” at the classroom level as well.
SSR might actually help mitigate against this nothing-but-the-test-matters attitude,
however, since students who derive pleasure or otherwise find personal value in reading
will have first-hand experience with learning for its own sake.
Introducing sources: summary, paraphrase, or quote
Some people might object that, since SSR is generally not tested, students are
likely to avoid engagement. Bryan, Fawson, and Reutzel (2003) make such an argument
when they note that “simply providing students time to self-select their own books and
read silently” does not “guarantee” that students will, in fact, read silently; further, some
students might even “use books as a prop for pretend reading or other non-engaged
reading behaviors” (p. 47, emphasis theirs). This objection actually highlights a much
larger problem in education today: the fact that high-stakes testing is narrowing the
curriculum. John Forster and Tom Chapin (2008) have a song, “Not on the Test,” that
begins with these lines: “Go on to sleep now, third grader of mine. / The test is
tomorrow but you'll do just fine. / It's reading and math. Forget all the rest. / You don't
need to know what is not on the test.” NCLB legislation didn’t create the attitude that
anything not tested isn’t worth doing, but it certainly seems to have intensified the
practice of shrinking the curriculum to the point that “if [a subject] is not on the test, [it]
has been cut from the curriculum” (Fazzio, 2009, p. 105). Students recognize what is
happening; they see that “untested” means “unimportant” at the curricular level, so they
reasonably deduce that “untested” means “unimportant” at the classroom level as well.
SSR might actually help mitigate against this nothing-but-the-test-matters attitude,
however, since students who derive pleasure or otherwise find personal value in reading
will have first-hand experience with learning for its own sake.
Introducing sources: summary, paraphrase, or quote
Some people might object that, since SSR is generally not tested, students are
likely to avoid engagement. Bryan, Fawson, and Reutzel (2003) make such an argument
when they note that “simply providing students time to self-select their own books and
read silently” does not “guarantee” that students will, in fact, read silently; further, some
students might even “use books as a prop for pretend reading or other non-engaged
reading behaviors” (p. 47, emphasis theirs). This objection actually highlights a much
larger problem in education today: the fact that high-stakes testing is narrowing the
curriculum. John Forster and Tom Chapin (2008) have a song, “Not on the Test,” that
begins with these lines: “Go on to sleep now, third grader of mine. / The test is
tomorrow but you'll do just fine. / It's reading and math. Forget all the rest. / You don't
need to know what is not on the test.” NCLB legislation didn’t create the attitude that
anything not tested isn’t worth doing, but it certainly seems to have intensified the
practice of shrinking the curriculum to the point that “if [a subject] is not on the test, [it]
has been cut from the curriculum” (Fazzio, 2009, p. 105). Students recognize what is
happening; they see that “untested” means “unimportant” at the curricular level, so they
reasonably deduce that “untested” means “unimportant” at the classroom level as well.
SSR might actually help mitigate against this nothing-but-the-test-matters attitude,
however, since students who derive pleasure or otherwise find personal value in reading
will have first-hand experience with learning for its own sake.
Introducing sources: summary, paraphrase, or quote
Some people might object that, since SSR is generally not tested, students are
likely to avoid engagement. Bryan, Fawson, and Reutzel (2003) make such an argument
when they note that “simply providing students time to self-select their own books and
read silently” does not “guarantee” that students will, in fact, read silently; further, some
students might even “use books as a prop for pretend reading or other non-engaged
reading behaviors” (p. 47, emphasis theirs). This objection actually highlights a much
larger problem in education today: the fact that high-stakes testing is narrowing the
curriculum. John Forster and Tom Chapin (2008) have a song, “Not on the Test,” that
begins with these lines: “Go on to sleep now, third grader of mine. / The test is
tomorrow but you'll do just fine. / It's reading and math. Forget all the rest. / You don't
need to know what is not on the test.” NCLB legislation didn’t create the attitude that
anything not tested isn’t worth doing, but it certainly seems to have intensified the
practice of shrinking the curriculum to the point that “if [a subject] is not on the test, [it]
has been cut from the curriculum” (Fazzio, 2009, p. 105). Students recognize what is
happening; they see that “untested” means “unimportant” at the curricular level, so they
reasonably deduce that “untested” means “unimportant” at the classroom level as well.
SSR might actually help mitigate against this nothing-but-the-test-matters attitude,
however, since students who derive pleasure or otherwise find personal value in reading
will have first-hand experience with learning for its own sake.
Guidelines for using sources
ALWAYS introduce the source or somehow tie it to directly to one of your claims.
Deficit spending, according to John Smith, is simply “the practice of spending more
than you generate in revenue” (17).
What exactly is “deficit spending”? According the John Smith, it is simply “spending
more than you generate” (17).
Economist John Smith offers a simple definition of deficit spending: “spending more
than you generate in revenue” (17).
It is important to understand what “deficit spending” is before we consider whether it is
good or bad for the economy. Harvard Economics professor John Smith explains that
deficit spending occurs when expenditures are larger than revenues (17).
“Deficit spending is the practice of spending more than you generate in revenue,” says
Economics professor John Smith (17).
“Deficit spending is the practice of spending more than you generate in revenue”
(Smith17).
Guidelines for using sources
ALWAYS introduce the source or somehow tie it to directly to one of your claims.
Deficit spending, according to John Smith, is simply “the practice of spending more
than you generate in revenue” (17).
If you start in mid-sentence, do NOT begin the quote with a capital letter and do
NOT precede it with a comma. (If you take out the quotation marks, the sentence
should still be grammatically and mechanically correct.)
Deficit spending, according to John Smith, is simply “The practice of spending more
than you generate in revenue” (17).
Deficit spending, according to John Smith, is simply, “the practice of spending more
than you generate in revenue” (17).
Guidelines for using sources
ALWAYS introduce the source or somehow tie it to directly to one of your claims.
Deficit spending, according to John Smith, is simply “the practice of spending more
than you generate in revenue” (17).
If you start in mid-sentence, do NOT begin the quote with a capital letter and do
NOT precede it with a comma. (If you take out the quotation marks, the sentence
should still be grammatically and mechanically correct.)
Deficit spending, according to John Smith, is simply The practice of spending more than
you generate in revenue.
Deficit spending, according to John Smith, is simply, the practice of spending more than
you generate in revenue.
Guidelines for using sources
Use a comma if you use “says,” “states,” or a similar verb to introduce a quote.
“Deficit spending is the practice of spending more than you generate in revenue,” says
Economics professor John Smith (17).
According to Economics professor John Smith, “Deficit spending is the practice of
spending more than you generate in revenue” (17).
Use a colon at the end of a complete sentence to show that the quote following the
colon is tied to the sentence before the colon.
It’s a simple concept: “Deficit spending is the practice of spending more than you
generate in revenue” (Smith 17).
Do NOT use a comma or a capital letter after that word “that.”
Economist John Smith says that “[d]eficit spending is the practice of spending more
than you generate in revenue” (17).
Economist John Smith says that, “Deficit spending is the practice of spending more than
you generate in revenue” (17).
Improving Your Text
When possible, use active voice. (The subject of the sentence should do the action.)
Look for “to be” verbs with past participle verbs (usually ending in “n” or “en”):
“are seen,” “have been given,” “was shown,” “is proven,”
Ask “who or what?” to find the subject of the verb:
Help was given to these schools by the government.
Students were shown to be more productive after seven hours of sleep.
More courses are offered by larger schools.
Fewer hazing incidents are reported in the spring semester.
If the subject is NOT the actor, either change the verb or make the actor the subject:
These schools received government help.
The government helped these schools.
Studies show that students are more productive after seven hours of sleep.
Larger schools offer more courses.
Students report fewer hazing incidents in the spring semester.
Fewer hazing incidents are reported in the spring semester.
Improving Your Text
When possible, use action verbs.
Look for “to be” verbs: is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been. If you can use an action
verb instead, and the action verb works better, use the action verb.
There are certain advantages to small schools.
Small schools offer certain advantages.
There are few reasons to practice deficit spending.
Deficit spending creates many problems, but few advantages.
More options are available at big schools.
Big schools provide more options.
Remember, these are guidelines, not rules. You always have choices, and you should
make those choices in light of your audience, your goals, and the context.
Use the rest of today’s class to revise your paper:
___ Make sure every body paragraph has a clear topic sentence
___ Make sure your paragraphs are logically connected
___ Outline your argument: Does it make sense?
___ Make sure every verb has a clear subject.
___ When possible, make sure the subject is the actor.
___ Make sure you introduce your sources (i.e., no “drop quotes”)
___ Check your punctuation and capitalization for sources
___ Use action verbs when possible and appropriate
___ Where can you add an example or clarification?
___ Can you make your diction more precise?