Unit 4 Tutorials: Argumentative Writing

INSIDE UNIT 4

Introduction to Argumentative Writing

Arguments in Writing
Rhetorical Appeals
The Classical Argument Model
Analyzing an Argumentative Essay
Argumentative Topics and Thesis Statements

Research and Support

Supporting an Argumentative Thesis

Evidence as a Form of Support
Types of Sources
Finding Sources
Using Counterarguments

Incorporating Research

Applying Evidence
Analyzing Evidence
Accurate and Ethical Use of Sources
Source and Quotation Formatting in APA
In-Text Citations and Reference Formatting in APA

Drafting an Argumentative Essay

Annotated Bibliographies
Using Your Prewriting During Drafting
Writing an Effective Argumentative Research Essay
Model Argumentative Essays

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 Arguments in Writing
by Sophia

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn about the requirements and conventions of argumentative writing, and how
to approach this type of writing. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Overview of Argumentative Writing
2. Modes of Argument
3. Rhetorical Appeals

1. Overview of Argumentative Writing

The primary form of academic writing is driven by argument, or a clear position on a debatable question that is
supported with evidence and reasoning. In an academic context, an argument doesn't refer to fighting, which
sometimes comes to mind when the word is mentioned.

When discussing writing, it's instead useful to think of an argument as a conversation between thoughtful
people who, although they have different views, want to answer the same questions.

The components of successful academic arguments include:

A clear, focused thesis on a debatable question

Support consisting of reasoning, credible research, and evidence
A discussion of counterarguments
Use of rhetorical appeals

Being able to identify the components of an argument is not only a useful skill, but it is also necessary for
anyone who wants to master written communication. Readers who understand what an argument is (including
its structure, components, and assumptions), and what particular arguments are trying to convince them to
accept, derive the most benefit from what they read.
By identifying the components of an argument, you can analyze its effectiveness. Instead of just being
convinced or unconvinced (perhaps without understanding why), you'll be able to evaluate arguments critically.
You won't be misled by elegant phrasing or false logic.

 TERM TO KNOW

Argument

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 In academic writing, a clear position on a debatable question that is supported with evidence and
reasoning.

2. Modes of Argument
Although argumentative essays sometimes incorporate other modes of writing (e.g., the persuasive or
informative modes), all essays that present an argument are considered argumentative.

The persuasive mode is similar to the argumentative: Both of these writing modes seek to influence readers to
accept an assertion or take a particular action. The persuasive mode, however, emphasizes pathos (appeals to
readers' emotions) more than ethos (appeals to readers' sense of right and wrong) or logos (appeals to logic
and reasoning).

Writing in the informative mode does not argue a specific point, but instead provides information about a
subject. This sometimes involves analysis and interpretation, however, which require a form of argumentation.
Since the purpose of informative writing is to inform—not to convince or persuade—this mode is a different kind
of writing with different requirements.

The following paragraph is an excerpt from an essay. As you read it, look for elements of argumentative,
persuasive, and informative writing.

Part of the reason why Hawaii seems like such a paradise is that it's not home to many of nature's less
pleasant organisms: no nettles or poison ivy, few thorny plants or poisonous plants, no snakes or apex
predators. Until humans arrived, Hawaii was a paradise for many organisms. But now that rats, cats, sheep,
pigs, and invasive vines, trees, and grasses have been introduced, the ecosystem that had been at stasis
for so long is slowly and steadily becoming more like that of the continental United States (Harjo, 2005).
Even as government officials inspect ship and air cargo for green tree snakes, fire ants, tree frogs, and the
multitude of other species that haven't yet established a foothold in the islands; even as ranchers and
hunters coordinate to keep wild pigs and sheep populations under control; even as university researchers
and park rangers tag and protect endangered birds and turtles, they know it's a battle they can't win.

Multiple modes of writing are used in this excerpt. The writer attempts to inform the reader about the subject,
but he also takes—and supports—a position. In addition, the persuasive mode is evident at the end of the
excerpt, when the writer makes an emotional appeal that expresses his sadness at how human actions have
irrevocably changed Hawaii, rather than making a reason-based argument about the ecosystem.

 BIG IDEA

The lines between the different modes of writing can be crossed. In fact, those lines are blurred to some
extent in most essays. Therefore, most argumentative writing incorporates some elements of the
persuasive and informative modes.

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 3. Rhetorical Appeals
Rhetorical appeals are strategies used in writing that are designed to persuade or convince the reader. There
are three types of rhetorical appeals, which you will learn more about in the next lesson.

For now, here is a brief description of each:

Pathos is used to convince readers by evoking their sympathy or compassion for the claims that are made.
Pathos can be used unethically, especially when it is not balanced by evidence and reason.
Ethos bases appeals on credibility. Although the term used to refer only to the credibility or character of the
writer (or speaker), modern ethos-based arguments are likely to rely on the credibility and trustworthiness
of the information sources used in an essay.
Logos bases appeals on logic and reasoning. Logos-based arguments use facts and evidence to support
logical claims. This form of appeal is the primary focus of many argumentative essays.

Note that most instances of argumentative writing use all three forms of appeal in one way or another.

 TERM TO KNOW

Rhetorical Appeal
A strategy used in writing that is designed to persuade or convince the reader.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you received an overview of argumentative writing. Argumentative writing takes a clear
position on a debatable question and backs up claims with evidence and reasoning. You then learned
that there are different modes of argument. This means that argumentative writing often incorporates
elements from the persuasive and informative modes of writing. Argumentative writing also requires
the use of rhetorical appeals, which are strategies that you can use to try and convince your readers of
your position.

Best of luck in your learning!

Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY SOPHIA LEARNING. PLEASE SEE OUR TERMS OF USE.

 TERMS TO KNOW

Argument
In academic writing, a clear position on a debatable question that is supported with evidence and
reasoning.

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 Rhetorical Appeal
A strategy used in writing that is designed to persuade or convince the reader.

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 Rhetorical Appeals
by Sophia

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn about the three main rhetorical appeals and how to deploy them effectively
in argumentative essays. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Types of Rhetorical Appeals
1a. Logos
1b. Ethos
1c. Pathos
2. Using the Appeals Effectively

1. Types of Rhetorical Appeals

Recall that rhetorical appeals are strategies used in writing that are designed to persuade or convince. You can
use these categories of convincing strategies to describe the various ways that you try to reach out to your
readers and appeal to them so that they will agree with you and trust your arguments.

There are three main rhetorical appeals:

Logos
Ethos
Pathos

These tools can help you as a writer strengthen your arguments and become more successful and convincing.

 TERM TO KNOW

Rhetorical Appeal
A strategy used in writing that is designed to persuade or convince the reader.

1a. Logos
Appeals to logos are appeals to logic; these appeals use logic to persuade or convince. When you appeal to
logic, you appeal to your reader’s intelligence, intellect, and understanding of the world.

Logos is thus meant to support your central argument with claims that are based in fact, reason, and logic.

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 IN CONTEXT

If you are trying to convince someone to buy your used car, you might use logos to appeal to the
potential buyer by describing the miles per gallon that your car gets, how reliable it is, or what its
safety crash rating is—all to show that it is a smart choice for the potential buyer.

Or imagine you’re taking a writing class, and you’ve been assigned an argumentative paper. If you’ve
chosen to make the argument that high school should start later in the day, you might appeal to logos
by providing research that shows that the teenage brain works best later in the day, or by giving a
hypothetical example of a student who gets to sleep in a little later and performs better in class
because of it. In those ways, you’d be providing data and reasoning to show your reader that your
position in this debate is the smartest one, the best one to believe.

 TERM TO KNOW

Logos
An appeal to logic; uses logic and factual information in order to persuade or convince.

1b. Ethos
Appeals to ethos are appeals to ethics and credibility; these appeals use the author’s own trustworthiness to
persuade or convince. When you appeal in this way to ethics, you demonstrate that you—and your expert
sources—are believable and trustworthy because you’re credible.

In other words, you’re basically making an appeal to your readers to trust in your believability. You’re making the
claim that you are ethical and trustworthy, and therefore, that your research and opinions ought to be believed.

Ethos is meant to support your thesis by asserting that your claim is backed up by trustworthy research, uses
valid and credible expert sources, and has ethically considered all possible arguments before choosing a side.

IN CONTEXT

Imagine that you’re taking an economics course, and your final assignment is to argue policy on a
particular energy sector. You might use an appeal to ethos by demonstrating that your position is
backed by ethical, neutral sources. For example, maybe you’re going to argue against subsidies for
the coal industry. In appealing to ethos, you would use nonpartisan, non-biased sources of
information, not just data directly from the coal lobby or from its opponents. You would respond to
counterarguments reasonably and ethically, and you would vouch for the trustworthiness of your
sources by explaining who and what they are.

Or, if you’re holding a fundraiser, you might encourage people to donate by making an appeal to
ethos, arguing that your charity is more deserving than others because of the way it uses its funds.
You could present its internal statistics, showing the percentage of donated funds that directly support

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 the cause. This would show your potential donors that your organization can be trusted to ethically
allocate its donations.

 TERM TO KNOW

Ethos
An appeal to ethics; uses ethical guidelines and credibility in order to persuade or convince.

1c. Pathos
Appeals to pathos are appeals to emotion; these appeals evoke emotion to persuade or convince. When you
appeal to pathos, you appeal to your reader’s emotional feeling.

Pathos is thus meant to cause your readers to feel the emotions you want them to feel, such as anger, sadness,
or excitement, in order to cause them to believe that your thesis is valid.

IN CONTEXT

If you need a day off work and you’re trying to get a colleague to cover your shift, you might appeal to
emotion by describing why you want the day off, telling your colleague excitedly that your mom is
coming to visit, and you can’t wait to see her. Showing your excitement appeals to your colleague’s
emotions and will hopefully encourage him to switch shifts.

Or imagine you’re writing a cover letter for a job. You want this job badly because it has long been
your dream to work in a field where you can provide support for a community that you are
passionately engaged with. You might include language like that in your letter, causing the reader to
feel passionate about your candidacy as well and give you an interview.

 TERM TO KNOW

Pathos
An appeal to emotion; evokes emotions in order to persuade or convince.

2. Using the Appeals Effectively

Now that you’ve had a taste of these three appeals, you can think about how you can use them most effectively.
You want to start by thinking about the purpose of your argument.

IN CONTEXT

Politicians want citizens to vote for them, so they use these kinds of argumentative tools to encourage

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 those votes and thereby meet their ultimate purpose of getting elected. In your own writing, you’ll
likely use a variety of these appeals as well, deploying different ones for different situations and
audiences.

For instance, if you’re writing a paper advocating for an end to the death penalty, you might use many
different appeals to connect all possible readers. Some people would be more convinced by facts
about the way the death penalty is imposed, and others by the credibility of your ethical
argumentation. Still others will be most convinced by emotional appeals that ask them to consider
how this policy makes people feel.

However, it’s important to choose wisely because for every reader convinced by one appeal, another might be
repelled by the same. A misused or mistimed appeal can lose you your argument, so you’ll want to follow these
steps to effectively deploy appeals:

 STEP BY STEP

1. First, consider your audience: Appeals to logic might not go over well for an audience expecting to
hear personal experiences; the lack of emotional appeal could be read as insensitive. In contrast,
overly emotional writing in an academic setting might seem a little unprofessional.
2. Second, consider how often to make each appeal: Used sparingly and selectively, each of these types
of appeals can have huge impacts, but too many can fatigue your readers.

In particular, appeals to emotion should be used carefully. Using too many emotional appeals can cause a host
of unintended consequences:

Readers might feel manipulated.

Readers might become bored by hearing about emotions that they just aren’t feeling and stop reading.
Readers might begin to perceive that the writer is being self-righteous or even moralizing.

Thus, be strategic when you select your emotional appeals.

 TRY IT

Read the following writing sample and see if you can recognize the rhetorical appeals in action.

All across this country, students are making the hard choice to go into debt or drop out of school. For
many years, higher education was accessible to everyone who wanted it. But the rising cost of college
is restricting this vital tool to only those most privileged and lucky. Shouldn't all students have the
chance to gain the skills and experience they need to fulfill their own version of the American Dream?
We must all join together to create change, lowering the cost of college and giving everyone the
education that is our birthright.

Which appeal is this paragraph using? +

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 This first writing sample is an appeal to emotion. You know this not just because it likely makes you feel
sad and angry, although your own feelings as a reader are clues. But you also know this is an appeal to
pathos because you can see a lot of emotional words, and words that have strongly emotional
connotations:

All across this country, students are making the hard choice to go into debt or drop out of school.
For many years, higher education was accessible to everyone who wanted it. But the rising cost of
college is restricting this vital tool to only those most privileged and lucky. Shouldn't all students
have the chance to gain the skills and experience they need to fulfill their own version of the
American Dream? We must all join together to create change, lowering the cost of college and
giving everyone the education that is our birthright.

Looking for those elements of a text’s tone can help you see what kind of appeal it’s making. Words
such as “vital,” “privileged,” “lucky,” “birthright”—those are evocative emotional clues that this is an
appeal to pathos.

 TRY IT

Read the following writing sample and see if you can recognize the rhetorical appeals in action.

Student debt has reached an all-time high. Current data from the Institute for College Access and
Success shows that the average college student leaves higher education with an average of $28,950
in debt, and that, over the last 10 years, the amount of college debt held by students has risen at more
than double the rate of inflation. These statistics show that student debt is growing disproportionately
and is unsustainable, which indicates that something must be done to reduce the cost of higher
education.

Which appeal is this paragraph using? +

This writing sample has a pretty different tone from the first, even though it’s covering the same topic.
Look at all that data and the even, unemotional tone of the language:

Student debt has reached an all-time high. Current data from the Institute for College Access and
Success shows that the average college student leaves higher education with an average of
$28,950 in debt, and that, over the last 10 years, the amount of college debt held by students
has risen at more than double the rate of inflation. These statistics show that student debt is
growing disproportionately and is unsustainable, which indicates that something must be done to
reduce the cost of higher education.

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 Those factors tell you that this is using logos to make an appeal to your logic.

 TRY IT

Read the following writing sample and see if you can recognize the rhetorical appeals in action.

Currently, many students can only earn an education by taking on what the Pew Charitable Trust, a
nonpartisan think tank, calls "unsustainable debt." Thus, it would be wise for the United States to lower
the cost of college. Some worry about the effect such policies could have on the nation's debt. This is a
fair concern, as the national debt is a burden we all share. Yet what that argument misses is that a
more educated populace will be more prosperous, so spending money on education is an investment
in the future. With more education, our citizens will be better able to solve problems, be more self-
sustaining, and contribute more taxes toward paying down debt.

Which appeal is this paragraph using? +

This last writing sample again takes a different tone; it’s full of ethos. See how the author presents the
claim using trustworthy sources, responds considerately to the opposing side, and concludes with a
logical and credible argument about how his proposal will play out in the future?

Currently, many students can only earn an education by taking on what the Pew Charitable Trust,
a nonpartisan think tank, calls "unsustainable debt." Thus, it would be wise for the United States
to lower the cost of college. Some worry about the effect such policies could have on the nation's
debt. This is a fair concern, as the national debt is a burden we all share. Yet what that argument
misses is that a more educated populace will be more prosperous, so spending money on
education is an investment in the future. With more education, our citizens will be better able to
solve problems, be more self-sustaining, and contribute more taxes toward paying down debt.

This shows that the argument itself is credible and that the author can be trusted to tell the truth and
represent any data honestly.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned that rhetorical appeals are strategies used in writing for the purpose of
persuading or convincing the reader. There are three main types of rhetorical appeals: Logos appeals
to logic, using facts to persuade or convince; ethos appeals to ethics, using trustworthiness to
persuade or convince; pathos appeals to emotions, evoking certain feelings to persuade or convince.

You also learned how to use these appeals effectively. It’s important to consider your audience, as

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 what’s appropriate in one context may not be appropriate in another. You should also use appeals
sparingly and selectively; an overuse of appeals (particularly emotional ones) can actually make your
writing less believable.

Best of luck in your learning!

Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY SOPHIA LEARNING. PLEASE SEE OUR TERMS OF USE.

 TERMS TO KNOW

Ethos
An appeal to ethics; uses ethical guidelines and credibility in order to persuade or convince.

Logos
An appeal to logic; uses logic and factual information in order to persuade or convince.

Pathos
An appeal to emotion; evokes emotions in order to persuade or convince.

Rhetorical Appeal
A strategy used in writing that is designed to persuade or convince the reader.

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 The Classical Argument Model
by Sophia

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn about one of the many models of argumentation, and how you can use this
model to structure an argumentative essay. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. The Classical Argument Model
2. Using the Classical Model
3. The Classical Model in Action

1. The Classical Argument Model

There are several different models for constructing arguments that are recognized in the field of composition.
The point of learning models of argumentation is to give beginning writers options to consider during the
stages of the writing process. Writers who are familiar with multiple argumentation models can select the one
they believe is best suited to construct an argument on a specific subject and purpose.

For the purpose of this course, we will focus on one model: the classical argument model. The classical model
was designed by the ancient Greek rhetorician and philosopher, Aristotle; it is one of the oldest systems of
argumentation. This model is primarily designed to persuade readers to take an action, or to share a writer's
perspective.

Since the classical model was created when arguments were made in speeches, it emphasizes the use of the
three rhetorical appeals known by their Greek names:

Logos, an appeal to logic or reasoning

Ethos, an appeal to ethics or credibility
Pathos, an appeal to emotion

 TERM TO KNOW

Classical Argument Model

A methodology for structuring arguments designed by Aristotle to persuade an audience to take an
action or share a writer's perspective.

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 2. Using the Classical Model
An argument built on the classical model consists of five components:

1. Introduction: The introduction must be engaging and interesting.

2. Background: This is the necessary background information regarding the thesis.
3. Claims: These are arguments asserted with force and clarity. This section comprises most of the essay.
4. Counterarguments: These address and refute opposing or alternative viewpoints, whether they exist or are
viewed by the writer as having the potential to exist.
5. Conclusion: This final component must conclude the argument in a way that is satisfying and clearly
identifies what is at stake in the broader context. Traditionally, the conclusion addressed a call to action to
the audience, though this is no longer a requirement of the classical model.

There are many reasons why modern writers choose the classical model to structure their work. One of the
main reasons is that the classical model is familiar to those who learned (and used) it as students. The classical
model is also a good choice for timed writing (e.g., when answering essay questions on tests) because of its
simplicity and compatibility with the five-paragraph essay model.
Writers often choose the classical model when their primary goal is persuasion, and because counterarguments
can be effectively addressed using this model.

 HINT

One reason not to choose the classical model is its simple structure. Although it confers advantages in
some situations, writers who want to thoroughly develop a complex or detailed argument may be limited by
this model. However, the classical model remains a good form of argumentation to understand and apply
when appropriate.

3. The Classical Model in Action

Following is an outline of an essay that was constructed according to the classical model:

Topic: College and national service

Working thesis: We should expand opportunities for national service that lead to funds for college tuition
and related expenses.

Introduction: College graduates are likely to earn $570,000 more, over the course of their lifetime, than
those without a college degree. A college degree is a requirement for most good-paying jobs; however,
the cost of college has skyrocketed. This expense, combined with class and cultural differences, has made
a college education unattainable for many. Military service is a way to pre-earn college funds, but many do

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 not have the temperament or desire for it. Therefore, we must provide opportunities for national service in
addition to those provided by the armed forces that lead to funds for college education.

Background:
1. Institution of the “GI Bill” and its goals
2. National service models in other nations
3. Rising costs of college and ballooning debt
4. Growing problem of student debt among students who do not earn a degree (i.e., who do not
finish college); this situation is more devastating than not attending college at all.

Claims:
1. Various national service opportunities must be available (military and non-military), and
prospective students between the ages of 18–21 should be encouraged to embrace them.
These opportunities should provide 2–4 years of college funding upon completion of service.
2. National service opportunities will improve college access for working-class people and lower
the college debt burden for middle-class people.
3. National service will directly benefit the country and also increase the sense of civic duty and
social commitment in participants.
4. National service opportunities will increase employability by providing “real world” experience
and time to mature before enrollment.

Counterarguments:
1. Such a program would be too expensive—Costs would be covered by higher government
income from increased tax revenue and greater spending by employed citizens.
2. The real answer is to make college free—This is unlikely, due to political realities. However, a
national service model might entice both liberals and conservatives.
3. The real answer is to let the market decide; let people sink or swim on their own merits—It is
widely acknowledged that the U.S. is not a true meritocracy because of social inequality.
National service that leads to college education would help those who are smart and driven to
succeed.

Conclusion: An expanded national service model that pays participants in funds for college would benefit
the country and could be a model that other nations adopt. Everyone should consider the merits of this
proposal and think of ways to implement it on a national level.

Begin by evaluating the topic: college and national service. The working thesis states that opportunities for
national service that lead to funds for college education should be expanded. The draft outline has been
divided into sections according to the classical model, beginning with an introduction that focuses on capturing
readers' interest as well as introducing the subject.

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 According to the model, the next section (background) must provide all of the information that the audience will
need to understand the argument. The essay will outline the institution of the “GI Bill” and its goals, then refer to
national service models in other nations, the rising cost of college, and growing student debt. Next, it will
address the problem of students who go into debt but do not finish college: It will assert that this situation is
more devastating than not attending college at all.

The background is followed by a section on claims. In it, the writer will argue about the national service
opportunities that should be available to potential students, both military and non-military, including a claim that
people between the ages of 18 and 21 should be encouraged to take advantage of these opportunities. The
writer plans to argue that national service will increase college access for working-class people and lower the
college debt burden of many middle-class people. The outline also puts forth that national service will benefit
the country, not only in terms of what the service produces, but also in an increased sense of civic duty and
social commitment among participants. Finally, the writer will argue that national service opportunities will
improve employability by providing real-world experience and time to mature prior to enrolling in college.

The next section in the model is for counterarguments. The sample outline considers several
counterarguments, including the assertion that a program like this would be too expensive. The outline's
response to this argument is that costs will be offset by increased government income from greater tax revenue
and more spending by employed citizens. The next counterargument addressed in the outline is that the “real”
answer is to make college free. The essay will refute this by indicating that this is unlikely to happen due to
political realities, but a national service model might gain the support of liberals and conservatives. The final
counterargument included in the outline states that the best solution is to let the market decide, meaning to let
people sink or swim on their own merits. To refute this counterargument, the essay will argue that the U.S. is not
a true meritocracy due to social inequality. National service that leads to college education will help those who
are smart and driven to succeed.

The last section specified by the model is the conclusion. In this example, the conclusion will state that an
expanded national service model that provides funds for college would benefit the country and could serve as
a model for other nations. Like many classically modeled arguments, it ends with a call to action: Everyone
should consider the merits of this proposal and think about ways to implement it on a national level.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned one of the most popular models of argumentation is the classical argument
model, which was designed by Aristotle and relies on rhetorical appeals to convince the audience to
share the writer's view. Using the classical model involves developing five main components: an
introduction, background information, claims, counterarguments, and a conclusion. You also looked at
an example of the classical model in action to see how an argument can come together in an essay
through each of the model's required components.

Best of luck in your learning!

Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY SOPHIA LEARNING. PLEASE SEE OUR TERMS OF USE.

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  TERMS TO KNOW

Classical Argument Model

A methodology for structuring arguments designed by Aristotle to persuade an audience to take an action
or share a writer's perspective.

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 Analyzing an Argumentative Essay
by Sophia

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn about various strategies you can use to analyze argumentative essays.
Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Importance of Understanding Arguments
2. Analyzing an Argument
3. Sample Argument Analysis

1. Importance of Understanding Arguments

Arguments and argumentative writing are encountered everywhere—not just in college classes. You might
come across them in discussions and debates, and in other non-academic settings:

Politics: Argumentative writing is used in politics for a range of purposes (e.g., to state a position on an
issue, to promote a candidate, to propose legislation, etc.). It is also used by pundits to comment on
candidates, issues, and events.
Advertisements: It's likely that you encounter argumentative writing every day in advertisements, which
seek to persuade consumers to purchase products and services.
Professional interaction: Argumentative writing is part of professional life. Attorneys, doctors,
businesspeople, and others write proposals, project plans, and other documents to support a course of
action, present an interpretation of data, or to argue for (or against) a position or action.
The media: Arguments are used in media like television, movies, and music, which subtly or directly
endorse certain perspectives or ways of viewing the world.

One of the more valuable aspects of rhetorical awareness and engaged reading is that they can be applied in
many situations. When people or organizations (e.g., politicians, pundits, advertisers, business associates, etc.)
attempt to persuade you, your ability to recognize an argument, and to identify and evaluate its components,
enables you to make intelligent decisions and effective responses.

2. Analyzing an Argument

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 Engaged reading (and listening) and thinking critically about arguments as part of a conversation are important
skills within and outside of college. Additionally, techniques including notetaking and SQ3R (an acronym for
Scan, Question, Read, Recite, Review) will help you to get as much as you can from an argument, whether you
plan to use it as a source for written work or not.

Some arguments are so well constructed that readers don't notice their components. It's important to
deconstruct all arguments, no matter how smooth or convincing they are, and evaluate the components. Doing
so will enable you to recognize the techniques and strategies that have been used.

When analyzing an argument, you need identify:

The text's primary argument

The primary support items, including evidence and rhetorical appeals
The writer's purpose with respect to the argument

With these aspects in mind, here are some techniques you can use to deconstruct an argument:

1. Find the thesis and summarize the argument. In written work, highlight or underline the thesis. When
working with other forms of communication, state the thesis in a sentence. Next, summarize the argument
in your own words, and think about whether you agree or disagree with it, or whether your position falls
somewhere in between.
2. Consider the evidence and appeals. Analyze the evidence, and decide how, and to what degree, it
supports the thesis. Also consider whether the evidence is credible, and whether it has been used honestly
(or not). It's also a good idea to examine the rhetorical appeals. Which kinds are used, and where are they
located? Are all of them effective and ethical? Be sure to consider the use of pathos and emotional
appeals.
3. Reflect on the conclusion. Which technique is used in the conclusion, and how effective is it? Reconsider
the ending of the work. Is the argument's point and purpose clear to you?
4. Examine the structure, style, tone, and syntax. Evaluate the argument's structure, organization, and flow.
Ask yourself whether the structure is effective and, if it is not, how you would have constructed it. Also
consider the writer's style, tone, syntax, and word choices. Are they effective in communicating to you,
personally? Regarding the intended audience of the work, how will they respond to it? How do all of these
elements affect your perception of the entire argument?

Try using these practices (and asking these questions) on an argument that interests you, or one that you are
constructing. They will help you to gain a deeper, more critical understanding of not only what is argued, but
how.

3. Sample Argument Analysis

The following is the thesis of an argument from an article (published on slate.com) titled “Green Day Will Likely
Go in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Next Year. They Deserve It” by Dee Lockett. This example is

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 representative of arguments you can find online, and you can use it to practice an analysis:

Those surprised that Green Day is eligible already—Rock Hall rules state that an artist becomes
eligible 25 years after the release of their first record—should check out their first two albums, 1990's
39/Smooth, and 1992's Kerplunk, which are about as good as anything you'll find on Dookie.

The argument is essentially that Green Day created the pop-punk genre and thereby brought punk to the
masses. The primary forms of support include commentary and critical analysis of Green Day's albums,
quotations from rock critics and industry experts, information about the music history that led up to Green Day,
and what the band helped to build. These elements balance logos and ethos (i.e., appeals to logic and
credibility). The article also makes a subtle appeal to pathos in sentences such as, “Their fast fame, coupled
with Kurt Cobain's 1995 suicide, symbolized a changing of the guard in rock.”

The author's purpose seems to be to persuade readers that Green Day's admission to the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame is defensible. Also, she seems to be credible: Dee Lockett is a culture journalist (i.e., she researches and
writes about pop culture, including music). She cites other pop music experts and makes a compelling case for
her thesis.

Readers can dispute the writer's inclusion of Green Day in the same category as grunge rockers. By doing so,
she creates an impression that Green Day was part of the grunge movement in rock music. Some readers might
view this assertion as disingenuous; it may seem that the writer wants to elevate Green Day by (inaccurately)
associating it with the grunge movement.

Readers might also question whether commercial success (e.g., selling lots of records) equates to being a great
band. However, there is solid evidence that these attributes are favored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,
which is the premise that she argues.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned that it is important to understand arguments not only in academic contexts,
but in everyday life as well. You encounter argumentative rhetoric in politics, advertisements,
professional interactions, and the media, so being able to break down these arguments is a valuable
skill. Analyzing an argument involves locating the thesis and summarizing the argument in your own
words, evaluating the evidence and appeals used to support the thesis, considering the effectiveness
of the conclusion, and looking at how the structure, style, tone, and syntax of the writing impact the
argument's effectiveness. In order to practice these techniques, you performed a short sample
argument analysis on an argumentative thesis.

Best of luck in your learning!

Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY SOPHIA LEARNING. PLEASE SEE OUR TERMS OF USE.

© 2024 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 20
© 2024 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 21
 Argumentative Topics and Thesis Statements
by Sophia

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn about appropriate topics and thesis statements for argumentative essays,
and what differentiates them from these components in other types of writing. Specifically, this lesson
will cover:
1. Argumentative Topics
2. Introduction to Argumentative Thesis Statements
3. Sample Argumentative Thesis Statements

1. Argumentative Topics
When beginning an argument or research paper, writers should choose a topic that interests them and that has
an appropriate scope for the time and space allowed for the essay. Writers should also choose topics that are
debatable. A debatable topic involves an issue about which people can argue, differ in opinion, or disagree.

Topics must be debatable because the priority of academic writing is to participate in a broad, scholarly
conversation and contribute to a body of knowledge, neither of which is possible when the question being
answered isn't debatable. An easy way to ensure that your question is debatable is to choose a topic on which
at least two positions can be taken. Many topics encompass even more than two perspectives.

IN CONTEXT

Animal abuse would be a difficult topic to write an effective research paper about because it is very
broad. Unless the topic is focused to a more specific area, it won't be possible to identify two clear
positions.

Compare this broad topic to one that is more specific: animal cruelty in the food industry. With this
tighter focus, it's easier to identify positions on the topic. These range from those who believe that
eating meat is fine but funding factory farms is wrong, to those who eat meat and don't care about
how it is produced, to vegetarians and many other positions.

The topics you choose make a big difference, not only in terms of the arguments that can be made and
positions that can be taken, but in the types of argumentative research essays that result from them.

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 EXAMPLE A debatable topic would be whether or not the U.S. government should tax soft drinks
containing sugar. Many people disagree on this topic, and it has a number of possible sides, both pro and
con.
Non-debatable topics can only lead to arguments that aren't worth having.

EXAMPLE A non-debatable topic would be whether or not soda is a liquid. There’s only one position to
take on this topic: Yes, soda is a liquid. This isn’t a topic about which reasonable people can disagree.

 THINK ABOUT IT

What is the difference between the following two topics:

Are romance novels books?
Do romance novels create unrealistic expectations about romantic relationships?

The first topic isn’t debatable; a rational person can only answer "yes" to this question. However, the second
topic might elicit disagreement among people: Some people would probably respond by indicating that
they don't believe that romance novels cause harm; readers of romance novels might argue that they don't
create any unrealistic expectations; and people who worry about the impact of these novels on
impressionable readers might argue that they do create false expectations about relationships.
Your thesis statement should take a side on a debatable topic; it should not just state a fact.

2. Introduction to Argumentative Thesis

Statements
Like other forms of academic writing, argumentative essays must include a clear, focused thesis. An
argumentative thesis statement must make a strong claim about a worthwhile debate. The thesis statement is
different from the topic, which is broader. The thesis statement requires you to choose a side in the debate
initiated by the topic.

To move from the broad topic of an essay to a clear, focused thesis statement, ask questions at the beginning of
the writing process when you begin to define your thesis. You can come up with some potential research
questions based on your topic.

Consider the following example, in which a topic of “global warming” has been selected.

Topic: Global warming

This is a good start, but because it is a broad topic, it needs to be focused. Which aspect of global warming
do you want to write about? You might focus on strategies to combat global warming. Doing so might lead
you to a research question like the following:

Research question: What are some of the ways to combat global warming?

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 Based on that research question, you might develop a working thesis statement like this:

Working thesis: Humans can reduce global warming by making choices that benefit the environment.

Once you've drafted a working thesis statement, ask yourself questions about it to make sure that it works for
an argumentative essay and fulfills your intended purpose:

What is the intended effect of this thesis? Do you want readers to take action? Do you want them to
understand something? Are you trying to convince them of something? Does your thesis reflect your intent?
What is the scope of this thesis? Make sure that the topic and thesis you've chosen are broad enough to
write an essay about, but not too big for your essay (e.g., a topic that might require book-length
consideration). Also be sure that the topic is not too small for your essay. A topic that is too focused can
limit the amount of available research that supports your argument.
Have I taken a clear position on one side of a debatable topic? Once you've brainstormed and drafted a
working thesis, use it to guide your research, outlining, and drafting processes. Feel free to adjust your
thesis as needed. Doing so is not a sign of a faulty thesis, but of your evolving ideas and opinions about the
subject. It's a sign that you're learning as you work—that's a good thing.

3. Sample Argumentative Thesis Statements

In an argumentative essay, the thesis statement makes the central argument that is supported by the rest of the
essay.

 TRY IT

Consider the following thesis statement: Mangoes are a fruit common to the South Asian subcontinent but
beloved worldwide.

Is this argumentative or not argumentative? +

This thesis statement is not argumentative. Notice that it makes a statement of fact; the claim is not
debatable. This thesis would be better for an informative essay.

Consider the following thesis statement: The international treaties governing mango imports and exports
have wide-ranging effects on the mango industry.

Is this argumentative or not argumentative? +

This thesis statement, though it involves a topic that appears more controversial, is also not
argumentative. It’s hard to imagine that anyone would disagree with this statement, as international

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 treaties certainly affect the industries they govern. That’s what they’re designed to do. This thesis is
better suited for an informative essay that would explain what these treaties are and how they function.

Consider the following thesis statement: International treaties governing mango imports and exports should
be improved to allow for greater access to mangoes in the United States.

Is this argumentative or not argumentative? +

This thesis statement is, in fact, argumentative. Notice the use of the word “should” in this thesis. That’s
a clue that tells you this thesis is advocating for action to be taken—someone should do something.
You immediately know that this is an argumentative claim because you might argue that readers should
do what it says, while someone else might disagree.

Now, consider the following short essay that is missing a thesis statement:

Mass campaigns against smoking have reduced the numbers of smokers in the United States drastically.
Yet some still smoke, leading many to wonder how to further reduce these numbers.

Smoking harms our health and well-being. Smoking directly damages lungs and tissues, and negatively
affects the psyche through powerful addiction. And secondhand smoke can be just as dangerous.
Smoking is thus dangerous for all.

Strict regulations have reduced the number of smokers in this country. Cigarette taxes can make the cost
of cigarettes prohibitively high. Though the efficacy of such policies is debatable, to further incentivize
quitting, cigarette taxes should be increased.

Beyond simply reducing smokers, increased taxes can be used on research, education, and outreach. This
can fund programs focused on curing cancer and campaigns teaching youth about the dangers of tobacco.
These programs can be very beneficial.

 TRY IT

Here are two potential thesis statements that you can use to fill in the blank space after the first paragraph.

Thesis #1: Many people debate the merits of increasing the cigarette tax.

Thesis #2: Increasing cigarette taxes will benefit smokers and non-smokers alike.

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 Which thesis statement is more effective for an argumentative essay? +

The first thesis statement introduces the topic that is discussed in the essay. It indicates that there is a
debate, but does it make an argument about that debate or take a side? No, it does not. Thus, it’s not
argumentative.

The second thesis statement, however, takes a side. This statement stays on topic, presents the
debate, and then makes an argumentative claim that it wants readers to accept.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned what makes a good argumentative topic, and how to start with a topic to
develop a working thesis statement. You also received an introduction to argumentative thesis
statements, which are one of the most important components of argumentative essays. These types of
thesis statements must make a strong claim about a worthwhile debate. Finally, you explored some
sample argumentative thesis statements to see how, when successful, they present the argument to
readers in a clear and compelling way.

Best of luck in your learning!

Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY SOPHIA LEARNING. PLEASE SEE OUR TERMS OF USE.

© 2024 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 26
 Supporting an Argumentative Thesis
by Sophia

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn about how a thesis statement is developed, as well as how evidence can
be used to support it. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Thesis Development
2. Main Ideas and Claims
3. Evidence and Support
4. Thesis Support in Action

1. Thesis Development
Remember that a thesis is a single sentence that expresses the controlling idea of a written work. In other
words, the thesis is the core of the essay. It guides the goals and structure of the work by letting the reader
know what the writer will be discussing in the body paragraphs, and in what order.

Also remember that there is a significant difference between a thesis and a topic. A topic is the broad subject of
a written work and can include multiple thesis statements. The thesis is a focused point or argument about
something within the topic.

IN CONTEXT

Suppose you were assigned the topic of pet ownership. You wouldn't be able to write an essay based
on that topic—it's too broad. First, you must decide which aspect of pet ownership you want to write
about or communicate to readers. You might, for example, make the following statement:

Although many people assume that owning a pet is easy, it actually comes with a great deal of
responsibility, such as grooming, feeding, and training.

Here's another option:

Due to their companionship, understanding nature, and ability to help during emergencies, pets can fit
the definition of lifesavers.

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 As you can see, these two thesis statements are very different and are only related through their very
broad shared topic of pet ownership.

Once you've selected a topic and a thesis, you must support the thesis by developing your ideas effectively.
This is accomplished through a process of clearly articulating your ideas and supporting them with evidence
and reasoning throughout the essay.

So, when writers refer to development, they're not only referring to development of the essay as a whole, but
also to the process that takes place at the paragraph level. Paragraphs function like mini essays: Each of them
contains their own main ideas, topic sentences, and support.

2. Main Ideas and Claims

To effectively state and support a thesis, most essays must also promote related points—points that, together,
prove or support the thesis. Recall that, in writing, these are called main ideas. A main idea is a point or concept
that drives one or more body paragraphs of an essay. Each main idea in an essay should contribute to, or
support, the thesis statement in some way.

A claim is a type of main idea in which the writer makes a statement that must be defended. A claim is an
assertion made by the writer. The thesis statement is thus the primary claim of the essay—the object of all of the
essay's support, ideas, and evidence.

A main idea, when coupled with a claim, is usually the controlling idea of the paragraph. When working on the
level of the paragraph, the main idea and the controlling idea are synonymous.

 HINT

A controlling idea is the core idea that drives the writing's goals and structure. Note that consecutive
paragraphs will sometimes focus on one controlling idea. This can be a sign of a complex and fully realized
main idea. Don't worry if you find this happening in your writing.

 TERMS TO KNOW

Main Idea
In writing, a point or concept that drives one or more body paragraphs of an essay.

Claim
A type of main idea in which the writer makes a statement that must be defended.

3. Evidence and Support

The thesis statement is the main point of the essay, so it needs support in order to hold up. Support refers to
any evidence, logic, or other technique (e.g., clarification, expansion of ideas) that bolsters an essay's claims.

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 The purpose of support isn't only to prove that a thesis is true, but also to explain or strengthen the essay's
main ideas.

Evidence is one of the most common forms of support. It is proof of the validity of a claim or claims, and can
include the following:

Facts and data

Personal research
Citation of the research of others
Personal experience

 HINT

Even though some writers use the words “evidence” and “support” interchangeably, support is a broader
term that refers to any content used to directly strengthen the claim in the thesis.
Because essays consist of paragraphs that use forms of support to back up the thesis, it's important to consider
paragraphs in order to understand the essay as a whole. As mentioned above, paragraphs are like miniature
essays that include a topic sentence (i.e., the sentence that states the paragraph's thesis) and support—usually
evidence for the topic sentence.

 TERMS TO KNOW

Support
Any evidence, logic, or other technique that bolsters an essay's claims.

Evidence
Proof of the validity of a claim or claims.

4. Thesis Support in Action

Following are paragraphs from the same essay which demonstrate how an overall thesis might be introduced,
developed, and supported. This first paragraph serves as the essay's introduction:

When you think about your goofy pet dog, your lazy house cat, or even your loud pet parrot, you might not
consider that they could save your life. Mounting evidence suggests that pets are more than a playful mess
to clean up after; they are key to a happy, healthy life. Due to their companionship, understanding nature,
and ability to help during emergencies, pets can fit the definition of lifesavers.

The thesis appears as the last sentence of the paragraph: “Due to their companionship, understanding nature,
and ability to help during emergencies, pets can fit the definition of lifesavers.”

Because of this thesis, we know that the main point and narrowed-down topic of the essay is that pets are
lifesavers, and we know that the main ideas related to that point are companionship, an understanding nature,

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 and ability to help during emergencies. That helps us to figure out what kind of evidence and support may be
included in this essay: Perhaps the essay will use data about the health benefits of owning a pet, perhaps it will
discuss research from others who have investigated this topic, or perhaps it will include descriptions of personal
experience.

Now consider this next paragraph, keeping the essay's thesis in mind as you do:

The companionship of pets offers health benefits, demonstrating the lifesaving qualities of pets. There are
all kinds of pets that individuals or families can adopt. Some of the most traditional pets are dogs, cats,
birds, rodents (such as hamsters and guinea pigs), and fish. Less common pets include rabbits, small pigs,
raccoons, and snakes and other reptiles. Exotic animals might also make excellent pets but may require a
special permit and special care. There is an ideal type of pet for each individual or family.

The topic sentence of this is paragraph is “The companionship of pets offers health benefits, demonstrating the
lifesaving qualities of pets,” which means that the support in this paragraph should focus on the main idea of
companionship mentioned in the thesis. So, is the support here effective for the main idea of the paragraph and
the essay's thesis?

No, it is not. All of the sentences that come after the topic sentence are discussing different types of pets that
individuals and families can adopt. The author gives examples of different types of pets and simply states that
there is an ideal pet for each individual or family. Even though this information is related to the broader topic of
pet ownership, it does not belong in this essay. It does not support the idea that the companionship of pets
offers health benefits (the main idea of this paragraph), and it does not support the overall claim of the thesis
(that pets fit the definition of lifesavers) because it does not address pets' companionship, understanding
nature, or ability to help during emergencies.

In order to better support the topic sentence “The companionship of pets offers health benefits, demonstrating
the lifesaving qualities of pets,” and to therefore better support the thesis, here is a revised version of this
paragraph:

The companionship of pets offers health benefits, demonstrating the lifesaving qualities of pets. Both
mental and physical health can improve when owning a pet. Petting or caring for a dog or cat lowers levels
of stress and combats loneliness. Dog owners in particular may find themselves socializing more often
when taking their dog for walks and to dog parks. In addition, walking a dog can lower blood pressure and
decrease the risk of heart disease (Fields, 2013). By improving the health of their owners through
companionship, pets improve—and even save—these owners' lives.

In this version of the paragraph, the support provided directly relates to both the topic sentence and thesis.
There are facts, such as that petting or caring for a dog or cat lowers levels of stress and combats loneliness,
dog owners socialize more, and walking a dog can lower blood pressure and decrease the risk of heart
disease. These facts help to support the idea that the companionship offered by pets comes with health
benefits.

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 Additionally, the support in this paragraph supports the thesis, which lists companionship as one of its main
ideas.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned that thesis development is the process in which thesis statements are
represented throughout an essay by main ideas and claims, which are in turn backed up by different
kinds of support, such as evidence. You then looked at examples of thesis support in action by reading
an introductory and body paragraph from a sample essay.

Best of luck in your learning!

Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY SOPHIA LEARNING. PLEASE SEE OUR TERMS OF USE.

 TERMS TO KNOW

Claim
A type of main idea in which the writer makes a statement that must be defended.

Evidence
Proof of the validity of a claim or claims.

Main Idea
In writing, a point or concept that drives one or more body paragraphs of an essay.

Support
Any evidence, logic, or other technique that bolsters an essay's claims.

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 Evidence as a Form of Support
by Sophia

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn about the types of evidence that can be used in an essay to support
assertions and convince readers, as well as how to evaluate certain types of evidence. Specifically, this
lesson will cover:
1. Types of Evidence
1a. Researched Evidence
2. Evaluating Research
3. Locating Sources and Avoiding Bias

1. Types of Evidence
Good argumentative writing requires support to convince readers that the writer's argument is valid. Evidence,
one of the most common forms of support, is comprised of facts and details that bolster an argument. It is proof
of the validity of an essay's claims.

Recall that evidence can include:

Facts and data

Personal research
Citation of the research of others
Personal experiences

Although evidence can be useful in any mode of writing, it’s particularly important when making an argument.
Writers who support their claims with evidence are more likely to convince readers to agree with them. When
making an argument, writers most often use researched evidence to support it.

 TERM TO KNOW

Evidence
Proof of the validity of a claim or claims.

1a. Researched Evidence

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 Although there are other types of evidence, research is a common and effective way to support claims.
Research is a fact-finding process in which data, statistics, and ideas from other writers and sources are located
and identified to support your ideas. Researched evidence is thus evidence that you have found in external
sources.

During research, writers commonly investigate books, newspapers, websites, scholarly journals, and
experimental results for information that enables them to make convincing arguments.

Researched information can include the following sources:

Expert arguments, which are the theories, arguments, or ideas proposed by experts in a field of interest.
If you’re writing a paper about psychology, you might use evidence taken from publications including the
American Journal of Psychiatry.
Research findings, which are data from surveys or research experiments.
If you’re writing about school lunch programs, you might use evidence provided by the U.S. Department
of Education about how many students eat program-provided lunches nationwide.
First-person data, which are first-person accounts of an experience provided by someone other than
yourself.
If you’re writing an argument calling for increased funding for the Veterans Administration, you might
include an interview with a veteran to describe why the VA is important to many people.

All of these types of research can be useful and can lead you to the application of good, researched evidence.

 TERM TO KNOW

Research
A fact-finding process in which data, statistics, and ideas from other writers and sources are located and
identified to support an essay's ideas.

2. Evaluating Research
Not all research is good or convincing. Good data should be:

Current
Relevant
Unbiased
Rational

First, data must be current. Statistics and theories that are out-of-date, or that have been disproved, are not
useful. Data must also be relevant, meaning it is directly related to your argument. Your source does not need to
make the same argument that you are making, but it must be related to your topic.

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 EXAMPLE If you want to make an argument for leash laws in local parks, data about zoos is probably
not useful.
Data must be unbiased. If your source is biased, the evidence it provides might not be trustworthy. Consider the
informative mode of writing, in which data is presented in an unbiased manner—without taking a side on the
issue. That’s the kind of data you need in order to take a position of your own, and to support that position
believably and ethically.

Finally, data must be rational. Some of the sources you encounter may not be rational, informed, or expert.

EXAMPLE You may hold strong opinions about orcas (i.e., killer whales), but you should not be cited as
a rational source if you don’t have any expertise on the subject. Your evidence would be biased by your
opinions, which may be incorrect.
Some sources, such as those that seek to advance “conspiracy theories,” are based in irrational beliefs that are
unsupported by facts. Avoid referencing such sources.

3. Locating Sources and Avoiding Bias

When looking for sources, news reports are often a good place to start. They may contain summaries of
information that you can use directly in your essay, and that may lead to other sources. However, while news
reports can seem neutral, they are sometimes tainted by political or social biases. Make sure that your source is
not partisan.

Libraries and library databases are a good source of scholarly publications. When you find a useful book or
article, the bibliography in that publication can lead to additional resources.

Some websites provide a wealth of information. Blogs and commercial websites cannot be assumed to be
unbiased, but they might provide useful first-person data. In contrast, websites that end in .gov or .edu often
provide neutral and detailed research findings.

 HINT

Wikipedia can be a good place to start research, but it is not a valid academic source because anyone can
edit any page. The information cannot be verified.
When examining a source, ask yourself the following questions:

Who wrote this and when was it written?

Getting a sense of who the author is and the context of their work will indicate whether or not it is
current, unbiased, and rational.
Who published this?
If you’re investigating a website or a news article, check the “masthead” of that publication. A masthead
is a list of the people involved in the publication and may include contact information. Regarding
websites, look for a link to an “About Us” page (or something similar).

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 Use a search engine to find information on a news source, and also look at its Wikipedia page. This is a
good way to make sure that a source is unbiased, and that you’re not accidentally citing humor or satire.
What are the methods?
To identify the methods used to achieve the results or findings provided by a source, look for a section
called “Methodology.” This is particularly important for research experiments, polls, and similar data. If
the methods indicate that the research has a narrow scope but is being applied broadly, that’s a warning
sign that it isn’t reliable information.
What kind of information does this source cite?
If you review its bibliography, do you find good, trustworthy sources, or do the sources listed there
appear biased?

Although there’s no surefire way to determine whether or not a source is valid, the more you research, the
better you’ll become at distinguishing the good from the bad.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned that the primary type of evidence used to support a written argument is
researched evidence. Researched evidence encompasses the facts and details that writers locate in
other sources. Before using researched evidence in written work, it’s important to evaluate your
research to ensure that it is correct, relevant, unbiased, and rational.

You also learned about ways to locate sources and avoid bias. News reports and websites can be
great sources of information, but it’s important to make sure that they present information in a neutral,
factual way.

Best of luck in your learning!

Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY SOPHIA LEARNING. PLEASE SEE OUR TERMS OF USE.

 TERMS TO KNOW

Evidence
Proof of the validity of a claim or claims.

Research
A fact-finding process in which data, statistics, and ideas from other writers and sources are located and
identified to support an essay's ideas.

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 Types of Sources
by Sophia

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn about the three kinds of sources writers use to support their claims and
thesis statements, as well as how to identify and use them. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Sources as Evidence
1a. Primary Sources
1b. Secondary Sources
1c. Tertiary Sources
2. Source Examples
2a. Art
2b. Physics
2c. Sociology
2d. Drama

1. Sources as Evidence
In academic writing, you will often need to use sources, identified through research, to support the claims in
your essays. The use of sources involves a process that includes analysis, coding, paraphrasing, and
summarizing. The purpose of this process is to demonstrate that the ideas and claims in an essay are more than
the writer's opinions. By supporting arguments with fact-based evidence, effective research increases the
audience's willingness to accept them.

Research is also one of the ways in which writers participate in an academic conversation involving the ideas,
topics, and issues related to an essay. During research, writers often locate more sources than they can use. It
is important to choose the sources that best suit your purposes.

When conducting research, you want to:

Select sources that are most closely aligned to your thesis.

Select sources that are most likely to appeal to your readers.
Select sources that are necessary to establish the credibility of your ideas.

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 There are three types of sources you are likely to encounter in your research. We will now examine each of
them in more depth.

1a. Primary Sources

Primary sources are documents or objects that are as close to the source topic or event as possible. These
sources are identified through careful analysis by writers. For most essays, primary sources are required to
build original, relevant ideas and claims.

Primary sources come in many forms, but the following are some of the most common:

Literary works, including novels, poems, short stories and creative nonfiction, as well as films, TV shows,
songs or albums, paintings, and other works of art and creative media
Historical artifacts, including photographs, news articles, legal records, census records, physical objects,
and firsthand accounts (written or oral)
Letters, diaries, interviews, and speeches
Scientific material, including lab reports, published research articles and conference proceedings, patents,
mathematical proofs, and technical documents

All of these can be used as primary sources: They can be analyzed and discussed to advance the goals of an
essay.

 TERM TO KNOW

Primary Source
A document or object that is as close to the source topic or event as possible.

1b. Secondary Sources

Secondary sources are one of the most common types of sources used to support research papers. They are
expressions of original research related to primary sources; therefore, they are one step further removed from
the source topic or event.

However, secondary sources can sometimes be more useful than the primary sources to which they are related.
They often contain analysis of, and thoughts about, the primary source that can help writers to understand it
better.

Secondary sources usually follow specific conventions related to a particular field of study. Writers in many
fields can use secondary sources for several reasons:

To discover what experts think about the primary source or topic

To demonstrate a writer's involvement in the academic conversation about the primary source or topic by
referring to the metaphorical conversation about it
To provide more support for the writer's ideas and claims
To demonstrate areas of difference (including disagreement) between the writer's ideas and those of other
writers

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 The most common forms of secondary sources include articles (from academic journals and other publications),
books, opinion-based essays (e.g., editorials), biographies, textbooks, and treatises.

 TERM TO KNOW

Secondary Source
An expression of original research related to a primary source.

1c. Tertiary Sources

Tertiary sources are compilations or syntheses of research, data, or other information. In addition to providing
factual information, they sometimes present an overview of a field or topic. Because tertiary sources are not
primary or based on original research, they are usually less valuable and relevant than primary and secondary
sources.

Still, tertiary sources are sometimes a good place to begin researching a topic because they often lead to the
secondary and primary sources from which they were compiled or synthesized.

Tertiary sources include dictionaries and encyclopedias (both physical and online). Handbooks, tables, and
literary reviews that summarize a collection of related secondary sources may also be useful tertiary sources.

 HINT

Student writers should remember that some classes, professors, and assignments do not allow citation of
tertiary sources (e.g., Wikipedia) as research sources.
Tertiary sources can be useful during preliminary or introductory research (i.e., research that increases writers'
understanding of a topic and directs them to secondary and primary sources).

 TERM TO KNOW

Tertiary Source
A compilation or synthesis of research, data, or other information.

2. Source Examples
The following examples of the three types of sources in different fields of study illustrate how these source
types relate to each other.

2a. Art
The first example examines the subject of art. As the table below indicates, a primary source in this field might
be the painter Gustav Klimt's Tree of Life. This painting is an art object that a writer can analyze. There are also
secondary sources that could be used (e.g., a book on Gustav Klimt's career as an artist that includes an
analysis of the source material).

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 As a tertiary source, an encyclopedia entry on Austrian painters (including Klimt) could be consulted. This
source would probably include basic information about the primary source (i.e., Tree of Life—one of Klimt's most
famous paintings). However, the encyclopedia entry alone is not sufficient for a writer or researcher.

Subject Primary Secondary Tertiary

Art Gustav Klimt's Tree of Life Book on Klimt's career Encyclopedia on Austrian painters

2b. Physics
Next, consider a different kind of source within the subject of physics: a mathematical theorem about fluid
dynamics. This theorem could be analyzed, argued, and written about directly. Secondary sources, such as a
scholarly, peer-reviewed article about the theory's relevance to modern engineering, could also be identified
and evaluated.

Tertiary sources that provide material on the primary subject could, in this example, include an introductory
physics textbook that contains basic information. This source is only appropriate to introduce a researcher to
the topic; it is not sufficient for citation.

Subject Primary Secondary Tertiary

Theorem of fluid Scholarly article explaining its Introductory Physics

Physics
dynamics relevance textbook

2c. Sociology
The following example involves sociology. Many primary sources are available in this field; in this example, the
primary source is The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Secondary sources about this book could include a
historical book about Malcolm X written by another author (e.g., one that compares the education he gave
himself in prison to his schooling as a child).

A tertiary source in this case could be a Wikipedia page about the civil rights movement that mentioned
Malcolm X.

Subject Primary Secondary Tertiary

Malcolm X's Book about Malcolm X and his Wikipedia page about the civil
Sociology
autobiography jailhouse education rights movement

2d. Drama
Here's an example in the field of drama. A primary source in this area could be a theater's 1998 performances of
an adaptation of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, while a drama critic's published review of the adaptation
would be a great secondary source.

A pamphlet distributed by the theater that chronicles all of the performances of this play during the '90s (and
which might refer to the critic's review) might also be a useful source—if the critic was well respected and the
review was positive.

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 Subject Primary Secondary Tertiary

1998 Adaptation of Waiting for Drama critic's Pamphlet about the theater's
Drama
Godot review history
As you can see, primary, secondary, and tertiary sources can all be useful in the research process. Their
importance depends on the writer's needs and purpose.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned that writers use sources as evidence to support their claims and thesis
statements. There are three types of sources: primary sources, secondary sources, and tertiary
sources. An examination of source examples in the fields of art, physics, sociology, and drama
demonstrated how all three source types can be useful across a variety of subjects.

Best of luck in your learning!

Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY SOPHIA LEARNING. PLEASE SEE OUR TERMS OF USE.

 TERMS TO KNOW

Primary Source
A document or object that is as close to the source topic or event as possible.

Secondary Source
An expression of original research related to a primary source.

Tertiary Source
A compilation or synthesis of research, data, or other information.

© 2024 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 40
 Finding Sources
by Sophia

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn how to find sources for a research paper and optimize the use of search
engines during the research process. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Physical Sources and Public Libraries
2. Digital Sources and Academic Libraries
3. Online Sources
4. Searching Online and in Library Databases
5. Online Search Example

1. Physical Sources and Public Libraries

Many sources, both primary and secondary, are only available in physical form (e.g., books, articles, and other
artifacts). It's likely that at least some of the research materials you'll need will only be available in published
form—in print or another non-electronic form. Consulting these sources often involves a trip to the library.

Many public libraries participate in interlibrary loan systems to provide researchers with access to academic
sources. The process of accessing academic sources in this way is often time-consuming. It takes longer to get
information through a public library interlibrary loan than it takes researchers who are directly associated with a
university or community college library to get it through those institutions.

 HINT

Researchers who think they might need to use a loan program should allow extra time to do so. It can often
take a week or more for materials, especially rare books, to become available.
Because almost all libraries have online catalogs, searching for sources is, for the most part, an intuitive
process. This is helpful to those who are used to searching for information on the internet. Electronic searching
can save a researcher a trip to the library to look for a source that may not be available.

However, if you need help, librarians are a good source for advice and assistance on how to search.
Professional academic and public librarians (not library assistants and others who work for a library) are expert
researchers; they have a good idea of what's in their library's collection and how to find relevant resources on
obscure or difficult topics.

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 2. Digital Sources and Academic Libraries
Academic libraries (i.e., those that are part of private and public colleges and universities, and community
colleges) subscribe to databases that specialize in sources on a wide range of topics.

EXAMPLE There are databases devoted entirely to sources in fields like medicine, psychology,
humanities, law, and news media.
These databases are excellent places to search for peer-reviewed sources related to a specific topic or field of
study. Going directly to the subject-specific databases can save researchers a lot of time because databases
often point to credible sources that are relevant to a topic of interest.

The best way to determine which databases can be accessed through an academic library is to visit the library's
website. You can also ask librarians to direct you to the most appropriate databases for your topic. When
searching in a database, vary your search keywords and use “advanced search” options to get the best results
—just as you would when performing a search online for personal reasons.

3. Online Sources
Many sources of information are available online, and an increasing number of credible publications are
appearing in online editions.

 HINT

Not everything is available on the internet, so don't neglect physical sources, even though they sometimes
require more work to locate.
Searching online can be overwhelming at first, due to the vast amount of information available. New
researchers may be intimidated by the challenge of evaluating large amounts of information and the need to
contribute something on a subject when so much has already been written.

However, all writers—both students and experienced professionals—should focus on their immediate purpose
and use effective online research strategies. Don't let online research lead to writer's block and procrastination.

4. Searching Online and in Library Databases

When searching for information online, it's important to vary the search terms that you use. Doing so will usually
lead to different results, which may be more relevant or useful than those you located using other terms.

EXAMPLE Entering “civil rights” in a search engine (e.g., Google, Yahoo!, etc.) will produce different
results than “civil liberties,” even though these terms are often used interchangeably.
It's important to consider both the denotative and connotative meanings of the words and phrases that you use
in search engines. Try several different terms, using different angles to approach the topic. Change terms from

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 formal to informal to maximize the results.

It's also a good idea to go past the first page of search results when you use commercial search engines (e.g.,
Google) because they often prioritize results that are popular, and those that they have been paid to prioritize.
Though they may be listed near or at the top of the results returned for a search, neither of these types of
results are necessarily credible or relevant sources.

Maintain a critical stance when evaluating the sources that you locate online. Carefully assess a potential
source's credibility and relevance to your topic. By doing so, you'll find better sources more quickly.

 DID YOU KNOW

Google Scholar (scholar.google.com) is a Google search engine that is focused specifically on academic
sources. Writers, especially those who lack easy access to an academic library's shared database, can use
Google Scholar to find the peer-reviewed sources that are often the best sources for academic research
essays. The standard Google search engine (and other search engines) include an “advanced search”
option that provides researchers with greater control of the results of a search. Advanced search enables
researchers to specify how the search engine interprets their keywords, to search for information based on
when it was posted, and to return results based on the webpage where they originate.

5. Online Search Example

The following example illustrates the difference that varying search terms can make in the research process.
Suppose you've been assigned an essay in an art history class on the topic of the artistic movement called
Cubism. Assuming that it's not a subject you're familiar with, you might begin your search with the standard
Google search engine (google.com).

Your first search, based on the terms “cubism” and “art,” yields a large amount of introductory information—
mostly tertiary sources including Wikipedia, a few museum websites, and even some sites that sell art prints.
Most of these results provide basic facts about Cubism, which might be a good way to start your research, even
if you don't find anything to use in your essay.

Search Terms Search Results

cubism, art Tertiary sources (e.g., Wikipedia, museum sites, advertisements for art prints)
After acquiring basic information on Cubism from the tertiary sources, you probably have a better
understanding of what you are looking for. To focus your investigation, you decide to search for “analytical
cubism,” an offshoot of the movement that you discovered in your initial research, and “Juan Gris,” one of the
artists credited with starting it. This time, there are fewer tertiary sources in the results, and more specific
articles and websites (e.g., an article on Juan Gris, who liked to paint people smoking pipes, in a magazine
devoted to pipes and pipe smoking).

Search Terms Search Results

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 analytical cubism, Juan
More specific, secondary sources—some relevant, others unrelated to the topic
Gris
As you scroll through more of the results, you find other useful sources, including entries on a communal artists'
site. Although these are aimed at an audience that knows more about analytical Cubism than you do, the
articles refer to other movements and artists, and make assumptions about readers' interests and perspectives.
As a result, they are useful to you. You've located an established discourse community related to your topic,
which makes it likely that these sources are credible. Because they're written for people who understand the
topic, the chances that they are completely inaccurate are much lower.

To find sources that are more focused on the art (i.e., sources that examine how Cubists like Gris created their
art), you perform another search using the terms “cubism” and “human figure.” You've chosen these terms
because you are most interested in the way Cubists break human figures into component shapes and portray
them in a fractured way. As sometimes happens in searches, you get mixed results.

Search Terms Search Results

Mixed results—one less-than-credible source and one very interesting, specific,

cubism, human figure
and credible source
The first interesting site that you explore (i.e., the first site that isn't a tertiary source or for-profit website) turns
out to be a disappointment. Although at first it seems to be exactly what you are looking for, after reading
further, you realize that the site is being used to promote ideas about what is (and is not) “real” art. These claims
are made without evidence or support. You decide not to consider it as a credible source.

However, another source—an e-book about the French reception of Cubism—uses citations and references to
other sources to make an argument about how Cubism spread among artists. It contends that this process did
not only occur through imitation but also by inspiring artists outside the movement to reconsider their
assumptions about perspective and form. It seems like it could be a very useful source for your essay.

The key takeaway is that you would not have found this source if you hadn't been willing to make multiple
searches and vary search terms. By making adjustments in your search terms, you were able to uncover new
results.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned how to find sources for a research paper by looking for physical sources in
public libraries, exploring digital sources in academic libraries, and evaluating online sources you find
on the internet. Searching online and in library databases requires that you thoughtfully choose your
search terms and read past the first page of results, as the sources presented first are not always the
most credible. You also looked at an example of online searching to illustrate the useful results that
varied, open-ended searches can yield.

Best of luck in your learning!

© 2024 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 44
 Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY SOPHIA LEARNING. PLEASE SEE OUR TERMS OF USE.

© 2024 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 45
 Using Counterarguments
by Sophia

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn about the role of counterarguments in argumentative composition, and how
to introduce and refute them in an essay. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Counterarguments in Writing
2. Introducing and Refuting Counterarguments
3. Examples of Counterarguments

1. Counterarguments in Writing
In the context of an academic argument, a counterargument is a representation of an opposing viewpoint or
argument. Counterarguments are a key component of classical argumentation, but they are also commonly
used in other types of argumentation.

Just as there can be more than one argument on a topic, there can be more than one counterargument to a
specific thesis. Although it may seem counterintuitive, writers should choose the best—the toughest—
counterarguments to address in their essays. Including counterarguments without your refutations of them will
not strengthen your essay.

In short essays, it is standard practice to devote a paragraph to a counterargument. In longer works, writers may
need to address several counterarguments and use many paragraphs to do so. Small, focused
counterarguments are sometimes addressed in a sentence or two (or less) throughout an essay.

IN CONTEXT

As an example, here is a short passage that quickly introduces and refutes two counterarguments:

We shouldn't fight the development of genetically modified food crops because this is the wave of the
future. Though some find the idea of man-made plants and animals frightening, this is real life, not
science fiction. We cannot allow fear to prevent scientific progress because if we don't make these
advances, someone else will. Those who advocate for restricting GMO research in the United States

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 will not stop the future from happening. All they can do is make sure that Americans don't profit from
it.

When introducing counterarguments, you can use direct quotes, paraphrases, or summaries from sources that
take the counterargument's position. Conversely, you can use hypothetical situations and representative
examples, as in the preceding passage.

 BIG IDEA

Addressing a counterargument is a sophisticated way for writers to demonstrate the depth and strength of
their thoughts and knowledge about a topic and thesis.

 TERM TO KNOW

Counterargument
In an argumentative composition, a representation of an opposing viewpoint or argument.

2. Introducing and Refuting Counterarguments

When incorporating counterarguments into essays, writers sometimes make one of three kinds of mistakes:

1. Possibly the easiest mistake to make is to oversimplify or mischaracterize the opposing view. This
mistake is called the straw man fallacy. To avoid this mistake, imagine the person who holds the opposing
viewpoint and ask yourself whether that person would agree with the way you are presenting their idea,
even if they disagree with your conclusion. If your answer is “yes,” you have almost certainly represented
the opposing viewpoint accurately and ethically.
2. Another mistake is when writers attack someone who holds the counter-viewpoint, rather than the
counter-viewpoint itself. This is called the ad hominem fallacy. To avoid this, focus on opposing ideas, not
on the person or people who express those ideas.
3. Finally, writers sometimes focus so much of their attention on the opposing position that they fail to
support their own position adequately. Even though you must devote a fair amount of time and space to
counterarguments, your main goal must be to show the validity of your thesis. Don't forget to conclude the
section on counterarguments with assertions, reasoning, proof, or other support for your argument's
validity, even though those who agree with the counterarguments likely disagree with you.

3. Examples of Counterarguments
Following are some examples of how counterarguments can be used, for better or worse. Suppose you are
writing an essay that argues the following thesis:

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 Requiring labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food will unfairly impact businesses and
spread misinformation.

There are certainly those who will disagree with this position, so if you want to construct an effective argument,
you must introduce and refute some of the counterarguments. You should not, however, do it like this:

Some people hate GMOs because they don't understand science. Rather, they're just happy to jump on
any bandwagon that labels things “unnatural.” The “unnatural” part makes the least sense because lots of
natural things will kill you, like diseases and poisonous plants. Clearly, these people are just idiots who are
happy to be uninformed.

This example illustrates why the ad hominem fallacy must be avoided in an essay. If you want to convince
people who don't agree with your position, insulting them is the best way to ensure that you will fail to do so.
The following paragraph also deals with a possible counterargument. It has problems as well, though they are
less obvious than in the previous example.

Those in favor of labeling refer to GMOs as “Frankenfoods,” an evocative name that calls up Victor
Frankenstein's famous monster and his use of science to meddle with the laws of nature. They argue that
we have been given a planet capable of producing ample, healthy food and that the only reason to
monkey with nature is corporate greed. I disagree, because GMOs feed the world.

This paragraph makes better use of a counterargument than the first example, though it is vague. The biggest
problem in this example is that the paragraph hasn't done anything to refute the counterargument. Simply
stating that GMOs feed the world does not counter the use of the term “Frankenfoods.” Without support of
some kind (e.g., evidence), it doesn't effectively refute the argument that the planet is capable of feeding the
human population without GMOs.

Next, consider the following paragraph and its use of a counterargument.

Many disagree with my position. The most common refrain from the opposing side is that consumers have
a right to know what is in their food. Indeed, some even admit that, nutritionally, there seem to be few
negatives and potentially some positives to GMOs. Yet they also express concerns about the
environmental impact and lack of corporate oversight. I concede that we should consider the
environmental impact, but I also feel that fears about evil corporations are overblown. Corporations are the
backbone of the American economy, and they are strongly regulated by the U.S. government. Furthermore,
the American public remains uninformed on this subject. Slapping GMO labels on food products will not
improve their understanding but, paradoxically, may cause consumers to panic before they inform
themselves on the facts behind GMOs.

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 This paragraph represents the opposing viewpoint with respect, and effectively explains why—even in light of
the counterargument—the argument's thesis (that GMO food products should not be labeled) is valid.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned about the use of counterarguments in in writing, which are representations
of an opposing viewpoint or argument. There are good and bad ways to introduce and refute
counterarguments, as you saw demonstrated through several examples of counterarguments in
action. When responding to counterarguments, it's important to avoid logical fallacies in which you
either insult your opposition or fail to address the actual counterargument. Instead, successful
refutations will involve respectfully demonstrating how your position remains valid despite the points
raised by the counterargument.

Best of luck in your learning!

Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY SOPHIA LEARNING. PLEASE SEE OUR TERMS OF USE.

 TERMS TO KNOW

Counterargument
In an argumentative composition, a representation of an opposing viewpoint or argument.

© 2024 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 49
 Applying Evidence
by Sophia

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn how to determine what kind of evidence to use in an essay and when to
use it, how to integrate quotations and evidence into sentences, and how and why to cite your sources.
Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Evidence in Writing
2. Ways of Incorporating Evidence
2a. Summarizing
2b. Paraphrasing
2c. Quoting
3. Rules for Integrating Evidence
4. Citing Your Sources
4a. Where to Cite
4b. Citations in Practice

1. Evidence in Writing
Recall that evidence is comprised of the facts and details that support an argument. When you’re writing an
essay, particularly an argumentative essay, each paragraph should make one main point. As you’re working to
prove that point, you want to ask yourself what your readers need to know in order to believe that point.

EXAMPLE Maybe they’ll need hard statistics from an expert, findings from an experiment, or some
historical context.
The kind of evidence you use will depend on:

What your main point is

What your authorial tone is
What rhetorical appeals you’re making

Depending on what each paragraph needs, you can direct your research and choose your type of evidence
accordingly.

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 2. Ways of Incorporating Evidence
Once you’ve found your evidence, you need to decide how to use it. There are three ways that you can present
evidence:

Summarizing
Paraphrasing
Quoting

2a. Summarizing
Summarizing means giving a brief overview of the main points or ideas of a piece of writing without relying on
specific details or language. This would mean writing something very general about a whole piece of text.

You could summarize the entire U.S. national anthem by saying something like the following:

The U.S. national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner,” is a song describing the fate of a flag during a major
military battle.

Notice that by summarizing, you’re giving a general overview of the whole piece without using any details or
specifics.

 TERM TO KNOW

Summarizing
Giving a brief overview of the main points or ideas of a piece of writing without relying on specific
details or language.

2b. Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing means restating a passage in your own words, keeping the author’s original intent and meaning.

This would mean rewriting something that a piece of writing has already said using different words entirely,
usually to increase clarity. Paraphrases are therefore only of specific lines or sentences, and they must keep the
author’s original meaning intact.

A way of paraphrasing the national anthem might be reading the lines in quotation marks and then writing the
following:

“And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.”

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 The song describes the red light made from exploding rockets and bombs, which illuminated the darkness
to show that the flag was still flying.

 TERM TO KNOW

Paraphrasing
Restating a passage in your own words, keeping the author’s original intent and meaning.

2c. Quoting
Quoting is repeating the exact words of a piece of writing using quotation marks surrounding the quotation.

This would mean writing the exact words from a piece of writing and enclosing those words in quotation marks
so that it’s clear which words are yours and which come from somewhere else.

Quoting might look like this:

The song describes “the rockets' red glare [and] the bombs bursting in air” that illuminated the night to
show “that [the] flag was still there.”

 TERM TO KNOW

Quoting
Repeating the exact words of a piece of writing, using quotation marks surrounding the quotation.

3. Rules for Integrating Evidence

When integrating evidence into your sentences clearly, there are some rules for using quotations in particular
that are important to know. However, these rules can apply if you’re summarizing and paraphrasing as well:

Quotation marks always go before and after a quotation.

You can never change the author’s original meaning by removing important context or mischaracterizing
the main point.
You can quote a whole sentence or part of a sentence, and you don’t need to show that with ellipses (three
little dots) on the outside.
You can use ellipses on the inside of a quotation to replace a portion of the quotation that you don’t want to
include, as long as you don’t change the meaning.
You can use brackets to enclose your own words within the quotation, either to add pertinent information or
to allow the author’s phrasing to fit into your grammatical structure better, as long as you don’t change the
meaning.
You must always cite your source by giving credit to the original author.

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 4. Citing Your Sources
A citation is an indication that words, ideas, or facts came from another source. This means simply giving credit
where it’s due by making sure that you include the author’s name or the title of the original text among other
details in your essay.

Specifically, citation format is the way academics, journalists, etc., choose to identify their sources. Citation
formats include Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), Chicago
Manual of Style (CMOS), and more.

Each of these citation formats is different and asks for slightly different information in a slightly different
organizational structure, so it’s more important to understand the theory behind when and where to include
citations than it is to memorize all of these formats.

For guidance on the specifics about each of these citation formats, the website Purdue OWL and the book
Rules for Writers are great tools. The examples in this tutorial will be given in APA format.

 TERMS TO KNOW

Citation
An indication that words, ideas, or facts came from another source.

Citation Format
The method through which academics, journalists, etc., choose to identify their sources, including the
Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), Chicago Manual of
Style (CMOS), and other formats.

4a. Where to Cite

In an essay, you need to cite in two places:

In a reference page
Inside the text

Reference pages are also called bibliographies or “works cited” pages. They come at the end of an essay, and
they include all of the relevant information about where you can find each book, article, movie, etc., that you’re
citing, usually in alphabetical order by the author’s last name.
The goal of a reference page is to provide enough information that readers can find that source if they want to
read it in full.

In-text citations come inside your essay after each paraphrase, summary, or quotation. They contain just a small
amount of information, usually the author’s last name, and—depending on whether you’re quoting or
paraphrasing—the page number where you got that information.

The goal of an in-text citation is to provide enough information that readers can look up that text in your
reference page to find all the details they need.

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 4b. Citations in Practice
The most important thing to remember about citation is that it is necessary to always give credit where credit is
due. If you are using ideas, words, or images that someone else came up with, you need to cite that person.

Lack of appropriate citation is called plagiarism, and it can have real consequences, both legally and
academically.

Each citation format requires slightly different information in a slightly different organization, so it’s important to
always refer to the unique rules of each form. Remember again that Purdue OWL is a great resource for
checking out each format.

For in-text citations in APA style, you need:

The author’s last name

The year the text was published
The number of the page where the quotation can be found

With an electronic source, you’re going to need the name of the author and the year that the website was made
or last updated. Because this is an electronic source, it might not have page numbers. You can instead count
the paragraphs and include that number. You put all this information in parentheses, and separate each piece of
information with a comma:

As the experts say, “building boats requires time, patience, and steady hands” (Chatwick, 2013, para. 7).

For the reference page in APA style, you need:

The author’s full name

The date of the source’s publication
The title of the source
The full web address, if applicable
The publisher information, if applicable

You create a reference page that comes after your essay by putting in the author’s full last name, then a comma,
and then the initial of the author’s first name. You put a period after this information. Then, in parentheses, you
put the date, again followed by another period.
Then, using italics (if the source is a book), you put in the title of the source and another period. Finally, you
write “retrieved from” and enter the full web address or the publisher information. Notice that there’s no period
at the end of the citation if a web address is provided:

References

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 Chatwick, A. (2013). How to build boats. Retrieved from howtobuildboats.com

If you have any other citations, they will need to be added in alphabetical order, like this:

References

Chatwick, A. (2013). How to build boats. Retrieved from howtobuildboats.com

Grant, Z. (2009). A beginner's guide to the art and style of building boats. The International Journal of Boat
Crafts, 3. Retrieved from boatcraft.journal.org/123/

Take a closer look at the second citation because it’s a little different from the first one. This second citation is
for an online periodical, which is a different kind of source. You can see that the title of the article isn’t in italics
because there’s another title in italics—the title of the journal that the article comes from. There’s also a volume
number for the journal.

You probably also noticed that this second citation is long enough that it takes up more than one line in this
document. In a reference page, you need to use what’s called a hanging indent, which indents any line after the
first.

Each different kind of source also needs slightly different information, so again, always refer to your style guide
for help.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned that evidence in writing is comprised of facts and details that support an
argument and can be either personal or researched. There are three ways of incorporating evidence in
your writing: Summarizing is when you give a brief overview of the main points or ideas of a piece of
writing without relying on specific details or language; paraphrasing is when you restate a passage in
your own words, keeping the author’s original intent and meaning; quoting is when you repeat the
exact words of a piece of writing, using quotation marks surrounding the quotation.

You also learned that some important rules for integrating evidence are that quotation marks always
go before and after a quotation, you can never change the author’s original meaning by removing
important context or mischaracterizing the main point, you can quote a whole sentence or part of a
sentence, you can use ellipses and brackets if needed as long as you don’t change the meaning, and
you must always cite your source.

Finally, you learned the importance of citing your sources. When using someone else’s ideas, you must
always give credit where credit is due; plagiarism has serious legal and academic consequences. In
terms of where to cite your sources, you will need both in-text citations and a reference page. While

© 2024 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 55
 there are many different citation formats, this tutorial looked at APA citations in practice. Different
sources can require different information in their citations, so always consult your style guide if you’re
unsure.

Best of luck in your learning!

Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY SOPHIA LEARNING. PLEASE SEE OUR TERMS OF USE.

 TERMS TO KNOW

Citation
An indication that words, ideas, or facts came from another source.

Citation Format
The method through which academics, journalists, etc., choose to identify their sources, including the
Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), Chicago Manual of Style
(CMOS), and other formats.

Paraphrasing
Restating a passage in your own words, keeping the author’s original intent and meaning.

Quoting
Repeating the exact words of a piece of writing, using quotation marks surrounding the quotation.

Summarizing
Giving a brief overview of the main points or ideas of a piece of writing without relying on specific details
or language.

© 2024 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 56
 Analyzing Evidence
by Sophia

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn about integrating evidence into essays by discussing how to introduce
evidence with context, how to translate the meaning of evidence, and how to provide analysis.
Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Principles of Integrating Evidence
1a. Context
1b. Translation
1c. Analysis
2. Evidence Principles in Practice

1. Principles of Integrating Evidence

Recall that evidence is composed of facts and details that support an argument. While you can use personal
evidence and researched evidence in an essay, this lesson will specifically focus on integrating quotations from
research sources.

Still, the principles that you practice today are just as important when you’re integrating personal narratives,
summaries of big ideas, and paraphrased concepts. You can apply these tools across the board.

To be integrated effectively, each piece of evidence must be:

Introduced with context

Translated for clarity
Analyzed directly

1a. Context
Context is an explanation of the circumstances of a piece of text. Say you’re reading an argument and you see
this quotation:

“Tattoos have a long cultural history in many different parts of the world; however, they carry vastly
different social meanings across cultures.”

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 What do you need to know in order to understand what this means and how it fits into the argument? Right
away you know that this needs a citation:

“Tattoos have a long cultural history in many different parts of the world; however, they carry vastly
different social meanings across cultures” (Smith, 1999, p. 45).

Now you have an APA-style, in-text citation, which is a good start for context. But does that citation tell you
much about Smith’s argument? You don’t know who Smith is or why this is a worthwhile piece of evidence.
Answering those questions in brief is the main purpose of context.

According to Joan Smith (1999), an anthropologist who researches the history of body modification,
“Tattoos have a long cultural history in many different parts of the world; however, they carry vastly
different social meanings across cultures” (p. 45).

Notice that as a reader, you now know who Smith is and why she is a worthy, valid source, making this a much
more convincing appeal to ethos. Using the author’s name like this is called a signal phrase, which is a phrase
preceding a quotation that identifies the author of the quoted text.

Context can also help you make sentences, including quotations, clearer. This means you could take the
following quotation:

“By the 1950s, tattoos had become associated with criminals, gang members, and the lower class. But by
the early 21st century, tattoos had become common on a wider variety of people, leading to greater
acceptance of body art” (Smith, 1999, p. 70).

And then use context to create this much more specific sentence:

The social stigma of tattoos has diminished because tattoos have “become common on a wider variety of
people, leading to greater acceptance of body art” (Smith, 1999, p. 70).

Because you’re integrating with clear context, you’re able to only use the part of the quotation that’s necessary
to make your point; you’ve cut out everything else that could be distracting for your readers.

 HINT

You don’t have to quote an author’s entire sentence. You can select the portion that is most important for
you, as long as you don’t change the author’s original meaning.
The overall goal of context, as you can see in these two examples, is to give a brief introduction to the author,
the work being cited, or the ideas being quoted. This should be very brief, meaning no more than a sentence or
so.

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  TERMS TO KNOW

Context
An explanation of the circumstances of a piece of text.

Signal Phrase
A phrase preceding a quotation that identifies the author of the quoted text.

1b. Translation
Next, you need translation. When you’re translating, you’re telling your readers what you think the quotation
means. This is important because two readers can interpret the same passage in two different ways, but you
really want each reader to interpret that passage the way you have.

Thus, after you give a quotation, you can say something such as “This means that,” followed by a restating of
the quotation in your own words.

Here you have a paragraph presenting some important data:

In the U.S., tattoos were once “associated with criminals, gang members, and a lack of class.” However,
these days, the social stigma of tattoos has diminished because tattoos have become “common on a wider
variety of people, leading to greater acceptance of body art” (Smith, 1999, p. 70).

You can see the context and two different quotations. But what does this all mean? You need a translation
sentence here, which might look something like this:

In the U.S., tattoos were once “associated with criminals, gang members, and a lack of class.” However,
these days, the social stigma of tattoos has diminished because tattoos have become “common on a wider
variety of people, leading to greater acceptance of body art” (Smith, 1999, p. 70). This means that tattoos
are no longer stigmatized and hidden like they once were and are instead commonplace across our
culture.

That one little sentence ensures that your readers will know exactly what you think this evidence means.
Therefore, translation is especially important if you're presenting lots of technical, complex, or very detailed
evidence that you need to make sure your readers understand.

 TERM TO KNOW

Translation
An interpretation or explanation of the meaning of a piece of text.

1c. Analysis
Analysis is the most important part, as it is detailed explanations of an idea and interpretations of its intended
meaning within a piece of writing. Analysis is where you say how a piece of evidence supports your main point.

© 2024 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 59
 The thesis statement of the following paragraph appears bolded at the bottom:

In the U.S., tattoos were once “associated with criminals, gang members, and a lack of class.” However,
these days, the social stigma of tattoos has diminished because tattoos have become “common on a wider
variety of people, leading to greater acceptance of body art” (Smith, 1999, p. 70). This means that tattoos
are no longer stigmatized and hidden like they once were and are instead commonplace across our
culture.

Workplaces should not be allowed to prohibit tattoos in their employee dress codes.

How do the sentences in this short paragraph support that main point? Right now you could make a lot of
guesses, but as a reader, you don’t yet know exactly how this evidence proves that employee dress codes
shouldn’t include prohibitions on tattoos.

If you were writing this essay, you wouldn’t have convinced your readers to believe your side yet. What you
would need to convince them is analysis. A nice way to begin your analysis is with the word “therefore.” That
might look something like this:

In the U.S., tattoos were once “associated with criminals, gang members, and a lack of class.” However,
these days, the social stigma of tattoos has diminished because tattoos have become “common on a wider
variety of people, leading to greater acceptance of body art” (Smith, 1999, p. 70). This means that tattoos
are no longer stigmatized and hidden like they once were and are instead commonplace across our
culture. Therefore, tattoos should not be prohibited in the workplace, because though they may have once
seemed inappropriate to customers, today they are no different than pierced ears.

See how this piece of evidence is now directly linked to the main point? When you’re working on your analysis,
remember to ask yourself what you’re hoping this piece of evidence will prove to your reader, and why or how
this piece of evidence proves that point. You can even brainstorm your analysis by finishing the sentence “This
proves that....”

 TERM TO KNOW

Analysis
A detailed explanation of an idea and interpretation of its intended meaning within a piece of writing; a
demonstration of how a piece of evidence supports a main point.

2. Evidence Principles in Practice

To see how these three principles (context, translation, and analysis) work together, it’s helpful to know how to
locate them in a short piece of writing.

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  TRY IT

Take a moment to read the following short paragraph, making note of the context, translation, and analysis
that you see.

In recent years, it has become common to see tattoos on many people in many places. However,
according to the anthropologist Joan Smith (1999), in “the 1950s, tattoos had become associated with
criminals, gang members, and the lower class,” and this association did not change until “the early 21st
century” (p. 70). This means that many people still have negative associations with tattoos, regardless
of current cultural changes. Therefore, there are still customers who may not want to do business with
people whom they associate with criminality, and thus, employee dress codes prohibiting visible
tattoos may protect a company's customer base.

Based on this paragraph, what do you think is the main point of the essay? +

For the main point, you probably wrote something such as “Workplaces should be allowed to prohibit
tattoos in employee dress codes.” To get to that answer, you can break down the paragraph by
focusing on each principle.

In the context, notice that the evidence is introduced a little differently. The essay is making an
argument against tattoos. Thus, the context places emphasis on a particular aspect of this quotation.
You can see, then, that the same evidence can be used to support different arguments.

Likewise, the translation points out the long history of negative associations with tattoos. This ensures
that readers will focus on the many years when tattoos were taboo, and not on the recent change in
their status.

Finally, the analysis shows how these ongoing negative associations might hurt businesses. Overall,
then, this paragraph uses the same evidence as an opposing argument might, but by providing clear
context, translation, and analysis, it makes a convincing argument for its particular side.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned that there are three main principles for integrating evidence successfully
into an essay: Context provides an explanation of the circumstances of a piece of text, and helps make
sentences and quotations clearer; translation provides an explanation of what you think the quotation
means and ensures that your readers interpret the passage the same way you do; analysis provides
detailed explanations of an idea and interpretations of its intended meaning, and shows how a piece of
evidence supports your main point. You then learned how these evidence principles work in practice

© 2024 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 61
 by looking at the way they help you understand what the main point of an essay is.

Best of luck in your learning!

Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY SOPHIA LEARNING. PLEASE SEE OUR TERMS OF USE.

 TERMS TO KNOW

Analysis
A detailed explanation of an idea and interpretation of its intended meaning within a piece of writing; a
demonstration of how a piece of evidence supports a main point.

Context
An explanation of the circumstances of a piece of text.

Signal Phrase
A phrase preceding a quotation that identifies the author of the quoted text.

Translation
An interpretation or explanation of the meaning of a piece of text.

© 2024 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 62
 Accurate and Ethical Use of Sources
by Sophia

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn how to make sure that your use of sources in academic writing is accurate
and ethical. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Using Sources With Accuracy
2. Ethical vs. Unethical Source Use

1. Using Sources With Accuracy

The accurate use of sources is important. It applies to both the recording of bibliographic data from a source,
and the use of a source's ideas, assertions, and content. Most academic essays must include a bibliography so
that readers can check the support for the writer's work. The option to do so is available to readers when the
writer has accurately recorded the source's author, title, and publication information, including any umbrella
source (for print articles), URL (for websites), and page or paragraph numbers (for quoted and summarized
material).

When using sources, there are several ways that writers can violate the ethical standards according to which
academic writers and researchers must work. It is unethical to do all of the following:

Misrepresent the source's bibliographic data. Doing so violates the reader's trust. Part of the reason that
writers include this data is to invite readers into the academic conversation about the topic of the work. To
misrepresent that information is to give readers a false invitation.
Use a quotation out of context, in a way that misconstrues the source's intention, or in a way that
mischaracterizes the source's ideas, research, or points.
Fail to use quotation marks around quoted information, or fail to properly cite the source from which a
quotation was taken. These actions constitute unintentional plagiarism. When using part of a quotation, or
removing sections from a quotation, make sure that the resulting quotation is an accurate representation of
the writer's words and work.
Present another person's ideas or words as if they are your own. This is intentional plagiarism.

Even when you observe these requirements, it can be difficult to fully and accurately explain academic sources
—the ideas, research, and points provided by those sources—while also presenting your own ideas, research,
and points.

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 It can be tempting to alter or oversimplify another person's ideas, research, and points to align them more
closely to your own. However, the work of others must be accurately represented in all instances. All writers
must ensure that they use sources ethically and accurately.

2. Ethical vs. Unethical Source Use

Suppose you are assigned to write an essay on the effects of social media. Your thesis is that social media sites
(e.g., Facebook) are useful not only for long-distance networking, but for helping people (especially young
people) to learn how to socialize. You argue against those who say that Facebook and other social media sites
are the beginning of the end of “true” friendship.

Suppose that while conducting research, you find an article written by sociologists who studied the effects of
Facebook usage on young adults. Here is the introductory description of the article:

Over 500 million people interact daily with Facebook. Yet, whether Facebook use influences subjective
well-being over time is unknown. We addressed this issue using experience sampling, the most reliable
method for measuring in-vivo behavior and psychological experience. We text-messaged people five times
per day for two weeks to examine how Facebook use influences the two components of subjective well-
being: how people feel moment to moment and how satisfied they are with their lives. Our results indicate
that Facebook use predicts negative shifts on both of these variables over time. The more people used
Facebook at one time point, the worse they felt the next time we text-messaged them; the more they used
Facebook over two weeks, the more their life satisfaction levels declined over time. Interacting with other
people “directly” did not predict these negative outcomes. They were also not moderated by the size of
people's Facebook networks, their perceived supportiveness, motivation for using Facebook, gender,
loneliness, self-esteem, or depression. On the surface, Facebook provides an invaluable resource for
fulfilling the basic human need for social connection. Rather than enhancing well-being, however, these
findings suggest that Facebook may undermine it.

Although this article is not in agreement with your thesis, it is closely related to your topic, and it is also the first
peer-reviewed source you've located. Because your professor requires you to use at least four academic
sources for your essay, you'd like to use it. Perhaps if you reconsidered (and adjusted) your understanding of
the article's purpose, you could cite the article and summarize it by writing that no connection between
Facebook use and unhappiness was found in the study. But doing so would be inaccurate, unethical, and
wrong.

What if, instead, after reading the abstract and the rest of the article, you examined the research and data
collected about how Facebook use predicts unhappiness in young adults and extracted this quotation:

Whether Facebook use influences subjective well-being over time is unknown.

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 Would it be wrong for you to do so? Although the article includes this sentence, it would be inaccurate and
unethical for you to quote it out of context (i.e., isolated from the conclusions of the article) and present it as the
result of the study. When using a source, ask yourself, “If the writer(s) knew what I was doing, what would they
think about my use of their work?”

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned that when incorporating research into an essay, it's important to make sure
you are using sources with accuracy. This involves representing the source material truthfully and
giving credit to the original authors. To demonstrate the difference between ethical and unethical
source use, you examined an example of how a piece of research can be unethically used to support
an argument.

Best of luck in your learning!

Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY SOPHIA LEARNING. PLEASE SEE OUR TERMS OF USE.

© 2024 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 65
 Source and Quotation Formatting in APA
by Sophia

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn about the basics of referencing and quoting sources using APA format.
Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Referencing Source Authors
2. Referencing Source Titles
3. Quotation Formatting Basics
3a. Block Quotations
3b. Ellipses and Quoting
4. Summarizing and Paraphrasing

1. Referencing Source Authors

To provide context for readers, writers often refer to, or reference, the author(s) of a source before quoting the
source or explaining the ideas it contains. Here are some basic guidelines:

The first time an author's name is used, it should include the first and last names. Only the last name should be
used in subsequent references.

The authors of sources that have multiple authors should be referenced in the order in which they appear in the
source. Don't use titles when referring to authors (e.g., “Dr.,” “Mr.,” etc.).

Following is a sample reference to an author:

John Waters argues that there is no such thing as dehydration, only a condensation of blood. Even though
the medical community seems to disagree with him, Waters has acquired a following, if only in some online
circles.

Note that this fictional writer (i.e., Waters) is first referenced by his full name. Subsequently, only his last name is
used.

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 2. Referencing Source Titles
Source titles are also commonly referenced before a quotation, summary, or paraphrase. Writers often mention
the source title and author at the same time. Here are basic guidelines for referencing titles:

For titles of books, journals, magazines, newspapers, films, and albums, use italics.
For titles of articles, essays (including individual written work found online), short stories, poems, and songs,
use quotation marks.

 HINT

The best way to remember these rules is that if the source is a whole thing, use italics; if it's a part of a
larger thing, use quotation marks.
Here's another sample reference:

In his album Bigger, Better, and Balder, rapper Herschel Kiss promotes respect for elders. The message of
his song “In the Eyes of Your Momma” really hits home for me.

In this reference, the album (i.e., the whole) is presented in italics; the song (i.e., the piece, or part) is shown
within quotation marks.

3. Quotation Formatting Basics

A quotation—text that has been taken from a source for use in an essay or other written work—must always be
enclosed by quotation marks. This tells readers that the words within quotation marks are not the writer's words
but come from another source and have been included because they support the writer's purposes in some
way.

To promote transparency for readers and fairness for writers, bibliographic information must always be provided
after a quotation, in keeping with the assigned formatting style. This information should be within parentheses
to separate it from the rest of the sentence while informing readers of the source of the quotation.

Always use sentence-closing punctuation, such as a period after the parentheses, or a comma if the sentences
continue after the quotation. If any information precedes the quotation, it should be followed by a comma or
colon before the quotation begins.

Consider this example, in which the quotation has been correctly formatted and referenced:

Going against the tide of popular opinion, she writes: “I refuse to admit that butter is best served on the
upper side of toast, no matter the personal cost” (Hinkler, 1989, p. 478).

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 Notice the punctuation used in this example, in the following order:

A colon before the quotation begins

A closing quotation mark immediately after the quoted material
An open parenthesis before the author's last name, comma, the year of publication, another comma, “p”—
which stands for page or pages—followed by a period, and the number of the page from which the
quotation was taken, followed by a close parenthesis
A period to end the sentence

Here is another quotation, one that has been inserted near the middle of a sentence:

Another disagrees, “About the issue of toast there can be no alternative but that butter should face the
sky” (Watkins, 1992, p. 12), but adds that while butter is a closed door, there remain possibilities for jam
manipulation.

In this example, the principles guiding the use of punctuation are the same; the only difference occurs at the
end of the quotation where a comma “stands in” for a period. The period in this example doesn't come until
after the information that the writer has added following the quotation.

3a. Block Quotations

According to the APA formatting requirements, quotations longer than 40 words must be formatted as block
quotations. The quoted material must begin on a new line that is indented 1/2 inch, which is called blocking.
Because this format provides a significant visual cue, block quotes don't use quotation marks. They do,
however, require parentheses around the bibliographic data, which must be included at the end of the
quotation.

The final punctuation should be inserted at the end of the quotation, and there should be no punctuation
whatsoever following the parentheses. After the block quote, the paragraph should continue without
indentation.

Here's an example that includes a block quotation, preceded and followed by part of the surrounding
paragraph:

This, then is the question: What is the comfort of people worth when compared to a national language? Or
to ask it more bluntly:

How many people today live in a language that is not their own, or no longer, or not yet, know their own
language, and know poorly the major language they are forced to use? This is the problem for many
people around the world, the problem of received communication (Duattri, 2004, p. 13).

Here we can see the problem inherent in allowing governments to control the language of their people...

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 The essay continues following the ellipsis. The way in which the block quotation is separated from surrounding
text (as in this example) makes the use of quotation marks unnecessary. Note that the parentheses at the end
come after the punctuation but before the writer's essay resumes on the next line (without indentation). This
informs readers that the paragraph that precedes the block quote continues after it.

3b. Ellipses and Quoting

Ellipses are a way for writers to get the most out of their sources. Ellipses can be used in regular or block
quotations to show that information has been omitted from a quotation. An ellipsis is three periods in a row,
separated by spaces.

When removing information—and using ellipses to show that information has been removed—make sure that
you use the source's words accurately and ethically. Ellipses are only required in the middle of quoted material:
If only part of a sentence is being used, there's no need to use ellipses to indicate that the beginning of the
quotation is not the beginning of the source's sentence, or at the end to signal that the sentence continues in
the source. Readers can assume that a good amount of text came before and after the quoted material.

Here's an example of a quotation that includes an ellipsis:

My mom said Grandpa was a product of the Great Depression... but I never understood what she meant
until I found out he'd donated thousands of dollars to our business, just to keep it afloat.

Here's the sentence from which the preceding quotation was taken, in its entirety. Do you see anything that was
left out of the quotation?

My mom said Grandpa was a product of the Great Depression, and that he was amazingly cheap and
incredibly generous, but I never understood what she meant until I found out he'd donated thousands of
dollars to our business, just to keep it afloat.

The part that has been omitted is the part of the sentence that is the least important, in the writer's opinion.
Readers can understand the meaning of the source information just as well without it. Therefore, this is a fair
and ethical use of an ellipsis because the meaning of the source has not been changed.

4. Summarizing and Paraphrasing

When summarizing or paraphrasing a source, writers must include the same bibliographic information,
according to the same formatting rules, as when quoting. Quotation marks are not required because
paraphrases and summaries do not make direct use of the source's words. Instead, they explain or interpret
source information in the writer's own words.

Summaries and paraphrases never use block formatting, no matter how long they are, since they must not be
separated from the rest of the content. When including summaries and paraphrases, all that is required is to

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 identify the source of the information.

Here's an example of a summary:

Though it shies away from actually calling for any kind of broad, systemic change, there remains a subtle
argument against allowing anything like a monarchy to ever come to power again (Ornassien, 1982, p. 2).

The information is presented without quotation marks because these are the writer's words—not those of the
source.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned about the proper formatting of quotations and other source references
according to APA style. There are guidelines for referencing a source's author and title as well as basic
formatting requirements for quotations, which include special rules for block quotations and the use
of ellipses. You also looked at how to reference a source when summarizing and paraphrasing the
material. An understanding of how and when to use these different formats enables writers to make fair
and accurate use of research sources.

Best of luck in your learning!

Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY SOPHIA LEARNING. PLEASE SEE OUR TERMS OF USE.

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 In-Text Citations and Reference Formatting in
APA
by Sophia

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn more about how to produce in-text citations and reference pages
according to APA formatting guidelines. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. In-Text Citations
2. Reference Pages
3. Reference Pages in Action

1. In-Text Citations
Recall that an in-text citation is a source that is referenced or otherwise used in an essay, through quotation,
summary, or paraphrasing. It is called an in-text citation because it appears within the text of the essay, not in
footnotes or on a reference page. A parenthetical reference is the bibliographic information that is contained
within parentheses at the end of an in-text citation. According to APA guidelines, in-text citations must include
the following information:

The author's last name

The year when the source was published
The page or paragraph number where the quoted or paraphrased material is located

Page numbers are the default location method, but paragraph numbers can be used for online sources (and
other sources that don't have pages). The APA guidelines require the author's last name and the source
publication year to prevent confusion when multiple sources from the same author are used. Requiring both the
last name and publication year clearly indicates from which of the author's sources the quotation or paraphrase
comes.
Also recall that a signal phrase is an important component of in-text citations. It is used by writers to introduce
quotations, often by referencing the author or title of the source. If you use a signal phrase that makes note of
the author prior to the quotation, include a parenthetical reference to the source's publication year following the
author's name. Following the quotation, include another parenthetical reference with the page from which the
quotation was taken. Here's an example:

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 And as historian Jeanine Laplante (1997) argues, “there are precious few examples of a people who had
the ability to oppress another people, and did not” (p. 3).

Note how the bibliographic information is provided: first the author and year of publication, followed by the
quotation, then the page number (for readers interested in learning more). Here is another example:

Ryan Onizu (2013) is less certain: “The only sure thing about NASA's future is that the legacy it has already
achieved will outlast the scope of congressional budget hearings” (p. 24).

If you don't use a signal phrase that identifies the author before the quotation, use a parenthetical reference
that includes the author(s) and the page or paragraph number after the quotation, as shown in the example
below:

The quickest way to Rome, it seemed, was to go around: “Finding the Mediterranean blockaded, Hannibal
was forced to bring his army through the Iberian Peninsula” (Martinez, 1978, p. 102).

Here is one more example:

“So long as the status quo remains, America's working poor will continue to lose” (Hoster, 2000, p. 9).

Notice the punctuation in the preceding example. The quotation marks come immediately after the quoted
material, followed by the parenthetical reference and a period. In block quotations, however, the sentence
punctuation comes before the parenthetical reference because the block quotation is not enclosed by
quotation marks.

2. Reference Pages
APA formatting requires the use of a reference page at the end of the essay to log the sources used. It is a list
of all bibliographic data, properly formatted, for all sources cited in the essay. Sources that were consulted but
not cited or used directly should not be listed on the reference page.

It's important to document sources correctly so that every in-text citation correlates to its source listed on the
reference page. It should not be difficult for readers to match one to the other.

Following are the basic formatting requirements for an APA-style reference page:

The word “References” must appear at the top of the page, capitalized and centered.

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 The second and subsequent lines of each reference entry must be indented one half-inch. This is called a
“hanging indent.” Most word processing programs (e.g., Microsoft Word) enable you to specify a hanging
indent for selected text. This option can usually be applied through the paragraph- or text-formatting area.
The author's name must be listed by last name and first initial. Author names must be listed in alphabetical
order, according to the last name of the first author of each source.
Multiple sources by the same author must be organized by date of publication, from oldest to newest.
Titles of shorter works (e.g., essays, stories, webpages) should not be enclosed by quotation marks,
italicized, or underlined. However, be sure to include the page span of essays and articles.
Include the URLs of online sources.

These are the basic rules. More specific guidelines govern the formatting of sources with multiple authors, or an
anonymous author (for example). Because specific rules apply in specific situations, look up how to correctly
format a source when you are unsure how to do so. Your ability to format reference pages will improve with
time and practice. In the meantime, there are many print and online sources on this topic to which you can refer
for help.

 HINT

Be careful when using—or attempting to use—online “citation generators.” These tools are often helpful, but
sometimes they produce errors. All things considered, you are better off learning to format citations
yourself.

3. Reference Pages in Action

Looking at a sample reference page can help you understand how it should be constructed. Here's a sample of
the sources used for a research essay. The five entries on this reference page are listed in alphabetical order
according to the authors' last names:

References

Allen, P. (2012). The sacred hoop: A contemporary Indian perspective on American Indian literature.
Retrieved from faculty.dwe.edu/wellman/PGA.htm

Corngold, S. (1994). Kafka and the dialect of minor literature. College Literature, 21, 89-102.

Edmundson, M. (2004). Why read? New York: Bloomsbury.

Perloff, M. (2012). Logocinema of the frontiersman: Eugene Jolas' multilingual poetics and its legacies.
Retrieved from epc.buffalo.edu/authors/perloff.jolas.html

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 Said, E. (2000). The politics of knowledge. In D. Richter (Ed.), Falling into theory: Conflicting views of
reading literature. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.

The first source, an article found online, is listed in this order:

The author's last name and first initial

The date when the website was last edited (included in the absence of an original publication date)
The title of the article
The URL where the article is located

The next source is an article from a print journal and is listed in the following order:

The author's last name and first initial

The publication date
The title of the article, followed by the title of the journal in which it appears and the journal's volume
number (“21”)
The pages on which the article is printed

The third source is a book and is listed as follows:

The author's last name and first initial

The publication date
The book's title, the location where it was published, and the name of the publisher

The fourth entry is for another online source, similar to the online source described above. It lists:

The author's last name

The date when the source was last edited
The title of the webpage
The URL

The last source was taken from an anthology. It lists:

The author's name

The publication date
The title of the article
The name of the editor of the anthology
The title of the umbrella source
The publisher's location and name

Obviously, these are not the only source types you may encounter, but the examples provide an overview of the
information required on a reference page and how it should be formatted according to APA guidelines.

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  SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned about additional rules and requirements for formatting in-text citations when
referencing sources in an essay. You also learned about the purpose of reference pages and how they
should be formatted at the end of an essay. Finally, you looked at an example of a reference page in
action and broke down the elements of the citations to better understand the different formatting
conventions.

Best of luck in your learning!

Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY SOPHIA LEARNING. PLEASE SEE OUR TERMS OF USE.

© 2024 SOPHIA Learning, LLC. SOPHIA is a registered trademark of SOPHIA Learning, LLC. Page 75
 Annotated Bibliographies
by Sophia

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn how writers create and use annotated bibliographies according to
guidelines established by the American Psychological Association (APA). Specifically, this lesson will
cover:
1. Purpose of Annotated Bibliographies
2. Compiling Sources
3. Creating an Annotated Bibliography
4. Sample Annotated Bibliography

1. Purpose of Annotated Bibliographies

As you've learned, a bibliography is a list of sources that provides data related to each source, including the
author's name, the title, publication information, and page numbers referenced. An annotated bibliography is
also a list of sources that provides related data, but it contains brief notes about each source to explain how it
relates to the thesis.

Annotated bibliographies enable writers to organize key information about sources. They make the drafting and
revising processes easier because data can be easily accessed. Writers can refer to their annotated
bibliographies while drafting to find the information they need to create in-text or parenthetical citations.

By means of a bibliography, writers let readers know what they found during the research process and where
they found it. Annotated bibliographies help writers remember why, and in what way, sources are relevant to
their argument, and how to use those sources in their essays.

 TERM TO KNOW

Annotated Bibliography
A list of research sources that includes data and brief notes about how each source relates to the
writer's thesis.

2. Compiling Sources

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 When responding to a source, there are several steps that writers should take to create (and eventually use) an
annotated bibliography.

 STEP BY STEP

1. Take notes that summarize the thesis and main ideas of the source and respond with your thoughts
and impressions about it (or its argument).
2. Ask yourself whether you agree or disagree with the source's claims, and if you see problems with the
source that must be addressed (or explored) in your essay. Does something about the source excite
you? If so, should you address it in your essay?
3. Note the sources to which your source refers. Often, you can use them too.
4. When you have completed the preceding steps (including answering the questions), record the
bibliographic data. This is important because sources sometimes get lost or must be returned to
libraries, etc. If you have your notes and the bibliographic data, you probably have everything you need
to use the source effectively.

Bibliographic data includes the following:

The author's (or authors') first and last name(s)

The title of the source
Publication information: the date of publication and the name of the publisher, as well as the umbrella
source (e.g., the literary journal that published the article you've cited or, for online sources, the URL)
The date you accessed the source, and the page numbers corresponding to quotations or ideas you plan
to use

3. Creating an Annotated Bibliography

Annotated bibliographies require writers to provide certain information for each source. Bibliographic data must
be formatted according to the required style. In this course, you will be using APA style.

The bibliographic data is then followed by a brief paragraph about the source. This paragraph should include a
sentence or two that restates and summarizes (in the writer's own words) the thesis and main ideas of the
source, and one or two sentences that indicate how the source could be used to support the writer's essay.

 HINT

Based on their current needs or preferences, some writers include longer notes as well as key quotations
and paraphrased passages (to be used in the essay) in annotated bibliographies.
When each annotated entry is complete, it should be inserted in the bibliography in alphabetical order,
according to the style guidelines that are being used.

4. Sample Annotated Bibliography

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 The following example includes three sources and the annotations that were used before writing an essay. The
sources are listed alphabetically, according to the author's last names.

Sample Annotated Bibliography in APA Format

Church, S. (2012). On lyric essays and dancing in sequined pants. Fourth Genre, 14 (2), 173–170.

Using the metaphor of the title, Church argues that many aphoristic essays use the style to distract
readers from the fact that they have nothing to say. He acknowledges that some things are best
communicated through juxtaposition but argues for nonlinear essay writing with more careful intent. I
think I'll use this for a couple quotations, especially the one about John D'Gata, who practically
created the genre of lyric essay, and maybe to back up my exploration of the difference between
native and non-native essayists. It's only tangentially related to my topic, but the thesis is in line with
mine, although it talks about a different subject.

Koestenbaum, W. (2001). Humiliation. New York, NY: Picador.

This aphoristic text (story? essay?) uses short sections of narrative and exposition as well as
juxtaposition and meaningful gaps to explore the concept of humiliation. The author's argument (if
there is one) is that there is no way to encapsulate this topic with words, so he tries to create an
experience for his readers, one that will tell us more than he could tell us directly. I will use this as a
primary source for my argument about the difference in perspective between native and non-native
writers, since Koestenbaum uses these techniques but does not have to (here I will use his other text).
Quotations and paraphrases will probably be needed, but it depends on what I present for the other
side.

Twomey, T. (2007). More than one way to tell a story: Rethinking the place of genre in Native American
autobiography and the personal essay. Studies in American Indian Literatures, 19 (2), 22–51.

The experience and worldview of many Native American writers is one that goes against the linear,
cause-and-effect ideology of the dominant culture. This is why so many of them compose texts that
use juxtaposition and the author's term, “meaning-filled gaps,” to convey feelings and information that
do not necessarily correlate to the scientific method and similar tools. I will use this as the primary
support for my analysis of, and comparison between, native and non-native writers. Even though
Twomey is more interested in the native perspective (and defining it in contrast to the Western
worldview), I would like to give equal time to both.

Note the bibliographic information that corresponds to the first annotation. It includes the writer's name and first
initial, followed by the publication date. The APA style guidelines prioritize date over most other information.
Next comes the title of the essay, “On Lyric Essays and Dancing in Sequined Pants,” followed by the name of
the literary journal in which it was published (in italics): Fourth Genre, Volume 14, the second issue, and the

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 pages it references. Below that is the paragraph that comprises the annotation of the source. It includes basic
information about the article and a short explanation of why the writer thinks it will be useful.

The bibliographic information for the second source is similar. It includes the author's last name, first initial, and
the date of publication. However, since this source is a book, it only lists the title, Humiliation, and the publishing
information. The writer's annotation again includes a short summary of the source and a brief discussion of how
she thinks it may be useful. Also note the reference to the other texts she intends to use.

The bibliographic presentation for the last source is the same as the first source. It lists the author's last name,
followed by the publication date and the title of the article, “More Than One Way to Tell a Story: Rethinking the
Place of Genre in Native American Autobiography and the Personal Essay.” It includes the journal in which it
was published, Studies in American Indian Literatures, Volume 19, the second issue, and the pages on which it
appears. The annotation includes a short summary of the article, consisting of its thesis and how the writer
plans to use it to support her analysis.

As you can see, annotated bibliographies don't have to be long or complicated to be useful for writers during
the drafting process.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned that the purpose of annotated bibliographies is to organize key information
about your sources to make the drafting and revising processes easier. Once you compile your
sources, you can create an annotated bibliography by recording each source's bibliographic
information and writing a short paragraph summarizing the source and how it will be useful for your
essay. To see what this looks like in practice, you examined a short sample annotated bibliography that
included three different sources.

Best of luck in your learning!

Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY SOPHIA LEARNING. PLEASE SEE OUR TERMS OF USE.

 TERMS TO KNOW

Annotated Bibliography
A list of research sources that includes data and brief notes about how each source relates to the writer's
thesis.

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 Using Your Prewriting During Drafting
by Sophia

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn how to make the transition from the prewriting and researching steps of the
writing process to actually drafting an argumentative essay. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Outlines and Annotated Bibliographies in the Drafting Process
2. The Drafting Process in Action

1. Outlines and Annotated Bibliographies in the

Drafting Process
An outline for a research paper enables writers to identify when and why research sources should be used in
an essay. Having a solid outline—one that includes a plan for incorporating research—and referring to it during
drafting helps writers to combat writer's block, maintain focus, and avoid unintentional plagiarism by neglecting
to cite the work of others. It also speeds up the drafting process.

No matter how detailed their outlines may be, writers must remain flexible at this stage in the writing process.
It's likely that new ideas and points will develop during the process because writing is a form of thinking. Think
of an outline as a guide, not as a contract.

Unplanned research may be required to support a specific idea. This can include new research, as well as
revisiting sources already reviewed that the writer hadn't planned to use. Annotated bibliographies can thus be
useful in these situations since they can help writers to recall the sources they've evaluated, including their
main points and possible value for the essay.

It's a good idea to refer to your annotated bibliography (and other research notes) whenever you need to make
sure that you're using a source correctly, and when you are considering incorporating a source into your essay.

 HINT

Allow sufficient time for this part of the drafting process. Developments and other changes to an outline or a
draft can take time to accomplish.

2. The Drafting Process in Action

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 Here is an outline for an essay with the following working thesis: Coding should be taught as a core subject
throughout K–12 education.

I. Introduction
A. Working thesis: Coding should be taught as a core subject throughout K–12 education.
II. Technology improves educational outcomes.

III. Technology helps students become creators, thus building entrepreneurial, creative, and needed job
skills.
A. Levine
IV. Counterarguments: Too expensive to implement; just expands income gap; not all students need to
code, just as all don't need to play piano.

V. Conclusion: Coding is the new literacy.

A. Rushkoff

The writer plans to argue that technology improves educational outcomes, and to use a couple of sources to
support that claim. Her next point is that technology can help students to become creators, rather than passive
users. This would encourage entrepreneurship, creativity, and other desirable job skills. There is a source to
support this claim as well.

Next is an exploration of counterarguments, including that this plan would be too expensive to implement, and
that it would expand the income gap. Another counterargument is that not all students need to learn to code,
just like not all students need to learn to play the piano or pursue other educational directions.

The conclusion will then focus on a discussion of how coding is a new form of literacy. Based on the outline,
here is a first draft of the first two paragraphs of the essay:

American students continue to lag substantially behind their global peers in terms of educational
achievement. People discuss many reasons for this lag, one being an underfunded, under-supported
education system. However, perhaps another explanation is our backwards-focused education system, still
emphasizing the same topics and teaching them in the same old-fashioned ways. While we should not
abandon teaching reading, writing, math, science, history, literature, and other core topics, we should also
institute widespread K–12 education in coding and digital literacy in order to foster 21st-century citizens.

The use of technology in classrooms improves student learning outcomes. Jeana Lee Tahnk (2014) states
that a vast majority of teachers use the internet in their teaching and student interactions. Moreover,
“instructors have reported that digital technology in the classroom has increased students' academic
performance” (para. 2). Beyond this anecdotal evidence, educational technology improves the learning of
at-risk students in particular, as shown in the recent report from the Alliance for Excellent Education and
the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education. On this report, Laura Devaney (2014) asserts,
“Interactive learning and other technology-enabled strategies can increase engagement and significantly

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 improve achievement among at-risk students" (para. 1). These findings highlight the value of using
technology to enhance education, but they are not focused on coding specifically.

The writer has completed an introduction and the first body paragraph. In reviewing the introduction, the first
line seems to lack a citation. The writer may have viewed this sentence as stating a generally accepted fact that
does not require a citation, but it's a good idea to find a source and ensure that this is accurate. Suppose that,
after additional research, the writer finds a study posted on the National Public Radio website that does exactly
that.

She can add the parenthetical reference shown below to enable readers to find the bibliographic entry on the
reference page, if/when they choose to do so:

American students continue to lag substantially behind their global peers in terms of educational
achievement (Chapell, 2013, para. 3). People discuss many reasons for this lag, one being an
underfunded, under-supported education system. However, perhaps another explanation is our
backwards-focused education system, still emphasizing the same topics and teaching them in the same
old-fashioned ways. While we should not abandon teaching reading, writing, math, science, history,
literature, and other core topics, we should also institute widespread K–12 education in coding and digital
literacy in order to foster 21st-century citizens.

Refer back to the outline and note that the writer will next begin discussing how technology helps students to
become creators, thus building entrepreneurship and other desirable job skills. There is also a note reminding
the writer to use Jake Levine's source when making this point.

However, look at the annotated bibliography entries below:

Devaney, L. (2014, October 7). 3 ways technology buoys at-risk students. eSchool News. Retrieved from
www.eschoolnews.com/2014/10/07/technology-at-risk-767/

Laura Devaney highlights a recent study that shows how technology integration in education can help at-
risk students. Notably, students receive personalized learning alongside teacher support and learn to
“explore and create.” This will be helpful to my paper because of its emphasis on student success.

Levine, J. (2013, March 13). Why learning to code isn't as important as learning to build something. Nieman
Lab. Retrieved from www.niemanlab.org/2013/03/jake-levine-why-learning-to-code-isnt-as-important-as-
learning-to-build-something/

Jake Levine argues against people forcing themselves to “learn code” without any purpose. Instead, he
asserts that “Programming is a means to an end, not an end in itself,” and contends that what's fun about
coding is actually making things. This will be useful to my essay because it highlights the applicability of
coding over endorsing coding for coding's sake.

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 Levine argues against coercing students to learn to code when coding skills are not required by their
educational program or career choice. He maintains that coding should be taught as a way of building things.
This is useful because it connects to the conclusion's idea to promote coding as a form of literacy. That said, it's
not quite on target here in the middle of the essay. Before the writer can begin to argue that coding should be
taught, she must provide an additional explanation of why it should be taught.

This writer made some notes about other sources. In the annotated bibliography, find the entry for Laura
Devaney's article. The writer noted that she wrote about a study demonstrating how technology and education
can help at-risk students, which has already been used in the previous paragraph. However, the writer also
noted that educational technology encourages students to explore and create, which sounds like something
she could use in this paragraph, with the added benefit that it provides a transition into Levine's text.

Here's the new paragraph with both of its sources:

The value of learning coding in particular, and not just relying on technology as a teaching aid, is that it
teaches children to understand technology and not just use it. Moreover, it encourages children to learn to
be makers and doers, rather than just users. Devaney (2014) notes this point in regard to at-risk students in
particular, who learn how to “explore and create” rather than just take in information via the traditional,
more passive model (para. 2). Furthering this point, another article discourages people from the “learn to
code” mindset and encourages them to instead embrace what coding can do: “You know what is fun?
Making things,” and furthermore, “Programming is a means to an end, not an end in itself” (Levine, 2013,
para. 5). As you can see, these pieces highlight that coding teaches a mode of thinking and creativity
beyond the nuts-and-bolts of coding, syntax, and the like. This ability to be creative and critical is perhaps
the most useful, applicable skill students will develop from a comprehensive coding education.

This should provide stronger support for the thesis than what the outline originally called for. Remember, an
outline is a guide, not a contract.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned that you can use outlines and annotated bibliographies in the drafting
process to help you integrate your research material and ensure you are structuring your essay in a
logical way that your readers can follow. Additionally, you looked at an example of the drafting process
in action to see how one writer's outline and annotated bibliography helped in the construction of
several essay paragraphs.

Best of luck in your learning!

Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY SOPHIA LEARNING. PLEASE SEE OUR TERMS OF USE.

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 Writing an Effective Argumentative Research
Essay
by Sophia

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will learn about the steps that writers must take to compose a strong argumentative
research paper. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Brainstorming and Prewriting
2. Conducting Research
3. Using Opinions
4. Drafting and Incorporating Research
5. Avoiding Plagiarism
6. Revising, Editing, and Proofreading

1. Brainstorming and Prewriting

Writing is a recursive process. Writers must often refer to the steps of the writing process throughout a writing
project:

Brainstorming and prewriting

Research and drafting
Revising
Editing
Proofreading

Brainstorming and prewriting, the first step in the process, is the time when writers think about their topics and
the purpose of their essays, identify a working thesis, and determine the research they must do.
Topics are often assigned to student writers. When working with an assigned topic, students should remember
that a topic or focus is not the same as a thesis. Writers should choose topics and theses that are debatable,
and that include at least two perspectives.

Once you have determined your topic and thesis, you can start to determine the structure of your essay by
creating an outline. Your detailed outline should include notes on what support you plan to use for each
component of the essay, so that you can use the outline as a reminder and guide during the drafting process.

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 2. Conducting Research
Writers of argumentative research papers must allow extra time to research their primary subjects before
beginning the process. They must take good research notes on source content and bibliographic data.

As you learned previously, all of this information can be organized in an annotated bibliography, which is a
document that includes bibliographic data on each source the writer plans to use, and brief notes on sources
and their possible use in the essay.

When researching, you also need to evaluate the credibility of each source while looking for quotations and
other information (i.e., points of agreement and disagreement, and nuanced differences between the
arguments).

The detailed outline should incorporate some of this information so that, during the drafting process, the writer
can refer to it and the annotated bibliography to determine which source she originally planned to use where,
and for what purpose.

3. Using Opinions
Opinions can help a writer demonstrate her engagement with and passion for a subject. Most thesis statements
begin with an opinion about a subject that has been developed and supported by research. It's also common
for writers of argumentative research essays to cite and use the opinions of other writers—as support (through
agreement) or to distinguish others' ideas from their own.

Because of the complicated nature of argumentation, it is important for writers to make it clear when they are
expressing an opinion rather than a fact.

IN CONTEXT

If, for instance, you were writing an argumentative essay about adoption, you might state the following
opinion:

It's important to protect children who are put up for adoption, but when couples, individuals, and
deserving children wait years for the bureaucratic wheels to turn and bring them together, something
must be changed.

Then, if you added a fact to support your argument, you would need to make it clear that that's what
you were doing, as shown below:

Though most adoptions in the U.S. take less than three months to finalize, exceptions abound,
including 10% that take a whopping two years, or more (Adoptive Families, 2014).

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 As a result of the objective tone and the parenthetical reference at the end of this last sentence, the
reader would understand that you were presenting this as a fact rather than your opinion.

4. Drafting and Incorporating Research

Although it can be difficult to do so, it's important to incorporate research artfully during the drafting process.
When used well, research helps you to make your argument. Writers must thus avoid overusing quotations,
paraphrases, and summaries. Excessive use of the words and ideas of others can overwhelm your own words,
ideas, and points.

Here are several techniques that can enable you to use citations without losing your voice or perspective:

Select the most important parts of a source to quote and use summaries and paraphrases to synthesize
and explain ideas, arguments, evidence, and points.
Use signal phrases and transitional phrases to situate quotes in your essay, and to surround them with your
own words and points.
Introduce and follow up quotations with your own words, making sure that you've explained how and why
the quotation relates to your argument.
Whenever possible, avoid using block quotations; use summaries or paraphrases instead.

Because of the need to effectively (and artfully) incorporate research, drafting an argumentative research essay
usually takes longer than drafting other types of academic essays. Writers often find that their opinions on the
subject, and even on the thesis, change during the writing of an initial draft, which sometimes prolongs the
process. However, changing opinions on a subject is an indicator of critical thinking, which is always a good
thing (even if it is sometimes inconvenient).
Outlines for argumentative research papers are useful guides that can help writers to avoid writer's block, but
all writers must remember that an outline is a guide, not a contract. It should be revised as needed to make the
best possible argument. Trust the writing process and remember that you'll have time to revise and edit more
than one draft.

5. Avoiding Plagiarism
Recall that plagiarism is the presentation of the words or ideas of another as your own. In an academic context,
this is cheating: It is unethical—and possibly illegal—in all contexts. To avoid plagiarism, writers of argumentative
research papers must carefully note and reference the sources they use.

There are two kinds of plagiarism:

Intentional plagiarism, in which a writer deliberately steals another writer's work

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 Unintentional plagiarism, in which a writer fails to cite a source or attribute an idea, thus unintentionally
presenting it as her own

Although people sometimes distinguish between the two kinds of plagiarism in composition, it doesn't matter
whether the act was intentional or unintentional from the plagiarized author's perspective.
In addition, there isn't much difference between the two for writers who plagiarize, as the penalties are often
the same. Each form of plagiarism is a failure to live up to the responsibility of all writers to treat their sources
ethically and accurately.

 BIG IDEA

Taking detailed research notes—and being a careful, thoughtful researcher—is key to avoiding unintentional
plagiarism.

6. Revising, Editing, and Proofreading

When working on an argumentative research paper, writers should allow themselves extra time to revise and
edit their drafts, and to proofread the final version before submitting it (to a professor, or for publication).

Revision may require significant changes to the argument, support, or ideas in a draft. It's important to make
sure that you've used sources accurately and ethically, explained the value or relevance of their support for the
argument, and fully developed your ideas and points.

When editing, you should make necessary changes in word choice and correct redundancies and awkward or
repetitive sentences.

When proofreading, correct mechanical and grammatical errors, and anything that does not align with the
assignment's prompts, requirements, and formatting guidelines.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you learned how the steps in the writing process can be applied specifically to the
development of an argumentative research essay. First, you will engage in brainstorming and
prewriting, during which you will determine your topic and thesis, as well as create an outline for your
essay. Next, you will begin conducting research to back up your argument. Remember that in this type
of essay, you will be using opinions as well as facts to support those opinions.

Drafting the essay will involve incorporating your research, so you should be sure to cite all of your
sources appropriately in order to avoid plagiarism. Finally, you will revise, edit, and proofread your
essay to ensure that the finished product is polished and ready for your readers.

Best of luck in your learning!

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 Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY SOPHIA LEARNING. PLEASE SEE OUR TERMS OF USE.

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 Model Argumentative Essays
by Sophia

 WHAT'S COVERED

In this lesson, you will examine two different argumentative essays in order to analyze the techniques
their writers used. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Martin Luther King Jr.'s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”
2. George Orwell's “Politics and the English Language”

1. Martin Luther King Jr.'s “Letter From

Birmingham Jail”
Although he was a renowned orator, Martin Luther King Jr. was also a master of argumentative writing. His
“Letter From Birmingham Jail” is one of the greatest modern argumentative essays. Written in 1963 while he
was jailed for participating in a nonviolent demonstration against segregation, King's letter was addressed to
clergy who had publicly denounced the protests.

King's letter contains examples of all three forms of rhetorical appeal: ethos, pathos, and logos. King uses ethos,
or an appeal to credibility, in consistently referring to biblical passages and his experiences as a clergyman.
Because the members of his audience were church leaders, he gained credibility by asserting that he's not only
a protest leader, but a Christian leader—one who, like his readers, is devoted to his people and to doing what
he believes is right.

Here is a passage that demonstrates ethos:

I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the eighth-century prophets left their little villages
and carried their “thus saith the Lord” far beyond the boundaries of their hometowns; and just as the
Apostle Paul left his little village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to practically every hamlet
and city of the Greco-Roman world, I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my
particular hometown. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.

King's shared knowledge of his subject matter with his audience, and his application of it to the point he argues,
advances his purpose. He appeals to the highest authority recognized by his audience.

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 He also uses pathos, or an emotional appeal, in several parts of his letter to demonstrate the injustice of the
system he opposes. Here is an example:

I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say “wait.” But when
you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at
whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers
and sisters with impunity...when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as
you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she cannot go to the public amusement park that
has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her little eyes when she is told that
Funtown is closed to colored children, and see the depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form in her
little mental sky, and see her begin to distort her little personality by unconsciously developing a bitterness
towards white people...when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro,
living constantly at tiptoe stance, never knowing what to expect next, and plagued with inner fears and
outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodyness”—then you will
understand why we find it difficult to wait.

In these two sentences, King invites readers to share his perspective. Using a direct form of address—“you”—he
illuminates what it was like to be Black at that time in the South. It's a great way to refute an argument; in this
instance, he is challenging the argument that he and his fellow protesters should wait for justice to come to
them.

By means of the images presented in his second sentence, King enables readers to realize how little they
understand the experiences of southern Blacks and forces them to empathize with those who have endured
those experiences. King does not assign blame for the suffering of Black people and does not make “you don't
understand” statements. Instead, he shows readers that they do not understand.

King also uses logos, or logical appeals, to make his argument. Here is an example of how he uses reasoning to
undermine the view that he and other protesters were culpable because their protest was illegal:

You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate
concern. Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court's decision of 1954 outlawing
segregation in the public schools, it is rather strange and paradoxical to find us consciously breaking laws.
One may well ask, “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?” The answer is found
in the fact that there are two types of laws: There are just laws, and there are unjust laws. I would agree
with St. Augustine that “An unjust law is no law at all.” ...An unjust law is a code that a majority inflicts on a
minority that is not binding on itself. This is difference made legal. On the other hand, a just law is a code
that a majority compels a minority to follow, and that it is willing to follow itself. This is sameness made
legal...We can never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian
freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.” It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany,
but I am sure that if I had lived in Germany during that time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish
brothers even though it was illegal.

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 By first discussing, then dismantling, the link between segregation laws and anti-protesting ordinances, and
then comparing the Birmingham authorities to those of other unjust governments, King uses reason to expose
the unstated and unsustainable assumptions behind the counterarguments about the illegality of his actions.

All writers and students of writing should read Martin Luther King Jr.'s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in its
entirety to experience—and appreciate—the full impact of this work, and to learn from the examples of effective
argumentation that it provides. You can find the essay attached below.

2. George Orwell's “Politics and the English

Language”
Published in 1946, George Orwell's “Politics and the English Language” is another masterful example of
argumentative writing. This essay is a stinging criticism of the ways in which many writers use language. Orwell
provides examples of poor sentence construction and cliché phrases to advance his claim that not only is lazy
writing indicative of lazy thinking, but that one promotes the other. This essay, and much of Orwell's writing, may
be difficult for some readers, but it is worthwhile to read it carefully, while evaluating his arguments and the way
in which he makes them.

Orwell's mastery of the English language is illustrated by his ability to deconstruct the work of professional
writers and identify the weaknesses in it. He uses these findings to support his claims. It seems that Orwell's
goal for the essay was to expose the laziness of many writers who rely on stock phrases and overblown
terminology instead of carefully considering what they want to write and then writing it.

He uses political speech writing to demonstrate careless and uninformed use of language, as shown in the
following excerpt:

In our time it is broadly true that political writing is bad writing... When one watches some tired hack on the
platform mechanically repeating the familiar phrases—bestial, atrocities, iron heel, bloodstained tyranny,
free peoples of the world, stand shoulder to shoulder—one often has a curious feeling that one is not
watching a live human being but some kind of dummy... The appropriate noises are coming out of his
larynx, but his brain is not involved, as it would be if he were choosing his words for himself. If the speech
he is making is one that he is accustomed to make over and over again, he may be almost unconscious of
what he is saying, as one is when one utters the responses in church. And this reduced state of
consciousness, if not indispensable, is at any rate favourable to political conformity.

Orwell discusses four primary types of language weakness in his essay:

Dying metaphors: These are metaphors that have lost the fresh imagery of a new idea and become stock
phrases used by lazy or inept writers who don't think carefully about what they want to convey.
Operators, or false verbal limbs: These are unnecessarily complex verb structures that hide what is being
said instead of conveying information.

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 Orwell provides examples of operators, especially those used to discuss war and politics, including
“render inoperative” (rather than “destroy”); “exhibit a tendency to” (rather than “do”); and unnecessarily
long and imprecise phrases, like “brought to a satisfactory conclusion” or “deserving of serious
consideration.”
Pretentious diction: This is the use of words that are unnecessarily long or foreign (especially Latin and
Greek words), when commonplace words convey the intended meaning clearly and precisely. Orwell
asserts that pretentious diction is used to disguise ignorance—to hide a writer's lack of a worthwhile
message behind “big” words.
Meaningless words: These are terms and phrases writers use to avoid saying what they think. As Orwell
indicates, it's particularly common to encounter entire sentences in art or literary criticism that are
completely without meaning.

As a demonstration of Orwell's argument about one of these language weaknesses—meaningless words—

consider this excerpt:

When one critic writes, “The outstanding feature of Mr. X's work is its living quality,” while another writes,
“The immediately striking thing about Mr. X's work is its peculiar deadness,” the reader accepts this as a
simple difference [of] opinion.

This is also an example of Orwell's sense of humor. He is truly offended by meaningless writing and willing to
ridicule anyone who uses it. Orwell may not have had many friends who were art critics! Following are the
concluding sentences of “Politics and the English Language,” which make the essay's final call to action better
than any summary or paraphrase could:

The present political chaos is connected with the decay of language, and that one can probably bring
about some improvement by starting at the verbal end. If you simplify your English, you are freed from the
worst follies of orthodoxy. You cannot speak any of the necessary dialects, and when you make a stupid
remark its stupidity will be obvious, even to yourself. Political language—and with the variations this is true
of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists—is designed to make lies sound truthful and
murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. One cannot change this all in a
moment, but one can at least change one's own habits, and from time to time one can even, if one jeers
loudly enough, send some worn-out and useless phrase—some jackboot, Achilles' heel, hotbed, melting
pot, acid test, veritable inferno, or other lump of verbal refuse—into the dustbin where it belongs.

Again, the essay is attached below for further reference.

 SUMMARY

In this lesson, you looked at two examples of argumentative essays: Martin Luther King's Jr.'s “Letter
from Birmingham Jail” and George Orwell's “Politics and the English Language.” These two texts

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 helped demonstrate how writers can use rhetorical appeals and evidence to develop strong
arguments.

Best of luck in your learning!

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 Terms to Know
Analysis
A detailed explanation of an idea and interpretation of its intended meaning within a piece of
writing; a demonstration of how a piece of evidence supports a main point.

Annotated Bibliography
A list of research sources that includes data and brief notes about how each source relates
to the writer's thesis.

Argument
In academic writing, a clear position on a debatable question that is supported with evidence
and reasoning.

Citation
An indication that words, ideas, or facts came from another source.

Citation Format
The method through which academics, journalists, etc., choose to identify their sources,
including the Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association
(APA), Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), and other formats.

Claim
A type of main idea in which the writer makes a statement that must be defended.

Classical Argument Model

A methodology for structuring arguments designed by Aristotle to persuade an audience to
take an action or share a writer's perspective.

Context
An explanation of the circumstances of a piece of text.

Counterargument
In an argumentative composition, a representation of an opposing viewpoint or argument.

Ethos

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 An appeal to ethics; uses ethical guidelines and credibility in order to persuade or convince.

Evidence
Proof of the validity of a claim or claims.

Logos
An appeal to logic; uses logic and factual information in order to persuade or convince.

Main Idea
In writing, a point or concept that drives one or more body paragraphs of an essay.

Paraphrasing
Restating a passage in your own words, keeping the author’s original intent and meaning.

Pathos
An appeal to emotion; evokes emotions in order to persuade or convince.

Primary Source
A document or object that is as close to the source topic or event as possible.

Quoting
Repeating the exact words of a piece of writing, using quotation marks surrounding the
quotation.

Research
A fact-finding process in which data, statistics, and ideas from other writers and sources are
located and identified to support an essay's ideas.

Rhetorical Appeal
A strategy used in writing that is designed to persuade or convince the reader.

Secondary Source
An expression of original research related to a primary source.

Signal Phrase
A phrase preceding a quotation that identifies the author of the quoted text.

Summarizing

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 Giving a brief overview of the main points or ideas of a piece of writing without relying on
specific details or language.

Support
Any evidence, logic, or other technique that bolsters an essay's claims.

Tertiary Source
A compilation or synthesis of research, data, or other information.

Translation
An interpretation or explanation of the meaning of a piece of text.

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