8 Putting Sources in Context
Sarah Johnson and Jeremy O'Roark
In general, you should refer to sources with your audience in mind. You should not expect your reader to infer the connection between your quotes, paraphrases, or summaries, and your claims. Nor should you simply drop quotes into your paragraphs without analyzing or discussing them in some way.
When revising a draft, you may find that you have dropped a quote into a paragraph with no introduction and then moved on without discussing the ideas of the quote at all. This is usually not helpful to academic readers. Or, you may find in your draft that you have repeated the phrase, “This quote says that…” or “This quote shows…” quite often. While this shows an effort to refer to quoted sources, it is not likely to help your reader to understand your sources or the specific ways in which they connect to your argument.
When you refer to a source in academic writing, you are taking it out of one context–where it was initially published–and transplanting it into another–your own writing, where it serves a specific purpose. Therefore, academic writers often include the most important information for their readers about:
- the original context of the source itself, and
- how the source information fits into their own argument
They often choose transitions that will best present this information in order to integrate source information into their writing.
In this Chapter
1. The Context of the Source Itself
When considering what your reader needs to know about the original context of source information, think about the five “w” questions (who, what, where, when, and why). Would explaining any of this information about the original source help your reader to understand the information and the role that it plays in your argument?
For example, in the body paragraph above, the writer writes,
Unfortunately, this “degree momentum” is often difficult for low-income students to achieve due to what Nathan Favero, a professor of public policy at American University, calls “personal barriers to success.”
This source serves the role of presenting an expert view agreeing with the writer’s claim, so the most relevant information about the source is who wrote it. Therefore, the paragraph introduces this evidence using a phrase that elaborates on the credentials of the author to show his expertise: “a professor of public policy at American University.” See table 8.7 for different ways to consider a source’s context.
Information about the source’s original context | Consider explaining this in your writing when you want to show… |
Who wrote it? | the author’s experience or credentials in order to present expert testimony, or show the unique perspective or bias of the source. |
What is the author’s main idea or thesis? | how the source’s focus is different from or similar to your own. |
Where was the source originally published? | the credibility of a source related to a specific topic or audience, or the bias of a source. |
Where geographically was the information in the source gathered? | information about a different location or cultural context than the one you are writing about. |
When was the source published? | past information, trends over time, contrasting information from different times, or relevance of current information (kairos). |
Why was the source written, or why was the study conducted? | how a source’s purpose is different from or similar to your own.. |
How did the author gather their information? | the significance or scope of numerical data or statistics, or how stories and anecdotes were gathered. |
You have probably heard of instances of dishonesty that occur when writers present information “out of context.” Sometimes, presenting source information without explaining its original purpose, audience, or context presents a false impression to your reader. In these cases, your writing may imply that a source agrees with, disagrees with, or relates to your claim when this is not the case.
2. The Context of Your Argument
So how do you effectively integrate the words (quotes) and ideas (paraphrases) of your sources into your own argument?
First, keep in mind why you are quoting/paraphrasing a certain part of a certain source. Then, decide how you may need to refer to that source material in neighboring sentences in your own writing to help your reader to understand your intent and the role that this reference serves in your argument. Does the quote or paraphrase prove a claim that you have just made? Does it define or explain something that you are trying to make clear to readers? Does it provide an example or illustration of one of your claims? Does it elaborate on or introduce a different perspective about a previous point that you have made?
Second, keeping your purpose for the quote or paraphrase in mind, choose the best transition words and phrases to show how the quote or paraphrase relates to the neighboring sentences and ideas.
- Transitions like Similarly or Furthermore will show that you are about to present more on a line of reasoning.
- Transitions like However or On the other hand will show that you are about to present a conflicting idea.
- Transitions like Consequently, Therefore, or Because will show cause and effect.
Third, choose the best signal verb to show how the source material relates to your neighboring sentences or ideas. These verbs, paired with the author of your source text, work much like transitional words and phrases:
If a reference is near the beginning of a paragraph or is the first reference to a source, you may choose a neutral verb:
- Favero writes that…
- Favero explores several factors that…
- Favero states/Favero argues
Later, you can connect source material to the ideas in your paragraph by using verbs that indicate how the source relates to neighboring ideas:
- show agreement (Favero concurs)
- disagreement (Favero disputes…)
You can also give readers an indication of what kind of information you will be presenting. Consider how these different verbs would fit with different types of quotations or paraphrases:
- Favero lists…
- Favero claims…
- Favero emphasizes…
Below, the sample body paragraph is shown, this time with key words highlighted to show how the writer integrates the source materials into the context of their own argument using transitions and signal verbs. Which highlighted words are most helpful to you as the reader, and what do they tell you about the writer’s purpose for each quote or paraphrase?
Sample Paragraph: Using Transitional Phrases and Signal Phrases
A major reason why low-income students do not earn degrees at the same rates as their peers is that they are more likely to face obstacles in their personal lives that may slow or delay their college progress. In their 2018 study, Strumbos et al. report that if a student does not complete twenty credits per year, they are not likely to complete their degree. Unfortunately, this “degree momentum” is often difficult for low-income students to achieve due to what Nathan Favero, a professor of public policy at American University, calls “personal barriers to success.” For example, Favero notes that low-income students may be single parents who lack support from other family members, and so they “can feel a strong pull to pause their studies and start working” when unexpected bills arise. Diana Strumbos and her colleagues agree that “Work and family obligations sometimes force students to attend part time, which can again lead to a loss of momentum and decrease their likelihood of graduating.” Therefore, typical degree programs and schedules often do not serve low-income students.
Exercise
Take a fully developed body paragraph and edit it for the use of transition phrases and signal phrases to show context:
- Highlight all source material within the paragraph (quotes, paraphrases, and summaries)
- Review these highlighted passages to see:
- Have you addressed any of the five “w” questions for your sources? If not, is there anything more that your reader needs to understand about this source’s original context?
- Have you included signal verbs for your quotes and/or paraphrases? Do you have a variety of appropriate words (for example argues vs. believes vs. points out)?
- Have you used transitions to help show how sources’ ideas and your own ideas are related to each other?