Blog for Oct. 3

Quoting and paraphrasing.

Locating and citing sources is very important in writing. It is a way to support your case with proof, quotes, and other backgrounds to back it up. In all papers, especially, persuasive papers, it is important to do this.

When I write, I first state my argument. I write a thesis and go from there. Then I add my sources to my argument by paraphrasing them within the paragraph. By doing this, it allows a user to go and find my source to check me for credibility. If I provide a lot of sources it will increase my credibility because the author can find others who agree with what I say. If I don’t provide enough sources, like only one source, people will doubt me, because I don’t have enough proof to back it up. Thus it is important that I cite my sources and find plenty of them.

The process of finding sources, which is research, is equally, if not more, important than the sources you cite. Although you mst cite many sources, you must make sure that you find a cite the right sources. If you support your argument with bland sources that don’t directly support your topic and have multiple meanings, it could cause a reader to think or rationalize that your argument isn’t really plausible. But if you search for ans support your writing with sharp, clear, powerful, and on-point sources, you will sort of “trap” the reader making it unavoidable for them to believe any other argument because you provided such persuading proof.

This research can come in many ways. Although you can have oral proof through spoken testimony, it is better to have tangible evidence. A reader who knows that your evidence was oral may question if it could have been changed or altered to fit your writing. A tangible piece of evidence allows a reader to go and check it out for himself to make sure that it is what you say it is. A reader who reads a quote in a piece of writing can go and check the source himself experience first hand the quote. This is why tangible evidence is better than oral evidence in writing.

When you research, it is important to also to know which kind of things to take from each source. The things you take should support your writing, of course. Even if it means leaving some things out. If you have a quote that is really long, and only two parts of it is what you need for your piece, it is ok to omit parts of the source (which is when you use ellipses). For example, if you are writing about the temperaments of beagles, and you find a quote from a woman in a magazine that has a point you need, omit the other parts. Let’s say the quote says, “ The temperaments of beagles is very curious. They love to search and sniff, being followed by their noses. The beagle is also a medium- sized dog that likes to eat.” You can omit the last sentence as it is irrelevant to the topic, which deals temperaments of beagles. I do not like having this extra garbage in my writing because it distracts the reader from my topic. The first two sentences are good enough.

I use these techniques in my writing. They are very useful and help me keep myself on track. Sometimes unneeded information gets into my writing. That can make or break a piece if you distract the reader with unnecessary nonsense, and if you do not have enough/believable sources in your writing. So it is important to make sure your writing is both on-point and plausible.