Hi guys! This week we'll be organizing and gearing up to draft our research papers. This week, I want to talk about:
Quote IntegrationGuys, take a good, hard look at the 2 images above. What changes between the first and second photograph? I'll tell you: the pine branch in taken apart so that we can see all the separate pieces individually. There's a word for this process: analysis. To analyze is to take something apart and look at the separate elements in order to understand it. In this class, we are in the business of analyzing literature. We do it every day. There's also a word for the process of taking these separate things and putting them together to make a whole. The word for this, for going from pine needles and sticks to a complete branch, for taking little things and making a whole, is synthesis. For our research paper, you will be synthesizing information from your three sources and your chosen short story to make one, whole, cohesive essay. On a practical craft level, you will be synthesizing the words, facts, and ideas from your sources with your ideas by integrating your quotes into your paper. Here are some general guidelines to help you do this as effectively as possible. 1. Choose Relevant Quotes
2. Introduce the Quote
3. Integrate the Quote into Your Sentence Structure
4. Use Signal Phrases
5. Quote Only as Much as Necessary
6. Comment on the Quote
7. Use Proper Punctuation and Formatting
8. Balance Quotes with Your Own Voice
Remember, quotes are a powerful tool in academic writing but should be used strategically and sparingly. Overuse of quotes can overshadow your own voice and ideas, while the effective integration of quotes can strengthen your arguments and add credibility to your paper. If you want to see some of these principles in action, and get a few extra punctuation strategies, I recommend checking out this video: Outline and Thesis NotesEverything I wrote about in my last post on outlines is still valid and relevant, including the blueprint. There is really only one major change: For your outline, I want you to include all the relevant quotes you've culled from the short story as well as your three sources. So all four of these documents need to represented on your outline. We already know that our thesis is the most important structural component of our essays. Everything in the essay must connect back to the thesis in some kind of way. On Monday, we'll have another thesis development workshop. Our goal will be that everyone walks out of class with a thesis strong enough to build an essay around. As you start crafting your thesis, it might help to consider one or two of the following questions:
First Draft Rubric and GuidelinesThe first draft of your essay should be between 500-1,000 words. It's possible that you might find it easier in the case of the research paper to write a longer first draft. If that's the case for you, bring it on. I will be assessing the following elements for your first drafts:
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