Hi everyone!

This week’s reading, Annoying Ways People Use Sources, by Kyle D. Stedman, discusses the best ways to integrate quotes that correspond to correct citations in research papers. I found the driving metaphor that the article used very interesting, how sometimes reading someone’s paper can feel like driving behind a driver that doesn’t know, or chooses to ignore, the rules of the road. Stedman narrows this metaphor down to two points about writing, it can feel as if people either “don’t know the generally accepted practices of using academic sources in the US,” or they “know the guidelines, but don’t care” (3). Stedman explains that annoyance in reading others’ writing might occur as a result of either deliberate rebellion of citation rules, or mere lack of knowledge on what exactly those rules are. However, Stedman also warns that citation rules “[are] conventions not rules,” and “if the modern U.S. academic system had evolved from a primarily African or Asian or Latin American cultural consciousness instead of a European one, conventions for writing would probably be very different” (4). This reminded me of Cristina Sánchez-Martín’s Beyond Language Difference in Writing: Investigating Complex and Equitable Language Practices​ from Blog Post #1​ that discussed the importance of not limiting writing to European scholarly standards, as it silences perspective and hinders diversity in writing. Therefore, Stedman differentiates the importance of following citation rules from the controlling of how one writes.

Something this week’s reading reminded me of was my sophomore year English class, where my teacher would remove 1 point from our final essays for every time a quote was cited with the period outside of the quotations. For example: …..writing.” doesn’t earn points, but …..writing”. docs you points. This is an example of a teacher incentivising and training students to all cite a particular way. This is not a limitation or restriction on her students’ writing or voices, but rather, a way to ensure all students, as Stedman writes, “rely on their turn signals to communicate their intentions to other drivers,” and not confuse the reader with inconsistent and unclear citation practices.