Reminder: Late and Missing Assignments Must Be Completed by 12/15

Week 9 - Continue Essay #3: Part 2

Estimated reading time based on an average of 200 words per minute: 19 minutes.

Learning Objectives

After successfully completing this week's Learning Module, you should:

Know more about how to find sources to fulfill your purpose statement
Understand how to effectively integrate research into your essay using signal phrases
Better understand MLA source documentation rules, including both in-text citations and Works Cited page entries
Continue working to develop a full rough draft for peer review next week

Introduction

This week you'll continue working on the third essay assignment. That essay focuses on creating a guide to teach college students about information literacy. Last week we worked to help you choose a topic that won't cause trouble when you're writing the first draft; now, we'll work on making sure you know how to find sources to fulfill your purpose statement, review how to show ownership of words and ideas as well as source credibility using attribution, and discuss how to document sources in MLA format so readers can find them.

If you're not sure what your purpose statement is at this point, or if you need to make a decision/get some input, you should contact your professor immediately since you'll need to keep making progress. Next week will focus on peer review and making revisions, which means you will want to have a full rough draft done by the end of this week if possible. It's my job to make sure you have everything you need, some motivation, and lots of support to make it happen.

If you're feeling stuck or behind, start by reviewing last week's module and email or text if your professor can help. For this essay, it's really important to get a strong start and have a solid foundation to build upon as soon as you can.

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You can see a video walkthrough of this week's assignments and where to submit them here.

Topic Summary

How Can I Find (Lots of) Sources Based on My Purpose Statement?

You know by now that Essay #3 is an informative essay, specifically a guide for college students teaching them about information literacy, and with that you know you'll need to find sources to fulfill the promise you make in your purpose statement. That, I can say from experience, can be overwhelming. My job this week is to make sure you have all the knowledge and tools at your disposal to not just do the work well, but to do it efficiently--meaning with the least amount of effort. Let's start by reviewing some common questions.

What Am I Proving? (Hint: Nothing)

Remember, you're not proving anything in this essay since this is informative writing (which is why we don't have a thesis); instead, you're looking for find sources that teach us something specific about information literacy. That's why we want to have our purpose statement written before we start doing our research. If you didn't do that last week then that's where to get started now.

Assuming you have your purpose statement written you know the one or two things you're going to teach readers about in your body paragraphs. For example, you might be focused on finding sources and evaluating sources. Or you might be focused on finding sources and integrating/citing the information.

In addition to the important role a purpose statement does in setting the agenda for your research, your body paragraph topic sentences--which keep you focused on one thing at a time--are also important as you look for sources. That's because you're narrowed down to teaching one small thing rather than jumping into a large topic without a direction. Your topic sentence can also help you identify search terms (more on that in a minute).

The bottom line here: having a purpose statement (or thesis in persuasive writing) can make finding sources easier. Having your topic broken down into more than one element makes the search even more focused and can save time. Topic sentences and remembering that each paragraph focuses on one thing also helps.

So What Do I Search to Find Sources?

Knowing what specific thing we're trying to teach readers in each paragraph is only half the challenge. We also need to know what search terms to use.

The good news is that you've almost certainly been in this situation before. Maybe you're trying to find a good place to get an inexpensive lunch near your current location. You might try searching "cheap food" but only find a grocery store. You might try searching "cheap lunch" and end up only finding places in Worcester or places focused on a type of food you're just not into. But with the right keywords, "cheap Vietnamese lunch near me," I find exactly what I'm looking for. The process in this case was being specific enough to exclude what you don't want (groceries, Thai food, dinner spots, etc.) while still including what you do want (inexpensive, Vietnamese food, in Dorchester, etc.).

Of course, if you're like me then finding the right keywords (especially when I'm hungry) requires some trial and error: if I search one combination and don't find what I need, I try another combination, and another, and another until I get what I'm looking for. But there's a more structured way that can actually give you more results in the same amount of time.

Here's the process:

1) Start by identifying the keywords in your purpose statement (or thesis reason in an argumentative essay).

Example purpose statement: The purpose of this essay is to explain how to find sources and evaluate them.

Keywords: find sources, evaluate sources, information literacy

Note, adding information literacy here is to limit results to a specific subject area. Also, compound words like "finding sources" and "evaluating sources" often work best in quotation marks in order to search as a single term rather than each word separately.

Here are my results for the first search (find sources information literacy) without quotation marks; here is how they change with quotation marks ("find sources" "information literacy"). The first search gave me 167 million results whereas the second one gave me 7,900 results, which is more manageable to sort through as I look for a source.

2) Next, brainstorm alternative keywords that an author might have used. This includes different word forms and synonyms for "find," "source," but probably not for "information literacy" since it's so specific as a thing:

locate

gather

collect

research

articles

websites

I know that can seem like more work, but spending some time outlining the words you can use to expand a search will actually make the search process more productive. And if you do find a good source, look in the text for different terms they might use to describe what you're describing and add those to your search.

3) Finally, consider adding a restriction to your search so it only looks at certain kinds of website or for a certain date range or even for a certain kind of result (e.g. a PDF file). You can do this by using the advanced search option in Google or, for the most common search with this assignment, by adding one of the following to your regular search in Google:

site:.edu

site:.gov

file:.pdf

For example, if I search the same keywords I did in Step 1 above but limit to .edu so I'm only finding sites from a college or university I get better quality results that can reduce the number of Google pages I have to skim through to find something useful for the essay (now 2,900 down from 7,900). On top of that, the sources I located are going to have a higher perceived credibility than a random website my readers don't recognize by name.

Where Do I Look?

This essay will only require credible websites to support your goal of teaching college students about information literacy. Most of the time that means searching Google, but it requires that (like we mentioned above) you know how to save yourself some time and you know what websites are likely to have perceived credibility for your audience.

Let's practice this using a Google search for the terms we identified above but without using the restriction for results from a college or website (the site:.edu modification):

You might have noticed in these results that there is only one from a .edu domain, which is a page from the University of Minnesota. Commonsense.org, which is another option, isn't terrible--but it's less recognizable as trustworthy on this particular subject. The others, which are from a website called eschoolnews.com would be probably the worst choice even if they covered the material you wanted to cover in your essay. Why? Because the website isn't one readers will likely recognize, which means it has low perceived credibility.

The bottom line here is to think carefully about how you search to save yourself time, and be intentional when you choose a source to include in the essay by thinking specifically about what readers will likely trust.

Up for a Challenge When It Comes to Finding Sources?

Try using Google Scholar. This Google-powered database contains many free academic journal articles, and the more powerful search feature often makes it easy to find something that will fit your essay compared to the RCC Library databases (which we'll review for the final essay). The downside is that Google Scholar does not guarantee a source is scholarly or even reliable; that becomes your task any time you move outside of the resources maintained by the library.

To check for sources, start by going to this link or searching for "Google scholar" the usual way you search online. Then enter your keywords. When you review the results you're looking for some specific things, namely that the article is available as PDF of HTML with no cost (NEVER pay for an article, ever) and that it's from an academic journal with some verifiable authority. When you find something, make sure you click the link on the right of the page--not the one with the title of the source:

Still looking for something even more advanced?

Use Google Books. Similar to Google Scholar, Books applies a powerful search to an enormous collection of books that have been scanned. While the book selection isn't perfect for all topics, and you're almost never able to look at every page, it's still possible to use it to find scholarly sources that help improve your writing for formal audiences.

Start by going to this link or searching online for "Google Books." Then enter your keywords and see what you find. As you evaluate these books to find a scholarly source, you're looking for academic publishers. Those might not be something you know off the top of your head, but a list like this one can help you narrow things down.

When you do find something that seems like it mentions what you need in order to explain a concept in the essay, you have the ability to search inside the book--which is a million times better than looking through an index or trying to find what you need manually. Here's what I found using the keywords we developed above; keep in mind, in addition to finding books by searching the contents, Google Books also allows you to search inside the book using the box at the top of the page:

If you give this a shot you'll likely catch how it even highlights your keywords. Just remember, you won't have access to the entire book or every book on the subject. Really, it pushes you to use what you can find and make sure you evaluate whether the source is scholarly since not all books are.

One last thing about Google Scholar and Google Books: you have to cite the sources you find as print journal articles and print books. These are scans of printed texts and not considered electronic since the page numbers do not adjust when font size is changed (think Kindle or smartphone app ebooks).

If you can't find something in Google Books, where the search tool is really helpful, consider using this open access textbook about information literacy from the State University of New York. To search in this PDF file for specific words, however, you'd have to use Ctrl+f on a PC or command+f on a Mac; if you're on a phone it depends on the browser, but here's how in Chrome.

How Do I Integrate Research into My Essay?

Just as important as finding good sources to fulfill your purpose statement (or support your thesis in argumentative writing), you also need to know how to get them into the essay. I mentioned them a little last week, but here's a quick review.

Signal Phrases

Signal phrases introduce anything you borrow from outside and give attribution to the source. They're not hard to do, and remembering to do them is the best way to protect yourself from plagiarism. They also help you avoid a writing error called a dropped quotation.

The basic formula to use as a starting point is: According to ________, "..."

But I also want you to think of signal phrases as how we communicate credibility in our writing since readers will not always know who your sources are. And since credibility is necessary for informative and persuasive communication, it's worth remembering. That means rather than giving a title in your signal phrase, something that only communicates credibility if the reader has heard of the source, I want you to tell readers the author's credentials. Credentials can be a simple statement of where the person works and what they do:

According to Christopher Ferguson, Kimberlee Salmond, and Kamla Modi, university researchers who study child psychology, "the influence of reality television on adolescent behavior is complex" (1175).

Even though this is a bit vague in terms of their credentials, it's still better than giving a source's title since it helps readers see these people as experts in this field. Note, too, that you only need to use the full name(s) and credentials the first time you use the source; after that, you would refer to them by last names only.

REMEMBER: You have to use a signal phrase every time you bring in a quotation, paraphrase, or idea that is borrowed from an outside source.

Four Steps for Using Sources

In addition to using signal phrases and quotation/paraphrase for your sources, you also need to do some work to integrate them into your own writing. According to the Leeward Community College Writing Center, this usually involves four steps:

1) Signal that a source is about to be used (i.e. give a signal phrase)

2) Provide the source material using quotation or paraphrase

3) Translate the source material so that readers from all backgrounds can understand

4) Explain how the source material supports your point

Here's how that looks:

Integrating Sources - LCC.pdf

No matter what approach you use--and I'd recommend this one--the key is to make sure you don't just drop the source and run since that move isn't likely to effectively inform or persuade readers.

Understanding MLA Source Documentation Rules

In addition to giving attribution for material from an outside source and making sure you integrate it into your paragraphs, you also have to think about MLA source documentation. That has two parts:

1) In-text citations, sometimes called parenthetical (because they are inside parenthesis) go at the end of every sentence with a quotation or paraphrase. These point to a specific source in the Works Cited page list.

2) Works Cited page entries contain all the information about the source so that readers have full details if they want to go find the source to check your work.

Note how these work together: you can't have anything in the Works Cited that isn't cited in the essay; the citations inside the essay must always point to a Works Cited page entry.

In-text Citations

While I think the best way to manage these is to look online as you write to make sure you've done everything correctly, there are a few basic rules that can make that easier.

The in-text citation will most often be an author's last name; if an author's last name isn't given, the in-text citation will be either a) an institution who we might consider the author (e.g. The Mayo Clinic) or b) the title of the page in quotation marks: ("About Mayo Clinic").
The first item in the in-text citation (see above) will always match whatever is on the far left of a matching Works Cited page entry. For example, with this citation:

"Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview." WebMD, 25 Sept. 2014, www.webmd.com/skin-problems-

and-treatments/tc/athletes-foot-topic-overview.

The in-text citation would be ("Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview").

If the source has a page number--so books and journal articles--then you will also add a number (not p. or pg. for MLA) after the author: (Pollan 8). If the source does not have a page number you should not add one yourself.
Your end of sentence punctuation must only be placed after the in-text citation; there is no punctuation inside to end the quotation (see examples above).

The biggest errors I see are students who paste a web address, assign a number and then number the Works Cited page, and cases where someone puts in way more detail than the author and page number. My suggestion to resolve these issues is to do the Works Cited page entry first, check that it's correct, and then put whatever is on the far left inside the in-text citation.

Works Cited Page Entry

This part, which I've mentioned is the key to a correct in-text citation, is often the trickiest. Rather than insist that you memorize the rules or even that you follow a template from a site like the Purdue OWL (both ways I learned in college), I'm going to start by suggesting that you start with an automated citation creation tool. But here's the catch: you absolutely have to check the output against a trusted sample.

Let's walk though how that might look. I've decided I want to use this source in my essay (sorry for the Hawaiʻi example, but I get homesick sometimes):

My next step might be to go to an online citation creator like EasyBib. If I enter the web address for this article I get this citation:

But I know this isn't correct because of this: Home - Honolulu, Hawaii News, Sports & Weather - KITV Channel 4

When I look online at a trusted sample, it's pretty clear that the automated site pulled in information that it shouldn't have. Here's the correct template from the Purdue OWL (see "Page on a Website"):

"Webpage Title." Website Name, DD Mon. YEAR, web address.

If we had used the template, or at least gone back to double check, we'd end up with this:

As you move up in your course levels on the way to a degree you'll be expected to have this kind of source citation under control. And since resources to help are so easily available--not to mention the Writing Center and my own willingness to assist you--it really comes down to attention to detail.

Also, don't forget that you'll still need to follow the MLA page format guidelines we've used in the last two essay assignments for Essay #3. You can review those here or by looking at any MLA sample essay and matching 100%.

Find two credible websites for your Essay #3. These do not have to be sources you'll use in the essay, but it would be smart for you to plan that way. Once you have these two tentative sources create your best MLA formatted Works Cited page entry AND an in-text citation for each one (hint: using Scribbr to generate citations can give you both). When you have these done, create a Forum thread and post them; your instructor will check and offer some feedback if there are issues. You are not required to reply to any other posts. Details are in the "Activities" chart below and in Canvas > Discussions > Week 9 > MLA Documentation Practice.

Continue Working on Essay #3 Rough Draft

Hopefully with this approach to finding sources, a review of source attribution and documentation, and the work we did last week to develop a purpose statement and map it to a sample outline, you're ready to make another push towards a full rough draft.

My suggestion is to work this week to complete your full draft. I'd also suggest pushing for that full draft ASAP since if you run radically short and need to add another reason/body paragraph to the purpose statement, or if you have a harder time finding sources than you initially expect, you'll want the additional time to recover.

Whether you take my advice or not, it's important to know the following:

You will need to have a full draft ready to post for peer review on or before Wednesday, November 20th; replies will be due on or before Friday, November 22nd; the final revised draft will be due by midnight on Sunday, November 24th.
I'm absolutely available to help if you're stuck, answer questions, or even look at rough drafts during these weeks; you can email/text or schedule yourself for office hours in Zoom using this link: https://calendly.com/jbreitenfeldt
You can do this.

Now that you've done some reading and spent some time thinking about searching, attribution, and MLA source documentation for this essay, please take the "Research, Source Integration, and Citation" quiz in Canvas. Additional details can be found in the "Activities" chart below.

Key Takeaways

To find sources efficiently, you need to know what you you need; to know what you are trying to find, you'll need to know your purpose statement--or thesis statement in an a persuasive essay. These are what you research, not the broad topic.
When you develop keywords to search for, try isolating the most important parts of your purpose statement elements (think nouns and verbs), develop some synonyms, and pay attention to the terminology sources/informal research you find online use.
Consider finding and using a scholarly source for a challenge, but know that credible websites are perfectly sufficient to fulfill your purpose statement and teach your readers about information literacy.
Signal phrases have to be used every time you bring something from outside into the essay; they should give the full name and author credentials (not a title) on first mention; after that they give the author's last name.
In-text citations are connected to Works Cited page entries; whatever is on the far left of the Works Cited page entry is what needs to go in the parenthesis (author last name, or organization name, or "Title in Quotation Marks" (but just one, not all three). Make sure you know what to do when there isn't a page number and when there isn't an author.
It's okay to use automated citation tools for the Works Cited page (Scribbr, EasyBib, Citation Machine, Word, etc.) but you have to check your work using a trusted source like the Purdue OWL.

Essay #3 Materials

Essay #3 Assignment Sheet

Essay #3 Scoring Rubric

Process Portfolio Assignment Sheet

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Essay #3 Student Sample

Essay #3 Sample with Outline

MLA Quick Guide from Appalachian State University

Activities

ENG 101 - Access Semester - Week 9 Activities

Alternative link to Activities chart: https://bit.ly/31t8KrN

Make sure you check back on Monday, November 18th to see the work required for Week 10 and plan accordingly. If you have any questions about this week's material or the course in general contact your professor by email (jbreitenfeldt@rcc.mass.edu) or by text (857) 997-0730.

Additional Resources

"MLA Format" from Scribbr

"MLA Citation Generator" from Scribbr

"The Information Literacy User’s Guide" from SUNY Open Textbooks

The content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License except for any elements that may be licensed differently. The content of this page includes:

Original content contributed by Susan Wood at Leeward Community College, added to and modified by Jeffrey Breitenfeldt at both Leeward Community College and Roxbury Community College

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