Where to Find Sources | Citing Sources Overview | Verb List and Sample Sentences | Student Samples
Let's start with two definitions
Primary Source: The actual
literary text you are writing about. In an essay on John
Updike’s “A&P,” the primary source would be
“A&P.” In an essay on Hamlet,
the primary source would be Hamlet.
Secondary Source: In
literature, this refers to letters, notes, or journals from the author,
essays or books by critics, historical documents, etc., which are used
when writing a research paper to support your ideas. The primary
source would be the work (Hamlet,
"My Last Duchess," "Everyday Use," etc.) itself.
Broadly, you have two choices for secondary sources: literary criticism (professor's interpretations of the work -- much like your own work) or non-literary sources which are connected to your topic -- the work itself.
What kind of/Where to add a source . . . .
Keep focused on your goal: finding support for a specific argument in a specific paragraph -- which usually entails searching for terms that reference a specific division or thesis word.
For example, if writing about "Shiloh," you could use an essay on the role of communication in relationships which never even mentions "Shiloh," but helps prove your point and works well in your essay.
Likewise, a secondary source for "Cathedral" may address
the role of physical contact in human behavior.
The takeaway? Use divisions and thesis NOT the subject ("Gimpel the Fool," The Things They Carried) as search terms. |
Instructions on citing sources are in your textbooks, on
the Citing
Sources link, and on the How
to Add a Secondary Source page.
Where to Find
Sources
For most academic writing, general online sources from the open web are generally not scholarly
and should not be used.
Let me repeat that: for most academic writing, general online sources from the open web are generally not scholarly
and should not be used.
In case you misunderstood the previous two sentences . . . .
To make it clear, do not use quotes
from the open web (as in sources found through an open web search via
Google, etc.). Wikipedia is not
considered a scholarly source nor are general encyclopedias
(Britannica, etc.) and dictionaries. If you choose to use these
sources, the highest grade you can receive is a D.
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Whew!
What to use instead of Google? For information on psychological topics (communication in "Shiloh;" coping on the battlefield; narrative's role in easing stress, etc.), see Academic Search Premier, PsycARTICLES, Psychology Collection.
Two fine online databases from our library for
historical information are Facts on File and the Oxford
Reference Collection.
For specific essays on the literary work, try the Literature Resource
Center and Literary Reference Center (in that order) from the Library Links to the left.
Textbooks (Intro to Socoiology, Intro to Anthropology, Intro to Psychology) are an often overlooked but very good source.
So . . . to recap resources for secondary sources:
- Academic Search Premier; PsycARTICLES, Psychology Collection (OCC library database): general essays on a variety of topics (role of humor, effects of communication, coping with violence, what's needed for love, etc.)
- Literature Resource Center (OCC
library database): specific information on particular literary works
- Literary Reference Center (OCC
library database): specific information on particular literary works
- Facts on File (OCC library
database): for historical information
-- use instead of wikipedia or an encyclopedia
- Oxford Reference Collection (OCC
library database): short descriptions/definitions of social science, phsychological, economic, etc. terms
-- use instead of wikipedia or an encyclopedia
- Textbooks (particularly psychology, sociology,
anthropology and history)
- Other print sources associated with your topics
Sources to not use unless you want an automatic D, the
open internet (i.e. Wikipedia,
Citing Sources Overview
Citing
Sources Quiz (PDF)
"When do I cite
a source?"
Whenever you include a word, phrase, or idea from a source, it needs to
be cited. That source can include a web page, classroom lecture, an
interview with your Uncle Pete, quote or summary from a book, magazine,
etc. And note that I wrote "a" word -- singular. Even a single word
from someone else, when included in your own essay, needs to be set off
with quotation marks and then cited.
"How do I cite
using MLA?"
The number two is important to remember when using MLA citation because
it consists of two parts: an in-text citation (which includes the
author and page number) and works cited entry, as shown in the examples
below:
1) Sample In-Text Citation (the part that goes in your
essay)
Significantly, Sammy makes
this decision, and according to Ronald E. McFarland, "achieves a
certain degree of heroism" (61), at an A&P, an American
institution which symbolizes the kind of mindless obedience that Sammy
is fighting.
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Note that the author's name and page number is enclosed
in parenthesis (no p. or page is needed) and that the period goes to
the right. If this was an HTML based source, no page number would be
cited.
2) Sample Works Cited Entry (the part that goes on a
separate page at the end) for In-text Citation above
McFarland,
Ronald. "Updike and the Critics: Reflections on
'A&P'.""A&P".
Ed. Wendy Perkins. Harcourt
Brace College
Publishers, 1998, pp. 56-62.
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Together, these two parts let the reader know who wrote
your article, where they can find it, and approximately how long the
article is.
This two part citation method works like a code. In
general, the reader looks for the author's name and page number in the
in-text citation, and then goes to the works cited entry for additional
information. Your job is to supply the correct parts of the code in the
correct order. You have to be sure that the name/word you include in
your in-text citation will match the first word of one of your works
cited entries. Thus, the word "McFarland" in the in-text example above
matches the word "McFarland" in the sample works cited entry. Get it?
Readers would know that the information before the citation is from a
writer named "McFarland." If they wanted to check your source, they
would turn to the Works Cited page and scan the first word of the
alphabetically arranged list of Works Cited entries until the word
"McFarland" appeared.
You must correctly document your sources to
receive a passing grade. I'm more than willing to help you with this:
just check with me.
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List
of Verbs and Example Sentences
See
the Citing Sources link on the course site for detailed instructions on
citing sources for held by OCC library.
Below you'll find a list of verbs which are often used
to incorporate quotes into sentences and a list of sentences including
sources.
Use both as tools to help you work quotes into your own
prose.
These verbs can also come in handy when providing
context and for shifting into arguments.
add
agree analyze answer argue
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believe charge
claim comment conclude consider
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criticize declare describe define discover
emphasize
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explain
feels illustrate imply indicate
list
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maintain mention |note observe object
offer
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point out reinforce report
reply respond reveal
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show
stress suggest support think
write
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What follows are a series of sentences which
successfully incorporate an outside source. Review these to get a sense
of the rhythm and cadence involved in setting up a quote and how the
verb list above can help "launch" a quote. These sentences conclude
with a works cited page which would be needed if these quotes were
included in a single essay.
From the beginning of the text, Bradford sets the
Puritans apart from others. He writes that "many became enlightened by
the Word of God and had their ignorance and sins discovered" (157).
Separating the "enlightened" from what seems to be the unenlightened
makes a clear "us v. them" distinction.
The power of O'Connor's "The Revelation" is derived
from its moral tenacity. As the writer Joyce Carol Oates observes, the
story "questions the very foundations of our assumptions of the ethical
life" (52). Since Mrs. Turpin's "foundation" was based upon a shallow
and limited view of religion, she was ripe for a fall.
Although some critics argue that surrealism began in
1924 after the publication of the Surrealist Manifesto by Andre Breton
(Kershner 52), Kafka's work, published a decade earlier, shares many
qualities of surrealist art, and should be considered a precursor to
the later movement.
The critics David Boxer and Cassandra Phillips also
note Carver's seeming lack of style. They write that "what seems to be
casual talk, virtually empty of communication, is really very
deliberately and finely wrought" (99). This emphasis on the craft of
his fiction -- it is "deliberately and finely wrought" -- underscores
the nature of Carver's oxymoronic talent: he made conversation seem so
natural that it seems to merely record what is being said.
As Dickens wrote in an essay published in the same
decade as Hard Times, "It is probable that
nothing will ever root out from among the common people an innate love
they have for dramatic entertainment in some form or other" (305-306).
That Lousia and Tom, members of the upper-class, would also find
amusement in the circus shows that the differences between classes --
between people -- is not as well defined as we would think.
F. R. Leavis argues that the circus performers are
symbols of "human spontaneity" (344). As such, they operate according
to emotions rather than from the slow and measured intellect of
Gradgrind.
Mitchell Domhnal notes that "some critics allege that
to read Dickinson in any standard typographic edition is effectively to
read her in translation." This suggests that the usual method of
reading a poem in a textbook isn't the best way to read Dickinson.
Leypoldt Gunter argues that there are "two types of
Carver stor[ies]," with one being realistic and the other more
experimental (320).
Instructions on how to set up these entries are found
on the Citing Sources link (on the left).
Student Samples
Example 1 Rachel Bertholf shows how a non literary source can help readers understand Gimpel's" prudence."
Throughout the story Gimpel exhibits prudence, an attribute of wisdom. To have prudence means to go about practical matters with caution, a characteristic lacking in a fool. An example of Gimpel's prudence is when he heard a dog barking on his way home from school. He thought to himself, “I'm not afraid of dogs, but of course I would never want to start up with them. One of them may be mad” (278). So Gimpel turned tail and ran, taking the precaution that the dog had rabies without ever setting eyes on the dog. Gimpel was not running from the dog itself, but was running from the deadly disease, rabies, that the dog might have been carrying. Is his reaction really foolish? As sociologist Ken Flieger notes, “The cry 'mad dog' has long been a warning literally to run for your life, because mad dog meant rabies and rabies meant death.” Despite the fact that it was not a real dog barking, Flieger's comment suggests that Gimpel's reaction is not foolish because there might have been a real dog with a deadly disease in the market place. Gimpel's sprint for life shows that he is serious and cautious about such a deadly disease and takes the necessary precautions to protect himself. |
Example 2
Physical
touch is a strong communicator. It can make a person feel cared for,
violated, or a number of emotions in between. Scientist Alberto Gallace
believes that touch plays an important role in our well-being. He argues that “even the
briefest of touches from another person can elicit strong emotional
experiences”(247). The reaction to touch is predicated on your
perception of the touch, so had the narrator still felt uncomfortable
with Robert the reaction would have been negative. Instead he is open
and willing to participate in drawing because his perceptions have
already been altered. |
Example 3
Flawed coping mechanisms can also lead to problems in marraiges. And with the death of Randy at the beginning of their marriage, both Leory and Norma are confronted with a catostrophic emotional loss. Throughout the story Mason, shows the fallout from their problematic coping. Men tend to grieve through actions rather than words. Leroy, faced with the death of his son, takes to the road and spends 15 years behind the wheel of a semi as a cross country trucker. Other common coping strategies include self medication to numb themselves to the pain, often with recreational drugs or alcohol. Following this pattern, the narrator notes that “Leroy likes to lie on the couch and smoke a joint” (69). Norma reacts differently to the grief; she uses body building to feel strong and in control to compensate for the lack of strength and control she has over her life. In addition to strengthening her body, she begins attending night school to improve her mind.
The problem with both of these coping methods is that Norma and Leroy should be working as a couple to improve their relationship. Instead, they are suppresseing their feelings. Psychologists have noted this is common when people deal with an infant's death. In Recovering from the Loss of a Child Katherine Fair Donnelly writes "After a child has died, there is an underlying need to find out the why? Because no satisfactory answer is found, a parent often directs this anger toward the spouse. This is how the parent uses grief in the most negative way" (88). Leroy and Norma Jean have no answer to the death of Randy; instead they follow the common negative script noted by Fair Donnelly and direct their hostility and resentfulness towards each other. This anger, long suppressed through their flawed coping strategies, is a critical part of the problems in their relationship. Instead of dealing with their loss as a couple, they went off to lick their wounds and heal on their own. |
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