Supporting a thesis

MLA

460 56

Most English instructors and some humanities instructors will ask you to document your sources with the Modern Language Association (MLA) system of citations described in section 59.

When writing an MLA paper that is based on sources, you face three main challenges: (1) supporting a thesis, (2) citing your sources and avoiding plagiarism, and (3) integrating quota-tions and other source material.

Examples in sections 56–58 are drawn from a student’s research related to online monitoring of employees’ computer use. Anna Orlov’s research paper, which argues that electronic surveillance in the workplace threatens employees’ privacy, ap-pears on pages 527–32.

NOTE: For advice on fi nding and evaluating sources and on man-aging information in all your college courses, see sections 53–55.

Supporting a thesis56Most college research assignments ask you to form a thesis, or main idea, and to support that thesis with well-organized evidence.

56a  Form a working thesis.

Once you have read a variety of sources and considered your issue from diff erent perspectives, you are ready to form a work-ing thesis: a one-sentence (or occasionally a two-sentence) state-ment of your central idea. (See also 1c.) Because it is a working, or tentative, thesis, you can remain fl exible and revise it as your ideas develop.

In a research paper, your thesis will answer the central re-search question that you posed earlier (see 53a). Here, for exam-ple, are Anna Orlov’s research question and working thesis.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Shouldemployersmonitortheiremployees’onlineactivitiesinthe

workplace?

PRACTICE  hackerhandbooks.com/rules > MLA > 56–1 and 56–2

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56bworking thesis • central idea •

outlines • organizing ideas

WORKING THESIS

Employersshouldnotmonitortheiremployees’onlineactivities

becauseelectronicsurveillancecancompromiseworkers’privacy.

Aft er you have written a rough draft and perhaps done more reading, you may decide to revise your thesis, as Orlov did.

REVISED THESIS

Althoughcompaniesoftenhavelegitimateconcernsthatleadthem

tomonitoremployees’Internetusage—fromexpensivesecurity

breachestoreducedproductivity—thebenefitsofelectronic

surveillanceareoutweighedbyitscoststoemployees’privacyand

autonomy.

Th e thesis usually appears at the end of the introductory paragraph. To read Anna Orlov’s thesis in the context of her in-troduction, see page 527.

56b  Organize ideas with a rough outline.

Th e body of your paper will consist of evidence in support of your thesis. Instead of getting tangled up in a formal outline early in the process, sketch an informal plan that organizes your ideas in bold strokes. Anna Orlov, for example, used this simple plan to outline the structure of her argument:

• Comparedwitholdertypesof

surveillance,electronicsurveillance

allowsemployerstomonitorworkers

moreefficiently.

• Someexpertsarguethatcompanies

haveimportantfinancialandlegal

reasonstomonitoremployees’

Internetusage.

• Butmonitoringemployees’Internetusagemaylowerworker

productivitywhenthethreattoprivacycreatesdistrust.

• Currentlawsdolittletoprotectemployees’privacyrights,so

employeesandemployershavetonegotiatethepotentialrisksand

benefitsofelectronicsurveillance.

Making the most of your handbookIt’s helpful to start off with a working thesis and a rough outline — especially when writing from sources.

▶ Draft a working thesis: 1c

▶ Sketch a plan: 1d

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Supporting a thesis462

MLA

56c

After you have written a rough draft, a more formal outline can be a useful way to shape the complexities of your argument. See pages 20 –21 for an example.

56c  Use sources to inform and support your argument.

Used thoughtfully, the source materials you have gathered will make your argument more complex and convincing for read-ers. Sources can play several different roles as you develop your points.

Providing background information or context

You can use facts and statistics to support generalizations or to establish the importance of your topic, as student writer Anna Orlov does in her introduction.

AstheInternethasbecomeanintegraltoolofbusinesses,

companypoliciesonInternetusagehavebecomeascommonas

policiesregardingvacationdaysorsexualharassment.A2005

studybytheAmericanManagementAssociationandePolicy

Institutefoundthat76%ofcompaniesmonitoremployees’use

oftheWeb,andthenumberofcompaniesthatblockemployees’

accesstocertainWebsiteshasincreased27%since2001(1).

Explaining terms or concepts

If readers are unlikely to be familiar with a word or an idea im-portant to your topic, you must explain it for them. Quoting or paraphrasing a source can help you define terms and concepts in accessible language.

Onepopularmonitoringmethodiskeystrokelogging,which

isdonebymeansofanundetectableprogramonemployees’

computers....AsLaneexplains,theseprogramsrecordevery

keyenteredintothecomputerinhiddendirectoriesthatcan

laterbeaccessedoruploadedbysupervisors;theprograms

canevenscanforkeywordstailoredtoindividualcompanies

(128-29).

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56chow sources work in a paper • support • background •

terms • authority • counterargument

Supporting your claims

As you draft your argument, make sure to back up your assertions with facts, examples, and other evidence from your research. (See also 6e.) Orlov, for example, uses an anecdote from one of her sources to support her claim that limiting computer access causes resentment among a company’s staff.

Monitoringonlineactivitiescanhavetheunintendedeffect

ofmakingemployeesresentful....Kesanwarnsthat“prohibiting

personalusecanseemextremelyarbitraryandcanseriouslyharm

morale....Imagineaconcernedparentwhoisprohibitedfrom

checkingonasickchildbyadraconiancompanypolicy”(315-16).

Asthisanalysisindicates,employeescanbecomedisgruntledwhen

Internetusagepoliciesareenforcedtotheirfullextent.

Lending authority to your argument

Expert opinion can give weight to your argument. (See also 6e.) But don’t rely on experts to make your arguments for you. Construct your argument in your own words and, when appropriate, cite the judgment of an authority in the field to support your position.

Additionally,manyexpertsdisagreewithemployers’assumption

thatonlinemonitoringcanincreaseproductivity.Employmentlaw

attorneyJosephSchmittarguesthat,particularlyforemployeeswho

arepaidasalaryratherthananhourlywage,“acompanyshouldn’t

carewhetheremployeesspendoneor10hoursontheInternetas

longastheyaregettingtheirjobsdone—andprovidedthattheyare

notaccessinginappropriatesites”(qtd.inVerespej).

Anticipating and countering objections

Do not ignore sources that seem contrary to your position or that offer arguments different from your own. Instead, use them to give voice to opposing points of view and to state potential objections to your argument before you counter them (see 6f ). Readers often have opposing points of view in mind already, whether or not they agree with you. Anna Orlov, for example, cites conflicting evi-dence to acknowledge that some readers may feel that unlimited Internet access in the workplace hinders productivity. In doing

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57 Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism

so, she creates an opportunity to counter that objection and per-suade those readers.

Ontheonehand,computersandInternetaccessgiveemployees

powerfultoolstocarryouttheirjobs;ontheotherhand,the

sametechnologyoffersconstanttemptationstoavoidwork.As

a2005studybySalary.comandAmerica Onlineindicates,the

Internetrankedasthetopchoiceamongemployeesforwaysof

wastingtimeonthejob;itbeattalkingwithco-workers—the

secondmostpopularmethod—byamarginofnearlytwoto

one(Frauenheim).

Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism 57Your research paper is a collaboration between you and your sources. To be fair and ethical, you must acknowledge your debt to the writers of those sources. When you acknowledge your sources, you avoid plagiarism, a serious academic off ense.

In general, these three acts are considered plagiarism: (1) fail-ing to cite quotations and borrowed ideas, (2) failing to enclose borrowed language in quotation marks, and (3) failing to put sum-maries and paraphrases in your own words. Defi nitions of plagia-rism may vary; it’s a good idea to fi nd out how your school defi nes this kind of academic dishonesty.

 57a  Cite quotations and borrowed ideas.

Sources are cited for two reasons:

1. to tell readers where your information comes from — so that they can assess its reliability and, if interested, fi nd and read the original source

2. to give credit to the writers from whom you have borrowed words and ideas

You must cite anything you borrow from a source, including di-rect quotations; statistics and other specifi c facts; visuals such

PRACTICE  hackerhandbooks.com/rules > MLA > 57–1 to 57–6

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57aciting sources • avoiding plagiarism •

common knowledge • borrowed ideas, language

as cartoons, graphs, and diagrams; and any ideas you present in a summary or paraphrase.

Th e only exception is common knowledge — information your readers could easily fi nd in any number of general sources. For example, most encyclopedias will tell readers that Alfred Hitchcock di-rected Notorious in 1946 and that Emily Dickinson published only a handful of her many poems during her lifetime.

As a rule, when you have seen information repeatedly in your reading, you don’t need to cite it. However, when information has appeared in only one or two sources, when it is highly specifi c (as with statistics), or when it is controversial, you should cite the source. If a topic is new to you and you are not sure what is consid-ered common knowledge or what is controversial, ask your instruc-tor or someone else with expertise. When in doubt, cite the source.

Th e Modern Language Association recommends a system of in-text citations. Here, briefl y, is how the MLA citation system usu-ally works:

1. Th e source is introduced by a signal phrase that names its author.

2. Th e material being cited is followed by a page number in parentheses.

3. At the end of the paper, a list of works cited (arranged alpha-betically by authors’ last names) gives complete publication information about the source.

IN-TEXT CITATION

LegalscholarJayKesanpointsoutthatthelawholdsemployers

liableforemployees’actionssuchasviolationsofcopyrightlaws,

thedistributionofoffensiveorgraphicsexualmaterial,andillegal

disclosureofconfidentialinformation(312).

ENTRY IN THE LIST OF WORKS CITED

Kesan,JayP.“Cyber-WorkingorCyber-Shirking?AFirstPrinciples

ExaminationofElectronicPrivacyintheWorkplace.”Florida

Law Review54.2(2002):289-332.Print.

Th is basic MLA format varies for diff erent types of sources. For a detailed discussion of other models, see 59.

Making the most of your handbookWhen you use exact language from a source, you need to show that it is a quotation.

▶ Quotation marks for direct quotations: 37a

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57b Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism

57b  Enclose borrowed language in quotation marks.

To indicate that you are using a source’s exact phrases or sen-tences, you must enclose them in quotation marks unless they have been set off from the text by indenting (see p. 471). To omit the quotation marks is to claim — falsely — that the language is your own. Such an omission is plagiarism even if you have cited the source.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

Without adequate discipline, the World Wide Web can be a tremendous time sink; no other medium comes close to matching the Internet’s depth of materials, interactivity, and sheer distractive potential. — Frederick Lane, The Naked Employee, p. 142

PLAGIARISM

FrederickLanepointsoutthatifpeopledonothaveadequate

discipline,theWorldWideWebcanbeatremendoustimesink;

noothermediumcomesclosetomatchingtheInternet’sdepthof

materials,interactivity,andsheerdistractivepotential(142).

BORROWED LANGUAGE IN QUOTATION MARKS

FrederickLanepointsoutthatforthosenotexercisingself-control,

“theWorldWideWebcanbeatremendoustimesink;noother

mediumcomesclosetomatchingtheInternet’sdepthofmaterials,

interactivity,andsheerdistractivepotential”(142).

57c  Put summaries and paraphrases in your own words.

A summary condenses information from a source; a paraphrase conveys the information using roughly the same number of words as the original source. When you summarize or paraphrase, it is not enough to name the source; you must restate the source’s meaning using your own language. (See also 55c.) You commit plagiarism if you half-copy the author’s sentences — either by mixing the author’s phrases with your own without using quota-tion marks or by plugging your synonyms into the author’s sen-tence structure.

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57cborrowed ideas, language • quotation marks •

summarizing • paraphrasing • using your own words

The first paraphrase of the following source is plagia-rized — even though the source is cited — because too much of its language is borrowed from the original. The highlighted strings of words have been copied exactly (without quotation marks). In addition, the writer has closely echoed the sentence structure of the source, merely substituting some synonyms (restricted for limited, modern era for computer age, monitoring for surveillance, and inexpensive for cheap).

ORIGINAL SOURCE

In earlier times, surveillance was limited to the information that a supervisor could observe and record firsthand and to primitive counting devices. In the computer age surveillance can be instantaneous, unblinking, cheap, and, maybe most importantly, easy. — Carl Botan and Mihaela Vorvoreanu, “What Do Employees Think about Electronic Surveillance at Work?,” p. 126

PLAGIARISM: UNACCEPTABLE BORROWING

ScholarsCarlBotanandMihaelaVorvoreanuarguethatinearlier

timesmonitoringofemployeeswasrestrictedtotheinformationthat

asupervisorcouldobserveandrecordfirsthand.Inthemodernera,

monitoringcanbeinstantaneous,inexpensive,and,mostimportantly,

easy(126).

To avoid plagiarizing an author’s language, resist the tempta-tion to look at the source while you are summarizing or para-phrasing. After you have read the original passage, set the source aside. Ask yourself, “What is the author’s meaning?” In your own words, state the author’s basic point. Return to the source and check that you haven’t used the author’s language or sentence structure or misrepresented the author’s ideas. When you fully understand another writer’s meaning, you can more easily and accurately present those ideas in your own words.

ACCEPTABLE PARAPHRASE

ScholarsCarlBotanandMihaelaVorvoreanuclaimthatthenature

ofworkplacesurveillancehaschangedovertime.Beforethe

arrivalofcomputers,managerscouldcollectonlysmallamounts

ofinformationabouttheiremployeesbasedonwhattheysawor

heard.Now,becausecomputersarestandardworkplacetechnology,

employerscanmonitoremployeesefficiently(126).

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57c Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism

Internettechnologyhasmadeitpossibleforextremistgroupstorecruitandtrainmembersandcarryoutterroristactivity.ThemembershipofthesegroupsreachesbeyondlocalgeographicareasbecauseoftheWeb.Theworldhasbecomeacacophonyofparochialismswhereindividualsseekassociationwithcoreligionistsinamystiqueofparticipation.Combatingtheinfluencesofthesegroupsisnowharderthanever.

Revising with commentsYour words?UNDERSTANDING THE COMMENT

When a teacher or tutor asks “Your words?” the comment oft en signals that it’s unclear whether certain words you’ve used are your own or those of your sources.

Part of this paragraph doesn’t sound like the student’s voice. To revise, the student must determine which words are his own and which come from sources he consulted. If he chooses to include words or ideas from a source, he’ll need to decide if he wants to quote, summarize, or paraphrase the source. He’ll also need to properly cite the source in his paper.

SIMILAR COMMENTS: source? � quotation? � who’s talking here?

REVISING WHEN YOUR READERS WONDER WHOSE WORDS THEY’RE READING

1. Reread your sentences to see if you have clearly marked the bound-aries between your source material and your own words. Is every word your own? Or have you borrowed words from sources without properly acknowledging them?

2. Use signal phrases to introduce each source and provide context. Doing so prepares readers for a source’s words.

3. Use quotation marks to enclose language that you borrow word-for-word from a source, and follow each quotation with a parenthetical citation.

4. Put summaries and paraphrases in your own words and always cite your sources.

More advice on citing quotations, paraphrases, and summaries: 57, 58 (MLA) and 62, 63 (APA)

One student wrote this body paragraph in a research paper on the Internet’s role in facilitating terrorism.

Your words?

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58ausing your own words • using quotations • accuracy

Integrating sources58Quotations, summaries, paraphrases, and facts will help you de-velop your argument, but they cannot speak for you. You can use several strategies to integrate information from research sources into your paper while maintaining your own voice.

58a  Use quotations appropriately.

In your academic writing, keep the emphasis on your ideas and your language; use your own words to summarize and to para-phrase your sources and to explain your points. Sometimes, however, quotations can be the most eff ective way to integrate a source’s ideas.

Limiting your use of quotations

Although it is tempting to insert many quotations in your paper and to use your own words only for connecting passages, do not quote excessively. It is almost impossible to integrate numerous quotations smoothly into your own text.

WHEN TO USE QUOTATIONS

• When language is especially vivid or expressive• When exact wording is needed for technical accuracy• When it is important to let the debaters of an issue explain

their positions in their own words• When the words of an authority lend weight to an argument• When the language of a source is the topic of your

discussion (as in an analysis or interpretation)

It is not always necessary to quote full sentences from a source. To reduce your reliance on the words of others, you can oft en integrate language from a source into your own sentence structure.

KizzaandSsanyuobservethattechnologyintheworkplacehasbeen

accompaniedby“anarrayofproblemsthatneededquickanswers,”

suchaselectronicmonitoringtopreventsecuritybreaches(4).

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58a Integrating sources

Using the ellipsis mark and brackets

Two useful marks of punctuation, the ellipsis mark and brackets, allow you to keep quoted material to a minimum and to integrate it smoothly into your text.

The  ellipsis  mark To condense a quoted passage, you can use the ellipsis mark (three periods, with spaces between) to indicate that you have left words out. What remains must be grammati-cally complete.

Laneacknowledgesthelegitimatereasonsthatmanycompanies

haveformonitoringtheiremployees’onlineactivities,particularly

management’sconcernaboutpreventing“thetheftofinformation

thatcanbedownloadedtoa...disk,e-mailedtooneself...,or

evenpostedtoaWebpagefortheentireworldtosee”(12).

The writer has omitted from the source the words floppy or Zip before disk and or a confederate after oneself.

On the rare occasions when you want to leave out one or more full sentences, use a period before the three ellipsis dots.

CharlesLewis,directoroftheCenterforPublicIntegrity,pointsout

that“by1987,employerswereadministeringnearly2,000,000

polygraphtestsayeartojobapplicantsandemployees....

Millionsofworkerswererequiredtoproduceurinesamplesunder

observationfordrugtesting...”(22).

Ordinarily, do not use an ellipsis mark at the beginning or at the end of a quotation. Your readers will understand that the quoted material is taken from a longer passage, so such marks are not necessary. The only exception occurs when you have dropped words at the end of the final quoted sentence. In such cases, put three ellipsis dots before the closing quotation mark and paren-thetical reference, as in the previous example.

Make sure omissions and ellipsis marks do not distort the meaning of your source.

Brackets  Brackets allow you to insert your own words into quoted material. You can insert words in brackets to clarify a confusing reference or to keep a sentence grammatical in your context. You also use brackets to indicate that you are changing a letter from capital to lowercase (or vice versa) to fit into your sentence.

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58aellipsis mark (dots) • brackets • changing quoted text •

[sic] • indenting quotations • long quotations

LegalscholarJayKesannotesthat“[a]decadeago,losses[from

employees’computercrimes]werealreadymountingtofivebillion

dollarsannually”(311).

This quotation began A decade ago . . . in the source, so the writer indicated the change to lowercase with brackets and inserted words in brackets to clarify the meaning of losses.

To indicate an error such as a misspelling in a quotation, in-sert the word “sic” in brackets right after the error.

Johnsonarguesthat“whileonlinemonitoringisoftenimaginedas

harmles[sic],thepracticemaywellthreatenemployees’rightsto

privacy”(14).

Setting off long quotations

When you quote more than four typed lines of prose or more than three lines of poetry, set off the quotation by indenting it one inch from the left margin.

Long quotations should be introduced by an informative sentence, usually followed by a colon. Quotation marks are un-necessary because the indented format tells readers that the pas-sage is taken word-for-word from the source.

BotanandVorvoreanuexaminetheroleofgenderincompany

practicesofelectronicsurveillance:

Therehasneverbeenaccuratedocumentationoftheextent

ofgenderdifferencesinsurveillance,butbythemiddle

1990s,estimatesoftheproportionofsurveilledemployees

thatwerewomenrangedfrom75%to85%....Ironically,

thisgenderimbalanceinworkplacesurveillancemay

beeveningouttodaybecauseadvancesinsurveillance

technologyaremakingsurveillanceoftraditionallymale

dominatedfields,suchaslong-distancetruckdriving,cheap,

easy,andfrequentlyunobtrusive.(127)

Notice that at the end of an indented quotation the par-enthetical citation goes outside the final mark of punctuation. (When a quotation is run into your text, the opposite is true. See the sample citations on p. 470.)

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58a Integrating sources

Atthestory’send,EdnaPontellierisdescribedasa“naked...new-borncreature”who,intheactofendingherownlife,isexperiencingakindofre-birth.

Revising with commentsCite your sourcesUNDERSTANDING THE COMMENT

When a teacher or tutor responds “Cite your sources,” the comment oft en signals that you need to acknowledge and properly credit the contributions of others.

Th e student has borrowed language from both a primary source and a secondary source without proper citation. To revise, she needs to con-sult her notes or return to the novel to locate the exact page number for the quotation she uses. In addition, she needs to include quotation marks around the words “a kind of re-birth,” which come from a sec-ondary source, and to provide a parenthetical citation.

SIMILAR COMMENTS: cite this � documentation � source?

REVISING WHEN YOU NEED TO CITE YOUR SOURCES

1. Reread your sentence and ask questions. Have you properly acknowl-edged all the contributions — words, ideas, or facts — that you use as evidence? Have you given credit to the sources you quote, summa-rize, or paraphrase? Have you made it clear to readers how to locate the source if they want to consult it?

2. Ask your instructor which documentation style you are required to use — MLA, APA, or Chicago.

3. Read your notes or check the source itself to fi nd the exact words. Make sure you have the author’s name, the title, the date of publica-tion, and the page number for each source you cite.

4. Revise by including an in-text citation for any words, ideas, or facts that you used as evidence — and by including quotation marks around any language borrowed word-for-word from a source.

More on citing sources: 59 (MLA) and 64 (APA)

One student wrote this sentence in an essay interpreting Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening.Cite your

sources

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58bciting sources • signal phrases •

introducing sources • verbs in signal phrases

58b  Use signal phrases to integrate sources.

Whenever you include a paraphrase, summary, or direct quo-tation of another writer in your paper, prepare your readers for it with introductory words called a signal phrase. A sig-nal phrase usually names the author of the source and often provides some context. It commonly appears before the source material. To vary your sentence structure, you may decide to in-terrupt source material with a signal phrase or place the signal phrase after your paraphrase, summary, or quotation.

When you write a signal phrase, choose a verb that is ap-propriate for the way you are using the source (see 56c). Are you providing background, explaining a concept, supporting a claim, lending authority, or refuting a belief? See the chart on this page for a list of verbs commonly used in signal phrases.

Using signal phrases in MLA papers

To avoid monotony, try to vary both the language and the placement of your signal phrases.

Model signal phrases

In the words of researchers Greenfield and Davis, “. . .”

As legal scholar Jay Kesan has noted, “. . .”

The ePolicy Institute, an organization that advises companies about reducing risks from technology, reports that “. . .”

“. . . ,” writes Daniel Tynan, “. . .”

“. . . ,” attorney Schmitt claims.

Kizza and Ssanyu offer a persuasive counterargument: “. . .”

Verbs in signal phrases

acknowledges comments endorses reasonsadds compares grants refutesadmits confirms illustrates rejectsagrees contends implies reportsargues declares insists respondsasserts denies notes suggestsbelieves disputes observes thinksclaims emphasizes points out writes

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58b Integrating sources

NOTE: MLA style calls for verbs in the present or present perfect tense (argues, has argued ) to introduce source material unless you include a date that specifies the time of the original author’s writing.

Marking boundaries

Readers need to move from your words to the words of a source without feeling a jolt. Avoid dropping quotations into the text without warning. Instead, provide clear signal phrases, including at least the author’s name, to indicate the boundary between your words and the source’s words. (The signal phrase is highlighted in the second example.)

DROPPED QUOTATION

Someexpertshavearguedthatarangeoflegitimateconcerns

justifiesemployermonitoringofemployeeInternetusage.

“Employeescouldaccidentally(ordeliberately)spillconfidential

corporateinformation...orallowwormstospreadthroughouta

corporatenetwork”(Tynan).

QUOTATION WITH SIGNAL PHRASE

Someexpertshavearguedthatarangeoflegitimateconcerns

justifiesemployermonitoringofemployeeInternetusage.

AsPC WorldcolumnistDanielTynanpointsout,“Employees

couldaccidentally(ordeliberately)spillconfidentialcorporate

information...orallowwormstospreadthroughoutacorporate

network.”

NOTE: Because this quotation is from an unpaginated Web source, no page number appears in parentheses after the quota-tion. See item 4 on page 482.

Establishing authority

Good research writing uses evidence from reliable sources. The first time you mention a source, include in the signal phrase the author’s title, credentials, or experience — anything that would help your readers recognize the source’s authority. (Signal phrases are highlighted in the next two examples.)

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58bsignal phrases • avoiding dropped quotations •

author’s expertise • summaries and paraphrases

SOURCE WITH NO CREDENTIALS

JayKesanpointsoutthatthelawholdsemployersliablefor

employees’actionssuchasviolationsofcopyrightlaws,the

distributionofoffensiveorgraphicsexualmaterial,andillegal

disclosureofconfidentialinformation(312).

SOURCE WITH CREDENTIALS

LegalscholarJayKesanpointsoutthatthelawholdsemployers

liableforemployees’actionssuchasviolationsofcopyrightlaws,

thedistributionofoffensiveorgraphicsexualmaterial,andillegal

disclosureofconfidentialinformation(312).

When you establish your source’s authority, as with the phrase Legal scholar in the previous example, you also signal to readers your own credibility as a responsible researcher who has located reliable sources.

Introducing summaries and paraphrases

Introduce most summaries and paraphrases with a signal phrase that names the author and places the material in the context of your argument. (See also 58c and 60b.) Readers will then understand that everything between the signal phrase and the parenthetical citation summarizes or paraphrases the cited source.

Without the signal phrase (highlighted) in the following ex-ample, readers might think that only the quotation at the end is being cited, when in fact the whole paragraph is based on the source.

FrederickLanebelievesthatthepersonalcomputerhasposed

newchallengesforemployersworriedaboutworkplaceproductivity.

Whereasearlydesktopcomputerswereprimitiveenoughtoprevent

employeesfromusingthemtowastetime,themachineshavebecome

sosophisticatedthattheynowmakenon-work-relatedcomputer

activitieseasyandinviting.Manyemployeesspendconsiderable

companytimecustomizingfeaturesandplayinggamesontheir

computers.Butperhapsmostproblematicfromtheemployer’spointof

view,Laneasserts,isgivingemployeesaccesstotheInternet,“roughly

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Integrating sources58b

theequivalentofinstallingagazillion-channeltelevisionsetfor

eachemployee”(15-16).

There are times when a summary or a paraphrase does not require a signal phrase. When the context makes clear where the cited material begins, you may omit the signal phrase and in-clude the author’s last name in parentheses.

Using signal phrases with statistics and other facts

When you are citing a statistic or another specific fact, a sig-nal phrase is often not necessary. In most cases, readers will understand that the citation refers to the statistic or fact (not the whole paragraph).

Roughly60%ofrespondingcompaniesreporteddisciplining

employeeswhohadusedtheInternetinwaysthecompanies

deemedinappropriate;30%hadfiredtheiremployeesforthose

transgressions(GreenfieldandDavis347).

There is nothing wrong, however, with using a signal phrase to introduce a statistic or fact.

Putting source material in context

Readers should not have to guess why source material appears in your paper. A signal phrase can help you make the connection between your own ideas and those of another writer by clarifying how the source will contribute to your paper (see 54a).

If you use another writer’s words, you must explain how they relate to your point. It’s a good idea to embed a quotation be-tween sentences of your own. In addition to introducing it with a signal phrase, follow it with interpretive comments that link the quotation to your paper’s argument (see also 58c).

QUOTATION WITH EFFECTIVE CONTEXT

Thedifference,Laneargues,betweenoldmethodsofdatagathering

andelectronicsurveillanceinvolvesquantity:

Technologymakesitpossibleforemployerstogather

enormousamountsofdataaboutemployees,oftenfar

beyondwhatisnecessarytosatisfysafetyorproductivity

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477

MLA

58csignal phrases • with facts • to connect ideas •

synthesis • working with two or more sources

PRACTICE  hackerhandbooks.com/rules > MLA > 58–1 to 58–4

concerns. And the trends that drive technology—faster,

smaller, cheaper—make it possible for larger and larger

numbers of employers to gather ever-greater amounts of

personal data. (3-4)

In an age when employers can collect data whenever employees

use their computers—when they send e-mail, surf the Web, or

even arrive at or depart from their workstations—the challenge

for both employers and employees is to determine how much is

too much.

58c  Synthesize sources.

When you synthesize multiple sources in a research paper, you create a conversation about your research topic. You show readers how the ideas of one source relate to those of another by connecting and analyzing the ideas in the context of your argument. Keep the emphasis on your own writing. The thread of your argument should be easy to identify and to understand, with or without your sources.

SAMPLE SYNTHESIS (DRAFT)

Productivity is not easily measured in the wired

workplace. As a result, employers find it difficult

to determine how much freedom to allow their

employees. On the one hand, computers and

Internet access give employees powerful tools to

carry out their jobs; on the other hand, the same

technology offers constant temptations to avoid

work. As a 2005 study by Salary.com and America

Online indicates, the Internet ranked as the top

choice among employees for ways of wasting

time on the job (Frauenheim). Chris Gonsalves,

an editor for eWeek.com, argues that technology

has changed the terms between employers and

Student writer Anna Orlov begins with a claim that needs support.

Signal phrases indicate how sources contribute to Orlov’s paper and show that the ideas that follow are not her own.

Student writer

Source 1

Source 2

•

•

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478

MLA

58c Integrating sources

employees: “While bosses can easily detect

and interrupt water-cooler chatter,” he writes,

“the employee who is shopping at Lands’ End or

IMing with fellow fantasy baseball managers may

actually appear to be working.” The gap between

observable behaviors and actual online activities

has motivated some employers to invest in

surveillance programs.

Many experts, however, disagree with

employers’ assumption that online monitoring can

increase productivity. Employment law attorney

Joseph Schmitt argues that, particularly for

salaried employees, “a company shouldn’t care

whether employees spend one or 10 hours on the

Internet as long as they are getting their jobs

done—and provided that they are not accessing

inappropriate sites” (qtd. in Verespej). Other

experts even argue that time spent on personal

Internet browsing can actually be productive

for companies. According to Bill Coleman, an

executive at Salary.com, “Personal Internet use

and casual office conversations often turn into

new business ideas or suggestions for gaining

operating efficiencies” (qtd. in Frauenheim).

Employers, in other words, may benefit from

showing more faith in their employees’ ability to

exercise their autonomy.

In this draft, Orlov uses her own analyses to shape the con-versation among her sources. She does not simply string quota-tions together or allow her sources to overwhelm her writing. The final sentence, written in her own voice, gives her an oppor-tunity to explain to readers how the various sources support her argument.

When synthesizing sources, ask yourself the following questions:

Source 2

Orlov presents a counterposition to extend her argument.

Orlov builds her case — each quoted passage offers a more detailed claim or example in support of her larger claim.

Source 3

Student writer

Source 4

Student writer

Student writer

•

•

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