EXPANDING UPON QUOTATIONS

Karen HornbergerPalisades High School Library

THE BASIS OF IT ALL… While you write a research paper, it can be hard to expand upon expert information that you have provided.

You have created an in-text citation for the expert opinion (BTW, you must cite ALL expert opinion), but you don’t really know what to write now…

Some writers just go from one direct quote to another. Or maybe they go from a direct quote to paraphrased information from a different expert.

This is not okay. When you are doing that, you are essentially just “reporting out” or “curating” information on your topic by selecting what you see as the “best of the best” and leaving it out there for the reader to analyze.

A good research paper analyzes the information in relation to the thesis statement that has been created. The next slides will show you five possible ways to transition from one piece of expert information to another.

FIVE WAYS TO FOLLOW-UP ON QUOTATIONS OR

PARAPHRASED CONTENT

IMPORTANT MESSAGE I have used direct quotations throughout this slideshow, however you should follow up ANY piece of expert information whether it is a direct quote, indirect quote, paraphrased, etc.

You may like it because it will help you lengthen your paper.

FOLLOW-UP #1: TEACH THE READER You can follow a direct quote or paraphrased information from an expert by:

Teaching the reader. For example if you have provided information about something, you can now tell your reader what the implications of the information are that they may not have already considered, themselves.

MLA EXAMPLE: TEACH THE READER Example Quote “Georgia's first major law on police body cameras, which goes into effect July 1, is already in the cross fire. Senate Bill 94 allows police officers to take their body cameras into private dwellings. Previously, police had to request the permission of the people inside to use the cameras, said the lawmaker behind the measure, Republican Sen. Jesse Stone of Waynesboro”  (Boone and Schneider A1).

MLA EXAMPLE: TEACH THE READER The text may now read… “Georgia's first major law on police body cameras, which goes into effect July 1, is already in the cross fire. Senate Bill 94 allows police officers to take their body cameras into private dwellings. Previously, police had to request the permission of the people inside to use the cameras, said the lawmaker behind the measure, Republican Sen. Jesse Stone of Waynesboro”  (Boone and Schneider A1). While this law protects the police officer in an abundance of ways, the act of taking a body camera into a person’s home may invade the privacy of others that are living in or visiting the home, including children. It would be vital that any videos that would become publicly viewable disguise the identity of any additional people that appear in the video.

FOLLOW-UP #2: UPDATE THE READER You can follow a direct quote or paraphrased information from an expert by: Updating the reader on the current status. For example if you have used information that has a copyright date that is a little old (these days it may even be a matter of days, but it really depends upon the topic you are researching and how active it currently is in the world), the status of the situation may have changed. You may want to research the current standing of what you have just quoted and explain to your reader how the information has changed or evolved.

You will see, in the example, that some quotes just beg for this to be done (you may have noticed the previous example about body cameras does). Even so, many writers do not think to update the reader. Please recognize that the copyright date of the article in the example on the next slide is 2010.

MLA EXAMPLE: UPDATE THE READER Example Quote: “On Aug. 5, Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) introduced S.3728: The Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act. He's got 10 co-sponsors -- including three Republicans -- and a big idea: to extend copyright protections to the fashion industry, where none currently exist. That's right: none. I -- well, not I, but someone who can sew -- can copy Vera Wang's (extremely expensive) dress and sell it to you right now (for much less), and Wang can't do a thing about it”  (Kleine G1).

MLA EXAMPLE: UPDATE THE READER The text may now read…

“On Aug. 5, Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) introduced S.3728: The Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act. He's got 10 co-sponsors -- including three Republicans -- and a big idea: to extend copyright protections to the fashion industry, where none currently exist. That's right: none. I -- well, not I, but someone who can sew -- can copy Vera Wang's (extremely expensive) dress and sell it to you right now (for much less), and Wang can't do a thing about it”  (Kleine G1). Since this article was published in 2010, a look at whether S.3728 passed is essential. Unfortunately, the answer is no, it has not passed. There remains little to no copyright protections to fashion designers. A person can still copy, sew and sell a high-end designer’s fashions, legally.

FOLLOW-UP #3: QUESTION THE READER You can follow a direct quote or paraphrased information from an expert by: Questioning the reader. Maybe you understand the connection and relevance to your research, but your reader may have trouble connecting those dots. If you pose a question, you may get them to think in ways that you need them to begin thinking.

It is even okay if the purpose of the article is fulfilling a different purpose than you would like to fulfill. In my example, it does not matter that the purpose for the original article does focus upon family bonds and hunting. The quoted information successfully supports the thesis statement designed for the research paper.

Warning: use of questions must be limited to VERY few per paper. Do NOT overuse rhetorical questions.

FOLLOW-UP #3: QUESTION THE READER Example Quote: “Almost 60 percent of hunters had a mentor who influenced their interest in hunting, and nearly three-quarters were taught to hunt by their father. In fact, kids interested in hunting said they would much rather go hunting with their father than with friends. And only 2.9 percent of boys hunted if their fathers did not” (Yaich).

MLA EXAMPLE: QUESTION THE READER The text may now read…

“Almost 60 percent of hunters had a mentor who influenced their interest in hunting, and nearly three-quarters were taught to hunt by their father. In fact, kids interested in hunting said they would much rather go hunting with their father than with friends. And only 2.9 percent of boys hunted if their fathers did not” (Yaich). How can hunting help to intensify a family bond and why is a family bond so important? A family bond is important because…

Note: you would go on to explain why a family bond is important and explain how hunting can create a stronger family bond.

FOLLOW-UP #4: COMPARE/CONTRAST You can follow a direct quote or paraphrased information from an expert by:

Comparing/contrasting the information. This is a great technique for when you have previously presented information and the new information offers a different perspective. I often suggest compare/contrast to follow any statistics. With statistics, you can compare/contrast to previous years, compare geographic regions, or compare physical size.

MLA EXAMPLE: COMPARE/CONTRAST Example Quote: “Wealthy tourists are being invited to travel to Botswana to hunt big game on private ranches that have been exempted from the ban. But Bushmen from Botswana’s Central Kalahari Game Reserve, who have hunted with spears, bows and arrows for millennia, are being arrested, beaten and jailed for subsistence hunting” (Clotuche).

MLA EXAMPLE: COMPARE/CONTRAST The text may now read… “Wealthy tourists are being invited to travel to Botswana to hunt big game on private ranches that have been exempted from the ban. But Bushmen from Botswana’s Central Kalahari Game Reserve, who have hunted with spears, bows and arrows for millennia, are being arrested, beaten and jailed for subsistence hunting” (Clotuche). While Bushmen are restricted from hunting big game to provide food for their families, we must compare Botswana’s reliance upon tourism and how this impacts their economy to better understand what seems like an incredibly horrible act upon innocent people.

FOLLOW-UP #5: MAKE AN INFERENCE You can follow a direct quote or paraphrased information from an expert by:

Making an inference. What can you assume from the information provided?

MLA EXAMPLE: INFERENCE Example Quote: “Increasing graduation requirements, all by itself, is unlikely to make students better prepared for college or careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, concludes a new report” (Gewertz).

MLA EXAMPLE: INFERENCE The text may now read… “Increasing graduation requirements, all by itself, is unlikely to make students better prepared for college or careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, concludes a new report” (Gewertz). From this statement, we can assume that students entering STEAM related majors and careers are being undereducated across the nation and that schools must consider providing a number of additional STEAM opportunities for their students.

SUMMING IT UP Teach the reader…to assist the reader in thinking further, gain a clearer understanding, to point out implications.

Update the reader…to give the reader the “state of the topic” – where it stands now.

Question the reader…to lead the reader into a thought process that you’d like them to enter.

Compare/contrast when you want the reader to compare the information to another piece of information that they may be more familiar with.

Make an inference following expert information when an educated assumption can be made that you would like the reader to make.

GOOD LUCK LOCATING THE BEST METHODS TO CONNECT YOUR THESIS

STATEMENT TO EXPERT INFORMATION!

Take your time and do it right!

WORKS CITEDBoone, Christian, and Craig Schneider. "The Promise and Pitfalls of Cops and Cameras." Atlanta Journal-Constitution [Atlanta, GA] 23 May 2015, A1: n. pag. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.Clotuche, Philippe. "Botswana’s Hunting Ban: Bushmen Starve, Trophy Hunters Carry On." Survival. Survival International, 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.Gewertz, Catherine. "Graduation Requirements." Education Week 34.1 (2014): 5. Advanced Placement Source. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.Kleine, Ezra. "In Copycats vs. Copyright, the Knock-Off Wins." Washington Post [Washington, DC] 22 Aug. 2010, G1: n. pag. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.Yaich, Scott. "Passing on the Tradition." Ultimate Waterfowling 360. Ducks Unlimited, July 2010. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.

Note: Slideshare loses the proper formatting (indentations) for the MLA citations during the conversion.