The document provides guidelines on integrating outside material into academic writing, emphasizing the use of signal phrases to clarify the distinction between the writer and the source. It advises against over-quoting, which can weaken arguments, and suggests quoting sparingly to support points effectively. The document also discusses the importance of introducing and explaining quotes to ensure clarity and maintain flow in writing.

1. Integrating Outside Material--
Practicing CONVENTIONS of Academic Writing
Portions of this presentation are adapted from:
•The Writing Resources Center: http://wrc.uncc.edu/
•They Say/I Say:The Moves that Matter in AcademicWriting, 1st
ed., pp. 39-47, by
Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein.
•DePaul University School for New Learning:Teaching Resources

2. IN-TEXT CITATIONS
Remember that signal phrases (aka author signals) and
hyperlinks with replace in-text citations in your online
work.
•Signal phrases make the distinction between writer and source
clear for the audience.
•Signal Phrases should also be used to introduce direct quotes
and paraphrased material.

3. Acceptable Paraphrase with Author Signal
According to
Lizzie Borden:A Case Book of Family and Crime in the 1
by Williams, Smithburn, and Peterson, Fall River,
where the Borden family lived, was typical of
northeastern industrial cities of the Nineteenth
century. Steam-powered production had shifted
labor from agriculture to manufacturing, and as
immigrants arrived in the U.S. they found work in
these new factories.As a result, populations grew,
and large urban areas arose. Fall River was one of
these manufacturing and commercial centers.
Also includes a signal phrase and an in-text
hyperlink the way you might in your essay.
According to Williams, Smithburn,
and Peterson, Fall River, where the
Borden family lived, was typical of
northeastern industrial cities of the
Nineteenth century. Steam-powered
production had shifted labor from
agriculture to manufacturing, and as
immigrants arrived in the U.S. they
found work in these new factories.
As a result, populations grew, and
large urban areas arose. Fall River
was one of these manufacturing and
commercial centers.
Original Text

4. Signal Phrase vs. No Signal Phrase
Sample 1--
No signal phrase:
The merits of cancer screening must be reappraised.
Revised with signal phrase:
Doctors may conclude that the merits of cancer screening must be reappraised.
Sample 2--
No signal phrase:
However, the merits of cancer screening are currently debated by new data.“Yearly prostate exams are not nearly as
effective at reducing the risk of dying of prostate cancer as most men think.”
Revised with signal phrase:
However, the merits of cancer screening are currently debated by new data. According to Dr. Dan Boyd, the
director of cancer research at the Charlotte Clinic, who just produced one of the new studies on
cancer screening,“yearly prostate exams are not nearly as effective at reducing the risk of dying of prostate cancer
as most men think.”
It isn’t clear if the claim here is
from the source or from the writer.
It isn’t clear why a quote is starting or
where it’s coming from.

5. 1. Vary signal phrase verbs for flow and reader interest.
• avoids the “listy” effect
2. Choose verbs that appropriately characterizes the context of the idea being
borrowed.
Examples of Signal Phrases--
As Smith noted, …
Jones concluded…
According to Stevens, …
McHugh contrasted this idea…
Moreover, Smith added…
Elliot and Pruett argued…
Choosing Signal Phrases

6. Here’s How it Looks…
Remember this from your LOI proposal?

7. INTEGRATING
OUTSIDE
MATERIAL

8. Proportion: Using Quotations Sparingly
 Novice writers may be tempted to:
 Over-quote
 Quote too little
 Quote for the wrong purposes
 Quote the wrong type of material
 Over-quoting weakens argument and/or a sense of engagement:
 The essay tends to ramble and lack focus.
 The ideas and flow become choppy if unnecessary material interrupts main
ideas or too many different writing styles are combined.
 If the writing is meant to be persuasive, the author may inadvertently reveal
a very unpersuasive lack of self-confidence.

9. Proportion: Using Quotations Sparingly
1. Quote only the parts of others’ writing that relate to your point, never for
“filler” or “padding”.
Don’t use quotes just to show you’ve read something or for the sake of having a
quote.This can actually hurt your writing… and your grade on a paper. Not
just any outside material is “quote-worthy.”
1. Quote when necessary to--
1) establish authority from an expert
2) make a clarification or give an example
3) provide context
4) pinpoint a controversy
5) create a dramatic effect or showcase eloquence

10. Proportion: Using Quotations Sparingly
3. Don’t rely on quotes to speak for you.You should be able to lift direct quotes
out of your text and still have the text make sense.
• Relying on quotes happens when writers haven’t really read a text closely
enough to be able to talk about it in their words.
3. Often, you only need to paraphrase ideas in order to discuss them.
• Remember the 10% tip from earlier. It’s not a rule, just a general guideline to help you check for
excessive quoting.

11. Dangling Quotes (AKA Hit and Run
Quotes)
• “Dangling” or “Hit and Run” quotes happen when
material appears SPLAT!!! in the middle of the paper
without being introduced or explained.
• These types of quotes confuse the reader and
disrupt the flow.
• This is point in the paper that makes the reader
think,“Huh?”

12. Integrating Outside Material
When incorporating outside material, the FramingTechnique can situate outside
material into your text clearly:
Introduce the material.
Give the quote or paraphrase.
Explain the material.
Remember, as always, this is not an exact formula or rule; the order can be switched
up and played with as you practice, and should eventually become a habit of thinking.
For instance, explanation can often come first and will often be meshed in with
paraphrasing.
What this does is help you think about what you need to include for the reader.

13. Introducing material
Be a good host.
Imagine the writing situation as an event where the guests don’t know each other and
you are the host.
It’s your responsibility to introduce them to each other and to be fair and
courteous to everyone.
Remember--
1.You are the mediator between your sources and your audience.
2.Your reader has not done your research and is unfamiliar with certain aspects of the
issue or the immediate source that you may take for granted.
3.You want to invite curiosity, but you don’t want readers to have to leave your essay
to find out something they need to know.

14. Things your reader does not know:
Often the necessary information is summative information about the source’s
context or writing situation--
Where the material comes from: the author or publisher, what their background
is, why they should be trusted, how their expertise relates to the topic.
General Context or purpose of the source: Conditions or results of a study, the
perspective the author has on the topic, etc.
Specific Context– Which part of the source you are pulling the information from

15. Explaining the Material
How you explain the material is one of the key ways “your voice” starts to
come in. It’s where you connect the dots for the reader.
Consider some of the following--
• Are there terms, language, or wording that you understand that the reader
may not?
• Does the information prove a certain point or perspective from your
research?
• What do you think this information reveals about the issue that you want
the reader to pick up on as well?

16. Remember—
•Make sure the reader knows what the information or claim means.
•Readers interpret material differently and may not infer the same things
you infer, even when you are reading the same text, looking at the
same statistic, etc.
• Tell readers how they should be reading or interpreting the material. Tell
them what they are supposed to “get from it” or “realize” about the issue
based on it.
•When offering a direct quote, your explanation is the “telling” that
supports the information you are “showing.”
Remember: If it doesn’t need explanation and/or
commentary, then it’s likely not worth incorporating,
especially quoting.
Explaining the Material

17. Examples of Explaining Outside
Material
• Basically, X is affirming _____________.
• In other words, X believes _________.
• In making this comment, X argues that ________.
• X is insisting that __________.
• X’s point is that ___________.
• The essence of X’s argument is that __________.

18. Example 1
Original:
• Martin Luther King knew how to skillfully appeal to his
audience in “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” For example, he
writes: "In your statement you assert that our actions, even
though peaceful, must be condemned because they
precipitate violence…Isn’t this like condemning Jesus
because his unique God-consciousness and never-ceasing
devotion to God’s will precipitated the evil act of
crucifixion?" (527).

19. Revised
Martin Luther King knew how to skillfully appeal to his
audience in “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” He understood that
his audience, eight clergymen whose life’s purpose was to
serve God, would understand and relate to religious
references. For example, at one point King uses a particular
religious reference to counter the clergymen’s claim that the
actions of King and his followers, while nonviolent, must be
denounced because they eventually incite violence in others.
Specifically, King asserts:“Isn’t this like condemning Jesus
because his unique God-consciousness and never-ceasing
devotion to God’s will precipitated the evil act of crucifixion?”
(527). King’s audience will likely understand and relate to this
analogy, rendering King’s argument more credible to his
readers.

20. Example 2
Susan Bordo writes about women and dieting: “Fiji is just one
example. Until television was introduced in 1995, the islands
had no reported cases of eating disorders. In 1998, three
years after programs from the United States and Britain
began broadcasting there, 62 percent of the girls surveyed
reported dieting.”

21. Revised
The feminist philosopher Susan Bordo deplores the hold that the
Western obsession with dieting has on women. Her basic argument is that
increasing numbers of women across the globe are being led to see
themselves as fat and in need of a diet. Citing the island of Fiji as a case in
point, Bordo notes that “until television was introduced in 1995, the islands
had no reported cases of eating disorders. In 1998, three years after
programs from the United States and Britain begun broadcasting there, 62
percent of the girls surveyed reported dieting” (149-50). Bordo’s point is
that the West’s obsession with dieting is spreading even to remote places
across the globe. Ultimately, Bordo complains, the culture of dieting will find
you, regardless of where you live.

22. Framing Practice
SCENARIO: You’re writing a paper for class claiming that students and faculty on campus
should get a flu shot. Below is a direct quote from one of Miss Eaker’s students from an
interview you conducted. During the interview, the student also reveals that she believes
everyone should get a flu shot.
Original Material (Direct Quote):“Miss Eaker’s class was canceled lastTuesday because she came
down with the flu, and it was the class before our assignment was due. I sent her an email about
the questions I had, but I wasn’t able to show her the paper.”
Student Interviewed: Jennifer Pooler
DIRECTIONS: Use the FramingTechnique to integrate this quote into a paragraph
that introduces the material and then explains it (how you interpret the info, how you
think it relates to the issue, what it reveals about the issue, how it supports your
perspective.)

23. Example
During my research, I came to believe that flu shots are necessary during the flu
season for everyone on campus.When I interviewed a UNCC student, Jennifer
Pooler, she explained that she believes everyone on campus should get a flu shot; she
told me about her teacher, Miss Eaker, having to cancel class because she came down
with the flu. In my interview with her, Pooler stated: “Miss Eaker’s class was canceled
lastTuesday because she came down with the flu, and it was the class before our assignment
was due. I sent her an email about the questions I had, but I wasn’t able to show her the
paper.” What this shows is that Pooler would have had access to more efficient and
effective help that the instructor taken more precautionary health measures.
Furthermore, this is probably not the only instance of classes being canceled or
students missing class because of the flu.This helps to demonstrate that classes
would flow more smoothly and time could be saved for both students and professors
if they were not affected by the flu. In the end, the result would very likely be better
education and student satisfaction.

24. Example (WITH PARAPHRASE)
During my research, I came to believe that flu shots are necessary during the flu
season for everyone on campus.When I interviewed a UNCC student, Jennifer
Pooler, she explained that she believes everyone on campus should get a flu shot;
she told me about her teacher, Miss Eaker, having to cancel class because she
came down with the flu.The class had a paper due, and although Miss Eaker was
available via email, Jennifer was unable to have her professor read the paper
ahead of time like she had planned.What this shows is that Pooler would have
had access to more efficient and effective help that the instructor taken more
precautionary health measures. Furthermore, this is probably not the only
instance of classes being canceled or students missing class because of the flu.
This helps to demonstrate that classes would flow more smoothly and time
could be saved for both students and professors if they were not affected by the
flu. In the end, the result would very likely be better education and student
satisfaction.