Integrating Sources

Once you know what job a source is doing and you've checked it against CRAAP, you still have to get it into your essay. You have two tools: quoting and paraphrasing. Most of what you cite should be paraphrased — quoting is the exception, not the default.

When to Quote vs. Paraphrase

Quote when:

• The language itself — the way it's written — is meaningful, not just what it says
• You want to show the writer's bias or exact stance (common with Argument sources)
• You can't paraphrase it without losing the meaning or making it a lot longer

Paraphrase when:

• The idea matters more than the exact wording (true for most Background and Evidence)
• You're citing information, a statistic, or a straightforward fact

If you're quoting for information, a stat, or an idea rather than for the language itself, stop — paraphrase instead.

Quoting

Keep quotes short. Phrases and clauses woven into your own sentence are almost always better than a full quoted sentence, and a full quoted sentence is almost always better than a block quote. Avoid block quotes.

Never let a quotation sit alone in your paragraph with no introduction — that's called a floating quotation, and it leaves your reader unsure whether it connects to what came before or starts a new idea.

Three ways to integrate a quote into your sentence

1. Sentence fragment + tag + comma. Works like dialogue in a story — the quotation must be a complete sentence, capitalized as in the original. Use active verbs in your tag (writes, argues, insists) rather than a verbless phrase like "for example."
   After Nick scolds her for driving recklessly, Jordan replies, "It takes two to make an accident" (Fitzgerald 59).
2. Complete sentence + colon. Your own sentence makes a claim, then the colon introduces the quotation as support. The quotation is usually a full sentence, capitalized as in the original.
   Jake's first description of Brett Ashley shows her to embody the boyish sensuality of the 1920s: "Brett was damn good-looking. She wore a slipover jersey sweater and a tweed skirt, and her hair was brushed back like a boy's" (Hemingway 30).
3. Key words or phrases woven into your own grammar. Punctuate normally — no special punctuation needed. This is usually the strongest option, since you keep only the language worth quoting and drop the rest.
   Although she is often asking Jake for money, Lady Brett Ashley has a title and is "of very good family" (Hemingway 59).

Paraphrasing

To paraphrase ethically — without drifting into plagiarism — it's not enough to swap a few words. You have to change the whole way the idea is expressed.

Before you write

1. Chunk the passage into pieces of information or ideas.
2. Highlight what's actually relevant to your point — you don't need every detail from the original.
3. Set the original text aside so you're not looking at it while you write. This keeps you from accidentally copying its sentence structure or order of ideas.

Strategies while writing

• Reverse the order of ideas — start with something that came later in the original.
• Combine sentences, or turn one sentence into a phrase or dependent clause.
• Reverse the syntax — start with what was at the end.
• Shorten — replace phrases with single words, clauses with phrases.
• Convert fractions to percentages or vice versa.
• Generalize specific data where precision isn't essential (57% becomes "just over half").

Establishing Context and Credibility

When you introduce a source, you're doing one or both of two things: telling your reader why they should trust what's coming, and showing them where this information fits into your argument. Not every introduction needs to do both — but before you write one, it helps to know which job it's doing.

Start by asking: what kind of information is this?

• Background — usually no attribution needed. The information matters, not who said it.
  Many schools have adopted phone-locking pouches as an alternative to outright bans.
• Evidence — attribution usually matters, because who produced the data affects how much your reader should trust it.
  A team of Stanford researchers found that...
• Argument — attribution matters most here. Your reader needs to know whose position this is.
  Parent advocate Maria Alvarez argues...

What to include, when you do attribute

The author's relevant credential, or the publication/organization — not the title of the work itself. A study's full title or an op-ed's headline clutters the sentence and rarely helps your reader.

How much to include is a judgment call

A widely known, obviously credible outlet needs less spelled out. A less familiar name needs more — tell your reader the role or affiliation that makes this person worth listening to.