This article, “Annoying Ways People Use Sources”  by Kyle Stedman is itself annoying to, but the information given is also really important! Here, Stedman goes over the common ways new writers misuse or inadequately set up and present quotations. The result is that your audience gets frustrated or confused about what your ideas are.

Remember, right now, we are thinking explicitly about audience. You wrote about your target audience on the Discussion Board on Tuesday. Here, you are also thinking about how to be as clear as possible for your desired audience.

Here is a sentence from one of the “fixes” Stedman’s provides that explicitly lays out the job of incorporating quotations:

“Readers get a sense of pleasure from the safe flow of hear- ing how to read an upcoming quotation, reading it, and then being told one way to interpret it. Prepare, quote, analyze”(Stedman 247).

Stedman, Kyle. “Annoying Ways People Use Sources” Writing Spaces: Readings about Writing, volume 2, 2011.https://wac.colostate.edu/books/writingspaces2/stedman–annoying-ways.pdf.

When you incorporate the outside research you found for Unit 2, remember:

  1. you must “prepare” or set up the quote or reference to another source with a clear transition or citation.
  2. Then you must provide the quote or paraphrase itself, identifying with quotation marks where necessary the information you have referenced
  3. You must provide an analysis of the reference.  This should include a clear indication of how your reference contributes to the topic you are presenting in your project.

Important note: you might be thinking, how do I quote if I’m making a poster or doing a TedTalk? You will have to give your sources’ names and will also provide the Works Cited with your project, so keep this in mind as you are designing your materials. Your audience will still have  to know which sources you are using and when.  On a poster or brochure, you might use a footnote for your audience, so they know what resources they can consult after reading your material. For a TedTalk, state the source name and the original author, so when the source appears in the credits or the citations, they know which one you used.

There is a  lot of information about “misinformation” in our news cycle right now! Notice how important using facts well and providing proof and accurate sources is as you reflect on current issues.  This is true no matter where you might stand on current issues.