Since you will be quoting from several works, you have to keep track of your sources for your reader. In timed situations, you’ll probably include only the source number or the author’s name in parentheses after the quotation or paraphrase, as shown below:
Recent research reveals that many (“probably the vast majority”) of very high-achieving high school students from low-income families do not even apply to selective colleges; in fact, only 8 percent of these students apply to a variety of schools that include high reach and so-called “safe” choices, while 35 percent of their middle-income counterparts and 64 percent of high-income students apply to the full range (Hoxby and Avery).
You need to cite the source of paraphrases as well as direct quotations. Any time you use other people’s ideas, you must give them credit.
Another, more elegant option is to mention the author and title of the work in the sentence introducing or including the quotation:
In their study published in 2013, researchers Caroline Hoxby and Christopher Avery report that only 8 percent of high-achieving students from low-income families apply to a variety of colleges, including selective institutions and so-called “safe” choices, while 35 percent of their middle-income counterparts and 64 percent of high-income students apply to the full range.
If you are writing a more formal research paper, you will likely need to follow Modern Language Association (MLA) documentation procedures, including providing a works cited page. Ask your teacher if you are unclear about what is required for an assignment. Guidelines for MLA documentation appear in the back of this book.
As you go through the readings and selections in the following chapters, you will join conversations on a range of topics and reflect on and integrate the ideas of writers from different times and places into your own thinking and writing. Each chapter includes three Conversations in which you will practice synthesizing with a series of texts (including visuals) related to the chapter’s readings. You should also be aware of the conversations going on around you all the time. How do people call on sources to reinforce their positions? And how do people enter an ongoing conversation and move it forward?