One student's notes on using sources

One student’s notes on using sources

As you plan your writing, you will need to think through the kinds of sources that will help you fulfill your purpose most effectively. The following are notes that one student took as she planned a paper.

Purpose: to persuade

My argument: that public funding for the arts should be granted on artistic merit alone and not on so-called decency standards

Sources I could use for background/context:

  • 1998 Supreme Court decision (National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley)
  • First Amendment

Sources that support my argument:

  • interviews of controversial artists Karen Finley and Tim Miller

Source that represents an alternative viewpoint:

  • passages from a profile of conservative North Carolina senator Jesse Helms

With her overall purpose in mind, the student judged each source according to the specific role it would play in her argument.