Be able to integrate [others’] ideas with those of others using summary, paraphrase, quotation, analysis, and synthesis of relevant sources.
The use of sources as evidence is a highly beneficial way to back up a claim in a paper. I believe that using evidence gathered by other writers helps to persuade the audience that your claim is valid. For example, in my essay titled “Nursing: The Arts & Sciences” (Showcase Writing Project), I successfully selected a quote from the author, Yo-yo Ma that was relevant to my topic and backed up my claim for that specific paragraph. I then integrated that quote by introducing the source and the author. After inserting the quotation, I explained it in light of the topic I was previously discussing.
‘“Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy, and Education” by Yo-yo Ma discusses the importance of empathy and how art gives us this ability. Ma declares that “empathy comes when you understand something deeply through arts and literature and can thus make unexpected connections…[It] is the ultimate quality that acknowledges our identity as members of one human family” (Ma). Art enables us to understand things in ways that science can not. It allows us to capture a deeper grasp of concepts that would otherwise appear as a blur in our minds. This is how empathy is created. Then, empathy connects us through our emotions’.
This is a skill I began to perfect in high school, and that has drastically grown since beginning the English Composition course. There is always room for improvement, but I have no doubt that I have come a long way in incorporating quotes into my text, and blending my ideas with those of another author’s.
