Note taking10

A Celebration of Secondary Sources

A party is a useful analogy for thinking about integrating secondary sources: ––You are hosting a party. It is your job to make the party good. You are not sabotaging this party. ––What makes a good party? Okay, this is subjective…but, for a basic, let’s say fun and interesting guests, fun and interesting conversation. ––How, as a host, do you assure a good party? Well for starters, you invite the right people. You invite Elmer because he has a car and can bring other people. You invite Myrtle because she is popular and represents general coolness and fun. You invite Dorcas because her dad works at a brewery and she gets massive beer discounts. You invite Percy because he is something of an amateur deejay and is a master of musical ambience. You did not invite Gus, because he talks over everyone and also talks about really boring stuff. Etc. Etc. Etc. ––NOW WHAT? You have managed to convince these people to come to your house. Now you must facilitate conversation and good times. Is everyone communicating? Is the vibe right? Are

there people standing in the corner looking uncomfortable and out of place? Is someone skinny- dipping when that is seriously not the kind of party you wanted? You get the idea. To translate this idea for your paper: ––Your paper is a party. ––You need to select appropriate, interesting, conceptual secondary sources. You need to know whom you’re inviting and what their general role will be in the party. Do not use sources in which you find maybe one usable quote––these will be like the people who stand in the corner and act unhappy. ––Facilitate conversation. Do not allow a source to speak for you, or to overtake your paper–– you didn’t invite Gus because this is your party and he never shuts up! It is fine to quote from a particular source numerous times, but it should be working with your writing. It should be more like a conversation than a catalogue of quotations. Feel free to disagree or critique a secondary source––just like two people at a party might disagree. But in the same way that you’d rather they not fistfight over it, you want to also be civil, logical, and professional. Lastly, don’t let the night or paper end in an inferno.