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Framing Source Material

When including source material in your writing, you must frame the quotation, paraphrase or summary. A frame is simply an introduction at the beginning of the material that tells your reader who made the original statement or where it originated from, and an explanation at the end of the material of how it is relevant to your ideas.

Example:

Each year has seen an increase in encounters between humans, and their pets, and mountain lions. This is the fault of humans encroaching on the animal's rightful territory. In his 2014 book, Suburban Wildlife, biologist Samuel Cronin explains this. “These kinds of attacks must be laid squarely at the pedicured feet of yuppie mountain dwellers who build million-dollar homes in the foothills, right smack in the middle of the mountain lion's usual hunting ground, and then wonder why their poodle Fifi becomes lion chow, or why when they go to put their garbage out, they find themselves staring into a lion's unblinking golden gaze" (62). It is our behavior that has created the danger. The lion did not come down out of the mountains into our suburban backyards; we've moved the suburbs into his. Killing creatures because they threaten us in their territory is no different than decimating a Native American tribe because have moved into its hunting grounds.

Beginning Frames

Beginning frames, or introductory phrases inserted before source material, are important to establish the credibility of your sources. Declaring who made the statement you are quoting, paraphrasing or summarizing, establishes for your reader that you are calling on authoritative, reputable sources. Without the beginning frame, the reader may question whether the source of the material has any expertise in the subject, or is possibly biased (and that's why you hesitate to name him or her). Beginning frames can also be used to tie the source material to your focus. They can hint at what the source material is about to reveal or support.

End Frames

An end frame is an explanation of how the source material is relevant to the point(s) you are making. It describes how the material connects to your focus. This is particularly important as different readers can take away different ideas from the same piece of text. (See critical reading.) In addition to establishing your focus, end frames also show that you are capable of expressing ideas in your own words-an important factor in establishing your authority as a writer.

Framing your source material puts you in control of the meaning conveyed by your word choices.

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