Southern New Hampshire University
ENG 123 4-3 Study Notes: Source Integration
SOURCE INTEGRATION
Source integration is a skill that you will use beyond this composition course. As you take more
courses in your field of study, you will be required to conduct research and incorporate your
findings into your assignments for those courses. You will also find that source integration is
important in many real-world job situations. For example, educators, health care professionals,
businesspeople, etc., are constantly learning about the latest research in their fields and will often
be asked to cite this research properly in a memo or some other written form.
QUOTATIONS AND PARAPHRASES: A BRIEF REVIEW
Both direct quotes and paraphrases require proper in-text citation, though, in order to avoid
plagiarizing the material you are using in your essay. In-text citations use the author's name, the
page number, and if using APA, the year.
To refresh: Direct quotations are exact words or phrases from a source. Direct quotes work best
for unique or powerful passages that would be difficult to communicate in your own words. Use
direct quotes judiciously as too many can overwhelm your paper.
The following examples use MLA. Remember that there are differences between APA and
MLA.
Quotation Example:
According to James Bennett, unlike many former presidents, "Bill Clinton has conducted the
most energetic, high profile post-presidency since Teddy Roosevelt's, pouring himself into
philanthropic, political, and yes, moneymaking ventures" (Bennett 56). In time, this post-office
lifestyle may be emulated by other former presidents.
Work Cited:
Bennett, James. "I Never Dreamed It Would Turn Out This Way." The Atlantic, Oct. 2014, p. 56.
In this example, the sentences are a mixture of the writer's own language and quoted material.
The quoted material flows seamlessly into the writer's own sentences. When incorporating
quotations, it is important that their inclusion still fits grammatically into the overall sentence.
You will learn more about effective quotation integration in the next section, but for now, the
important takeaway is that Bennett is credited for his original words and ideas.
Paraphrasing, on the other hand, helps your paper flow smoothly while integrating source
material. A paraphrase restates the essential content of a short passage in your own words but
clearly attributes that content to the author or authors who originally created that content. In
other words, you put the expert's ideas into your own words to convey critical points and to
avoid using too many quotations (see above). It is important to note, though, that you want to
make sure your paraphrase does not resemble the original text too closely.
Examples:
It is unclear whether recent studies in mice pointing to a connection between extremely low
calorie diets and longevity have any implications for humans (Easterbrook 64).
Work Cited:
Easterbrook, Gregg. "What Happens When We All Live to 100?" The Atlantic, Oct. 2014, p. 64.
Despite longstanding concerns about the future of the American manufacturing economy,
promising trends are emerging that have the potential to spur job growth. (Fallows 23).
Work Cited:
Fallow, James. "Made in America, Again?" The Atlantic, Oct. 2014, p. 23.
As you can see in these two examples, Easterbrook's and Fallows's words are not quoted directly,
but each sentence sums up a point they have made. Therefore, both authors are credited through
an in-text citation at the end of each sentence. This in-text citation lets your reader know that you
are attributing each idea to its respective author.
