EWRT 1A: Class 39

AGENDA

• Introductions

• Conclusions

• Integrating Quotations

Introductions are Important

Writing the Opening Sentences

• To engage your readers’ interest from the start, consider the following opening strategies:

• a scenario (like O’Malley)

• statistics (like Kornbluh)

• a historical analogy

• a research study

• a comparison to other places where the solution has been tried successfully

• a preview of the negative consequences if the problem goes unsolved

• criticism of an alternative solution

Endings are Important too!

THE ENDING• End by summarizing your solution and

its advantages, as O’Malley does.

• End with a scenario suggesting the consequences of a failure to solve the problem.

• End with an inspiring call to action.

• Remind readers of something special about the problem or solution at the end, as Kornbluh does when she urges that an award be given to the companies that lead the way.

Integrating Quotations

Using your library research

Using SourcesStatistics can be helpful in establishing that the problem exists and is serious. For example, Patrick O’Malley cites research to support his assertion that students prefer frequent exams to fewer high-stakes exams: “A Harvard study notes students’ ‘strong preference for frequent evaluation in a course’ ” (par. 4). But his argument would have been stronger and possibly more convincing if he had cited statistics to support the study’s conclusion. All of the other writers in this chapter cite statistics in their proposals. Let us look at some of the ways Karen Kornbluh uses statistics to define the problem:

Today fully 70 percent of families with children are headed by two working parents or by an unmarried working parent. The “traditional family” of the breadwinner and homemaker has been replaced by the “juggler family,” in which no one is home fulltime. (par. 1)

Kornbluh also compares different time periods to show that the problem has worsened over the last thirty years. Here are several examples from paragraph 7. Note that Kornbluh presents statistics in three different ways: percentages, numbers, and proportion:

Between 1970 and 2000, the percentage of mothers in the workforce rose from 38 to 67 percent (Smolensky and Gootman). Moreover, the number of hours worked by dual-income families has increased dramatically. Couples with children worked a full 60 hours a week in 1979. By 2000 they were working 70 hours a week (Bernstein and Kornbluh). And more parents than ever are working long hours. In 2000, nearly 1 out of every 8 couples with children was putting in 100 hours a week or more on the job, compared to only 1 out of 12 families in 1970 (Jacobs and Gerson).

For statistics to be persuasive, they must be from sources that readers consider reliable. Researchers’ trustworthiness, in turn, depends on their credentials as experts in the field they are investigating and also on the degree to which they are disinterested, or free from bias.

Kornbluh provides a Works Cited list of sources that readers can follow up on to check whether the sources are indeed reliable. The fact that some of her sources are books published by major publishers (Harvard University Press and Basic Books, for example) helps establish their credibility. Other sources she cites are research institutes (such as New America Foundation, Economic Policy Institute, and Families and Work Institute) that readers can easily check out. Another factor that adds to the appearance of reliability is that Kornbluh cites statistics from a range of sources instead of relying on only one or two. Moreover, the statistics are current and clearly relevant to her argument.

Ask Yourself:

• Are my sources reliable?

• Do they support my assertions with facts, statistics, or credible opinions?

• Do I need more support?

• Where will I find it?

In-Text Citation

s

In-Text Quotations• At the Beginning

“Kitten season is overwhelming, crowded, and very hectic. I can be examining one cat and there will be 10 or more waiting for me with more coming in one after the other on the other side of the exam room door. It's never-ending and it affects the cats. They pick up on the stress we feel," says Christa Raymond, a lead veterinary technician in the Animal Humane Society (“Cats in Crisis”).

• In the Middle

In any given shelter, they are supposed to hold “strays up to only 5 days” according to animal shelter specialist Stephanie Watson (6).

• At the End

According to Green Eco Services, “75% of Americans admit to littering within the past five years.”

• Divided by Your Own Words

“We are always telling people about spay/neuter,” says Kit Belcher, the executive director of Beltrami Humane Society, and “[t]he responsibility starts the day the animal is born, but many don’t accept the responsibility” (“Spaying/Neutering” 14).

Write four sentences that integrate your textual evidence into your essay: Put one quotation at the beginning, one in the middle, one at the end, and one broken by your own words.

• Remembering just a few simple rules can help you use the correct punctuation as you introduce quotations.

o Rule 1: Complete sentence: "quotation." (If you use a complete sentence to introduce a quotation, use a colon (:) just before the quotation.)

o  Rule 2: Someone says, "quotation." (If the word just before the quotation is a verb indicating someone uttering the quoted words, use a comma. Examples include the words "says," "said," "states," "asks," and "yells."

o Rule 3: Ending with that “quotation.” (There is no punctuation if the word "that" comes just before the quotation, as in "the narrator says that.”)

o And remember that a semicolon (;) never is used to introduce quotations.

Block Quotations• In the MLA style, use the block form for prose quotations of more

than four typed lines. Indent the quotation an inch (ten character spaces) from the left margin, as shown in the following example. Double space, just as you do in your paper.

US Surgeon General Regina Benjamin has, in essence, supported this position:

Americans will be more likely to change their behavior if they have a meaningful reward--something more than just reaching a certain weight or dress size. The real reward is invigorating, energizing, joyous health. It is a level of health that allows people to embrace each day and live their lives to the fullest without disease or disability.

Practice integrating one long quotation (four or more lines) into

your essay.

• Indent the quotation an inch (ten character spaces) from the left margin, as shown in the following example. Double space, just as you do in your paper.

Remember these rules:• Rule 1: Complete sentence: "quotation." (If you use a complete sentence

to introduce a quotation, use a colon (:) just before the quotation.)

•  Rule 2: Someone says, "quotation." (If the word just before the quotation is a verb indicating someone uttering the quoted words, use a comma. Examples include the words "says," "said," "states," "asks," and "yells."

• Rule 3: Ending with that “quotation.” (There is no punctuation if the word "that" comes just before the quotation, as in "the narrator says that.")

Citing Summarized Material

• Currently, the law states that the speed limit in a residential area is 25 miles per hour unless posted otherwise (California Driver Handbook).

• According to the Environmental Protection Agency, it takes six earths to support an average meat-eating American compared to three earths for the average vegetarian.

• Since Generation X, major food corporations have peddled addicting junk food to children from their birth. This has helped to create the worst obesity epidemic in human history (Fox).

• Despite euthanasia being the very last method to make room in the shelter, 70 percent of the 3 to 4 million pets euthanized nationwide are cats (“Pet Statistics”).

Integrate information from your sources into your

essay using summarized material.

• Summarizing involves putting an idea into your own words. Summaries are significantly shorter than an original text. It is a good idea to summarize material when you want to briefly discuss the main idea(s) of a longer piece. Summarizing allows you to discuss central points without reproducing multiple quotation from a single source. Remember, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source; that is, you must cite even summarized material.

Punctuating within Quotations

Although punctuation within a quotation should reproduce the original, some adaptations may be necessary. Use single quotation marks for quotations within the quotation:

Original from David Guterson’s Family Matters (pages 16 – 17)• E. D. Hirsch also recognizes the connection between family and

learning, suggesting in his discussion of family background and academic achievement “that the significant part of our children’s education has been going on outside rather than inside the schools.”

Quoted Version• Guterson claims that E. D. Hirsch “also recognizes the connection

between family and learning, suggesting in his discussion of family background and academic achievement ‘that the significant part of our children’s education has been going on outside rather than inside the schools’ ” (16-17).

Punctuation • If the quotation ends with a question mark or an

exclamation point, retain the original punctuation:• “Did you think I loved you?” Edith later asks

Dombey (566).

• If a quotation ending with a question mark or an exclamation point concludes your sentence, retain the question mark or exclamation point, and put the parenthetical reference and sentence period outside the quotation marks:• Edith later asks Dombey, “Did you think I

loved you?” (566).

Homework• Post #45: Your introduction and

conclusion

• Finish your draft of Essay #4

• Study the rest of the vocabulary words

• Bring one clean, hard copy to class.• It should be in MLA format• It should include a works cited page