Using Sources Effectively: Strengthening Your Writing and Avoiding Plagiarism

The sixth edition of Using Sources Effectively targets the two most prominent problems in current research-paper writing: the increase in unintentional plagiarism and the ineffective use of research source material. Designed as a textbook for both undergraduate and graduate courses, this book will help every student who uses research in writing. It was written to give students the knowledge and tools you can use to make your research-based writing more powerful and effective. The book includes Mini-Research Projects at the end of each chapter to sharpen your research and evaluation skills; a set of practical, useful rhetorical devices to help improve the clarity and impact of your writing; instruction in close reading to help you better grasp what an author is discussing or arguing; and strategies for organizing and positioning your sources to strengthen your central argument. The new edition has been thoroughly updated to cover developments in AI and ChatGPT, critical thinking, and digital developments in relation to social media. With updated online resources, including lecture PowerPoints, an instructor’s guide, a quiz bank, and digital figures, as well as new “sidebar” and learning objective features in the book, this is an essential textbook for students across a range of disciplines who need a guide to research and writing and who are taking courses on academic writing.

Table of Contents:
Preface to the Sixth Edition Chapter 1: The Importance of Using Sources Effectively 1.1 Why Learn to Write Well? Writing Is a Thinking Process Writing Is a Learning Process Writing Develops Lifelong Skills 1.2 Why Learn Research-Based Writing Research Makes Writing Easier Research Writing Allows You to Contribute to the Great Conversation 1.3 Why Use Sources in Papers? Research Sources Provide Context Sources Strengthen Argument Sources Add Interest to Your paper Sources Provide You With New Ideas Sources Keep You Up-to-Date Sources Reveal Controversies Sources Help You Understand How Reasoned Argument Works 1.4 Why Use Sources Effectively? Effective Use Instills Trust Effective Use Aids Persuasion Effective Use Shows Engagement 1.5 Why Cite Them All? Cite to Help Your Reader Cite to Show Respect for Fellow Knowledge Workers Cite to Avoid Plagiarism 1.6 Are Sources the Whole Idea? Your tTinking Is the Star Sources Need Something to Support Sources Need Interpreting It's the Great Conversation Again Review Questions A Little Rhetoric: How Much Emphasis? Now You Try Chapter 2: Finding, Choosing, and Evaluating Sources 2.1 Start by Understanding the Assignment What Is the Purpose of the Paper? What Are the Specific Requirements for the Paper? Who Is Your Audience? 2.2 Select the Kinds of Sources You Need Choose the Kind of Information You Need Take a Shortcut to Selection Choose Sources of Appropriate Scholarship Choose Appropriate Primary and Secondary Sources Avoid Choosing a Source Only Because You Agree With It Avoid Quoting Standard Dictionaries 2.3 Search Strategies Consider the Variety of Sources Keep Track of Your Searches Looking Online Phrase the Search Terms Effectively Go Beyond the Internet 2.4 Using and Abusing Internet Sources Search for Reliable Sites Looking Deeply into the Results Understand the Context of Individual Pages Use the Invisible Web 2.5 Evaluating Sources Expertise Accuracy Reliability Review Questions A Little Rhetoric: Anaphora Now You Try Chapter 3: Preparing Your Sources 3.1 Collecting Sources Save Your Sources Get the Full, Exact Bibliographic Information the First Time Save the Way Back 3.2 Keep Sources Organized Start a Bibliography 3.3 Use Close Reading to Understand Your Sources What Is the Purpose of the Information? What Is the Level of Objectivity? Analyze the Argument Notice the Images and Analogies Check Word Meanings for Accuracy So What? What Is Each Source Saying? 3.4 Take Careful Notes Use a Labeling System Quote Exactly Keep a Quotation File Keep Copies of Each Source With Your Notes 3.5 Positioning Your Sources Purpose Indicators Relationships of Sources Create an Outline of Possible Source Uses 3.6 Protect Yourself Against a False Charge of Plagiarism Protect Your Data and Passwords Do Not Lend Your Paper to Someone Else Report Any Theft Immediately Save All Drafts and Notes Save All Sources Be Proactive Review Questions Mini-Research Project Controversies A Little Rhetoric: Conduplicatio Chapter 4: Quoting Effectively 4.1 Quoting Use and Abuse When to Choose Quotation Cautions About Quoting Avoid the Fallacy of Vicious Abstraction 4.2 Introductory Strategies Introduce Your Sources Choose Introductory Verbs to Create Guiding Lead-In or Signal Phrases Use Introductory Sentences With a Colon Use an Introductory Phrase Use the Appropriate Tense in Your Introductory Phrases for APA Style Use Both Set-Off and Built-In Quotations Use the Historical Present Tense for MLA-Style Papers 4.3 Quoting Strategies Interrupt Quotations Leave Out Some Words Quote Phrases 4.4 Punctuating Quotations General Conventions Ellipsis Square Brackets Review Questions Mini-Research Project: Misattributed Quotations A Little Rhetoric Analogy Now You Try Chapter 5: Paraphrasing and Summarizing 5.1 Paraphrasing What Is a Paraphrase? Why and When to Paraphrase Paraphrasing Ground Rules How to Paraphrase Cautions About Paraphrasing 5.2 Summarizing What Is a Summary? Why and When to Summarize How to Summarize Cautions About Summarizing Source Limitations on Summarizing 5.3 Deciding Whether to Quote, Paraphrase, or Summarize 5.4 Beware of Thesaurusitis Review Questions Mini-Research Project: Comparing Summaries A Little Rhetoric: Metabasis Now You Try Paraphrasing and Summarizing Activity Chapter 5 Review: Acceptable Use or Plagiarism? Potential Use 1 Potential Use 2 Potential Use 3 Potential Use 4 Potential Use 5 Potential Use 6 Chapter 6: Avoiding Plagiarism 6.1 What Is Plagiarism? A Working Definition of Plagiarism Intentional Plagiarism Unintentional Plagiarism The Fine Print Self-Recycling 6.2 Why You Should Avoid Intentional Plagiarism Intentional Plagiarism Harms Your Character Follow the Golden Rule Intentional Plagiarizers Cheat Themselves Intentional Plagiarizers Never Know When They Will Be Caught 6.3 Guidelines for Citation What Needs to Be Cited? Do You Ever Have to Cite Yourself? What About Common Knowledge? Will My Paper Be Nothing but Citations? 6.4 Myths and Facts About Citing The Public Domain Myth The World Wide Web Myth The Fair Use Myth The Encyclopedia Myth The Paraphrased Paper Myth The Friend’s Permission Myth The Named Source Myth The Converted Words Myth The Tiny Theft Myth The Background Information Myth Review Questions Mini-Research Project: Famous Plagiarism Cases Bonus Search A Little Rhetoric: Rhetorical Question Now You Try Chapter 7: Putting It Together 7.1 The Simple Rule: Mark the Boundaries Marking the Boundaries of Short Quotations Marking the Boundaries of Long Quotations Marking the Boundaries of an Unquoted Source 7.2 Marking the Boundaries in Problem Cases How to Create a Second Boundary Marker Marking the Boundaries for Non-Text Information Review Questions A Little Rhetoric: Hypophora Now You Try Chapter 7 Review: Boundary Markers Source Text Potential Use 1, APA Style Potential Use 2, APA Style Potential Use 3, MLA Style Potential Use 4, MLA Style Potential Use 5, APA Style Chapter 8: Effective Use 8.1 Introduce the Source Thoroughly Establish the Credibility of the Source Provide Needed Background or Context Recommend the Source 8.2 Discuss or Apply the Source The Purpose of a Source Is Not Always Self-Evident Explain the Source Beginning With an Interpretive Lead-In Be Reasonable About the Effect of the Source Provide an Example to Clarify the Source’s Point 8.3 Blend in Your Sources Work Your Sources Into the Discussion Combine Quoting With Summarizing Use One Long, Many Short for Powerful Persuasion 8.4 Avoid Ineffective Use Beware of Long Quotations Avoid Overusing One Source Begin and End Each Paragraph With Your Own Words Be Sure Citations Match the References 8.5 Working With Sources That Disagree or Conflict Identify the Source of Disagree Criticizing Opposing Sources Avoid Criticizing a Source Unfairly Review Questions Matching Exercise Mini-Research Project: Logical Fallacies A Little Rhetoric: Procatalepsis Now You Try Chapter 8 Review: Effectiveness Chapter 9: Editing for Accuracy 9.1 Why Cleanup Is Crucial 9.2 Check Your Spelling Check for Ordinary Misspellings Check for Autocorrect Errors Check for Confused Words Use American Spelling 9.3 Watch Your Grammar Comma Splice Fused Sentence Sentence Fragment 9.4 Watch Your Pronouns Pronoun Agreement Pronoun Reference Indefinite Pronouns Avoid the Ambiguous You 9.5 Check for Common Errors Possessives Subject-Verb Agreement Dangling Modifier Misplaced Modifier Affect and Effect Informality Review Questions A Little Rhetoric: Distinctio Chapter 9 Review: Error Check Chapter 10: Jump-Starting Your Writing 10.1 Synthesis Writing A Definition of Synthesis Writing Tapestry Versus Quilt Writing Tapestry Weaving and Your Reader 10.2 Steering Wheels Parataxis and Hypotaxis Transitions Transitions of Logic Transitions of Focus Transitions of Thought Keyword Repetition Synonyms Pronouns and Possessive Pronouns Demonstrative Pronouns and Adjectives 10.3 Using Flow Patterns Patterns With Because Conditional (If-Then) Patterns Concession Patterns 10.4 Using Patterns with Sources Use Scholarly Phrasing The Source Supports Your Position You Agree With the Source The Source Disagrees With Your Position You Rebut a Source That Opposes Your View You Respond to a Source That Presents an Incontrovertible Objection The Source Implies Something Without Stating It The Source Makes an Unstated Assumption Introducing Common Knowledge Introducing Conflicting Views Review Questions Chapter 10 Activity: Synthesis Exercise Chapter 10 Activity: True or False Chapter 10 Activity: More Flow Patterns A Little Logic: Conditional Syllogisms

About the Author :
Robert A. Harris (PhD, University of California, Riverside) taught English at college and university level for more than 25 years. He has also worked in the area of instructional design. Dr. Harris' other books include The Plagiarism Handbook and Writing with Clarity and Style: A Guide to Rhetorical Devices for Contemporary Writers. Christie J. Curtis (PhD, Interim Dean, Graduate Studies Chair, Professor, Biola University, La Mirada, California) has been teaching writing and grammar skills for more than 25 years. She currently chairs the committees of many graduate students as they seek to complete their theses. Dr. Curtis is the coauthor of the Grammar and Writing Series (Grades 3–8), which includes student texts (writing and grammar), student workbooks (writing and grammar), teacher’s guides, and online resources.

Review :
This latest edition of Using Sources Effectively assists us in the never-easy process of growing as writers, now in a world where reliance upon AI models threatens to thwart students’ intellectual development. The authors remind us frequently that people who read our writing rarely know us personally, so our character will be judged based upon which sources we use as well as how we use them. In the process of preparing us for such scrutiny, the authors demonstrate that accessing and evaluating sources does not have to be drudgery. They accomplish this through clear explanations as well as offering practical search advice, thoughtful criteria for evaluating sources, and sound guidelines to avoid the various categories of plagiarism. Helpful sidebars and rhetorical insights add spice to a book that takes what most students fear will be a bland topic and transforms it into something quite readable and even engaging. Nicholas Block, PhD, Biola University, La Mirada, California, USA Using Sources Effectively: Strengthening Your Writing and Avoiding Plagiarism, is, by far, one of my favorite writing textbooks. The clear explanations and writing examples support developing scholars with pertinent, practical, and up-to-date writing guidelines. Each chapter has clear objectives, outlines, questions, tips, tables, charts, sidebar highlights, mini research projects, and understandable examples that demystify some of the common challenges of writing English and using sources effectively. I am so grateful to the authors, Harris and Curtis, for their investment of time and talent to create such an enduring resource for university professors and their students. June Hetzel, PhD, Faculty Emerita and Founding Dean of the School of Education, Biola University, La Mirada, California, USA