M&M’s: Secondary Source Integration
Here is where the magic starts to happen. You have revised your PSA; you have found great sources; you have read these great sources and they have given you great ideas. You are now ready to put it all in a pot and mix it up.
As the source party handout explained, your sources really need to have roles, and they need to converse with you. A common anxiety with student writers is that your secondary source says what you think already, so you aren't sure what to do but plop in some quotes and move along. But this is not so: you are entering into a scholarly conversation, and you want your voice to be heard. When you use a quotation from an expert in the field, it is to legitimize your own claims, or to extend your claims, or even to challenge your claims. It's important to not think about your writing in black and white: there is no one true argument, but a multitude of perspectives.
Expectations of the secondary source integration:
1,500 words, properly formatted
Uses three secondary sources, one being peer-reviewed
Writing from PSA must be revised
SSI writing must be integrated into the existent PSA writing, not just pasted on the end of the PSA
Uses MLA style, which includes parenthetical citations directly following a quotation, and block quote format for quotations of 4+ lines. ALL of your MLA questions can be answered on Purdue OWL. Read it and double and triple check your work. Style and formatting are important in writing.
Puts sources in conversation
Introduces quotations and then follows them with an analysis and application of the quote
Maintains your critical voice
Includes a works cited page
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