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Research & Writing Process

A walk-through on the entire research process. Includes tips and examples to help you decipher your assignment, make a research plan, choose a topic, find your sources, and write your papers.

Can my supporting paragraph be just a quote?

Absolutely not. After you introduce evidence into your writing, you must say why and how this evidence supports your argument. What turns a fact or piece of information into evidence is the connection it has with a larger claim or argument.  You have to make a clear link that the evidence you are providing/citing relates to your thesis.

But my instructor already knows all this...

It is easy to assume that readers already know what we are talking about.  You may be concerned that you are elaborating too much because think the point is obvious.

Remember: readers can’t read your mind! Although they may be familiar with many of the ideas you are discussing, they don’t know what you are trying to do with those ideas unless you indicate it through explanations, organization, transitions, and so forth.

Try to spell out the connections that you were making in your mind when you chose your evidence, decided where to place it in your paper, and drew conclusions based on it. Remember, you can always cut prose from your paper later if you decide that you are stating the obvious.

Questions to ask yourself

Ask yourself the following questions about evidence you are using in your paper:

  1. OK, I’ve just stated this point, but so what? Why is it interesting? Why should anyone care?
  2. What does this information imply?
  3. What are the consequences of thinking this way or looking at a problem this way?
  4. I’ve just described what something is like or how I see it, but why is it like that?
  5. I’ve just said that something happens—so how does it happen? How does it come to be the way it is?
  6. Why is this information important? Why does it matter?
  7. How is this idea related to my thesis? What connections exist between them? Does it support my thesis? If so, how does it do that?
  8. Can I give an example to illustrate this point?

Answering these questions may help you explain how your evidence is related to your overall argument.

How can I incorporate evidence into my paper?

When you quote, you are reproducing another writer’s words exactly as they appear on the page.  Be sure to introduce each quotation you use, and always cite your sources. Our citation guides have for more details on when to quote and how to format quotations.

Like all pieces of evidence, a quotation can’t speak for itself. If you end a paragraph with a quotation, that may be a sign that you have neglected to discuss the importance of the quotation in terms of your argument. It’s important to avoid “plop quotations,” that is, quotations that are just dropped into your paper without any introduction, discussion, or follow-up.

When might you want to quote?

  1. Quote if you can’t say it any better and the author’s words are particularly brilliant, witty, edgy, distinctive, a good illustration of a point you’re making, or otherwise interesting.
  2. Quote if you are using a particularly authoritative source and you need the author’s expertise to back up your point.
  3. Quote if you are analyzing diction, tone, or a writer’s use of a specific word or phrase.
  4. Quote if you are taking a position that relies on the reader’s understanding exactly what another writer says about the topic.

When you paraphrase, you take a specific section of a text and put it into your own words. Putting it into your own words doesn’t mean just changing or rearranging a few of the author’s words: to paraphrase well and avoid plagiarism, try setting your source aside and restating the sentence or paragraph you have just read, as though you were describing it to another person. Paraphrasing is different than summary because a paraphrase focuses on a particular, fairly short bit of text (like a phrase, sentence, or paragraph). You’ll need to indicate when you are paraphrasing someone else’s text by citing your source correctly, just as you would with a quotation.

When might you want to paraphrase?

  1. Paraphrase when you want to introduce a writer’s position, but their original words aren’t special enough to quote.
  2. Paraphrase when you are supporting a particular point and need to draw on a certain place in a text that supports your point—for example, when one paragraph in a source is especially relevant.
  3. Paraphrase when you want to present a writer’s view on a topic that differs from your position or that of another writer; you can then refute writer’s specific points in your own words after you paraphrase.
  4. Paraphrase when you want to comment on a particular example that another writer uses.
  5. Paraphrase when you need to present information that’s unlikely to be questioned.

When you summarize, you are offering an overview of an entire text, or at least a lengthy section of a text. Summary is useful when you are providing background information, grounding your own argument, or mentioning a source as a counter-argument. A summary is less nuanced than paraphrased material. It can be the most effective way to incorporate a large number of sources when you don’t have a lot of space. When you are summarizing someone else’s argument or ideas, be sure this is clear to the reader and cite your source appropriately.

Sometimes the best evidence for your argument is a hard fact or visual representation of a fact. This type of evidence can be a solid backbone for your argument, but you still need to create context for your reader and draw the connections you want them to make. Remember that statistics, data, charts, graph, photographs, and illustrations are all open to interpretation. Guide the reader through the interpretation process. Again, always, cite the origin of your evidence if you didn’t produce the material you are using yourself.