Summary and Quotations

The Longman Writer: Rhetoric, Reader, Research Guide, and Handbook: Summary and Quotations To craft an effective argument, a writer must contextualize his or her position for readers. Without context, readers may become lost or confused, and they may have a more difficult time following the writer's logic. Writers often create context by referencing other authors and works about their topic, either by summarizing the other works or by employing direct quotations. In this Discussion, you examine how summary and quotations are used to strengthen an argument. To prepare for this Discussion: •Review the following in The Longman Writer: Rhetoric, Reader, Research Guide, and Handbook: ◦Chapter 16 selection, "When Mañana Is Too Soon" by Kurt Kleiner (pp. 353–355) ◦Part VI, "A Concise Handbook" ◾"Fragments" (pp. 602–607) ◾"Faulty Parallelism" (pp. 610–611) •Review Chapters 1, 2, and 3 (pages 19–51) in They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. •Focus on determining what others are saying, summarizing, and using quotations. •Consider how what "they say" affects how the author writes and why. •Review how Kleiner uses summary in his writing. •Think about how Kleiner uses quotations to support his position. •Read the Discussion Spark topic/question or comment posted by your Instructor in the Discussion Thread on Day 1. With these thoughts in mind: Post by Day 2 a 1- to 2-paragraph response to the Discussion Spark. Note: The Discussion Spark and the weekly Discussion topic below will be graded together. You will see one score in your My Grades area. Post by Day 3 a 1- to 2-paragraph summary of your analysis. Explain the use of summary and quotation in the assigned reading by answering the following questions: How did the author use summary and quotations to get his focus across to the reader? How did the author introduce his quotations? How did the author incorporate quotations to help build his logos? How does having this summary and quotations make the writing more effective? Support your ideas by connecting them to the week's Learning Resources and something you have read, heard, seen, or experienced Spark Discussion This is a very important discussion board week! I think something people often forget is that we all read things differently; therefore, simply including a quote from an outside source, without any explanation, isn't great writing. Here's a hypothetical quote: According to Smith (2010), "The national debt will affect this country's future." We have a quote, but we don't have any explanation. How will the debt affect the country? In a positive way? In a negative way? Why is this important? How does the support the writer's overall argument? Do you see why explaining outside source information is important? How do you feel about implementing this in your own papers?