Control of Your Paper

Don’t just do research & present your findings. Your reader could have done this. The reader is interested in YOUR take on the topic. USE the research to support you!

1. Clear thesis/claim that is YOURS

2. Main points that are YOURS

3. Development that is mainly your writing:

--Every ¶ should start & end with your words:

v Identify the main point in your topic sentence.

v Explain your point.

v Use your facts to support your topic sentence.

v “So What?”: Add your own reflection/analysis

4. Use your source to support YOUR point, not to make it. Never use a quote to restate a point:

No: Rispin notes that finding help is hard for men with eating disorders: “[M]en suffering from an eating disorder may find it hard to find help” (57).

Fix: Rispin notes that it is difficult for men with eating disorders to get support: “Many colleges house most of their body image resources in women’s resource centers…” (57).

5. Don’t let sources take over your paper.

(No more than 1-2 quotes/paraphrases per ¶.)

6. Don’t string quotes together.

Control of Your Sources:

1. Do not “dump” quotes. A sentence should never begin and end with quotes.

2. Paraphrase when possible. Quote only if the words are from a well-known authority or are particularly striking.

3. Cite sources for both paraphrases & quotes.