“Be able to integrate their ideas with others using summary, paraphrase, quotation, analysis, and synthesis of relevant sources.”
I’m a sucker for formulas, and I’ve never had a good formula from high school for quotation integration. I am a big fan of the Barclay paragraph formula; it scratches my brain in just the right way. The Barclay paragraph formula is my favorite for integrating quotes to support my claim. Like most skills, this writing style takes practice- and I’ve had plenty of that. I’ve included the color-coded key for highlighting the individual components of the Barclay formula as well as a paragraph taken right from my second essay.
As you can see, the orange and blue bits are short and need more than a little work… The paragraph works, but it’s a little shorter than I’d like and needs better and stronger connections to both my thesis and the two separate texts used. Here is a paragraph I took from my third essay (using the same key).
The introduction and transition parts have gotten meatier and more specific- which can only be a good thing. My quick explanations of the text in the specific paragraph have gotten better (no more long-winded rambles that really don’t fit), and I’ve improved how I connect the texts to one another. I think I’ve improved greatly in using not only the Barclay method when incorporating quotes, but also paraphrasing (while citing them properly), and working them neatly and nicely into appropriate places in my essays.
