Incorporating Sources
Incorporating Sources in Your Writing
Part one: Graphic Organizer
| Thesis: Reading instruction should be part of college English courses. |
| List two main points that support the thesis for your argument essay. | Locate two scholarly sources that support your main points. List the author’s last name and year of each source | Briefly summarize the main idea of each source. | Provide a quote from each source that helps support a main point. Include the page or paragraph number. | Paraphrase the quote from the previous column. Include the page or paragraph number. | Write a sentence about how the source information relates to your idea. |
| Different strategies are needed for different types of reading. | Liu 2005 | This study is a survey of readers who identify strategies for reading digital texts vs. print texts. Digital reading involves more skimming, one-time reading, non-linear reading, distracted reading. | “It is very difficult for readers to devote full attention to reading because they have to decide which text to read, which hyperlink to follow, and whether to scroll down a page” p. 707 | When reading on a screen, people have a hard time making choices about what to read and how to navigate within online texts. P. 707 | This information is important because teaching reading strategies will help students make these decisions about the digital texts they read for school. |
| Reading comprehension is an important skill in the workforce. | Thompson and Haynes 2018 | The authors describe a study of ten skills employers look for, then argue that reading comprehension skills are necessary for 8 of the 10. | “The ability to quickly and accurately scan a text is increasingly important in the 21st century workplace.” p. 33 |
Now more than ever, being able to efficiently comprehend written communication is an essential work skill. | The idea that reading comprehension is an essential skill for the workplace helps strengthen my argument that it should be included in college-level English curriculum. |
Part two: Write one of your body paragraphs for the academic argument essay. Start with a topic sentence that makes a claim. Use at least one quote or paraphrase to support your claim. Include an in-text citation. Comment on the source material. Write a concluding sentence.
Reading should be taught in college English classes because different strategies are needed for different types of reading. While it’s true that many students are taught reading comprehension strategies in elementary and high school classes, students will read different types of texts in college. For example, students will do a lot of digital reading as they search for secondary research sources. Digital reading is different than reading the print textbooks students often used in high school. Liu (2005) found that when reading on a screen, people have a hard time making choices about what to read and how to navigate within online texts (p. 707). Teaching reading strategies for selecting digital texts from search results and focusing while reading amidst online distractions will help students read the digital texts required for college-level research. Reading instruction in college English classes can help students adjust to new types of texts.
