Of course, there is a great deal involved in using textual evidence, but this short list will serve our present purpose. The key point to remember is that your engagement with the text need not be limited to quoting from authors with whom you agree. You can use other texts
There are three main ways to use evidence or examples from a text to illustrate your own points in an essay. They are:
When you first refer to, or paraphrase or quote from another work you should try to incorporate into your sentence the full name of the author and the title of the text. Subsequent references to the same work and author can use the last name of the author or the title of the text. For example:
In Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonders, Lawrence Weschler describes a singular and marvellous place: David Wilson's "Museum of Jurassic Technology. Wilson's museum challenges our understanding not only of museums but of authenticity itself. Weschler examines this challenge to our ability to know what is real and what is not, by quoting historian Stephen Greenblatt: "The expression of wonder stands for all that cannot be understood, that can scarecely be believed. It calls attention to the problem of credibility and at the same time insists upon the undeniability, the exigency of experience" (quoted in Weschler 79).
In the above example, the first sentence is a reference to both the author and the text. The third sentence includes a quotation from Weschler's book, but note that it is a quote of a quote (the writer quotes Weschler who is quoting Greenblatt). In this special case, the writer identifies the source of the quote as Weschler and includes a page number reference to Weschler's book.
Here are a few more examples:
| Reference (no citation necessary) |
The World State society of
Brave New World is a kind of utopia that perhaps is more
fittingly called a dystopia. Greenblatt's concept of resonance helps us understand why the historical context of an object can help us experience the object in new ways. |
| Paraphrase (citation necessary) | Mond’s lengthy answers
to John’s questions provide the logical and
philosophical justification for the new society. While
certainly not noble (for as Mond says there is no need
for nobility in the new society), Mond is clearly
admirable, intelligent, and for these reasons all the
more frightening. When he questions the value of abstract
concepts such as truth or beauty in the midst of the
utter chaos of the anthrax bombs and virtual
annihilation, it is difficult to argue with such
practicality (228). However, Alpers appears confused about the politics of the museum. She criticizes as misguided those who believe that the musuem does not adequately represent the diversity of culture. She then backs away from this assertion by claiming that some cultures simply do not possess artifacts of visual interest (30). |
| Direct Quotation (citation necessary) |
Mond lays out a tempting
list of the positive qualities of the new society, noting
that "The world’s stable now," that "people
are happy," "well-off," "safe,"
"never ill," and are "not afraid of death"
(220). According to Duncan, "the museum is a complex experience involving architecture, programmed displays of art objects, and highly rationalized installation practices," which like its ceremonial predecessors carries out "political and ideological tasks" (90). |
A summary is a significantly shortened version of an original text. It might be an entire article or book reduced to one or two paragraphs. A paraphrase, on the other hand, is a re-presentation of another writer's ideas using your own words and sentence structures. A paraphrase can be as long as the original text being paraphrased. Here are some basic guidelines for paraphrasing (important since if you do not paraphrase well you could be accused of plagiarism):
At the end of your paper on a separate sheet of paper you will include a list of works cited in your paper. The list need only contain works to which you have made a specific reference in your paper. You do not need to include other works that you may have consulted while preparing your paper. You can find information on how to cite specific kinds of works in any writing handbook. For example, here are a the entries that you should use for your next paper (you can use all three or two out of the three).
The "Works Cited" list is arranged in alphabetical order based on the last name of the author. The information included in each entry depends upon how many authors the book has, whether it is a translation, whether it has been edited, and many other factors. These are all covered in copious detail in almost any writing handbook as are instructions for citing periodicals in the "Works Cited" list.
It is best that parenthetical citations are as brief and as few as possible. This means it is best to incorporate the author(s) and the work into the content of the sentence so that all that is left is to include a page number at the end. For example:
For Alpers, the product of the attentive looking fostered by museum presentation practices is the "museum effect," the turning of "all objects into works of art" (26).
Note that the page number is enclosed in parentheses and that the punctuation which belongs to the sentence is placed after the citation.
There are a few points to remember when using text to illustrate your point: