One of the most important features of academic writing is the use of words and ideas from written sources to support the writer’s own points. There are essentially three ways to incorporate words and ideas from sources, as shown below:
Direct quotation: Amanda Ripley explains, “In valuing different lives differently—the first part of the equation—the fund follows common legal practice. Courts always grant money on the basis of a person’s earning power in life” (7).
Paraphrase: In “Roger Ebert: The Essential Man,” Chris Jones describes the unrestrained joy Ebert shows when watching the Spanish-language movie Broken Embraces (1).
Summary: In Hamlet, William Shakespeare’s title character broods over the fear of death that prevents people from escaping or confronting painful situations in life. His “to be, or not to be” soliloquy expresses both a desire for release from suffering or indecision and a dread that whatever follows will be worse than what he already endures. Thinking too much about the unknown consequences of death, Hamlet complains, makes us weak and passive.
ESSAY: What is the value of a life? Through out the first semester, we read articles and a play that examine how people