Adding Quotes

It’s midnight. Your paper is due at eight tomorrow, and your instructions say to use three outside sources. You haven’t incorporated a quote yet, having put off the final draft for the last moment when inspiration was sure to appear. What are you going to do? (Inspiration appears to have called it a day hours ago.)

One idea is to read your paper again and determine where additional support from the sources you’ve found would enhance the points you make, adding insight and proving what you say. Another idea is to pick at random, any bit of writing from any source, copy and paste, and drop it into the paper without using reason or logic at all. Which way is guaranteed to impress your professor?

I know that you are saying that no one would choose the second way because it doesn’t make sense. You are exactly correct; if you do not weave information smoothly into your writing, quotes or paraphrases might seem like afterthoughts, plugged-in, nonsensical verbiage.

Before midnight of the day before your paper is due arrives, your best bet is to read sources of information with a highlighter in hand, marking sections that might prove to be useful to support your ideas and add to the overall impact of what you plan to say. As you write your paper, note where the words or information from a source will best serve the purpose of your paper. Typing “Insert quote (or paraphrase) from X” is a good way to remind yourself of where the source can be used effectively.

"If it weren't for the last minute, I wouldn't get anything done." (Unknown) Tomorrow at eight in the morning will come, but the midnight before can find you smoothly integrating the right quotes in the right places for a great paper.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! My next entry is coming soon. ‘Til then, hang ten!