Deeper Reading: \"Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources\"

Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources by Karen Rosenberg

  • The essay is written by Karen Rosenberg.

  • The essay shares her personal experiences as a student learning to read academic material effectively.

  • It explains why professors assign academic journal articles.

  • It provides strategies for reading complex texts.

  • The tone is informal and conversational.

  • Aims to support student success when engaging with challenging source material.

  • Published on Writing-Spaces.org, an Open Textbook Project.

What are Direct Quotes?

  • Direct quotes are portions of text taken word-for-word.

  • They are placed inside a work and indicated by quotation marks and in-text citations.

  • Example:

    • \"Every time a student sits down to write for us, he has to invent the university for the occasion-invent the university…\" (Bartholomae, 4).

Block Quotes

  • Block quotes are direct quotes that are longer than four lines of text.

  • In MLA format, block quotes require:

    • Indentation of the borrowed language by 1/2 inch.

    • Citation at the end of the block.

    • Removal of quotation marks.

Ethical Use of Direct Quotes

  • It is unethical to:

    • Fail to write the text exactly as it appears in the original.

    • Fail to use quotation marks or cite the source (plagiarism).

When to Use Direct Quotes

  • Use direct quotes sparingly to show your understanding of the material.

  • Over-quoting reduces your credibility.

  • Use direct quotes when:

    • The author has coined a unique term relevant to your paper (according to The Owl of Purdue).

The Basics of Directly Quoting

  1. Enclose all quoted material in quotation marks (except for block quotes).

  2. Reproduce quoted material word-for-word from the original text.

    • Do not alter any wording or spelling.

    • Use brackets or ellipses if you must make changes.

  3. Include a clear signal phrase/attribution tag before each quotation.

  4. Follow each quotation with a parenthetical citation.

Integrating Quotes into Your Writing

  1. Explain the significance of each quotation to your reader.

    • Go beyond just including a signal phrase.

    • Indicate how the quoted material supports your point.

    • Quotes do not speak for themselves.

    • Explain how and why the material makes your point.

Helpful Phrases for Explaining Quoted Materials

  • (Quoted material). What X's point demonstrates is that…

  • (Quoted material). Here, X is not simply stating…she is also demonstrating…

  • (Quoted material). This is an example of…because…

  • (Quoted material). This statement clearly shows…because…