Integrating Evidence from Research Assignment | Research

When you work with research in your writing, you should make the same preparations. Writers use the following order to integrate their sources into their writing. Read these three elements and then review the examples below:

1. Introduce (dig hole & prepare soil): Prepare your paper for the piece of research by crafting an introduction or signal phrase that sets the tone or positions the research for readers. This is also a good time to consider what readers need to know or might want to know about the source, like where it’s from and what makes the source credible.
2. Add Source (set tree in hole): Insert the research by summarizing, paraphrasing, or quoting, and cite it correctly in MLA style with quotation marks if it’s a direct quote and an in-text citation that corresponds to a works cited entry on your works cited page.
3. Comment (backfill, tamp, & water): Conclude the integration by commenting on the research, explaining it (if it’s a particularly dense piece of writing), connecting it to your main point, reacting to it if it’s particularly shocking or insightful, comparing it to other sources, or synthesizing it.