Using Sources Effectively: 
Strengthening Your Writing and Avoiding Plagiarism

Robert A. Harris
September 21, 2004

Using Sources Effectively: Strengthening Your Writing and Avoiding Plagiarism, 2nd ed.
Robert A. Harris
Los Angeles: Pyrczak Publishing, 2005
ISBN 1-884585-57-4. 115 pp., paper.

Here is the second edition to the popular and effective book that targets the two most prominent problems in current researched writing: unintentional plagiarism and the ineffective use of research source material. This book addreses these issues in a positive way. This book is designed to help every student who uses research in writing, from a short essay with a few sources to a full-scale major research paper. Focusing on practical and effective strategies for incorporating sources, the book will teach you

• how to add strength to their argument and interest to their writing through the skillful use of sources
• how to select, evaluate, and prepare sources for use
• how to avoid plagiarism through the proper use of quotation, paraphrase, summary, and citation

• Written in a clear, easily-accessible style.
• The easy-to-follow advice will help you write better, more effective research papers..
• Detailed discussions about proper source use and citation will give you all the information you need to avoid unintentional plagiarism.
• Dozens of specific examples show you exaclty how to introduce, quote, summarize, paraphrase, and cite source material.
• Tables supply information on types of sources that need to be cited, ways to introduce quotations, and methods of introducing discussion.
• Examples are presented in both MLA and APA citation styles.

This edition has more exercises, including a True-False quiz at the end of each chapter. The mechanics and grammar reviews have been moved to Appendix A, Polishing Your Prose, which includes exercises. In the main text, a section has been added to show how to mark the boundaries for non-text information such as tables and drawings (Chapter 5, Section 5.1.5), and a section is now included on using Internet sources (Chapter 3, Section 3.3). Other improvements include information  about plagiarism and copyright infringement, the overuse of tutors, and the benefits of using reference librarians. Clarifications have been made throughout.

See the full table of contents below, after the order form.

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Contents of Using Sources Effectively

Introduction

Chapter 1 The Importance of Using Sources Effectively
1.1 Why do research?
1.2 Why use sources in papers?
1.3 Why cite them all?
1.4 Are sources the whole idea?

Chapter 2 Avoiding Plagiarism
2.1 What is plagiarism?
2.2 Why you should avoid intentional plagiarism
2.3 Guidelines for citation
2.4 Myths and facts about citing
2.5 Protecting against a false charge of plagiarism

Chapter 3 Selecting Sources
3.1 Collecting sources
3.2 Selecting the kinds of sources you need
3.3 Using and abusing Internet sources
3.4 Evaluating sources
3.5 Working with sources that disagree or conflict

Chapter 4 Working with Sources
4.1 Take careful notes
4.2 Quoting
4.3 Paraphrasing
4.4 Summarizing

Chapter 5 Putting It Together
5.1 The Simple Rule: Mark the boundaries
5.2 Introductory strategies
5.3 Quoting strategies

Chapter 6 Effective Use
6.1 Introduce the source thoroughly
6.2 Discuss or apply the source
6.3 Blend-in your sources
6.4 Avoid ineffective use

Appendix A: Polishing Your Prose
Appendix B: Citation Examples
References
Notes

Descriptive Contents

Chapter One: The Importance of Using Sources Effectively.
This chapter discusses the purposes behind bringing sources into your writing and how the skillful use of quotations, summaries, and paraphrases can give your writing both power and sparkle. By reading this chapter, you should come to view the research process and the use of research materials as an opportunity to enrich your own thinking and provide punch to the arguments you present.

Chapter Two: Avoiding Plagiarism.
This chapter provides practical instruction about what does and does not constitute plagiarism. You may be one of the many students who never received formal instruction about plagiarism and how to incorporate sources appropriately. This chapter defines the issues and clarifies some possible misconceptions in order to help you avoid unintentional plagiarism. It also tells you how to protect yourself from a false charge of plagiarism.

Chapter Three: Selecting Sources.
This chapter covers the selection of sources and describes the various kinds of source material you will find. Some ideas are included for evaluating the quality of the sources you have located, together with advice about handling sources that disagree or conflict with one another or with the central idea you are presenting in your paper.

Chapter Four: Working with Sources.
This chapter shows you through examples how to work with your source material, and covers the various methods of preparing your sources for incorporation into your paper. Advice is offered about deciding whether to quote, summarize, or paraphrase, and about being sure to preserve the author's intended meaning.

Chapter Five: Putting It Together.
This chapter provides strategies and examples to help you build sources into a paper: introductory methods and styles, the use of appropriate phrases and verbs to help direct your reader, and how to punctuate your quotations accurately.

Chapter Six: Effective Use.
This chapter goes beyond mere compliance with the rules of source use and discusses how to use sources in a powerful and effective way. By employing some of the practical ideas in this chapter, you will be able to write much more vibrant and successful research papers.

Apppendix A includes grammar and style reminders, providing instruction in one or more items of grammar, mechanics, or punctuation that writers of research papers most often miss. The advice comes from a professor who has been teaching students the process of writing a research paper for more than 25 years. The benefit to you is that the reminders chosen for your attention are based on long experience. One of the secrets of writing instruction is that relatively few error patterns account for a large proportion of the errors in most student writing. If you master this material, you will most likely have substantially improved the accuracy of your writing.