Quoting sources. A lot of famous quotes are attributed to the wrong people, or were never even "spoken" by anyone in the first place. Today: some examples. "There are three kinds of lies: Lies, damn lies, and statistics. " Most people attribute this quote to Mark Twain, but he didn't say it. He repeated it, though, and gave credit to the person who DID originally say it: Benjamin Disraeli. Business students: Don't claim President Bush said, "The problem with the French is that they don't have a word for entrepreneur. " President Bush has said many things, but not that. Did Chief Seattle ever say, "The earth is our mother"? Despite the jokes about it, Al Gore never claimed to have "invented the Internet. " Sir Arthur Conan Doyle never had Sherlock Holmes say the line, "Elementary, my dear Watson.
" We could go on, but the lesson is simple: document your sources. Good weekend to you. Quote Week: Incorporating Quotes into Your Research Papers. It's Quote Week in the Writing Center! Many courses end with some kind of writing assignment that asks you to incorporate information from other sources, and that information can often be delivered in the form of quotes from important texts or knowledgeable authorities. Now that we're in week 7 of spring term, you may be gearing up to write a final paper of that sort, so we'll offer some thoughts on how to effectively incorporate quotations from other sources into your academic papers. Today's suggestion: Have a good reason for the quotation. Does the quote strongly support your point or argument?
Is it something that can't be paraphrased or summarized effectively in your own words? Consider the following example from a made-up paper about how cats make the best pets: Jane Smith, a clinical psychologist, puts it best when she says, "Cats are the best pets. That quote might seem to support your argument, but it doesn't actually do much. Before: After: More tomorrow! How to Use Quotes Effectively. How to Use Quotes Effectively Most, if not all, of your college professors will require you to use research material as a vital component of your writing. However, this process is not as simple as cutting and pasting sentences (or even worse, paragraphs) from the original texts into your essay.
You need to do more than just parrot information; simple cutting and pasting resorts in an incoherent flow of information in which the diction becomes nearly schizophrenic—literally, a confusion of voices. Technically, an isolated quotation is called a “free-standing quote.” It is essential, therefore, for you to integrate quotations into your writing so that the essay flows as smoothly as possible. Let’s say you have to write an essay on creativity for your Introduction to Psychology course, and you have decided to make creative writing your focus. Here is an original quote and three ways to incorporate it into your text. 1. 2. Creativity is ripe with paradox. Creativity is ripe with paradox. 3. Philosophical Terms and Methods. Reductio ad absurdum The following is a valid form of argument: "If P, then Q.
But not-Q. So not-P. " Some students initially have difficulty understanding why this is a valid form of argument. This kind of reasoning is known as reductio ad absurdum: you accept some hypothesis for the sake of argument, and then you show that the hypothesis leads to a contradiction, or to some other conclusion you know independently to be false.
It can be disorienting when you come across a philosopher employing a reductio, if you misunderstand him as actually subscribing to the contradiction he derives. Here's an example of a reductio. A computer scientist announces that he's constructed a computer program that can play the perfect game of chess: he claims that this program is guaranteed to win every game it plays, whether it plays black or white, with never a loss or a draw, and against any opponent whatsoever. This is a reductio. Equivocation Here are some trickier examples of equivocation: False Dilemmas. Stephen Wins! - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - 06/27/01. Writing an Argument. What is an argument? An argument is much less than most people imagine. It is usually not --An absolute truth. --A revelation or brand new insight.
--The last word. --Bad-tempered complaining. --An exercise in pure logic. And, most emphatically, it is not necessarily about some grand issue of concern to humankind in general. An argument is merely an essay that has a thesis, which a substantial part of your audience may disagree with and that seeks to convince them you’re right. You must convince yourself that writing an argument is something you can do without becoming someone you’re not. Notice that you make arguments all the time. Avoid three logical fallacies. 1. 2. 3. Writing Exercise: Spot the flawed logic in the following statements: Herbert Hoover single-handedly created the depression. FDR caused World War II. Surveys showed that married men are happier than unmarried men. Many people who go to the dentist have a lot of cavities.