Integrating a Source in a Draft

In practice

This worked example is constructed for this course. In a paper arguing that cities should plant more street trees, a draft paragraph reads: "Trees are important for cities. "Urban areas with dense tree cover recorded afternoon surface temperatures several degrees lower than nearby areas with sparse cover, a difference that persisted through the hottest weeks of the summer and was largest in neighborhoods with the least green space." Cities should plant more trees." Diagnose it in order. First, the quotation has no introduction: readers do not know who measured these temperatures or why the source is credible. Add a signal phrase naming the source, such as a city environmental study. Second, the quotation is longer than the point requires; trim it to the essential finding, or paraphrase the details and quote only the key phrase. Third, the quotation is not explained: the paragraph jumps from the evidence to the conclusion. Add analysis, such as that the neighborhoods with the least green space, often the poorest, gain the most from planting. Fourth, add the citation in the paper's style. Fifth, sharpen the vague opening sentence into a real topic sentence: "Street trees measurably cool city neighborhoods." The revised paragraph has a point, introduced and trimmed evidence, an explanation, and a citation, so the source supports the writer's argument instead of standing in for it.