PAPER OF CRITICAL ACADEMIC WRITING
COMBINING SOURCE & ORGANIZING PARAGRAPH
Supporting lecturer : Zakiyah, [Link]
Arranged by :
Group 5
1. Desi Fitriani 2111040144
2. Lekat Syukur Ihza 2111040173
3. Sania Azzahra Putri 2111040217
4. Satria Alam 2111040092
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHER TRAINING
RADEN INTAN STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY LAMPUNG
2023/2024
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FOREWORD
Assalamualaikum Wr. Wb
Alhamdulillah, all praise and thanks be to Allah swt. Lord of the worlds for all His
incomparable graces, blessings, taufik, and guidance. Shalawat and greetings may
always be poured out to the Prophet Muhammad SAW. Which has brought us from the
realm of darkness to the realm of light as it is today.
Furthermore, we would like to thank all those who have provided assistance, both
material and non-material assistance. Because without this assistance, it would not be
possible to complete the paper that we have entitled " Combining Source & Organizing
Paragraph " which was compiled to complete the assignment for the language Critical
Academic Writing. Thanks to this support, the success in completing the writing of this
paper was realized.
Hopefully all of this can provide a useful value and become a guide for a better
direction. We expect constructive criticism and suggestions so that this paper can be
even better. Finally, I hope this paper can be useful and put to good use by the readers.
Amin Allahumma Amin.
Wassalamualaikum Wr. Wb.
Bandar Lampung, 5 November 2023
Writer
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TABLE OF CONTENT
FOREWORD..................................................................................................................... 2
TABLE OF CONTENT.................................................................................................... 3
CHAPTER I PRELEMINARY ....................................................................................... 4
A. Background of study ............................................................................................... 4
B. Formulation of the problem .................................................................................... 4
C. Learning objective .................................................................................................. 4
CHAPTER II DISCUSSION ........................................................................................... 5
A. Definition Combining Source ................................................................................. 5
B. How to Combining Sources .................................................................................... 5
C. Definition of Paragraph........................................................................................... 10
D. How to Structure a Body Paragraph ....................................................................... 11
CHAPTER III CONCLUSION ....................................................................................... 13
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 14
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CHAPTER I
PRELEMINARY
A. Background of study
Writing in an academic context often entails engaging with the words and ideas of other
authors. Therefore, being able to correctly and fluently incorporate and engage with
other writers’ words and ideas in your own writing is a critical academic skill. There
are three main ways to integrate evidence from sources into writing: quoting,
paraphrasing, and summarizing. Each form requires a citation because using another
person’s words or ideas. Even if do not quote directly, but paraphrase source content
and express it in own words, still must give credit to the original authors for their ideas.
Similarly, if quote someone who says something that is “common knowledge,” still
must cite this quotation, as are using their sentences structure, organizational logic, and
syntax.
B. Formulation of the problem
1. What is meant by combining source?
2. How to combining source?
3. What is definition of paragraph?
4. How to Structure a Body Paragraph?
C. Learning objective
The learning objective of this paper is that readers are expected to understand about
combining sources and organizing paragraph including 4 points of explanation:
1. About the meaning of combining source
2. About how to combining source
3. About the definition of paragraph
4. About structure a body baragraph
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CHAPTER II
DISCUSSION
A. Definition Combining Source
In writing, a source is a reference or piece of information used to support or
provide evidence for a particular point, argument, or statement. Combining
sources in writing typically refers to the process of integrating multiple sources,
such as books, articles, or websites, into own writing to strengthen arguments,
provide context, or give credit to the original authors.
Combining sources in writing usually involves integrating information from
multiple references or quotations to support an argument or provide evidence
for important points to maintain proper citation and avoid plagiarism. In writing,
the term combining sources refers to the process of integrating information,
ideas, and evidence from multiple different sources into own work.
B. How to Combining Sources
Combining sources means incorporating another expert ideas or words into your
work. It can be done by Quoting, Paraphrasing, Summarizing.
1. Quoting
Using direct quotations in argument has several benefits:
Integrating quotations provides direct evidence from reliable sources
to support argument.
Using the words of credible sources conveys your credibility by
showing you have done research into the area you are writing about
and consulted relevant and authoritative sources.
Selecting effective quotations illustrates that you can extract the
important aspects of the information and use them effectively in your
own argument.
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Be careful not to over-quote. Quotations should be used sparingly because
too many quotations can interfere with the flow of ideas and make it seem
like you don’t have ideas of your own. Paraphrasing can be more effective
in some cases.
Quotations should be used when :
If the language of the original source uses the best possible phrasing
or imagery, and no paraphrase or summary could be as effective; or
If the use of language in the quotation is itself the focus of analysis
( if are analyzing the author’s use of a particular phrasing, imagery,
metaphor, or rhetorical strategy).
Integrate Quotations Correctly:
Integrating quotations into writing occurs at two levels, namely
argumentative and grammatical. At the argument level, quotation are used
to illustrate or support a point being made, then follow it with some analysis,
explanation, commentary, or interpretation that ties the quote to your
argument.
The second level of integration is grammar. This involves integrating
quotations into self-composed sentences so that they flow smoothly and fit
logically and syntactically. There are three main methods for grammatically
integrating quotations :
1. Seamless Integration Method: embed the quoted words as if they were
an organic part of your sentence (if you read the sentence aloud, your
listeners would not know there was a quotation).
2. Signal Phrase Method: use a signal phrase (Author + Verb) to introduce
the quotation, clearly indicating that the quotation comes from a specific
source.
3. Colon Method: introduce the quotation with a complete sentence ending
in a colon.
Consider the following opening sentence (and famous comma splice) from
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, as an example:
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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
Example
1. Seamless Integration: embed the quotation, or excerpts from the
quotation, as a seamless part of your sentence
Charles Dickens begins his novel with the paradoxical observation that the
eighteenth century was both “the best of times” and “the worst of times”
2. Signal Phrase: introduce the author and then the quote using a signal
verb.
Describing the eighteenth century, Charles Dickens observes, “It was the
best of times, it was the worst of times”
3. Colon: if your own introductory words form a complete sentence, you
can use a colon to introduce and set off the quotation. This can give the
quotation added emphasis.
Dickens defines the eighteenth century as a time of paradox: “It was the best
of times, it was the worst of times”
The eighteenth century was a time of paradox: “It was the best of times, it
was the worst of times”
Edit Quotations
When you use quotation marks around material, it shows that you have used
the exact same words as the original author. However, sometimes the text
you want to quote is not grammatically appropriate or clear in your sentence
without making some changes. Maybe you need to replace the pronouns in
the quote with actual nouns to clarify the context, or maybe the verb form
isn't appropriate. There are two main ways to edit a quote to make it
grammatically appropriate to the sentence:
1. Use square brackets: to reflect changes or additions to a quote, place
square brackets around any words that you have changed or added.
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2. Use ellipses (3 dots): to show that some text has been removed, use the
ellipses. Three dots indicate that some words have been removed from the
sentence; 4 dots indicate that a substantial amount of text has been deleted,
including the period at the end of a sentence.
Example Quotation, Citation, and Reference
“Engineers are always striving for success, but failure is seldom far from
their minds. In the case of Canadian engineers, this focus on potentially
catastrophic flaws in a design is rooted in a failure that occurred over a
century ago. In 1907 a bridge of enormous proportions collapsed while
still under construction in Quebec. Planners expected that when
completed, the 1,800-foot main span of the cantilever bridge would set
a world record for long-span bridges of all types, many of which had
come to be realized at a great price. According to one superstition, a
bridge would claim one life for every million dollars spent on it. In fact,
by the time the Quebec Bridge would finally be completed, in 1917,
almost ninety construction workers would have been killed in the course
of building the $25 million structure”
H. Petroski, “The Obligation of an Engineer,” in To Forgive Design,
Boston: Belknap Press, 2014, p. 175.
It is permissible to change original wording, shorten quoted material, or
grammatically integrate material, but only if appropriately marking such
changes using square brackets or ellipses:
Example 1:
Petroski observed that “[e]ngineers are always striving for success, but
failure is seldom far from their minds” [3; p. 175].
Example 2:
Petroski recounts the story of a large bridge that was constructed at the
beginning of the twentieth century in Quebec, saying that “by the time [it
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was done], in 1917, almost ninety construction workers [were] killed in the
course of building the $25 million structure” [3; p. 175].
Example 3:
“Planners expected that when completed the … bridge would set a world
record for long-span bridges of all types” [3; p. 175].
2. Parapharasing & Summarizing
Paraphrase and summary differ in that paraphrases focuses on a smaller,
specific section of text that when paraphrased may be close to the length of
the original. Summaries, on the other hand, are condensations of large
chunks of text, so they are much shorter than the original and capture only
the main ideas.
Instead of using direct quotations, you can paraphrase and summarize
evidence to integrate it into your argument more succinctly. Both paraphrase
and summary requires you to read the source carefully, understand it, and
then rewrite the idea in your own words. Using these forms of integration
demonstrates your understanding of the source, because rephrasing requires
a good grasp of the core ideas. Paraphrasing and summarizing also makes
integrating someone else’s ideas into your own sentences and paragraphs a
little easier, as you do not have to merge grammar and writing style you
don’t need to worry about grammatical integration of someone else’s
language.
Example Paraphrase
At the end of its construction, the large cantilever bridge cost $25 million
dollars, but the cost in lives lost far exceeded the prediction of one death for
each million spent. While the planners hoped that the bridge would set a
global record, in fact its claim to fame was much more grim.
Example Summary
According to Petroski, a large bridge built in Quebec during the early part
of the twentieth century claimed the lives of dozens of workers during its
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construction. The collapse of the bridge early in its construction represented
a pivotal design failure for Canadian engineers that shaped the profession.
C. Definition of Paragraph
Organizing paragraphs by topic progresses an argument in a clear and logical
way. Organized body paragraphs are unified (discuss one topic) and coherent
(flow logically from one sentence to the next). Topical structure works like a
map that tells readers what to expect in a paper and how the information
presented all fits together.
A paragraph is a series of sentences on a specific point or topic. A well written
paragraph must have a topic sentence which states the main idea: what the
paragraph is about. While some say the topic sentence can be anywhere in the
paragraph, it is best to put it as the first sentence in a paragraph. The rest of the
sentences in the paragraph support, elaborate, and/or further explain the main
idea expressed in the topic sentence.
There are various types of paragraphs such as summaries, abstracts, and answers
to questions for a specific assignment. In addition, there are specialized types
of paragraphs for various reports such as feasibility studies or performance
reports. Body paragraphs are the main part of writing. Generally speaking, body
paragraphs should have at least three sentences. You can base each of the body
paragraphs in your essay on the same structure, but you certainly do not have
to. Every paragraph except those that work as an introduction or a conclusion is
a body paragraph.
Each body paragraph in essay should cover one topic or main idea. Working
from an outline makes developing body paragraphs easier, or can read over a
draft and watch for shifts in topic within paragraphs or similar ideas that should
be grouped together. Points in argument or pieces of information should be
presented in the same order they were presented in introduction and thesis
statement for maximum clarity.
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D. How to Structure a Body Paragraph
Although there is no absolute formula for writing paragraphs:
The first sentence, or topic sentence, introduces the reader to what kind
of material will be covered in that body paragraph.
Middle sentences present evidence and make additional, detailed
statements to support the main point. These sentences explain how
evidence fits into your topic. In academic writing the types of evidence
that support topics are facts and statistics, expert testimony, examples,
personal experience/opinion, and anecdotal evidence.
The final sentence of a body paragraph should wrap up what the
paragraph has discussed and transition into the next paragraph.
Example:
Consider an essay with this thesis statement: “Plants can be considered
conscious because they respond to their environment, show relationships with
others that share their genetic code, and display emotional reactions.” A reader
will expect the first paragraph after the introduction to discuss plants responding
to their environment. After that information, evidence about plants showing
relationships with their genetic “family” should be presented in a separate
paragraph. The next paragraph will explain how plants display emotional
reactions. These body paragraphs will be followed by a conclusion.
A Unified & Coherent Body Paragraph:
The paragraph begins with a topic sentence, supports the topic with scientific
evidence and an example, and then transitions to the next paragraph:
One factor that determines consciousness is response to the environment a
quality plants definitely display. Scientists found that when a certain plant was
attacked by caterpillars, it reacted by releasing a pheromone that attracts wasps,
a natural predator of the caterpillars (Yong, 2007). This response shows that the
plant not only perceived the threat but acted to eliminate it. A parasitic plant,
the dodder weed, interacts with its environment by “stalking” its victims and
gathering information about which direction to grow. The dodder weed’s
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behavior shows decision‐making and premeditation, both building blocks of
consciousness. Plants’ interaction with the environment is more than just
automatic, and when genetically similar plants are in that environment, things
get even more complicated.
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CHAPTER III
CONCLUSION
Combining data in writing means that combining data or information from various sources can
enrich and strengthen writing. This can help support arguments, provide better context, and
increase the credibility of the writing. However, it is important to combine data carefully, avoid
plagiarism, and properly reference sources to maintain academic integrity and writing ethics.
It is very important to organize paragraphs in a piece of writing in order to create a logistical
flow, understand the basic structure of a paragraph (topic sentence, supporting sentence, and
closing sentence), and use tools such as word links and transition sentences to connect ideas
cohesively. By mastering this skill, you can create writing that is easier to understand and
effective in conveying messages.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lambert, R. (2019a). Sentence types. Colorado School of Mines Writing Center.
Ravaei, K., Harper, T., & Roux, S. (2020). Reading for writing style. WI+RE: Writing
Instruction + Research Education.
Schall, J. (2014a). Topic sentences: Effective technical writing in the information age. Penn
State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.
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