Chapter 15- The Bedford Researcher

Chapter 15 of The Bedford Researcher examines how to use sources effectively. This chapter provides emphasis on the correct usage of quotations, paraphrases, and summaries. Of course, using reliable and credible sources is a good way of providing evidence to support your reasons, opinions, and arguments within your project. Additionally, you can also use these sources to contrast ideas and arguments. TBR suggests you express complex ideas from within your sources as concisely as possible by paraphrasing or summarizing. On the other hand, if you want to the express the emotional qualities of an author’s position, using quotations can be an effective method. This chapter reminds you to always support your assertions while making an argument. For example, you do not want to provide the reader with a paragraph consisting of plain facts, because no evidence is provided to support where these facts came from. In addition to using sources for providing evidences, you can also use them to set the mood of your paper. According to the book, Images, illustrations, and quotations  tend to have an emotional impact on readers, and when used appropriately, can lead your readers to react in certain ways. This chapter reminds us how to properly identify sources within your project, such as using parenthetical citations after quotations. The book also reviews how to modify quotes to make them fit within your paper. Again, the importance of distinguishing your ideas from someone else’s ideas is emphasized.