I believe I have succeeded in using Learning Outcome 2 throughout the semester and improved in the process of integrating quotations into my papers. During this semester in English 110, we learned from our professor, peers, and resources such as “They Say, I Say” how to produce better writing. One of the ideas we focused on was learning how to select, integrate, and explain the quotations used in our work better. What I’ve learned is perfectly demonstrated in Paper 3. It is clear, I have developed over time, and there are no more generic “he says,” or “she said.” No more just restating what the quotation says and moving on and no more using random quotations just to have one in your paper. Specifically, in Paper 3 I wrote, “Courtney relates,” “Emily shares,” and “Even Emily has a similar understanding;.” These are just three ways I integrated large chunks of quotations into my paper, with wording that is more unique and flows much better. This shows development because you can feel the emotion with these words and it is much less boring. Another way, I integrated a quotation was, “Mike Meschke asked his grandmother, “‘What happened next?’” As he put it,“ She simply responded, ‘I brought back the medicine. I guess it worked. Everyone made it.’” This split up the quotation and made it much more conversational. This shows development because you can do so much more with a quotation then just restate it but you can do things like I displayed above and you can also paraphrase. This adds variety into your paper and keeps the reader hooked. Another way in which my development was exhibited in my work was through the analyzing and explaining of quotations. Although some summarizing of the quotation is important, as a writer you must go much deeper than that for the quotation to be a useful and efficient piece of evidence in your work. If you look at my Paper 3 and at all the quotations, you will see following it there is a thorough summary and then my own voice and opinion exerted into the paper. The quotations, which are carefully selected, are used to back up my argument and using your own voice is essential to making the paper have purpose. These examples all show that my work has developed over time.
