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Tatyana Kan
ENG112-07
Prof. Intawiwat
June 26, 2016

Assignment: Discuss Sources and the best and worst places to find sources and why. What
is the purpose of incorporating sources?

Incorporating sources is necessary when a paper, or a project, or a speech outline require

a research, because very often our own knowledge and judgment are not enough. There are
various sources (scientific, journalistic, fiction, articles, dictionaries, reference books, journals,
interviews, autobiographies, etc.) that might be used in the process of deliberation, development
and writing of the essay. Accurate and thorough research is very important because it provides
facts, details and supporting material which make the text of the essay impressive and
convincing. Sources should be chosen carefully, because they vary significantly in purpose,
method, media, relevance, audience and authority (Ruszkiewicz 438). There are two major types
of sources: primary sources and secondary sources.
A primary source is written (or recorded) by a person who took part in a particular event,
or was a witness of it. Examples of primary sources might be personal diaries, memoires,
autobiographies, letters, records of speeches or interviews, etc.
A secondary source describes or interprets the primary source. For example, an article, or
a book, or a movie about a person or event; quotes; stories based on primary sources, etc.
A researcher should aim to use mostly primary sources because such sources represent "raw"
data, and in the process of analyzing the primary source, a researcher will make his/her own
conclusions and form more genuine opinion and idea on the subject (Ruszkiewicz 439). If a

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researcher uses secondary sources, he/she will be to some extent influenced by the ideas and
points of view of other people, i.e. the authors of these secondary sources.
Speaking of the best places to find sources, the first thing that comes to my mind is
Online research databases, such as ProQuest. These professional research databases include the
huge variety of scholarly journals, articles from trustworthy magazines and reputable
newspapers. Many of these sources are peer-reviewed, which proves their credibility. Also there
are government, academic or organization websites that provide reliable information. Another
great source of dependable information is the library, where books, magazines, newspapers and
any other materials are reviewed by experienced staff (Ruszkiewicz 442).
Among the worst places to find academic sources Wikipedia is probably the champion.
Even though it calls itself an encyclopedia, a serious word that is usually associated with
scholarly research, it is not considered a reliable source, because everyone can contribute
information there. Nevertheless, Wikipedia might serve as a good start for a preliminary
research. Other examples of bad sources of dependable information are commercial web sites,
personal blogs, tabloid press, etc. The information provided by these sources is usually biased,
incompetent, and rarely supported by solid evidence.
The main purpose of incorporating sources is to provide credible information that will
support writer's arguments, or illustrate writer's ideas with convincing examples, thus giving the
reader an impression that the paper is well-grounded and its author is knowledgeable and
trustworthy.

Works cited
Ruszkiewicz, John J., Dolmage, Jay T. How To Write Anything, Third Edition.
Bedford/St.Martin's, Boston,

NY, 2015. Print.