When asked to analyze a certain aspect of the writing process for my class earlier this week, my mind clouded with the fog of indecision.
Writing is such an abstract process, and it can be argued that every component of composition is important. Would I focus on drafting? The stages of anxiety and planning, of ideas scribbled carelessly onto notebooks? Or perhaps revision, paying attention to the polishing of a draft, elevating the vocabulary and checking for grammar mistakes with a fine toothed comb? As I sat sifting through a sea of pointless e-mails about football games and 20% off Bath and Bodyworks coupons, I glanced over to the folders on the left of my Gmail window. Being the most unorganized person on the planet, these folders are my safe haven and allow me to sort through the important and the unimportant. It was only when I looked at the third folder down, labeled “sources”, that I realized what part of the writing process I wanted to analyze. I clicked on the folder and my screen flooded with various academic journals and database links that I’ve either used or will potentially use for papers. When I usually think about the writing process, I often think about the craft of writing. I think of things like using voice, revising drafts, and brainstorming, things that are crucial to the development of a paper. I think the process of incorporating sources is often overlooked and treated as an afterthought of the writing process. What are sources? If you're a student, you've probably heard your teacher say something along the lines of "Please include a minimum of 4 academic sources in your paper". Sources are scholarly articles or journals that other people have written that you have to respond to in your paper. Writing with sources can be really difficult, but when you get the hang of it, it can make your papers stronger and give you a better understanding of what you're writing about.
There seems to be this idea that by including other sources in a paper, writers lose their own voice. Until further investigation on sources, I used to agree with this. However, I now realize that writing with sources brings a richness to papers that wouldn’t be there if only the writer’s voice and opinions were considered. Writing well with sources is no easy task and requires an immense understanding of ideas. Though writing with sources is arduous, students can do it beautifully. When students use sources in a productive way, they are able to transcend the goal of completing an assignment and join a community that promotes critical thought.
As a student, I agree that the organization of multiple voices into one unified research paper can be overwhelming, but I think the anxiety experienced by weaving sources doesn’t necessarily reflect “incapability” as much as it does a lack of authority. Students writers come from multiple backgrounds and communities, but each student writer shares a commonality: they are being graded on their work. The fact that the student is producing something for the professor to evaluate gives the student the feeling that the teacher has more authority than them. Due to this lack of authority experienced by students, student writers approach research papers carefully, often being more concerned with correctness than with evaluation of the sources to produce a more thoughtful response. Sources don't have to be intimidating! The next time you have to write with sources, think of your paper as a debate between you and your friends. When you find sources that you agree with, use them to support your argument and explain why you agree with them. When you find sources that don't support your argument, use them and explain why you don't agree. Most college papers require sources, but it doesn't have to be a source of stress.
