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Research isn’t just about collecting information; it’s about showing how your ideas connect with the ideas of others. Once you’ve gathered credible and relevant sources, the next step is learning how to use them effectively in your writing. Strong research involves integrating what you’ve learned to support your own ideas, demonstrate critical thinking, and contribute to the scholarly conversation.
Using sources effectively means weaving them into your work with purpose — not simply inserting quotes or facts. You’ll learn how to quote, paraphrase, and summarize in ways that strengthen your argument while keeping your own voice at the center. You’ll also practice citing sources correctly to give credit to original authors and avoid plagiarism.
Taking the time to use and cite your sources carefully will strengthen your writing, show respect for others’ work, and build your credibility as an academic researcher.
Using sources is a core part of academic writing. Sources give your ideas a foundation and show your reader how your thinking connects to existing knowledge. When you use sources effectively, you:
Think of research as joining an ongoing conversation — your role is to listen, respond, and add something new.
Synthesis means showing how the information you’ve found in your research connects with other sources and with your own ideas. It goes beyond simply summarizing what each author says. Instead, it demonstrates how ideas, perspectives, and evidence come together to support your overall argument or research question.
When synthesizing, look for similarities, differences, or patterns among your sources. Ask yourself:
To see these relationships clearly, organize your information before you start writing. You might:
To learn more, check out Synthesizing Sources from Purdue OWL.
Once you’ve gathered sources, the next step is to use them effectively in your writing. Integrating sources means weaving other people’s ideas into your paragraphs in a way that supports your point.
Rather than dropping in a quote and moving on, introduce each source with a signal phrase and follow it with your own commentary. This helps your writing flow naturally and lets readers see how the evidence connects to your ideas.
Examples of signal phrases:
To learn more, check out Integrating Sources by Curtin University.
Strong research writing balances your ideas with the ideas of others. You should always be in control of your argument — sources are there to support, not replace, your thinking.
Keep your voice clear by:
Understanding when to summarize, paraphrase, or quote a source is an important part of using information effectively in your writing. Each approach serves a different purpose from giving a brief overview, to restating ideas in your own words, to using an author’s exact language when it’s especially powerful or precise. The table below outlines the key differences and best practices for each method according to Purdue OWL.
| Technique | Key Features | How To Use It |
|---|---|---|
| Summarizing |
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| Paraphrasing |
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| Quotations |
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The best way to understand these methods is through practice. Try using the Sample Essay provided by Purdue OWL to practice summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting effectively.
Citing means giving credit to the original sources of the ideas, words, or information you use in your research and writing. Any time you quote, paraphrase, or summarize someone else’s work, you include a citation that tells your reader where that information came from.
Citations usually appear in two places:
Citing is more than a formatting rule; it’s an essential part of being a responsible researcher. When you cite your sources, you:
You don’t have to format citations completely on your own. Many tools can help you collect, organize, and generate them accurately.
Most UNT Library databases (such as EBSCOhost, ProQuest, and Gale) include built-in citation tools.
How to use them:
As a UNT student, you have free access to RefWorks, a reference management tool that helps you collect, organize, and cite your research sources. If you haven’t created an account yet, watch the video below to learn how to get started and set up your account.
Important: New users will need to enter a UNT access code, to set up their account. Contact AskUs@unt.edu to request the access code.
Word includes a citation generator under the "References" tab.
These tools can save you time when creating your Bibliography or Works Cited page, but they aren’t perfect. If you’re not already familiar with the citation style you’re using, it’s easy to overlook small errors and those details can affect your grade. Always review each citation carefully to make sure it’s accurate and properly formatted.
In English courses, the most common citation style is MLA (Modern Language Association) format. MLA emphasizes the author and page number in in-text citations and includes a full list of sources at the end of your paper on a Works Cited page.
Other Citation Styles you may come across: