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Integrating evidence
To reinforce your argument, integrate the analysis of experts by using citations - both direct and indirect.
- Direct quotations are when you use the author’s exact words and require quotation marks and a reference. These should be used sparingly and add value to your analysis, not replace it.
- Indirect quotations are when you paraphrase the author’s words, i.e. rewrite in your own words. They also require a reference. Paraphrasing allows your own ‘voice’ to be heard in the text.
The example below uses Harvard style from EasyCite.
Click on the buttons to show direct quotes and paraphrasing. The text of the left is from the original excerpt and the text on the right shows how direct quotes and paraphrases are used.
| Excerpt from article | Integration of evidence in essay |
|---|---|
|
Wright CL & Turkienicz B (1988) 'Brasilia and the ageing of modernism', Cities, 5(4):347-364, doi:10.1016/0264-2751(88)90025-X. An analysis of the urban layout sheds some light on this. Peculiarities in the combination of the highway system and the superblocks seem to have produced some bad results, at least in the case of Brasilia. The highway system is devoted to high speed motor vehicles. There are few crossings and roundabouts, and the terrain is flat. The super-blocks are self-contained dwelling units with a single access route. Inside is a relatively safe area for pedestrians, with wide entrances followed by narrower winding routes, as opposed to the wide, straight, long highways outside. When a car enters one of these axes it is naturally travelling at high speed. Pedestrians moving from one superblock to another or from one sector to another, have to cross these dangerous routes. The few underground crossings that exist are seldom used, since they are narrow, have ‘L’ shaped entrances and have become dirty and smelly: they are places where assaults can occur without surveillance. The combination of the superblock and the highway represents two extreme poles, with no intermediary scale. The result is a pervasive lack of continuity in the urban tissue: The space between the superblocks is clearly not a pedestrian's terrain. |
The separation of land use as part of modernist design is also demonstrated in the circulation networks, with roads and pedestrian pathways disconnected from each other. Brasilia’s pilot plan was developed with the two main roadways as the predominant means of circulation (Madaleno 1996). This was due to the automobile being perceived as a sign of modernist status and progress, a way forward literally and metaphorically. Read (2005:269) observes however, that it is ‘impossible to circulate around the city without a car’. Large-scale residences have vast spaces in between with few or no facilities for pedestrians who, in order to travel to another sector, must cross a number of multiple lane, high-speed expressways (Wright and Turkienicz 1988). The spatial segregation and transport solutions have resulted in ‘a pervasive lack of continuity in the urban tissue: The space between the superblocks is clearly not a pedestrian’s terrain’ (Wright and Turkienicz 1988:355). This incongruity is an illustration of how the pursuit of modern ideals by Costa and Niemeyer was unwavering, and where inflexible conceptual thought does not fulfil the needs of the residents of this utopia. |
Read the original text below and see how direct and indirect quotations are used:
[Direct quote] Wright, C L & Turkienicz, B 1988, ‘Brasilia and the ageing of modernism’, Cities, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 347-364, viewed 1 July 2014, Elsevier Science Direct. [End direct quote]
An analysis of the urban layout sheds some light on this. [Indirect quote] Peculiarities in the combination of the highway system and the superblocks seem to have produced some bad results, [End indirect quote] at least in the case of Brasilia. [Indirect quote] The highway system is devoted to high speed motor vehicles. [End indirect quote] There are few crossings and roundabouts, and the terrain is flat. The super-blocks are self-contained dwelling units with a single access route. Inside is a relatively safe area for pedestrians, with wide entrances followed by narrower winding routes, as opposed to the wide, straight, long highways outside. When a car enters one of these axes it is naturally travelling at high speed. [Indirect quote] Pedestrians moving from one superblock to another or from one sector to another, have to cross these dangerous routes. [End indirect quote] The few underground crossing that exist are seldom used, since they are narrow, have ‘L’ shaped entrances and have become dirty and smelly: they are places where assaults can occur without surveillance. The combination of the superblock and the highway represents two extreme poles, with no intermediary scale. [Direct quote] The result is a pervasive lack of continuity in the urban tissue: The space between the superblocks is clearly not a pedestrian's terrain. [End direct quote]
Now see how the evidence is integrated:
The separation of land use as part of modernist design is also demonstrated in the circulation networks, with roads and pedestrian pathways disconnected from each other. Brasilia’s pilot plan was developed with the two main roadways as the predominant means of circulation (Madaleno 1996). This was due to the automobile being perceived as a sign of modernist status and progress, a way forward literally and metaphorically. Read (2005, p. 269) observes however, that it is ‘impossible to circulate around the city without a car’. [Indirect quote] Large- scale residences have vast spaces in between with few or no facilities for pedestrians who, in order to travel to another sector, must cross a number of multiple lane, high-speed expressways (Wright & Turkienicz 1988). [End indirect quote] The spatial segregation and transport solutions have resulted in [Direct quote] ‘a pervasive lack of continuity in the urban tissue: The space between the superblocks is clearly not a pedestrian’s terrain’ (Wright & Turkienicz 1988, p. 355). [End direct quote] This incongruity is an illustration of how the pursuit of modern ideals by Costa and Niemeyer was unwavering, and where inflexible conceptual thought does not fulfil the needs of the residents of this utopia.
The RMIT Harvard referencing guide was used.