Throughout my final Significant Writing prompt, I have been able to integrate the ideas of others with my own in various means. In my essay I often use paraphrasing, summary and direct quotes to support my thesis, direct quote being the most frequently used. Specifically, I used the Barclay paragraph template for one of my paragraphs to integrate and explain my quote. I included a quote from Julie Beck and summarized a story with some quotes from an interviewee, Ken MacArthur. I began the paragraph with a claim sentence, introduced the quote from Beck and threaded into my text. I then explained the purpose of it and then transitioned to the story from MacArthur before explaining the purpose of both pieces of evidence. It was here that I ensured that all readers understood my ideas and the connections between the ideas of the other individuals and one’s self. In the beginning of the year I tried to follow the steps that I used in high school in order to write paragraphs and include evidence. This was always a very cookie cutter format that focused more on showcasing the ideas of others rather than my own ideas. Although the Barclay paragraph is a template for writing, throughout this semester I have learned to use a template as a guide rather than the law. I have developed my ability to weave my ideas and arguments with those of someone else in the form of quotes and summary. This makes my essays more personal, original, and thought provoking.
