How to Present Research Info: IQPSR Combo for Research Writing

​A.  IQPSR Combo for Research Writing

• Introduce the Intent of the info that follows. [Make clear what purpose point you want the research info to help support.]
• Quote the key words, and cite the source. [Be faithful to the original.]
• Paraphrase accurately the ideas in the quoted words in your own words and in your own sentence structure, and cite the source. [Be sure to understand the original ideas.]
• Summarize the gist of the source. [Focus on thesis and main points, and be concise.]
• Respond to the research info. [Agree or disagree? Your thoughts.]

B.  How to Use IQPSR
Introducing the Intent:

1. Figure out what key point you want to make.
2. Choose the research info that can help explain and support this key point.
3. Give your purpose point in one direct, concise Intent statement.

Quoting:

1. Copy the exact words and enclose them in double quotation marks.
2. Cite the source right after the quote: "   " (Last Name page).
3. Use [...] to omit unimportant words from the middle or end of the original sentence.
4. Change the capitalization when omitting words from the beginning of the sentence. For example, Original: "In my opinion, poverty in America is mostly caused by chronic laziness" (Smith 22). To omit the first phrase: "[P]overty in America is mostly caused by chronic laziness" (Smith 22).
5. Use [   ] to insert clarifying words into the original sentence. For example, "They [people for decades receiving free food and housing help from the government] should start working" (James 44).
6. When quoting a quote, make the author clear and cite properly. For example, As pointed out by Harvard Professor Kathryn Edin, an expert on poverty issues, "Getting out of poverty takes extraordinary perseverance" (Edin qtd. in Gorman A14).
7. When quoting a paragraph (4 or more typed lines), state the intent purpose point of the long quote and end the statement with a colon; use a separate paragraph and use 5-letter indention for the block format; add no quotation marks and end the paragraph quote with the period; cite the source at the end. For example,

          Mark Twain observed in his travels and later used his traveling experiences in his literary works, as pointed out by two scholars on Twain:
                  Keen as were his powers of observation, Mark Twain never took a mere bystander's view of life and the world: he felt such a
                  strong affinity with all of humanity that he was receptive of all experience, and absorbed into his mind a multitude of impressions
                  that later found emotional release through his writing. Those early experiences and impressions formed attitudes and his general
                  outlook on life, and they provided the matrix for all of Mark Twain's literary work. (Brashear and Rodney 6)
 
Paraphrasing:

1. Read to comprehend the quoted words accurately.
2. Replace the content words with synonyms.
3. Restructure the sentence without losing the original ideas. 
4. Cite the source.

Hints:

• Paraphrasing takes strong patience, strong reading and strong writing skills, and frequent practice.
• Choose a strong quoted sentence, read the quoted words carefully for an accurate understanding, and then tell a friend about the sentence: The author here wants to say that....
• Write on paper your initial paraphrasing sentence and check it with the original sentence to see how accurately you have captured the key ideas and whether you have used your own words and sentence structure for the ideas. 
• Revise the sentence for a strong paraphrase and cite the source.

​Summarizing:

1. Introduce the Intent [purpose point] of the summary.
2. Introduce the author and title of the source.
3. Present the gist (thesis, main points, key supporting details] of the whole source:

• in the same order as the original;
• in a highly condensed way [3-5 sentences for an article; a paragraph or two for a book];
• mostly in your own words; only when quoting key terms directly from the source do you need to cite it in a summary. Never cite a source as a whole in a summary: e.g., (Zhao 1-289).

More Helpful Notes & Reminders:

1. MLA uses the simple present tense for sources, regardless of its publication time. Example: Humor Your English Grammar by Dr. Zhao, first published in 2000, aims to ....
2. When paraphrasing and summarizing, focus on the given ideas in the source. Example: The author of the article discusses... (Last Name page).  Not: To me, the article is about....
3. Remember to give in-text citations for paraphrases. No matter how much time you have spent on them, the ideas are still borrowed.
4. Always make clear what words are yours, and what are borrowed; what ideas are yours, and what are borrowed. Always cite the source at the sentence level for clarity, for credibility and for avoiding plagiarism.

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