Today I’ve been reading an article written by Kyle D. Stedman called “Annoying Ways People use Sources”. Stedman writes about how the incorrect use of sources can be very bothersome and the fact that when sources are used incorrectly, it can be distracting and take away from the work of writing as a whole. Today I would like to analyze the article and add my thoughts about the annoying ways people use sources.
The first thing Stedman says is that sloppy writing is similar to slow driving. What he means by this is that when we drive in the fast lane and find ourselves behind someone who is going slow, we tend to get annoyed because the whole purpose of the fast lane is to either pass people in the other lanes or simply go faster than otherwise allowed. You may get annoyed at slow driving because the driver either doesn’t know that the fast lane is used to go fast or they don’t care. This is similar to the poor use of citation and other source usage in writing because when you improperly use sources your readers may become annoyed because you don’t know the rules or simply do not care.
I see what Stedman is getting at here. This analogy clicks for me and I can understand fully what he is getting at. Sloppy source usage can reflect badly on the writer the same way slow driving can reflect poorly on the driver. Slow driving is annoying to drivers who want to drive fast, similarly to how sloppy source use reflects poorly upon the writer.
The second analogy that Stedman made was that of Armadillo roadkill. He makes the example that when you are pleasantly driving along and run over an armadillo, it is surprising and may come out of nowhere. Similar to how a sudden quote may take a reader by surprise and leave you questioning where it came from. As Stedman says: “I submit that there’s a kinship between the experiences: both involve a normal, pleasant activity (driving; reading) stopped suddenly short by
an unexpected barrier (a sudden armadillo; a sudden quotation)” This statement is very true and I agree that there should be a warning or lead up to a quotation.
I think the way Mr. Stedman uses these analogies is both very simple and attention grasping, but also well explained and thoroughly introduced. I agree that there needs to be good judgement and proper use when using sources. There also needs to be a warning or preparation for the quotation so the readers are ready for it and understand that a quote is coming.
Works cited:
Charlie's English Blog 