Sources

When I am about to start a paper for English 101 or any class the first thing that I do is review the prompt to determine what I am going to be writing about. If the paper requires me to state a position on certain topic, I will then choose a position and look for articles to support it. The first place that I look for articles is on the Washington State University Libraries database. Once I find multiple articles that support my position on the paper I begin to sort through them. In order to determine which articles to use in my papers I look at a multitude of different things. The first thing of course is the information that is provided in the article. Is it relevant? Does it support the position I am supporting? This is determined by reading all the articles carefully and taking notes on them sometimes. I then look at where the article came from and if it was peer reviewed. Articles that are found in newspapers are often not peer reviewed and can contain bias information and sometimes incorrect information. Newspaper articles are the ones I usually try to avoid. If the article comes from a scholarly journal it is usually a reliable source and it is definitely reliable if it has been peer reviewed. Peer reviewed articles means one or more people have contributed to the article to make sure it is the most accurate and correct thing published. When using these articles in my paper I use them in the order that best fits the paper. If I am talking about the opposing position at the beginning of my paper I will use an article that has references to the opposing position. Basically it depends on the paper, the articles and your writing style to determine when and where to use the articles in your paper.