The Source Sandwich Tutorial, 4

• Source Sandwich: Table of Contents

Page 4

Steps of the Source Sandwich

Step 1: Introduce the source.  This is ALL in your own words and voice.  You do not introduce the source by using the source.  Introduce the source by writing about it in your own words. You may want to do things like

·       Name the author and give his or her credentials

·       Describe the experiment, study, or survey

·       Briefly summarize the main points of the article or book

Step 2: Give the quotation, paraphrase, summary, or fact. This is in a combination of your own words and the source content.  You can create step 2 most professionally and academic by paraphrasing or summarizing the source.   No matter whether you use lead-in, integration terms to express the source and then add part of it in as a quote, or if you fully integrate the source content as a paraphrase or summary, you must remember that any sentence that contains information from an outside source must also have an in-text citation embedded prior to the end punctuation of the sentence.

·       Use ellipsis (…) to show where you have removed words

·       Use square brackets ([  ]) to show words that you have changed

Step 3: Explain how the quote is relevant to your paper.  This is ALL in your own words and voice.  You do not simply create step 2 and then move on to another source point.  You need to analyze, assess, and synthesize the importance of this outside, scholarly content.  After all, you are using it to lend strength to your argument.  Tell the readers how this works in your paper to prove your point.

·       Instead of assuming that your reader will understand how the quote relates to the main ideas of your paper, make it very clear in your explanation

·       Write a few sentences explaining how the source is evidence that supports your ideas, or how the source is on the other side of the argument.

Often, it is easiest to begin with Step 2—the sentence that has the source content integrated into it.  If this seems like it will work for you, then, to ‘make the source sandwich,’ you need to write out (or type up) your sentence with the embedded/integrated source content. See the steps above for what goes into creating the ‘meat’ sentence.

Then, once you have your source content in a sentence with a proper lead-in and source integration, you would work on creating the buns to encapsulate that meat.

Create the top bun/bread…

Look at that ‘meat’ sentence and create another sentence—without any source materials in it—to introduce the topic of the ‘meat’ sentence.  (The top bun should only be one sentence long.) This is your top piece of bread/bun. 

Create the bottom bun/bread…

Then, read your ‘meat’ sentence again.  This time create a sentence—without any source materials in it—to explain and analyze the topic expressed in the ‘meat’ sentence.  You can have a very thick bottom bun if you have a lot to say about the source content.  (The bottom bun does not only need to be one sentence long.)

The main point for the bottom bun is to

explain what the source was saying,

analyze its content and importance, and

evaluate why it is important to your overall point of the body-paragraph (topic sentence)—which ultimately makes it important to your overall point of the essay (THESIS statement). 

This section (a sentence or two) is your bottom piece of bread/bun. 

In a body-paragraph, you can have multiple source sandwiches.  However, the primary concepts to keep in mind are:

MEAT: You must integrate the source content into a sentence of your own, TOP BUN: You must create a sentence to introduce the topic/source content of the meat sandwich, and BOTTOM BUN: You must wrap-up the source sandwich with one (or more) sentences that explain, analyze, and evaluate the source material while expressing its importance to your overall point for the body-paragraph.

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