A citation supports a sentence only when the source provides evidence for the sentence’s actual meaning. Compare the population, conditions, outcome, and strength of the claim with the relevant passage or result. Revise the sentence when it says more than the evidence allows.
The goal is a sentence you can defend by opening the cited source and explaining the connection. A citation at the end of a paragraph cannot do that reasoning for you.
Start with the sentence you wrote
Read one evidence-dependent sentence and underline the parts a source must support. Watch for words such as “causes,” “all,” “always,” “improves,” and “proves.” Also inspect quieter claims: “students prefer” still needs a defined population and evidence of preference.
If the citation’s identity is uncertain, resolve that first. Then locate the passage, table, figure, or source material relevant to your sentence. Read enough of the surrounding method and discussion to understand what the result means.
A source’s introduction may summarize earlier research. Its discussion may propose an explanation the study did not directly test. Identify which kind of statement you are using.
Work through a sentence that overreaches
Here is an original synthetic excerpt for practice. It is not a published study and must not be cited as real evidence:
Students in one introductory course chose whether to use optional practice quizzes. Quiz users reported reviewing course material more often. The survey did not measure examination performance.
Now compare this draft sentence:
Practice quizzes raise college students’ exam grades.
The excerpt does not support that sentence. The claimed outcome is exam grades, but the reported outcome is self-reported review frequency. The sentence generalizes to college students, while the excerpt concerns one course. Students chose whether to use the quizzes, so the excerpt also leaves alternative explanations unresolved.
A supported description of the synthetic excerpt would be:
In the course survey, students who chose to use optional quizzes reported reviewing material more often; examination performance was not measured.
This wording preserves the population, voluntary participation, measurement, and missing outcome. It is less sweeping and more informative.
For a real assignment, attach the actual source citation and precise location. Do not transfer this fictional result into your literature review.
Separate result, interpretation, and recommendation
These statements do different work:
| Statement type | Question it must answer |
|---|---|
| Reported result | What did the source observe or establish under its stated conditions? |
| Interpretation | What explanation or implication is being proposed, and by whom? |
| Recommendation | What action is suggested, given the evidence and other constraints? |
You may make an argument beyond a source’s wording, but identify that reasoning as yours and explain its basis. Do not attach a citation in a way that makes your recommendation appear to be a tested result.
For example, the synthetic excerpt might motivate a question about whether quizzes help students review. It cannot establish a recommendation that quizzes should replace other study activities.
Paraphrase without changing the evidence
Paraphrasing means expressing a source’s meaning in your own words while retaining attribution. Summarizing condenses its main ideas, also with attribution. Purdue OWL explains these distinctions in its guide to quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing.
After drafting a paraphrase, compare it with the source again. Check that you did not turn a possibility into a finding, an association into a cause, or an example into a universal rule. Changing vocabulary does not justify changing scope.
Use a direct quotation when the exact wording matters to the analysis. Mark the quotation and preserve its location. A quote still needs context; accurate copying can mislead if the surrounding qualification is omitted.
Check each claim in a combined sentence
A sentence can contain several claims: a method is common, it improves outcomes, and it is inexpensive. One source may support only one of them. Split the sentence or attach sources where their roles are clear.
If the source cannot support the central claim, do not keep searching for a more generous paraphrase. Narrow the claim, find appropriate evidence, or remove it. “Not established by this source” is a useful result.
When two sources appear to disagree, move to a comparison of their methods and outcomes. Comparing sources is a separate step from accurately representing each one.
Do this now
Choose one sentence in your draft and open its cited evidence. Revise any word that exceeds what that evidence supports.
Log what you learned
Keep the revised sentence and source location in the draft or its existing comment. Add the unresolved limitation if one remains. This is already the useful record; you do not need to copy it into another worksheet.