How to Use Information from a Secondary Source in Literature
(How to Use an Article by a Literary Critic)
What is a "primary source"?
When you are writing about literature, the text that you are studying is called the "primary source." For example, if you are writing about Huckleberry Finn, that novel is your primary source of evidence for whatever argument (thesis) you are making in your paper. You quote from the novel to support your claims about the literary techniques used in the story and the universality of the story's theme. You analyze certain parts of the story to determine what is valuable about it as a work of art. You defend your claims with direct references to your primary source—that is, with quotations from the story.
What is a "literary critic"?
Just as someone who critiques a work or art is called an "art critic" or someone who critiques a movie is called a "movie critic," someone who critiques a work of literature is called a "literary critic." You are now an official literary critic. There are many other literary critics in the world. In fact, a lot of university professors make their livings as literary critics. They teach a few classes but spend most of their time studying, analyzing, and writing about literature. When you write your own literary analysis, you will want to read what some of these professional literary critics have said about your text.
What is a "secondary source"?
Secondary sources are essays or entire books that have been written by literary critics about the text you are studying. To write with authority about your choice of literary text, you should familiarize yourself with what has been written about that text in the past. In fact, one goal of your writing should be to add something to the body of critical work that has been done on the text in question.
You want to be sure that the secondary sources you use are reputable ones. Look for sources that have been written by established literary critics. You can find sources you can trust by looking for books published by reputable publishing houses or articles indexed in reputable database services, such as those from our WSCC library. For example, here is a bibliographic entry for a secondary source for Huckleberry Finn:
Lynn, Kenneth S. Huckleberry Finn: Text, Sources, and Criticism. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1961.
[
Nadel, Alan. "Invisible Man, Huck, and Jim." Invisible Criticism. Iowa City: The University of Iowa Press, 1988. 124-146.
What is a "literary tradition"?
Many of the works that we read have what is called a "literary tradition." In other words, many, many readers down through the years have made their own attempts to analyze and interpret these stories. These critiques have been collected in print. You will probably have the opportunity to read through years of commentary on the story that you are working on.
It is important to read through some of what has been written about your story. When you do, you get lots of important information about the author, when the author wrote, what was happening when the author wrote, why the author wrote, what important themes are in the story, how different readers have understood the motivations of the characters—and so on and so on.
Do you want to make your paper just a collection of what other people have said? NO!
You do not read secondary sources to help you write your paper. You write your paper on your own. Be sure that you have your own argument and that you write mainly about what is in the story and support your argument with quotations from the story. I cannot give a good grade to a paper that does not give plenty of good supporting quotations from the story.
But you do read secondary sources to help you flesh out your ideas. You can use secondary sources to support what you say. You can also use them to launch an idea that goes against the literary tradition. You may not agree with what other people say about the story you have read. You can quote from those critics to show what you disagree with and then explain why you disagree.
A good example of using secondary sources
Here is an example of a couple of paragraphs from a student paper that uses secondary sources. This paper is by Kenneth Scheff and is printed in the eighth edition of the Little, Brown Handbook on pp. 811, in the chapter called "Reading and Writing about Literature."
SAMPLE PARAGRAPH FROM STUDENT PAPER / TEACHER'S EXPLANATIONThis is an introductory paragraph.
Gwendolyn Brook's poem "The Bean Eaters" runs only eleven lines. It is written in plain language about very plain people. Yet its meaning is ambiguous. One critic, George E. Kent, says the old couple who eat beans"have had their day and exist now as time-markers" (141). However, another reader, D. H. Melhem, perceives not so much time marking as "endurance" in the old couple (123).Is this despairing picture of old age or a more positive portrait? / Notice how the student writer opens up the paper with the author's name and the title of the work. The student quickly gets to the point of his own argument.
Notice that in this phrase the student writer has identified the literary critic and has introduced the quotation from the critic.
Notice that the student writer has only used a portion of the sentence in the original quotation. This makes for a smoother sentence.
Notice that since the literary critic was named in the sentence, no name appears in the parentheses. Notice that the page from which the quotation was taken appears in the parentheses.
Here the student has paraphrased another literary critic (only quoting a single word, "endurance"). Once again, the page number is given in parentheses.
This is the student's thesis. In this paper, the student will defend his interpretation that the old couple of "The Bean Eaters" lead lives of some despair but finally affirmation due to their close and long-lived relationship. The allusions to the two literary critics help the student writer make this point.
This is a body paragraph.
A pessimistic reading of this poem seems justified. The critic Harry B. Shaw reads the lines just quoted as perhaps despairing: "they are putting things away as if winding down an operation and readying for withdrawal from activity" (80). However, Shaw observes, the word but also indicates the couple's "determination to go on living, a refusal to give up and let things go" (80). This dual meaning is at the heart of Brooks's poem: the old people live a meager existence, yes, but their will, their self-control, and their connection with another person--their essential humanity--are unharmed. / Notice that the student begins this body paragraph with a clear topic sentence.
The critic, Shaw, is used to support the student writer's argument that "a pessimistic reading . . . is justified." Notice that the student uses a combination of quotation and paraphrase from Shaw's work.
IMPORTANT: Notice that the student writer explains the quotations from the literary critic and explains how the quotations relate to the student's own thesis.
IMPORTANT: The rest of the student's paper is entirely devoted to the student's OWN analysis and use of quotations directly from the primary text.
How do I document a secondary source?
You document a secondary source the same way you do a primary source. If you use a direct quotation, you must put quotation marks around the exact language of the author. If you paraphrase (use your own words), you do not have to put quotation marks. However, whether you quote or paraphrase, you must put the page number and author's name in parentheses. You must also create a works cited page and list the sources (both primary and secondary) in proper MLA format. You can find correct MLA format in the Little, Brown Handbook that you used in Composition I and II or in any good, college-level English handbook.
To sum up, here are some tips about using secondary sources:
- Remember that your primary source is the text itself. Fill your paper with quotations and references to the story to back up your claims.
- Use your secondary sources, the references to literary critics, sparingly. Do NOT let the other literary critics take over your paper. One or two references to a literary critic is plenty.
- Your main purpose in consulting the other literary critics is to get a broader, fuller understanding of the story you are going to write about and to get a sense of how what you are going to say fits into the literary tradition.
- Document secondary sources just as you would primary sources, using parenthetical citations in the text and a works cited page.