In previous attempts at writing essays and adding in quotes as support to my claims, I struggled with introducing the main idea and the source of the quote first. It was typical of me to introduce a paragraph by stating what another source believes about the topic instead of declaring my opinion first. Instead of allowing the quote to support my thoughts such as I do now, I made the quote speak for me and my essays revolved around the source. I didn’t introduce sources or authors like I should’ve and usually stated their quotes and ideas by jumping straight into what the article was saying. In my significant writing project “The Science and Art of the Child’s Mind”, I can see great improvements in the way I incorporated sources, quotes, and evidence. I wouldn’t say that I strictly follow the Barclay Paragraph Formula, but it definitely was a good resource to help me get a grasp of how a paragraph should be organized and how quotes should be introduced into the discussion. In my usual style of writing, I discuss what I believe and the main point of the paragraph in a few sentences. Following that, I state the author’s name and the title of their essay, and briefly explain the main point of their essay. I then insert the quote and explain what it means, how I feel about their idea, and how it relates to my argument.

Here is an example of this from my essay “The Science and Art of the Child’s Mind”: As I work with children as a school psychologist, I will need to rely on the influence that art has on science to gain a greater sense of empathy. Art itself doesn’t provide a way of empathetic thinking, but the more creative mind that the understanding of art develops allows many people to achieve this sense of empathy. Yo-Yo Ma is a strong advocate for integrating art and science to reach a greater level of human of capacity. While I have a slightly different view on how and why the arts and sciences should be merged, I agree with many of his main points. In his essay, “Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy, and Education,” Ma makes very agreeable points regarding art, empathy, and its relevance to society. Ma argues that “Empathy comes when you understand something deeply through arts and literature and can thus make unexpected connections.” With this quote, Ma is explaining how empathy is gained through the understanding of various forms of art. According to what my career will entail, I will need to have a great amount of empathy and deep understanding for children and their behaviors.