Welcome back. In our last lesson, we focused on building the bridges between your narration and your sources' words. Now, we'll take the final and most crucial step in handling sourced material: learning to balance it with your own analysis.
Today's learning outcome is to balance quoted material with original analysis to maintain authorial control over the narrative. This is where your voice as a writer truly takes center stage. Instead of simply presenting what others have said, you'll learn to frame, interpret, and explain that material, guiding your reader through the story and making a clear point. This skill is what elevates a piece from a simple report to compelling journalistic analysis.
1. What is Analysis? Answering the "So What?"
Before we can add analysis to our writing, we need a clear understanding of what it is. In journalism, analysis is the work of explaining the significance of the information you present. When you include a quote, your analysis answers the silent question your reader is asking: "So what? Why does this quote matter?"
The following video from the Writing with Andrew channel, though academic in focus, offers an exceptionally clear, step-by-step breakdown of what analysis entails. It uses a simple analogy that we can easily apply to our journalistic work.
Analytical Writing in 3 Simple Steps
This video, "Analytical Writing in 3 Simple Steps," provides a foundational framework for understanding analysis.
Please watch the following three segments. Focus on the core questions the presenter poses for any analytical task. The definition: Pay attention to the simple analogy of analyzing a pen. This illustrates the core idea of breaking something down to explain how its parts contribute to the whole. Explaining significance: This is the most important part for our purposes. Notice the emphasis on answering the "So what?" question—explaining why a detail (like a specific word choice, or in our case, a quote) matters to the overall purpose. Showing your work: This section explains the importance of making your thought process explicit for the reader. In journalism, this is how you build credibility and maintain control of the narrative.
As the video demonstrates, strong analysis involves three key steps that we can adapt for our work with quotes:
- Identify the Detail (The Quote): You select a specific, significant quote that serves as evidence.
- Explain its Significance (The "So What?"): You explain what the quote reveals, implies, or demonstrates. You unpack its meaning for the reader.
- Show Your Reasoning (The Connection): You explicitly connect the quote back to the larger point or argument of your article.
By following these steps, you are no longer just a presenter of information; you are an interpreter and a guide.
2. The Quote Sandwich: A Practical Framework
A simple and powerful way to ensure you're always balancing quotes with analysis is to use a structure often called the "Quote Sandwich." It ensures that a quote is never "dropped" into the text on its own.
A quote sandwich has three parts:
- The Top Bun (Introduction/Context): This is your own voice introducing the quote. You might provide context or make a claim that the quote will support. This is what we worked on in our last lesson on transitions.
- The Filling (The Quote): This is the direct quote from your source, serving as evidence.
- The Bottom Bun (Analysis/Explanation): This is your voice again, explaining the quote's significance. You answer the "So what?" here. You might break down the source's language, explain what the quote reveals, or connect it back to the main theme of your article.
This structure forces you to frame every quote with your own authorial voice, ensuring you remain in control of the narrative.
3. Writing with Authority
This practice of analyzing your source material is directly linked to a core principle of strong journalism: writing with authority. Your authority as a writer doesn't just come from finding good sources; it comes from your ability to synthesize information and present a clear, insightful perspective.
The following short reading from journalism expert Steve Buttry’s blog discusses this exact point.
You can quote me on that: Advice on attribution for journalists
This reading from a blog post by veteran journalist Steve Buttry explains the writer's responsibility beyond simply attributing information.
Please read the two sections under the headings "Attribution isn’t enough" and "Writing with authority." Focus on the idea that a reporter's job isn't just to report that someone said something, but to put that statement in context and, when possible, write from a position of synthesized knowledge.
As Buttry explains, simply attributing a quote doesn't absolve you of responsibility. Your job is to provide context, check facts, and build a narrative. The "bottom bun" of your quote sandwich is where you do this intellectual work, demonstrating your authority and guiding the reader to a deeper understanding.
Practice Exercise
Let's put this into practice. Imagine you're writing a profile of a film director known for intense, dark dramas who has just released a surprisingly lighthearted romantic comedy.
Your Narration (The Top Bun):
After a career spent exploring the darkest corners of the human psyche in films like Ashes of Yesterday and The Midnight Toll, director Anya Sharma’s latest project, Summer in the City, is a jarring pivot. The film is a sun-drenched, optimistic romantic comedy, a move that has baffled critics and fans alike.
The Source's Quote (The Filling):
"I spent fifteen years in the shadows, professionally speaking," Sharma told Variety. "And frankly, I was just tired. I wanted to make something that my own kids could watch, something that leaves you feeling better about the world, not worse."
Your Task:
Write the "bottom bun" for this quote sandwich. Write 1-2 sentences of analysis that explain the significance of Sharma's quote. Don't just summarize it; unpack it. What does it reveal about her as an artist? How does it explain the "jarring pivot" you mentioned in your introduction?
View a potential revision and analysis
Here is one possible "bottom bun":
Sharma's comment reframes her career shift not as an artistic betrayal, but as a deeply personal act of self-preservation. The exhaustion with "the shadows" suggests her turn toward the light is less about chasing a new audience and more about finding a sustainable, and perhaps happier, way to continue her craft.
Why this works:
- It answers "So what?": It explains why her quote is significant—it's about "self-preservation," not just making a different movie.
- It uses analytical language: Phrases like "reframes her career shift," "suggests her turn," and "less about... and more about..." are the hallmarks of analytical writing.
- It connects back to the theme: It directly addresses the "jarring pivot" mentioned in the setup by giving it a personal, psychological motivation.
- It maintains authorial control: The analysis provides a specific interpretation, guiding the reader's understanding of the quote rather than leaving it open.
Conclusion
Mastering the balance between sourced material and original analysis is what transitions you from being a reporter of facts to a true storyteller and critic. It is the core of authoritative, compelling journalism.
Key Takeaways:
- Authorial control means using quotes as evidence within a narrative that you command.
- Analysis answers the reader's "So what?" question by explaining a quote's significance.
- The "Quote Sandwich" (Introduce-Quote-Analyze) is a practical framework for ensuring you always balance sourced material with your own voice.
- Writing with authority comes from your ability to interpret and synthesize information, not just present it.
This lesson concludes our module on handling sources. You now have a complete toolkit for selecting, integrating, and analyzing quotes. In our next lesson, we will begin a new module, Journalistic Style and Structure, starting with a fundamental topic for professional polish: applying AP Style rules for capitalization, abbreviations, and acronyms.