Using sources and evidence from reading and research is a critical component of an academic essay.
Overall, using sources and evidence in an academic essay is about selecting and evaluating credible sources, integrating the evidence smoothly into the essay, and providing context, analysis and critique of the evidence to support your main argument.
What counts as evidence is generally quite broad in an academic essay.
Evidence can be from primary (either data you collect from observation, for example, or data collected by others) and secondary sources (other people's analysis and interpretation of data). These sources might include:
Academic theory and criticism, with a preference for peer-reviewed sources (books, scholarly articles, etc)
Practitioner interviews or commentary
Reviews, programme notes, and exhibition catalogues
Visual, audio, or performance/ design examples, artefacts or cases
Archival records or historical documentation
Data (statistics, trends, demographics, etc) from credible studies and research
The quality of your sources matters.
The CRAAP test provides a useful framework for reflecting on your sources. Here are some questions to ask yourself about the quality of sources you find as you decide how or whether to use them in your essay:
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Currency |
Is the information up-to-date? Does this matter? Is using an older source justified? |
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Relevance |
Does it relate well to your research area? Does it address your essay topic? |
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Authority |
Who is the author or source? Are they credible? Do they have expertise? |
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Accuracy |
Is it reliable, truthful, correct? Is it peer-reviewed, trustworthy? |
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Purpose/ Perspective |
Consider the reason it exists. Who is it aimed at? Why was it created? Is it balanced? What perspective does it take? |
How you find your sources also matters.
You might also reflect on how you find a source. Which platform, database or search engine have you used to find your sources? Have they already been somewhat filtered and selected for quality like a University Library? Or will you need to do this yourself?
Be cautious if using LLMs and Generative AI tools when searching for sources.
These tools can be very helpful, but are known to 'hallucinate' or make sources up; and while the content they generate often appears plausible, it can be factually inaccurate, perpetuate biases, or be entirely fabricated. The lack of transparency around the sources and datasets used to train these tools also raises ethical concerns and issues around academic integrity.
The Library's guide to Generative AI and Research offers more guidance around the ethical issues of using these tools.
Integrating Sources in Your Writing
When integrating a source into a paragraph, you might:
Example:
Keep Your Voice in the Foreground
Your argument drives the essay, not the sources. Evidence supports you — it’s not the main act.
Balance is key: Too little = unconvincing; too much = collage of other voices.
Critically Engage with Evidence
Don’t just agree — compare, question, apply:
How does it align with or challenge your perspective?
Can you show where it works in practice?
Does your evidence suggest an update or alternative reading?
Acknowledge and Reference Everything
Cite all materials, including images and audio as you go.
Use the required referencing style (e.g. Falmouth Harvard).
Keep track of your sources and their references as you find them — don’t leave it until the submission day. See the guide to Referencing Management Tools.
How to Use Your Reading in Your Essays
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Reading is part and parcel of academic writing, and knowing which sources to include in assignments and how to go about this process can be challenging. That's where this handy guide comes in. Concise and practical, it breaks down the 'why' and 'how' of using reading in academic writing and contains valuable guidance on paraphrasing, comparing the views of different authors and commenting on sources.
