In incorporating sources, which statement accurately describes analysis?

• A. Analysis restates content; summary explains its significance.
• B. Summary restates content; analysis explains its significance and relevance to your argument.
• C. Both analysis and summary do the same thing.
• D. Neither analysis nor summary is necessary in source use.

Answer: (B)

When you incorporate sources into your writing, you perform two related tasks: summarizing what the source says and analyzing its meaning for your argument. A summary restates the source’s main ideas in your own words, giving the essential points without adding your own judgment. Analysis goes further by explaining why those points matter for your claim—how the source supports, challenges, or refines your argument and how it connects to your own ideas.

So, the best description is that you summarize content and analyze its significance and relevance to your argument. This approach shows you understand the source and can situate it within your own reasoning. The other options miss this distinction: analysis is not merely restating, and you typically need both summarizing and analyzing to use a source effectively. For instance, you might summarize a study’s findings and then analyze how its methodology or limitations affect how strongly you can rely on those conclusions.