Introduce, Cite, Explain: Using the ICE Method to Strengthen Analysis

If you are a student at Walden University, you may be familiar with the MEAL plan, a method of paragraphing that revolves around including a main idea, evidence, analysis, and a lead out in each paragraph. Using the MEAL plan when creating paragraphs can help to ensure that each paragraph contains balanced use of evidence such as source material and analysis of that evidence. 

As we often say in the Writing Center, analysis adds the “you” to a paper. While scholar-practitioners might use the most reliable, relevant, and current sources available in the literature, without adding their unique voices to the paper through analyzing those sources, no original ideas will be added to the discussion, and adding original ideas forged through analysis and synthesis of source material is the goal of scholarly writing. However, it can sometimes be difficult to integrate source material into a paragraph and add analysis, particularly when using quoted source material. 

To expand upon the analysis (A) component of the MEAL plan, I recommend trying the ICE method, which is a three-step plan to cite and analyze quotations. Although the ICE method is not a replacement for the MEAL plan, this method of integrating quotations can lead to a stronger emphasis on analysis within paragraphs. When using the ICE method of integrating quotations, you will:

1. 1.) Introduce: Introduce the quote in your own words. The introduction to a quote is often called the signal phrase, and the signal phrase can be as simple as introducing the author’s name within your sentence or as complex as embedding the quote into the narrative of your sentence structure.
2. 2.) Cite: Cite the author by including quotation marks, the author’s name, the year of publication, and the page or paragraph number of the information. 
3. 3.) Explain: Explain how the quoted information relates to the main idea in your paragraph or paper. In other words, you will show readers how the quoted information relates to your chosen topic.

Now that you know the three steps of the ICE method, you can review a few examples below with the elements of the ICE method underlined, italicized, and boldfaced:

• Using learning analytics can illustrate individual and team contributions to a classroom by “combining specific data, precision, and speed to create a unified picture of classroom contribution” (Doe, 2016, p. 240). Instructors can use learning analytics in the classroom to assign more accurate grades to group members, specifically for complex projects that require students to work outside of the purview of the instructor.

The above quotation uses parenthetical citation, which means that the citation is included at the end of the quotation in parentheses. Although the writer could have paraphrased here, the focus of the discussion may be on the strengths of learning analytics, so the writer might have preferred showing all of these elements rather than paraphrasing. The quotation is followed by a positive analysis of learning analytics, but analysis of source material can be positive or negative depending on the view of the writer. Another example of quotation followed by analysis is below:

• Because of the specific information about student actions in the classroom that learning analytics provides, Doe (2016) argued that “using learning analytics in education is the door to end all windows” (p. 244). However, while learning analytics may provide individualized information about student contributions in the classroom and therefore seem to answer many problems in the online classroom, instructors must take care they use learning analytics as a teaching tool rather than as a justification for assigning grades.

The above quotation uses narrative citation, which means that the author’s quote is embedded in the narrative of the sentence. The quotation is justified because it includes very specific phrasing that would be difficult to recreate through paraphrasing. The quote is also followed by the writer’s analysis of what Doe meant by the phrase “the door to end all windows” and a negative analysis of that phrase when applied to learning analytics.

Keep in mind that paraphrasing source material is favored above direct quotation in APA style because the scholar has to think critically about the source material to rephrase the text. By its nature, paraphrasing includes analysis because scholars must reconstruct the source material around their goals in the writing. In general, quotations should only be used when the exact wording is crucial to the point in writing. Despite this caveat, analyzing direct quotations within writing is an important first step to synthesis of source material, so it can be helpful to add more tools to your scholarly writing toolbox to improve analysis of quoted material.

The nature of analysis is tied to the experiences and ideas of the writer, so analysis of quoted material will be unique to each writer. Using the ICE method can help a writer depict the original author’s ideas and connect the quoted material to the writer’s argument. Although it is a best practice to paraphrase whenever possible, quotations can sometimes be useful in a paper.

Do you use any other methods of analyzing source material? If so, we’d love to hear about them in the comments!

Katherine McKinney is a writing instructor in the Walden University Writing Center. She received an M.A. in English from Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Education at Walden. Katherine's goal as an instructor is to show students that the best writing results from practice, and she aims to provide feedback and resources that will guide students through the invention, composition, and revision process.

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