Thread: I'm writing a paper on gun control

Originally Posted by crunker

Be sure to use plenty of quotes from our founding fathers, freedom fighters, and authorities on weapons and their usage.

I'd actually avoid this, in general. Limit yourself to evidence that directly supports your thesis. Only quote the founding fathers if you are writing your paper about whether the founding fathers endorsed gun ownership; otherwise, a pro-gun quote from Thomas Jefferson, gratifying as it may be to us gun owners, is basically irrelevant and isn't going to impress anyone reading your paper as anything more than a pro-gun polemic. Similarly, only quote freedom fighters if you are writing your paper about whether gun ownership facilitates "freedom fighting" or guerilla/insurgency warfare. Quoting firearms authorities is fine, as long as what they are saying supports your thesis. Since your paper is about concealed carry, then the main sources you will want to quote will be research and statistical data that deals with concealed carry in some way; definitely NOT anything about the founding fathers or freedom fighters or whatever. And be careful about using information sourced on guncite.com and so forth. Those sites are useful, but often read a lot into their sources. If you see a piece of information that you want to use on guncite.com or a similar site, track down and read the original source to make sure it really supports your thesis. Don't just take it on faith that such-and-such DOJ report says such-and-such about guns, just because guncite says so.

I'm assuming this is an academic paper, of course. If it's just a political polemic, feel free to quote whoever you want.