# If models can only be \`select\` statements, how do I insert records?

For those coming from an ETL (Extract Transform Load) paradigm, there's often a desire to write transformations as `insert` and `update` statements. In comparison, dbt will wrap your `select` query in a `create table as` statement, which can feel counter-productive.

* If you wish to use `insert` statements for performance reasons (i.e. to reduce data that is processed), consider [incremental models](../../docs/build/incremental-models.md)
* If you wish to use `insert` statements since your source data is constantly changing (e.g. to create "Type 2 Slowly Changing Dimensions"), consider [snapshotting your source data](../../docs/build/sources.md#source-data-freshness), and building models on top of your snaphots.

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