Chapter 4

Quoting Sources, Using Signal Phrases, and Making Standard ‘Moves’

Choosing Quotations
Select effective material to quote directly and indirectly
As opposed to a summary or a paraphrase, a quotation records the exact language used by
someone in speech or writing. Almost all academic pursuits build on the writing and research of
others, and you will regularly refer to that work by quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing.
Every time you use a quotation – or a summary or paraphrase – you must credit your source by
identifying both the author and, in combination with a Works Cited page, information on where
to find the referenced material.
Citations work in two parts. The first appears in your sentence (an in-text citation). Here, you
provide the author’s name and a specific page reference. Here are two versions of an in-text
citation:
 From the beginning, the AIDS antibody test has been ‘mired in controversy’ (Bayer
101).
 From the beginning, Bayer claims that the AIDS antibody test has been ‘mired in
controversy’ (101).
The second part of a citation appears in an alphabetized Works Cited list (in the sciences called a
References list):
Bayer, Ronald. ‘Ethics and Public Policy: Engaging the Moral Challenges Posed by AIDS.’ AIDS
Patient Care and STDs, vol. 20, no. 7, 2006, pp. 456-60.
When to Quote
 To capture another writer’s particularly memorable language
 To capture another writer’s clear concise language
 To lend authority and credibility to your own writing
Quote Memorable Language
Quote when source material is worded so eloquently or powerfully that to summarize or to
paraphrase would diminish much of its impact and significance. Here, for example, is historian
of magic Jim Steinmeyer on why the illusions of great magicians succeed:
The success of a magician lies in making a human connection to the magic, the precise
focus that creates a fully realized illusion in the minds of the audience. The simple
explanation is that seldom do the crude gimmicks in a magic show – those mirrors,
 threads, or rubber bands – deceive people. The audience is taken by the hand and led to
deceive themselves.
- From Hiding the Elephant
Quote Clear, Concise Language
Quote particularly clear and economical language when your words of summary or paraphrase,
by contrast, would be wordy. Read this passage from the online academic journal The
Conversation.
Since the early neurological work on memory in the 1950s and 1960s, studies have
demonstrated that memories are not stored in just one part of the brain. They’re widely
distributed across the whole brain, particularly in an area called the cortex.
Contrary to the popular notion, our memories are not stored in our brains like books on shelves
in specific categories. They’re actively reconstructed from elements scattered throughout
various areas of the cortex by a process called encoding.
As we experience the world through our eyes, ears, and so on, various groups of neurons in the
cortex fire together to form a neural pathway from each of these senses. And encode these
patterns into memories.
That’s why the aroma of cornbread may trigger a Thanksgiving dinner memory at
grandmother’s house many years ago, or the sound of a car backfiring may trigger a panic attack
in a war veteran.
- Jyutika Mehta, from ‘External Enhancements of Memory May Soon Go High-Tech’
Assume that you are writing a paper on memory and decide to refer to Mehta’s paragraphs on
brain function and memory. You might quote specific words or phrases or entire sentences.
The brain does not store whole memories ‘like books on shelves.’ As brain and communications
researcher Jyutika Mehta explains, it ‘widely distribute[s]’ the constituent parts of memories to
various areas associated with functions like sight and smell. A memory is ‘encode[d]’ through
connections among areas and can be lost when these connections break down due to disease
or the natural aging process.
The brackets in the quoted material alert readers that we’ve altered Mehta’s original language
to fit the flow of our sentence.
Quote Authoritative Language
When you quote experts or prominent political, artistic, or historical figures, you enhance the
credibility of your work. You might quote to help explain or define or to support an argument.
In this next example, student writer Peter Simmons quotes the author of a well-reviewed book
on bullying to help him clarify the misuse of the term:
‘[A]tleast ten different definitions’ are being used in state laws, Emily Bazelon, author of Sticks
and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying – and, for her, that’s a problem. A frequent
commentator on the subject, Bazelon argues that ‘bullying isn’t the same as garden-variety
teasing or a two-way conflict. The word is being overused,’ she writes, ‘expanding accordionlike,
to encompass both appalling violence or harassment and a few mean words.’
Altering Quotations
Alter quotations with ellipses and brackets
Use Ellipses to Indicate Omissions
At times you may decide to omit some words from a quotation – possibly for reasons of length,
possibly because you want to emphasize only one part of a quoted passage. When you omit
words from a quotation, alert readers to the change by using ellipses, three spaced periods (…).
Consider the following:
It’s hard to pinpoint the invention of the electric car to one inventor or country. Instead, it was a
series of breakthroughs – from the battery to the electric motor – in the 1800s that led to the
first electric vehicle on the road.
- U.S. Department of Energy, ‘Timeline: History of the Electric Car’
Here is one way to quote this sentence, leaving out the parenthetical remark ‘from the battery
to the electric motor.’ The ellipses indicate that you have altered quoted material by removing
words.
‘It’s hard to pinpoint the invention of the electric car to one inventor or country. Instead, it was
a series of breakthroughs … in the 1800s that led to the first electric vehicle on the road.’
Use Brackets to Add or Subtract Words
Sometimes you must add words to a quotation both for clarity and to integrate another
person’s language into the flow of your own sentence. When doing so, use brackets, which
distinguish your words from those of the source author’s.
For instance, when a quoted pronoun’s reference (such as ‘she’ or ‘he’) would be unclear, delete
the pronoun and substitute an identifying word or phrase in brackets. In making the
substitution, no ellipses are needed.
Assume you’ve decided to quote the underlined sentence:
Young teens need to learn that not everything they hear or see is true. Let your child know that
the TV show or movie he sees, the radio station or music he listens to, and the magazine he
reads may have a definite point of view. Talk with him about how the media can promote
certain ideas or beliefs, which may differ from those of your family. If your child wants to watch,
listen to, or read something that you believe is inappropriate, let him know exactly why you
object.
- U.S. Department of Education: ‘Media: Helping Your Child through Early Adolescence’
In quoting this sentence, you need to identify the pronoun him. If you don’t, readers won’t
understand the reference. You can make the substitution inside or outside the quotation. If
inside, use brackets:
“Talk with [your young teen] about how the media can promote certain ideas or beliefs, which
may differ from those of your family”.
Here’s the principle to remember: Anytime you add to a quotation, use brackets to distinguish
your words from the source author’s.
Avoiding Classic Mistakes in Quoting
Avoid Quoting Too Much
Quoting just the right source at the right place can significantly improve your papers. The trick is
knowing when to quote and how much to quote. A common error is quoting too much.
The language and intellectual content of your papers should primarily be yours: your language,
your thesis, your conclusion. You can and you should refer to the work of others to support and
improve your work.
But when you borrow too much – whether by quoting, summarizing, or paraphrasing – you risk
giving away intellectual ownership.
Quote Only What You Need
 When you can quote a sentence or two, do not quote a paragraph.
 When you can quote a phrase, do not quote a sentence.
 When you can quote a word or two, do not quote a phrase.
Avoid Freestanding Quotations
Avoid using quotations without a lead-in that sets a context for understanding. Freestanding
quotations can be jarring, as in this example:
AVOID
Many in higher education believe athletic programs distort what ought to be the primary
objective of college life. “It sends the wrong message when football coaches earn multiples of
what full professors earn.” Others are less concerned with symbols than with actual dollars,
arguing that money spent on football deprives deserving academic programs of much-needed
support.
Introduce quotations with a signal phrase (as highlighted here) that prepares readers:
BETTER
Many in higher education believe athletic programs distort what ought to be the primary
objective of college life. As Rhode Island’s Assistant Commissioner for Post-Secondary Learning,
Anne Sachs, argues, ‘It sends the wrong message when football coaches earn multiples of what
full professors earn’. Other are less concerned with symbols…
Understand When to Use First and Last Names
Mention an author’s first name only on initial use:
Many in higher education believe athletic programs distort what ought to be the primary
objective of college life. Anne Sachs, Rhode Island’s Assistant Commissioner for Post Secondary
Learning objects to the pay scales of athletic staff: ‘It sends the wrong message when football
coaches…’
All subsequent references to Anne Sachs would be limited to her last name, Sachs. In no event
would you refer to the author of your source as ‘Anne’.
Sachs is particularly offended that some schools pay their head football coach far more than
they do their president.
Don’t Introduce Well-Known Names
When your readers are college students and instructors, some names - for example, those of
presidents and well-known people like Einstein, Freud, and Picasso – need no introduction and
should not be introduced with an identifying (or signal phrase).
AVOID
As Albert Einstein, a famous physicist, wrote, …
The famous painter, Pablo Picasso once said, …
BETTER
As Einstein wrote, …
Picasso once said, …
Even if you didn’t know at first that Eleanor Roosevelt was the influential and much-admired
wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, you would not (on learning that fact during your
research) begin a sentence, “Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, …’
As a general rule, write identifying phrases only for source authors who are likely to be
unknown to your readers.
Using Signal Phrases
Use Six Strategies to Incorporate Quotations, Summaries, and Paraphrases into Your
Sentences
Let’s assume that, while conducting research for a paper on foreign aid – particularly, the logic
by which the United States gives aid to other countries – you come across the following, written
by ecologist Garrett Hardin:
If we divide the world crudely into rich nations and poor nations, two-thirds of them are
desperately poor, and only one third comparatively rich, with the United States the wealthiest of
all. Metaphorically, each rich nation can be seen as a lifeboat full of comparatively rich people.
In the ocean outside each lifeboat swim the poor of the world, who would like to get in, or at
least to share some of the wealth. What should the lifeboat passengers do?
First, we must recognize the limited capacity of any lifeboat. For example, a nation’s land has a
limited capacity to support a population and as the current [early 1970s] energy crisis has
shown us, in some ways we have already exceeded the carrying capacity of our land.
Suppose you want to refer to Hardin’s essay by quoting the underlined sentence or by
summarizing or paraphrasing his metaphor concerning the lifeboat. At the heart of all signal
phrases is the verb, which characterizes what is to come and sets the reader’s expectations.
Signal Verbs to Introduce Quotations, Summaries, and Paraphrases
The present tense is typically used in introducing sources:

Adds Considers Illustrates Says

Agrees Contends Implies Sees
Argues Declares Insists Shows
Asks Defends Maintains Speculates
Asserts Denies Notes States
Believes Derides Observes Suggests
Claims Disagrees Points out Thinks
Comments Disputes Rejects Warns
Compares Emphasizes Relates Writes
Concedes Explains Reports
Concludes Finds Responds
Condemns Holds Reveals

Singal Verbs and Tenses

Use signal verbs in the ‘historical’ present tense when introducing quotations, summaries, and
paraphrases.
The logic: The content of a quotation, summary, or paraphrase is always ‘present’ to you and
readers in the way, say, a movie is present every time you watch it, regardless of when it was
filmed.
Present tense: Jefferson writes that ‘all men are created equal’.
But when referring generally to a source written in the past, one you are not immediately
quoting, summarizing, or paraphrasing, use the past tense.
Past tense: Jefferson wrote many drafts of the Declaration of Independence.
Six Strategies for Using Signal Phrases (or Sentences)
You can incorporate sources into the flow of your sentences in a variety of ways. Here’s how we
would introduce and then quote, summarize, and paraphrase Garrett Hardin. In each case,
we’ve highlighted the signal phrase (or sentence):
1 Identifying Phrase at the Beginning
Quotation
As Garrett Hardin argues, ‘Metaphorically each rich nation can be seen as a lifeboat full of
comparatively rich people’ (26).
Summary
Garrett Hardin uses the metaphor of a lifeboat – comparing those who are safely on board and
alive versus those who are not and at risk of drowning – to explore the logic of helping the poor
(26).
Paraphrase
Garrett Hardin develops the metaphor of a lifeboat to examine the logic by which the United
States gives aid to other nations. Those in the boat are like the wealthy nations of the world
with resources enough to feed their citizens. Those swimming in the ocean beyond the boat are
like poor nations struggling for survival. Poor nations want to climb aboard to share the
resources of the wealthy and live. But the boat can only support so many passengers without
sinking itself. Should those in the boat help those outside and risk hurting (or killing) themselves
by sharing limited resources (26)?
2 Identifying Phrase in the Middle
Quotation
‘Metaphorically each rich nation can be seen as a lifeboat’, claims Garrett Hardin, ‘full of
comparatively rich people’ (26).
Summary
To explore the logic of helping the poor, Garrett Hardin uses the metaphor of a lifeboat –
comparing those who are safely on board and alive versus those who are not and at risk of
drowning (26).
Paraphrase
The logic by which the United States gives aid to other nations can be explored through the
metaphor of a lifeboat. Those in the boat are like the wealthy nations of the world with
resources enough to feed their citizens. Those swimming in the ocean beyond the boat are like
poor nations struggling for survival, according to Garrett Hardin, the ecologist who developed
this metaphor. Poor nations want to climb aboard to share the resources of the wealthy and
live. But the boat can only support so many passengers without sinking itself. Should those in
the boat help those outside and risk hurting (or killing) themselves by sharing limited resources
(26)?
3 Identifying Phrase at the End
Quotation
‘Metaphorically each rich nation can be seen as a lifeboat full of comparatively rich people’,
claims Garrett Hardin (26).
Summary
With food and resources enough to support their citizens, the wealthy nations of the world are
like passengers in a lifeboat who face the question of using limited resources to help those
outside the boat, according to Garrett Hardin (26).
Paraphrase
The logic by which the United States gives aid to other nations can be explored through the
metaphor of a lifeboat. Those in the boat are like the wealthy nations of the world with
resources enough to feed their citizens. Those swimming in the ocean beyond the boat are like
poor nations struggling for survival. Poor nations want to climb aboard to share the resources of
the wealthy and live. But the boat can only support so many passengers without sinking itself.
As Garrett Hardin, the ecologist who developed this metaphor, asks, should those in the boat
help those outside and risk hurting (or killing) themselves by sharing limited resources (26)?
4 Reference to a Source Preceded by That
Quotation [no comma + bracketed lowercase initial word]
The ecologist Garrett Hardin suggests that ‘[m]etaphorically each rich nation can be seen as a
lifeboat full of comparatively rich people’ (26).
Summary
Garrett Hardin asserts that the wealthy nations of the world are like passengers in a lifeboat
faced with the dilemma of using limited resources to help those outside the boat (26).
Paraphrase
Garrett Hardin believes that the metaphor of a lifeboat can help us examine the logic by which
the United States gives aid to other nations. Those in the lifeboat are like the wealthy nations of
the world with resources enough to feed their citizens. Those swimming in the ocean beyond
the boat are like poor nations struggling for survival. Poor nations want to climb aboard to share
the resources of the wealthy and live. But the boat can only support so many passengers
without sinking itself. Should those in the boat help those outside and risk hurting (or killing)
themselves by sharing limited resources (26)?
5 Identifying Sentence at the Beginning – With a Colon
Quotation
Garrett Hardin invents a provocative comparison for examining the logic of foreign aid:
‘Metaphorically each rich nation can be seen as a lifeboat full of comparatively rich people’ (26).
Summary
Garrett Hardin suggests we use a metaphor to examine the logic of foreign aid: With food and
resources enough to support their citizens, the wealthy nations of the world are like passengers
on a lifeboat who face the question of using limited resources to help those outside the boat,
according to Garrett Hardin (26).
Punctuation Note: If the words following a colon form a complete sentence, capitalize the first
letter of the first word.
Paraphrase
Garrett Hardin uses the metaphor of a lifeboat to examine the logic by which the United States
gives aid to other nations: Those in the boat are like the wealthy nations of the world with
resources enough to feed their citizens. Those swimming in the ocean beyond the boat are like
poor nations struggling for survival. Poor nations want to climb aboard to share the resources of
the wealthy and live. But the boat can only support so many passengers without sinking itself.
Should those in the boat help outside and risk hurting (or killing) themselves by sharing limited
resources (26)?
6 Block Quotation
Use a sentence and a colon to introduce quotations longer than four lines.
Garrett Hardin uses the metaphor of a lifeboat to examine the logic by which the United States
gives aid to other nations:
If we divide the world crudely into rich nations and poor nations, two thirds of them are
desperately poor, and only one third comparatively rich, with the United States the wealthiest of
all. Metaphorically, each rich nation can be seen as a lifeboat full of comparatively rich people.
In the ocean outside each lifeboat swim the poor of the world, who would like to get in, or at
least to share some of the wealth. What should the lifeboat passengers do? (26)
Incorporating Quotations into Your Sentences
1 Quote only the part of a sentence or paragraph that you need. Use no more of the writer’s
language than necessary to make or reinforce your point.
2 Incorporate the quotations into the flow of your own sentence. The quotation must fit, both
syntactically and stylistically, into your surrounding language.
3 Avoid freestanding quotations. A quoted sentence should never stand by itself. Use a signal
phrase – at the beginning, the middle, or the end of the sentence – to attribute the source of
the quotation.
4 Use ellipsis marks. Indicate deleted language in a quoted sentence with ellipsis marks.
5 Use brackets to add or substitute words. Use brackets to add or substitute words in a quoted
sentence when the meaning of the quotation would otherwise be unclear.
Making Standard ‘Moves’ to Build Paragraphs
Making standard moves with summaries, paraphrases, and quotations to build paragraphs.
Writers use quotations, summaries, paraphrases, in at least five common ways to build
paragraphs: to introduce a fact, to introduce an idea, to hold a conversation, to illustrate and to
mark a transition.
Using Sources to Build Paragraphs
A paper is built of individual paragraphs, and each paragraph should make a point that supports
your larger thesis – your paper’s major organizing statement. Once you understand the broader
context, you are ready to quote, summarize, and paraphrase.
How to Use Sources to Build Paragraphs
These guidelines can help you to introduce sources into your paragraphs. Be flexible in applying
the guidelines. At times, you may need to invert or skip steps.
1 Write a topic sentence establishing the main idea of the paragraph. On occasion, you might
quote or summarize a source to establish this idea.
2 Move your reader toward the source. Follow the topic sentence with another sentence (or
two) that introduces the particular fact, example, statistic, or opinion you’re calling attention to
in the source.
3 Directly introduce the source. If you are stating the author’s name in your sentence (as
opposed to noting it in a citation), use a signal phrase (‘According to Smith …) and/or a
descriptive verb (Smith argues that …).
4 Quote, summarize, or paraphrase the source using techniques.
5 Cite the source.
6 Use the source: Comment, respond, explain its significance.
7 (Optional) Introduce additional sources into the paragraph to create a conversation but do so
only if you prepare for each new source by following some version of steps 1-6.
Making Standard Moves with Source-Based Paragraphs
1 Use Sources to Introduce a Fact
You can summarize, paraphrase, or quote in order to establish a fact important to your
paragraph. When you can, use sources written by experts.
2 Use Sources to Introduce an Idea
You can use a source to introduce a clear and forcefully stated idea into your paper – and to set
up a response. That response can be your own, as in the following example, or it can involve the
use of additional sources.
In this paragraph, the writer quotes a provocative question (‘Where have all the musical
geniuses gone?’) and responds at length. The result is a dialogue between the quoted author
and the student writer.
3 Use Sources to Start and Continue a Discussion
The following paragraph weaves summaries and quotations into a discussion about a single
idea: a software program designed to analyze music.
The writer summarizes a source to introduce the idea, weave other sources into the paragraph
in order to challenge the idea, and adds still other sources to challenge the initial challenge.

4 Use Source to Illustrate

One classic use of sources is to illustrate a generalization. The following paragraph opens with a
summary of a source [the novelist Chinua Achebe’s commentary on Conrad’s Heart of
Darkness]. Sentences 2, 3, and 4 make a generalization, which is followed by two examples,
both quoted.
Notice how the quoted examples illustrate the generalization that ‘One would be hard pressed
to deny that Conrad’s Africa is, as Achebe puts it, the “antithesis” of civilization’.
5 Use Sources to Mark a Transition
Sometimes you can use sources to mark a transition, when you summarize what has come
before and move the reader in a new, related direction.
In this next example, notice how the writer concludes one point, then in a fresh paragraph
introduces a sentence fragment (stylistically justified) to move the reader to a new point. The
quotation following the transition suggests the new direction that the paper will take.
After quoting Collins (a source cited earlier in the paper), the writer puts the quotation to
immediate use by restating it (in its ‘inverse form’) and using it as a principle by which to guide
an analysis that becomes the focus of the remaining paragraph.
The quotation moves the paper in a new but related direction. The topic sentence is delayed
here because the paragraph begins with a quotation.