Quotations “An apt quotation is like a lamp which flings its light over the whole sentence.” Letitia Landon

Using Quotations Quotations are the exact words spoken or written by a source. The words are placed in quotations marks ( “quote”) and the name and title of the source (attribution) are given with the quotation. Quotations are used to pull the reader deeper into a paper. Quotations from primary sources are the most important.

More about quotations Only use interesting or important information in a quote. Don’t use mundane info. Quotes should add something extra that only a source could provide For a 6 to 8 page research paper, you should aim for about 10 to 12 direct quotations.

Attribution Attribution is giving credit to the source of the information. Attribution MUST include the first and last name of the source and the source’s position or title. Giving the title lets the reader know WHY you are including that source. Attribution is important to help the reader judge the credibility of the information.

Attribution in action Original Quote Explanation “In the same way you can see what’s in your morning cereal, you can now see what’s in cigarettes,” Dr. Jack Henningfield, a panel member of the National Institutes of Health, said. In this quote, Dr., panel member, and of the National Institutes of Health are all part of the attribution. With these, the reader knows the source is a doctor and a panel member of a government agency, therefore a credible source.

Attribution words said (always the best choice in a research paper) wrote according to states reveals argues cites reports

Paraphrasing A paraphrase summarizes what the speaker said without using the source’s exact words and without using quotation marks When paraphrasing, the writer re-words the thoughts and ideas of the source without changing the meaning of what the source said. Paraphrasing DOES NOT mean just changing a word or two. That is still plagiarism! Paraphrasing helps condense information into the most important points.

Paraphrase examples Paraphrased text Original Text Yaeger says that people do not like to blame themselves for failure, and that we prefer to look for someone or something else to take the blame. He quotes Jim Rohn who says that excuses are nails that build a house of failure. To be successful, rather than looking to blame others when we don’t get something for which we worked, we should examine our failures and disappointments, think about what we can learn from them, and use them to motivate ourselves in the future. (Steinhilber) “It happens every day for almost all of us. When something doesn’t go the way we intend, human nature is to look for someone or something to blame because it can’t be us,” says Yaeger. “Everyone fails or falls short. But the elite know that, as Jim Rohn once said, excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure. Stop looking for someone to blame when you don’t get what you targeted and start using those moments to teach lessons and generate fuel.” So how do we move away from this blame mentality? Instead of asking yourself “Who do I blame?” Yaeger says to ask “What did I learn?” From all of the research he's conducted, he’s found that being aware of the thoughts you have and the words you use when you “lose” is the number one difference that sets high performers apart from the rest.

Punctuating quotations There are specific rules relating to punctuating quotations. Refer to the handout given in class for the rules and examples.