Download Using Quotations from Secondary Sources in Your Writing

Using Quotations from Secondary Sources in Your Writing
When you use someone else’s ideas or words in your writing, you need to indicate to
your reader somehow that someone else (besides you) is talking. Luckily, different
academic organizations, like the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the
American Psychological Association (APA) have come up with ways to do that. I’m
going to show you here the MLA style for citing sources.
Example of how NOT to use a source in your writing:
It’s true that while almost all dogs like to go for walks, many don’t know how to
behave at first. “My dog Sam doesn’t like to be on his leash. He pulls too much
when we go for walks and my arm hurts by the time we get back home.” To make
walking your dog a pleasant experience for both of you, you might need to take
the dog to obedience classes.
How to fix it:
It’s true that while almost all dogs like to go for walks, many don’t know how to
behave at first. “My dog Sam doesn’t like to be on his leash. He pulls too much
when we go for walks and my arm hurts by the time we get back home,” said
Martha Smith, a local dog owner. To make walking your dog a pleasant
experience for both of you, you might need to take your dog to obedience
classes.
Example 2:
Tolkien was very talented in using descriptions. "He was as noble and as fair
in the face as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as
venerable as a king of dwarves, and as kind as summer" (61).
How to fix it:
Tolkien was very talented in using descriptions, as the following example
demonstrates: "He was as noble and as fair in the face as an elf-lord, as strong
as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves, and as kind
as summer" (61).
TIPS FOR INCORPORATING QUOTATIONS INTO YOUR WRITING
1. Use “attributive tags” or “speaking verbs” to introduce quotations. These indicate a shift from
YOUR voice to the author’s voice.
Examples of attributive tags or speaking verbs to use when introducing quotations:
says, said, writes, wrote, states, claims, argues, explains, suggests, considers, shows,
describes.
Example of sentences that use an “attributive tag” or “speaking verb”:
• Quotations in the middle of a sentence.
Claiming, “Far too often, we were both myopic and just plain on the wrong side,” Kristof
argues that this time, we should make sure we’re on the right side: we should support
Bahrainis in their quest for democracy.”
• Quotations at the beginning of a sentence.
“To me, this feels like the Arab version of 1776,” Kristof writes.
• Quotations at the end of a sentence.
Along with the example of the young man above, for instance, Kristof also mentions a
paraplegic who “had been hit by two rubber bullets and was planning to return to the
democracy protests for more.”
2. In MLA style, you also need to use what are called “parenthetical citations” in the text to show your
reader what the source. However, if an article is in an online source with no page numbers, you don’t
need to use a parenthetical citation.
Examples of parenthetical citations:
Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by "spontaneous
overflow of powerful feelings" (263).
Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of
powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).
Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative
process (263).
3. Put all your sources at the end of your paper on a separate page. Label the page Works Cited.
How to cite an interview on your Works Cited page:
Purdue, Pete. Personal interview. 1 Dec. 2000.
How to cite an online article on your Works Cited page:
Harris, Robert. "Evaluating Internet Research Sources."
VirtualSalt. 15 June 2008. Web. 20 Apr. 2009.