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Quoting Sources
Quotations are exact wordings taken from sources. Use direct quotations sparingly in a research paper.
A string of quotations can be confusing for readers, especially if each presents information in a different
writing style. By paraphrasing and summarizing instead of quoting, you can more smoothly incorporate
the ideas from sources into you own writing. However, if an author uses unique language or an
interesting image, a brief quotation may be an effective addition to a paper.
Integrating quotations into a paper
 Integrate the quotation smoothly into the grammatical flow of your sentence.
Examples:
Carnegie Mellon researchers, “Scientists disagree about whether climate change will be a serious
problem in the next 50 to 100 years” (U.S. Global Change). [Grammar problem—fused sentence]
According to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, “scientists disagree about whether climate
change will be a serious problem in the next 50 to 100 years” (U.S. Global Change).
 Provide an explanation as to why you are using a particular quotation.
Examples:
“The main reason for this disagreement is that nobody knows for sure whether climate changes caused
by human actions will be large enough and fast enough to cause serious damage” (U.S. Global Change).
[Lead in problem--No introductory explanation]
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University know that there is no agreement among scientists as to the
seriousness of global warming. They state, “The main reason for this disagreement is that nobody knows
for sure whether climate changes caused by human actions will be large enough and fast enough to
cause serious damage” (U.S. Global Change).
Guidelines for Effective Quoting
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Use direct quotations sparingly as support for your ideas in your thesis.
Use primarily short quotations (one or two sentences).
Be extremely careful to be accurate when copying a quotation.
Attribute quotations to their sources and punctuate them correctly.
Integrate quotations smoothly into the stylistic flow of the paper.
Incorporate quotations in a way that is grammatically correct.
Provide an explanation to place the quotation in context.
Use the author’s name or the work’s title to introduce the quotation.
Use ellipses when words or phrases are omitted from the quotation.
Paraphrase sources accurately
Examples:
ORIGINAL QUOTATION
“The ‘perfect’ search engine would guide users to every relevant location, ranked in order
of usefulness, without leaving anything out and without including anything irrelevant.
That engine doesn’t yet exist” (Schwartz 29).
PARAPHRASE [WITH SIMPLIFIED SENTENCE STRUCTURE]
Schwartz states that no Internet searching tool is yet able to be “perfect.” If it were, it
would lead you to all the appropriate locations on your topic. It would rank all the Web
sites by how useful they were. It would never leave something out that was relevant. It
would never include anything that was irrelevant (29).
Guidelines for Effective Paraphrasing
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Place the information in a new order.
Break the complex ideas into small units.
Use concrete, direct vocabulary in place of technical jargon.
Use synonyms for words in the source.
Accompany each important fact or idea in your notes with the source page number.
Incorporate the paraphrase smoothly into the grammar and style of your own writing.
Summarize sources briefly
Ask yourself, “What is the central idea of this passage?” Try to articulate that idea in your own
words, using just a sentence or two.
Guidelines for Effective Summarizing
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Identify the main points as you read the source.
Put those main points into your own words.
Condense the original, keeping the summary short.
Use a table or a list, when appropriate, to summarize the information.
Be objective rather than interpreting or judging source ideas.
Integrate the summarized ideas into the flow of your prose.
Provide proper documentation for the source.
The New Century Handbook