How to Cite Your Sources in Your Writing
When writing a research paper, it is important to remember to give credit to where your information came from. Much of this happens in your Bibliography. However, sometimes it is necessary to include more direct information.
We know how important it is to put information from your sources into your own words: we do not want to plagiarize! But sometimes an author writes something that sounds so good just the way it is that we don't want to even try to paraphrase it. When this happens, we can use what is called a DIRECT QUOTE.
To directly quote a source, there are three pieces of information you must have:
1. Use a SIGNAL PHRASE
2. Put the exact words in QUOTATIONS MARKS
3. Write where the quote came from in PARENTHESES after the quote.
Some SIGNAL PHRASES you might use:
according to
explains
claims
says
notes
writes
argues
declares
emphasizes
illustrates
points out
reports
Here are some examples:
According to Jenny Market, "Cheetahs can't roar like other big cats, but they can purr like a house cat" (page 6).
Cheetahs.com declares, "Cheetahs can run extremely fast for short periods of time" (paragraph 3).
Jenny Market explains, "A cheetah can chase an animal for only a few minutes before getting tired" (page 10).
"Cheetahs can't climb trees or defend themselves as well as cats with sharp claws," writes Jenny Market (page 12).
We know how important it is to put information from your sources into your own words: we do not want to plagiarize! But sometimes an author writes something that sounds so good just the way it is that we don't want to even try to paraphrase it. When this happens, we can use what is called a DIRECT QUOTE.
To directly quote a source, there are three pieces of information you must have:
1. Use a SIGNAL PHRASE
2. Put the exact words in QUOTATIONS MARKS
3. Write where the quote came from in PARENTHESES after the quote.
Some SIGNAL PHRASES you might use:
according to
explains
claims
says
notes
writes
argues
declares
emphasizes
illustrates
points out
reports
Here are some examples:
According to Jenny Market, "Cheetahs can't roar like other big cats, but they can purr like a house cat" (page 6).
Cheetahs.com declares, "Cheetahs can run extremely fast for short periods of time" (paragraph 3).
Jenny Market explains, "A cheetah can chase an animal for only a few minutes before getting tired" (page 10).
"Cheetahs can't climb trees or defend themselves as well as cats with sharp claws," writes Jenny Market (page 12).