Quoting a source means that you directly use a source’s words to convey their point. The quote text/wording should appear exactly as it does in the source being used, although you may use an ellipsis or brackets to indicate any changes you make in order to make your sentence grammatically correct. Remember that you must put quotation marks around all quoted material.
When would you use a quotation? Here are a few very good reasons that you might want to use a quote rather than a paraphrase or summary:
1. Accuracy: You are unable to paraphrase or summarize the source material without changing the author’s intent.
2. Authority: You may want to use a quote to lend expert authority for your assertion or to provide source material for analysis.
3. Conciseness: Your attempts to paraphrase or summarize are awkward or much longer than the source material.
4. Unforgettable language: You believe that the words of the author are memorable or remarkable because of their effectiveness or historical flavor. Additionally, the author may have used a unique phrase or sentence, and you want to comment on words or phrases themselves.
You would use a quote in a research paper like this:
As she reflects upon her transformation into a poet in her memoir Lit, Mary Karr explains, “I'd spent way more years worrying about how to look like a poet -- buying black clothes, smearing on scarlet lipstick, languidly draping myself over thrift-store furniture -- than I had learning how to assemble words in some discernible order” (Karr 97).
Here, a quote is used to stress Karr’s explanation of her experience in her own words. A citation is needed to refer the reader to the page where this exact quote was located in Karr’s text.
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