Direct Quotation

What |s a D|rect uotat|on?

A dlrecL quoLaLlon ls a dlrecL resLaLemenL of an auLhor's words. A dlrecL quoLaLlon musL maLch
Lhe source word for work, leLLer for leLLer, and musL be lnLroduced and concluded wlLh
quoLaLlon marks.


What |s the urpose ] Va|ue of a D|rect uotat|on?
A dlrecL quoLaLlon ls useful when Lhe orlglnal wrlLlng ls unlquely more effecLlve Lhan
paraphraslng.
A dlrecL quoLaLlon - lnLroduclng or followlng your own polnL - sLrengLhens and
enhances your polnL.


now do you d|rect|y quote?
SelecL dlrecL quoLaLlons Lo supporL Lhe polnL you are maklng. use quoLaLlons sparlngly
8ead Lhe auLhor's passage closely. 8e cerLaln LhaL you undersLand Lhe auLhor's
meanlng.
8emember LhaL a dlrecL quoLaLlon should dupllcaLe Lhe source exacLly. 8e vlgllanL ln
copylng correcLly and Lhen check your copy.
lnLegraLe your quoLaLlon effecLlvely. ?our reader wlll be confused lf you do noL
lnLroduce Lhe dlrecL quoLe or lnLegraLe Lhe quoLe smooLhly lnLo Lhe polnL you are
maklng ln your wrlLlng.
LffecLlve quoLaLlons ln wrlLlng make use of slgnal phrases. Slgnal phrases conLaln 1) Lhe
source auLhor's name and 2) a verb LhaL lndlcaLes Lhe source auLhor's aLLlLude Lo whaL
he or she wrlLes. (lor asslsLance wlLh slgnal phrases, refer Lo L8 8rlef, pages 466 - 468.)
1o avold plaglarlsm, provlde a lead-ln and an end-senLence clLaLlon.


now do you |ntegrate quotat|ons effect|ve|y |nto your own wr|t|ng?
never slmply place a dlrecL quoLaLlon wlLhln your wrlLlng wlLhouL lnLroduclng Lhe source
and/or wlLhouL glvlng an end-senLence clLaLlon. lor example, never do Lhls: Alexle
concludes hls essay wlLh a clalm. l am Lrylng Lo save our llves." Pls clalm ls LhaL urglng
lndlan youLh Lo value llLeracy wlll save Lhelr llves.
?ou may place a quoLaLlon anywhere ln your senLence. lor example:
o At the beg|nn|ng: l om ttyloq to sove oot llves, Alexle exbotts ot tbe
cooclosloo of bls essoy (5opetmoo 1102).
o In the m|dd|e: Alexle coocloJes bls essoy wltb tbe clolm tbot l om ttyloq to
sove oot llves by otqloq loJloo yootb to voloe lltetocy (5opetmoo 1102).
o At the end: Alexle coocloJes bls essoy wltb tbe clolm tbot by otqloq loJloo yootb
to voloe lltetocy, be ls ttyloq to sove oot llves (5opetmoo 1102).

What |s a araphrase?
A paraphrase ls a resLaLemenL of an auLhor's ldea ln your own words ln generally Lhe same
lengLh as Lhe auLhor's.

What |s the urpose ] Va|ue of a araphrase?
araphraslng ls useful when you'd llke Lo represenL Lhe auLhor's ldea, buL don'L feel Lhe
orlglnal wordlng merlLs a dlrecL quoLaLlon.
araphraslng allows you Lo lnclude deLalls and speclflcs as you focus on an auLhor's ldea
ln your own wrlLlng.

now do you paraphrase an author's wr|tten |dea?
8ead Lhe auLhor's passage closely. 8e-read Lhe passage and be cerLaln LhaL you
undersLand Lhe wrlLer's meanlng.
8esLaLe Lhe auLhor's ldea lo yoot owo wotJs.
?ou don'L need Lo follow Lhe senLence sLrucLure of Lhe orlglnal, nor do you need Lo
lnclude all Lhe speclflcs or deLalls ln Lhe orlglnal. SelecL and lnclude whaL ls lmporLanL Lo
Lhe polnL you are maklng ln your own wrlLlng.
1o clarlfy where your paraphrase beglns and ends, and Lo avold plaglarlsm, provlde a
lead-ln and an end-senLence clLaLlon.

What |s the d|fference between a summary and a paraphrase?
A summary condenses Lhe orlglnal maLerlal, a paraphrase resLaLes Lhe source ln generally Lhe
same lengLh.
lor example:
Source:
My faLher, who ls one of Lhe few lndlans who wenL Lo CaLhollc school on purpose, was an
avld reader of wesLerns, spy Lhrlllers, murder mysLerles, gangsLer eplcs, baskeLball-player
blographles, and anyLhlng else he could flnd. Pe boughL hls books by Lhe pound aL uuLch's
awn Shop, Coodwlll, SalvaLlon Army, and value vlllage. When he had exLra money, he boughL
new novels aL supermarkeLs, convenlence sLores, and hosplLal glfL shops. Cur house was fllled
wlLh books. 1hey were sLacked ln crazy plles ln Lhe baLhroom, bedrooms, and llvlng room. ln a
flL of unemploymenL-lnsplred creaLlve energy, my faLher bullL a seL of bookshelves and soon
fllled Lhem wlLh a random assorLmenL of books abouL Lhe kennedy assasslnaLlon, WaLergaLe,
Lhe vleLnam War, and Lhe enLlre LwenLy-Lhree-book serles of Lhe Apache wesLerns. My faLher
loved books, and slnce l loved my faLher wlLh an achlng devoLlon, l declded Lo love books as
well."
Summary: Alexle temembets tbot bls fotbet fllleJ tbelt llves wltb books of oll kloJs, moJelloq
fot o JevoteJ soo tbe love of books (1101).

Source:
My faLher loved books, and slnce l loved my faLher wlLh an achlng devoLlon, l declded Lo love
books as well."
araphrase: Alexle explolos tbot be lmltoteJ bls fotbets love of teoJloq becoose be Jeeply
loveJ bls fotbet (1101).