When producing assessments, supporting evidence and information from other sources needs to be incorporated through paraphrasing, summarising, or quoting, and this information must be referenced.
What is quoting?
Where paraphrasing and summarising involve re-writing of specific information or overall sections or arguments from a source, quoting is incorporating the exact words of an author into your assessment with accompanying citation.
The author’s exact words are identified through:
- Quotation marks around short quotes:
According to Holderness (1994, p. 206), “The repute of cinema art and of the film industry can be enhanced by their capacity to incorporate Shakespeare”.
- Indentation for a longer quote:
According to Holderness (1994, p. 206):
The repute of cinema art and of the film industry can be enhanced by their capacity to incorporate Shakespeare; the institution of Shakespeare itself benefits from that transaction by a confirmation of its persistent universality.
Style requirements for presenting quotes will vary based on your referencing and style guidelines. For example, some systems use ‘single’ inverted commas and others “double” inverted commas; some will indent quotes of 30+ words, others 40+ words, etc. Check your subject’s preferred Referencing and Citing guidelines.
Be cautious when quoting
Quoting is a way to incorporate expert opinion into your writing; however, it is not common in some disciplines, e.g. sciences. In addition, quoting should not be over-used: your assessor is evaluating your understanding and interpretation of the research conducted, and this is best demonstrated through paraphrasing and summarising in your own words.
However, if you find a particularly insightful or illustrative quote that can enhance your work, guidelines for incorporating it are below.
How do I quote?
Follow the steps below to effectively quote sources in your academic writing.
- Identify the material you wish to quote and where it should fit into your paper.
- Type out or copy & paste the content exactly. Do not change words or punctuation as this will misrepresent the content. Ensure font size and type match the rest of your work.
- Insert quotation marks around the content (for short quotes) or indent it (for long quotes). Check your style guide for accuracy.
- Aim to transition smoothly into quotes using introductory phrases or reporting verbs, e.g. According to Holderness (1994, p. 206), Holderness (1994, p. 206) states, etc. Do not simply insert quotes without any segue or context.
- Always reference quotes, including page numbers in the in-text reference for where the quote can be found in the original source (unless, for example, citing a webpage: check your subject’s preferred Referencing and Citing guidelines).
Reference
- Holderness, G. (1994). Radical potentiality and institutional closure: Shakespeare in film and television. In J. Dollimore & A. Sinfield (Eds.), Political Shakespeare: Essays in cultural materialism (pp. 206-225). Cornell University Press.