WRITING CITATIONS
(for Summaries, essays, and research papers)
Dr. Marguerite Connor
Citing the Author's Name
 
The first time that you refer to a source, use the author's full name--without Mr. or Miss, Mrs., or Ms.

      John Stuart Mill writes, "The opinion which it is attempted to suppress by authority may possibly be true."

After that, should you need to cite the author again, use the last name only.

     Mill continues to point out that "all silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility."

When you cite the author's name:

  •  At first reference, you may (and usually should) include the title of the work from which the quotation is taken:


    •       In On  Liberty , John Stuart Mill writes...
     

  •  If there is a long break between references to the same author, or if the names of several other authors intervene, you may wish to repeat the full name and remind your reader of the earlier citation.


    •      In addition to his wamings about the danaers of majority rule, which were cited earlier in my discussion on public opinion, John Stuart Mill also expresses concern about "the functions of police; how far liberty may legitimately be invaded for the prevention of crime, or of accident."
     

  • Avoid referring to the author twice in the same citation, once by name and once by the pronoun.  In the following citation, we really can't be sure who "he" is:


    •                    In John Stuart Mill's On  Liberty  , he writes...

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    Choosing your Introductory Verb

    You can't keep repeating "Mill says" or "Mill feels" or "Mill thinks" or "Mill writes": it would get very boring.
    Here are some introductory verbs:
     

     argues                                        explains                                    agrees
     establishes                                  believes                                   insists
     finds                                           continues                                  maintains
     points out                                   declares                                    disagrees
     notes                                          observes                                   states
     suggests                                      proposes                                  compares
     adds                                           concludes

     

    Notice that all the verbs are in the present tense: the conventional way of introducing most quotations.  Whichever verb you choose should best suit your purpose.  The citation should suggest the relationship between your own ideas (in the sentence previous to the citation) and the statement that vou are about to quote.  You should examine the quote before choosing the verb.

    For clarity, the introductory verb may be expanded:

    X is aware that...
    X stresses the opposite view
    X provides one answer to the question
    X makes the same point as Y
    X erroneously assumes...

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    Varying your sentence patterns

    Even if you choose a different verb for each quotation, the combination of author, verb and quote can become repetitious.  One way to vary citations is occasionally to place the name of the source in a less prominent position, tucked into the quotation instead of calling, attention to itself at the beginning.

    1. You can interrupt quotations by placing the citation in the middle.

                  "I made my mistakes," acknowledged Richard Nixon, "but in all my years in public service, I have never profited         from public service.  I have earned every cent."

    But don't interrupt the quotation at just any point or else it may be awkward:

                  "The only prize much cared for," states Oliver Wendell Holmes, "by the powerful is power."

    2. You can avoid the monotonous "X says that..." pattern by phrasing the citation as a subordinate clause or phrase.

                  In Henry Kissinger's opinion, "Power is 'the great aphrodisiac."'

    3. In your quest for variety, avoid placing the citation after the quotation.  The author's name at the end may weaken the statement and make it awkward.

                "I am the inferior of any man whose rights I trample underfoot," as quoted from the writings of Robert Ingersoll.

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    Presenting an Extended Quotation

    Rarely, you may have reason to quote more than four typewritten lines of text.  To do this, set off the quoted passage by indenting the entire quotation on the left.
     

  •  Introduce an extended quotation with a colon.

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  • Start each line of the quotation 10 spaces from the left hand margin; stop each line at your normal right hand margin.

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  • The spacing of extended quotations is usually just like the spacing of the entire paper: double spaced (though some disciplines may require single-spaced so always ask your instructor).

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  •  Omit quotation marks at the beginning, and end of the quoted passage; the indented margin ( and the introductory citation) will tell your readers that you are quoting.

    • Here is an example:

    Although he worked "hard as hell" all winter, Fitzgerald hald difficulty finishing The Great Gatsby.  On April 10, 1924, he wrote to Maxwell Perkins, his editor at Scribner's:
                       While I have every hope & Plan of finishing, my novel in June ... even [if] it takes me 10 times that long, I cannot let it go unless it has the very best I'm capable of in it or even as I feel sometimes better than I'm capable of.  It   is only in the last four months that I've realized how much I've-- well, almost deteriorated.. What I'm trying to
                        say is just that .... at last, or at least for the first time in years, I'm doing the best I can.

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    Integrating Quotations Into Your Paragraphs

    You have learned how to present the words of others with.accuracy and appropriate acknowledgment; now, you must learn to make the quotation serve the larger purpose of your paragraph or essay.  Here are some suggestions for integrating quotations into your writing:
     

  • Use quotation sparingly.

    •           Quote only when you have a clear reason for doing so: when you are intending to analyze a quote, when you are sure that the wording of the quote is essential to your argument, or when you simply cannot say it in your own words.  Otherwise, paraphrase or summarize the point in your own words (but still give credit to the original author if it is an idea or opinion).
     
     
  •  Quotations generally belong in the body of a paragraph rather than the first sentence of a body paragraph, the topic sentence.

    •           The topic sentence should establish--in your own words--what you are about to explain or prove.  The quotation should appear later in the paragraph as supporting evidence.
     
     
  •  Let the quotation make its point; your job is to explain or interpret its meaning, not translate it  word  for word.

    •          Once you've presented a quotation, it is usually not necessary to provide an exact repetition of the same idea in your own words.  Instead, follow up a quotation with an explanation of its relevance to your paragraph or an interpretation of its meaning; but make sure that your commentary does more than echo the quotation.
     
     

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