Quotation & Documentation

1. Quotation & Documentation Dr. Steve Beatty

2. Choices when Using a Source • Paraphrase • Summarize • Quote

3. The Original: All that glitters is not gold. Paraphrase: Put in your own words. And is often longer than the original. Jones points out that some things that appear valuable at first glance, aren’t. Paraphrase

4. The original: The new drug has a number of side effects, including headache, fever, nausea, and muscle ache. Summary: Condensed version. Must be shorter than original. The new drug has a few minor side effects. Summary

5. Quotation • Should be minimized, so that when it is used it stands out. Just as too much spice in a recipe overwhelms the food’s taste, too much quotation can overwhelm your voice as author.

6. When to use Quotation • When it can’t be said any better “A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.” Sir Winston Churchill

7. When to use Quotation • For Authority You might quote Sigmund Freud on dream interpretation because he literally wrote the book on the subject.

8. When to use Quotation • For Evidence Some (but not all) evidence must be quoted. For example, if you are writing about alliteration in the poems of Robert Frost, at some point you’re going to have to quote some alliteration from his poetry.

9. When to Use Quotation • To argue against a key point in someone’s position Why quote? Because if you paraphrase or summarize the key point held by your opponent, your reader doesn’t know whether you have accurately portrayed your opponent’s position.

10. Quotation Criteria • Can’t be said any better • For Authority • For Evidence • To attack an Opponent’s Position If it doesn’t meet one of these criteria, paraphrase or summarize.

11. Quotation Within a Quotation • Original Text: The problem with teachers is that “they’ve forgotten what it’s like to be students.” Your quote: “The problem with teachers is that ‘they’ve forgotten what it’s like to be students.’”

12. MLA Documentation • Which of the following do you need to document: a) paraphrase b) summary c) quotation Answer: All of them. You must give credit where it is due or you are guilty of plagiarism.

13. MLA Parenthetical Documentation • The key to understanding MLA in-text documentation is that you must give enough information so that your reader can (1) go to the Works Cited page and find the source, and (2) then go to your source and find what you’ve cited.

14. MLA Parenthetical Documentation • The basic form for MLA documentation involves author and page number (Jones 7). Thus, the above documentation tells you that there is a source in my Works Cited by Jones and the idea expressed above comes from page 7 of that source.

15. MLA Parenthetical Documentation • If I acknowledge the source in my text, then I usually only need the page number in my documentation. Jones writes that a healthy breakfast should includes a serving of fruit (7).

16. MLA Parenthetical Documentation • If there is more than one work by an author in your Works Cited, then you’ll need to give additional information so your reader can identify the work. Jones writes that a healthy breakfast should include a serving of fruit (“Breakfast” 7).

17. MLAParenthetical Documentation • If I didn’t identify the author in my text in the previous example, then I need more info in my parenthetical citation. “A healthy breakfast should include a serving of fruit” (Jones, “Breakfast” 7).

18. MLA Parenthetical Documentation • “A healthy breakfast should include a serving of fruit” (Jones, “Breakfast” 7). • Note that quotation marks go before the citation, the sentence ending period goes after the citation. • I don’t need to include the entire title just enough to identify the source.

19. MLA Parenthetical Documenation • “A healthy breakfast should include a serving of fruit.” Assume Breakfast is a book and not an article. Now document. • “A healthy breakfast should include a serving of fruit,” (Jones, Breakfast 7). • Books are italicized. Articles are in “ “

20. MLA Parenthetical Documentation • To minimize the info in the citation, you can simply provide more info in your text. • In “Breakfast of Champions,” Jones writes that “a healthy breakfast should include a serving of fruit” (7).

21. MLAParenthetical Documentation • 2 authors (Smith and Jones 7) • 3 authors (Smith, Jones, and Ott 7) • > 3 authors (Smith et. al. 7)

22. MLA Parenthetical Documentation • Signal Phrase • In research-based writing, writers often use signal phrases to identify their sources. • e.g., According to Jones, Jones writes, Jones argues, etc.

23. MLA Parenthetical Documentation • The effective use of Signal Phrases can minimize documentation and clarify your writing.

24. MLA Parenthetical Documentation • This is sentence one (Beatty 8). The is sentence two (Beatty 8). This is sentence three (Beatty 8). This is sentence four (Beatty 8). Clearly such constant documentation is distracting.

25. MLA Parenthetical Documentation • The Solution: A cumulative note. This is sentence one. The is sentence two. This is sentence three. This is sentence four (Beatty 8). Now your audience assumes all four sentences are from Beatty page 8.

26. MLA Parenthetical Documentation • What if you have a six sentence paragraph. The first three sentences are from Smith. The next three from Jones. This is sentence 1. This is sentence 2. This is sentence 3 (Smith 4). This is sentence 4. This is sentence 5. This is sentence 6 (Jones 22).

27. MLA Parenthetical Documentation • More complicated. Six sentences. 1 and 2 are from Smith. 3 and 4 are your brilliant insights. 5 and 6 are from Jones.

28. MLA Parenthetical Documentation This is sentence 1. This is sentence 2 (Smith 2). This is sentence 3. This is sentence 4. Jones writes, sentence 5. this is sentence 6 (22). The documentation for Smith tells us where Smith ends. The signal phrase tells us where Jones begins. Ergo, the middle is all you.

29. Extended Quotation • More than 4 lines in your text. • Indent 10 spaces from left margin • No quotation marks • Documentation appears three spaces after the terminal period

30. Extended Quotation • This is a normal sentence in your paper introducing the quotation: This is an extended quote. It goes on and on. And then on some more. It keeps on going because it is an extended quote. (Jones 5)

31. MLA Works Cited • Organized alphabetically by author. If no author, by title. • Indent second and following lines of entry 5 spaces.

32. MLA Works Cited Works Cited Happiness. Boston: Simon & Schuster, 2006. Jones, Sue. “Breakfast of Champions.” Journal of Good Health 7 (2005): 77–88.