


Without some sort of introduction, your audience would not even know that the statement about Roman antiquity was a quotation, let alone where the quotation came from. You would not read the parenthetical note. When you are making decisions about how to integrate quotations into your essay, you might imagine that you are reading the essay out loud to an audience. Yet the Roman conception of a just war differs sharply from more modern conceptions. "Hence we must turn to Roman antiquity to find the first justification of war, together with the first notion that there are just and unjust wars" (Arendt 12). The ancient Greeks never saw a need to justify wars that were waged outside the walls of the city state. In the following passage, the parenthetical reference to the author does not adequately identify the source: Letting your reader know exactly which authorities you rely on is an advantage: it shows that you have done your research and that you are well acquainted with the literature on your topic. Don't just parachute quotations into your essay without providing at least some indication of who your source is.

Quotations come from somewhere and your reader will want to know where. Why is it important to identify my sources? Visit our handout on paraphrase and summary. (Almost all of the examples in this handout follow the Modern Languages Association, or MLA, system of citation, which is widely used in the humanities and in those social sciences with a less quantitative approach.) The same is true of writing in those social sciences -such as experimental psychology - that rely on controlled studies and emphasize quantifiable results. Note that most scientific writing relies on summary rather than quotation. Summarizing the relevant passage if you wish to sketch only the most essential points in the passage.Paraphrasing the passage if you wish to convey the points in the passage at roughly the same level of detail as in the original or.If an argument or a factual account from one of your sources is particularly relevant to your paper but does not deserve to be quoted verbatim, consider: You wish to argue with someone else's position in considerable detail.Ĭondition 3 is especially useful in essays for literature courses.The passage is worthy of further analysis.You wish to confirm the credibility of your argument by enlisting the support of an authority on your topic.The language of the passage is particularly elegant or powerful or memorable.Consider quoting a passage from one of your sources if any of the following conditions holds:

If you include too much quotation in your essay, you will crowd out your own ideas. The focus of your essay should be on your understanding of the topic. Re-Imagining & Reinventing Undergraduate Education.Statement of Acknowledgement of Traditional Land.Alumni of Influence Selection Committee.Centre for Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies.
