Incorporating Direct Quotations

Signals/Signal Phrases

• You should include a phrase that introduces the direct quote and (sometimes) names the author or source to place the material in a meaningful context. This lets your readers know where the information came from.

Examples of Signals

• Author Nick Hornby emphasizes this when he has Rob say, “. . .”

• As Hornby notes, “. .”• Rob Fleming argues that

“. . .”• We see this most clearly

when Will Freeman insists that “. . .”

• British author Nick Hornby implies that “. . .”

• The reader discovers this when Marcus observes that “. . .”

• “. . .,” reasons Fiona, who goes on to assert that “. . .”

• According to contemporary British author Nick Hornby, “ . . .”

• Nick Hornby, winner of the Booker Prize, suggests that “. . .”

Separate or Incorporated

• The whole sentence, from the signal phrase to the end of the direct quote, must be grammatically correct:

• 1. You can separate your signal from the direct quote by a comma or colon.

• 2. You can integrate your signal into the direct quotation with no comma or colon.

1. Separate

• A comma or colon precedes the direct quotation.

For example: Robert Frost wrote, “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall.”

2. Incorporated

• No punctuation separates the signal phrase from the direct quotation.

For example: Most people remember, unfortunately, that Frost’s poem also said that “good fences make good neighbors.”

A Comparison

• Separate:Robert Frost wrote,

“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall.”

Most people remember, unfortunately, that Frost’s poem also said, “Good fences make good neighbors.”

• Incorporated:Robert Frost wrote that

“something there is that doesn’t love a wall.”

Most people remember, unfortunately, that Frost’s poem also said that “good fences make good neighbors.”

Some Signal Verbs

acknowledges

adds

admits

agrees

comments

compares

confirms

contends

endorses

illustrates

implies

insists

argues

asserts

believes

claims

declares

denies

disputes

emphasizes

notes

observes

points out

suggests

Summary

• Use a signal phrase to move your readers smoothly from your ideas to a direct quotation.

• Vary your signal verbs and signal phrases.• Either separate or incorporate the direct quotation.• Make sure the whole sentence is grammatically correct.