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Evidence

FORMS OF TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

Direct Quotes vs. Paraphrasing

FRAMING EVIDENCE

Block Quotes
Signal Phrases
Square Brackets
In-Text Citations

FORMS OF TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

Direct Quotes vs. Paraphrasing

When sharing specific ideas from a source, a writer has a choice between direct quotes and paraphrasing. A direct quote is essentially an exact copy of an author's language to use as evidence or as an object for analysis. A paraphrase is a writer's rephrasing of an author's idea. 

The choice between sharing ideas through direct quotes or paraphrasing is sometimes dictacted by the genre or discipline in which the writer is operating. For instance, Speech Language Pathology and its instructors prefer paraphrasing. 

Doing either improperly could result in plagiarism. To learn how to quote and paraphrase effectively and honestly, review the examples and resources below. 

Show All
  • Direct quote

    鈥淚t was the best of times, and it was the worst of times鈥 -- one of the most famous quotes to ever start a novel. This quote originated from John Steinbeck鈥檚 鈥淭ale of Two Cities鈥 and accurately depicts the experiences of many people during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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  • Paraphrase

    Original Text: In laboratory settings, fake news discernment is assessed by having participants judge the accuracy of a set of true and false news headlines.   

    Paraphrase: Researchers examine fake news discernment, in laboratory settings, by measuring participant鈥檚 accuracy ratings of true and false news headlines (Calvillo et al., 2021).


Resources

 

PRESENTING TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

 Block Quotes

Block quotes are longer quotations that are offset within paragraphs. APA, MLA, and other formats have rules about how many lines or words a quote must be to necessitate a block quote. Too many (and sometimes any) block quotes may be inappropriate for the genre or unwelcome by your instructor. 

Resources

  • (web)
  •  (web)

Signal Phrases 

Signal phrases introduce quotes and paraphrasing. Direct quotes that have no signal phrases are known as floating quotations, which are unfavorable.

Resources

Square Brackets 

Square brackets allow writers to alter or insert direct quotes for the purpose of clarifying. A writer has to be very careful when using square brackets. Misuse of them can result in an unethical and misleading presentation of evidence. 

Resources

In-Text Citations

See our Format page to find information about specific in-text citations for APA, ASA, Chicago, CSE, and MLA formats.