The Sheridan Libraries

Avoiding Plagiarism

Quoting

Quoting is when you use someone else’s exact words in your paper. It requires that quotation marks go around that author’s words, and the quotation is followed by an in-text citation.

Good Reasons to Quote

A quote exactly reinforces a point I want to make, and I want to emphasize the authority of the expert with her or his own voice.
The language is unique or unusual. If I rewrote it in my own words, it would lose this quality.

How Does Quoting Work?

There are some key rules for quoting others’ words and ideas.

The exact words of the author are in quotation marks
The quote is introduced so the reader is alerted that these are not the words of the student
The quote is properly cited in the text and the reference list

Explore the other tabs to see a sample quote and learn the steps of recording a quote properly.

Author’s original text

Business communication is increasingly taking place internationally – in all countries, among all peoples, and across all cultures. An awareness of other cultures – of their languages, customs, experiences and perceptions – as well as an awareness of the way in which other people conduct their business, are now essential ingredients of business communication.

Example quotation that could be added to a paper

As business communication spans the globe, “an awareness of other cultures – of their languages, customs, experiences and perceptions – as well as an awareness of the way in which other people conduct their business, are now essential ingredients of business communication” (Chase, O’Rourke & Wallace, 2003, p.59).

Find a portion of a book, journal, or website that you would like to use in your paper. Copy the words you plan to use.
Put quotation marks at the beginning and end of the copied text.
Add an in-text citation at the end of the quoted text (outside the quotation mark).
Write (in your own words) to give context or introduce the quoted text.
Add the sentence with your own words, the quote, and the in-text citation to your paper.
Add the full citation to your reference list at the end of your paper.

How Much to Quote?

While quotation use can vary by discipline and assignment, ideally it should be no more than 10% of the total text (Lester, 46-47). If a quote we want to use is too long or doesn't quite make sense to use, try paraphrasing or summarizing instead.

Reminder

No matter what the source or style, you need to cite it both in-text and at the end of the paper with a full citation! Write down or record all the needed pieces of information when researching to ensure you avoid plagiarism.

Lester, J.D. (1976). Writing Research Papers (2nd ed.). Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman.