Lesson 6:
Incorporating Resources

Objectives

Understanding Plagiarism

Integrate Your Research

Cite Your Sources

Resources

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Integrating Your Research

Quoting

When you quote an author exactly, you copy the source as it appears in the original and add quotation marks at the beginning and ending of the passage. To avoid plagiarism, you must identify the source of the quotation using a citation format, like MLA or APA.

Quoting an author's exact words seems like the easiest way to integrate research information into your assignment. However, there are a couple "catches".

Catch #1: Direct quotations should only be used when:

• the author's language is noteworthy for some reason—because of its eloquence or vividness;
• you intend to analyze the passage in detail; or
• a summary or paraphrase of the passage would result in misinterpretation.

Catch #2: Quotations (especially lengthy ones) must be accompanied by your own words.

• In other words, if you use a direct quote that is 50 words long, you should match that with 50 words of your own that include commentary about, analysis of, or reaction to the quotation.

Catch #3: To be interesting, you should insert direct quotes in a variety of ways.

There are 3 main ways to insert a quotation:

• Quote a single word or phrase.
  EXAMPLE: Only Liberia, Suriname, and the US “routinely separate” incarcerated women and their offspring (Kauffman 62).
• Quote a longer phrase.
  EXAMPLE: Liberia, Suriname, and the US all have something rather shameful in common. Their prison systems “are the only ones that routinely separate young children from their incarcerated mothers” (Kauffman 62).
• Quote entire sentences or groups of sentences.
  This option is dangerous. Be careful not to substitute long quotations for your own words and ideas.

Note: The in-text citations above (Kauffman 62) are in MLA format and refer to Kelsey Kauffman's article entitled "Mothers in Prison" published in Corrections Today, volume 63, page 62.