ESL & SGS WORKSHOP SERIES (WRITING):

CITING SOURCES & USING TENSES

 SOME REASONS WHY WE USE CITATIONS
• To acknowledge intellectual property rights of authors
• To show respect to other scholars & acknowledge their
achievements
• To support a mutual reward system among researchers (“paying”
by citing them)
• To give your statements greater authority (persuasion)
• To demonstrate familiarity with the field
• To create research space for the author (you write what has been
done to determine what has not been done and create space for
new research)
 WHAT NOT TO CITE?

1 2
Facts that are common Sayings that are common
knowledge knowledge
Example: Canada Example: “Beauty is in the
became a country in 1867. eye of the beholder.”
 WHAT TO CITE?

• Any passage taken word for word from a source (as a

quotation)
• Facts, opinions, and ideas found in a book, in an article, on
the Internet, or in any other source, even if you express it in
your own words
• Statistics
 CONSEQUENCES OF NOT CITING:
EXAMPLE FROM MEMORIAL
• Ms. Young's troubles began in 1994 when she submitted a paper on juvenile child
offenders for a social work course. In it, she argued that people who are sexually
abused as children often go on to become abusers as adults. An appendix
attached to the essay was a first-person account of a woman who was abused
as a child and was currently abusing the children she babysat. The account was
taken from a text book, but Ms. Young's teacher interpreted the appendix as a
confession from Ms. Young. [BECAUSE THERE WAS NO CITATION!]
• The professor . . . contacted child-welfare authorities and the acting director of
the School of Social Work, both of whom urged her to speak directly to Ms.
Young. She never did.
• [The professor] then took her concerns to William Rowe, the director of the School
of Social Work. Dr. Rowe sent the appendix to child-welfare authorities, with a
note saying it should be investigated by police and social workers.
From: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/falsely-accused-of-abuse-woman-wins-case/article18153895/
INTEGRATING EVIDENCE INTO YOUR PAPER
 QUOTING & PARAPHRASING

• Quoting: using the exact words of the original source with

quotation marks around the author's words
• Paraphrasing: using your own words to accurately restate
what the author(s) said
oParaphrasing is much more common than quoting in academic
writing
o Note: Effective paraphrasing is a subject of a future workshop
 WHEN YOU SHOULD USE
A DIRECT QUOTE
1. When the original is written in a poetic language or provides a
unique image.
Example: “The difference between (my grandmother's and
my) feet reminds me of the incredible history we hold between
us like living bookends.”
-- Wu, Janet, “Homework Bound”
2. When the original was spoken or written by a famous person and is
recognizable as a famous saying. For example, we would never try
to paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech.
3. When an expert or a writer said something so eloquently and
memorably that you would never be able to say it better—DO NOT
USE THIS TOO FREQUENTLY
 TYPES OF QUOTES:
SPOT (SHORT) QUOTATION
• less than 40 words

• usually a word, phrase, or a short sentence

incorporated into your own sentence

• quotation marks used before and after a spot

quotation
 PUNCTUATING SHORT QUOTATIONS
• if the introduction to the quote ends with a verb, use a comma
In her 2004 study, Smith writes, "many students, returning to college after
a lengthy absence, do not utilize all the services their academic library
has to offer" (p. 234).
• if the introduction to the quote is a complete sentence, use a
colon
In a 2003 study, Marks, Goff, and Garcia came to a conclusion: "Library
marketing is one of the most important activities in which librarians should
engage" (p. 4).
• if the quotation is woven into your sentence, use no punctuation
Oscar Wilde believed that people “take no interest in a work of art
until they are told that the work in question is immoral” (n. p.).
 TYPES OF QUOTES:
BLOCK (LONG) QUOTATION
• In APA style: 40 and more words in the quote; in MLA style: more than 4
lines; in Chicago Manual style: more than 5 lines
• Provide an introduction to the quote
• Begin the block quote on a new line
• Do not use quotation marks
• Double-space the quote
• Indent each line by ½ inch from the left margin
• Punctuate the quoted material with a period before the parenthetical
citation—with no ending punctuation after the parentheses
• Cite after the end-of-sentence punctuation
 BLOCK QUOTATION: EXAMPLE

The world of photography has improved. From the analog cameras,

today the field is full of digital cameras. According to Johnson (2010):
Digital cameras have recorded a very high percentage in
the sale of cameras. Ideally, 90% of all the cameras sold in
electronic stores are digital. This is attributed to the increasing
use of social media platforms which has encouraged the
sharing of digital photographs. (p. 23)
Johnson added that the use of smartphones and iPads that come
with cameras have also played a role in facing off the analog
cameras.
 MODIFYING A QUOTATION

• If you leave out a word or words, replace them with ellipses (3

spaced dots—space before and after each dot). Never use
ellipses at the beginning of a quote.
• If you need to change or add a word or a phrase to make the
quote clearer, use brackets around your own words

Example: “It [driving] imposes a heavy procedural workload on

cognition that . . . leaves little processing capacity available for
other tasks” (Salvucci & Taatgen, 2012, p. 107).
 TIPS FOR QUOTING
1. Use quotations very sparingly
2. Be sure that every quote is relevant
3. Every quotation must be an accurate reproduction of the
original passage
4. Make the link between the quotation and the main idea
clear
5. Always identify the source of a quotation
 PARAPHRASING
• In some cultures, copying from the works of others is acceptable
or even recommended
• In the Western culture, writing someone else’s words or ideas
without acknowledging the source appropriately is called
plagiarism
• Consequences of plagiarism range from a failing grade to
expulsion
• When you paraphrase, you need to acknowledge the original
author(s)
• Keep track of your sources!
 TIPS FOR PARAPHRASING

1. If you are not sure if a fact, opinion, or idea needs to be

cited, be cautious and cite it anyway
2. If you cannot remember where you got an idea, opinion, or
fact, you should not use the information
HOW TO CITE
 3 STEPS FOR INTEGRATING EVIDENCE

Choose information to paraphrase or quote

Introduce the evidence

Connect the evidence to the topic sentence

 FORMATS FOR INTRODUCING SOURCES: #1
Prepositional Subject Verb Noun Clause (that + full
phrase with title Author & Simple Present sentence)
(optional) date • Paraphrase or quote
• Present tense

In the article Clark (2010) writes that students should

“College study two hours for
Success,” every hour in class.
OR
In “College
Success,”
 FORMATS FOR INTRODUCING SOURCES: #2
Prepositional phrase Prepositional Full sentence
with author & date phrase w/title • Paraphrase or quote
(optional)

According to Clark in “College students should study two

(2010) Success,” hours for every hour in
class.
 FORMATS FOR INTRODUCING SOURCES: #3
Full sentence Citation in parentheses
• Paraphrase or quote • Author
• Year
• For a direct quote the page #
Students should study two hours (Clark, 2010).
for every hour in class
 REPORTING VERBS
Reporting verbs are used to report or refer to another writer's
work. They connect the in-text citation to the information you are
citing. See the following examples, in which the reporting verbs
(point out and state) are shown in bold.
1. Sharpling (2012) points out that reporting verbs have subtle
differences in meaning.
2. University of Adelaide (2014) states that using the same
reporting verb all the time is both repetitive and boring.
 SOME COMMON REPORTING VERBS
NEUTRAL describe, show, reveal, study, demonstrate, note, point out,
indicate, report, observe, assume, take into consideration,
examine, go on to say that, state, believe (unless this is a
strong belief), mention, etc.

TENTATIVE suggest, speculate, hypothesise, imply, propose,

recommend, posit the view that, question the view that,
postulate, etc.
STRONG argue, claim, emphasise, contend, maintain, assert, theorize,
support the view that, deny, negate, refute, reject,
challenge, strongly believe that, counter the view/argument
that, etc.
For more information go to: https://www.jcu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/104215/jcu_131158.pdf
 CONNECTING EVIDENCE TO THE REST OF TEXT

• Each paraphrase & quote has to be connected with the flow

of your own writing.

• You can provide the connecting explanation before or after

the evidence or in both places.
 CONNECTING EVIDENCE: EXAMPLE
Topic sentence: The value of independence is one reason why young and old
people become isolated from each other.
Connecting Being independent is an important quality of life for most
explanation: Americans. Since childhood, people have been taught to be
independent and the notion continues through their old age.
Evidence: Margaret Mead (1971), a famous anthropologist, writes that old
people do not want to be a burden to their children, so they try to
live their lives independently.
Connecting In other words, old people do not want to interfere with their
explanation: children’s lives. Young people also believe their lives will be better
without their parents as constant companions and advisors.
Concluding Consequently, communication between the generations is limited
sentence: and isolation gradually occurs.
 AVOID ‘DUMPING’ EVIDENCE
• Dumping—inserting a quote or paraphrase without a proper
introduction or explanation
• Reader has to figure out the purpose of the quote or paraphrase
Example:
An uncertain outcome is one characteristic of risk. Bellafonte
(1992) asserts that “we build sustainable confidence not by
taking life-threatening risks, but by gradually working at things
we never thought we could achieve” (p. 80).
(No explanation of the relationship between the quote and the
topic sentence before or after the quote.)
CITING & VERBS
 GUIDELINES FOR VERB TENSES

The most common tense in academic writing is PRESENT SIMPLE.

It is used:
• to present general information, facts, opinions, and
research findings
• in citations and paraphrases
• as citational present to refer to important or famous sources
(The Bible says that…, Plato argues that…, The US
Constitution states…)
 GUIDELINES FOR VERB TENSES
The 2nd most common tense is PAST SIMPLE. It is used:

• to refer to specific events that began and ended in the past

• with a time phrase that helps the reader understand the

time frame, such as at that time, in the past, in 2001 etc.

Other tenses used only if there is a very specific reason to use

them
 GUIDELINES FOR VERB TENSES
• Present: for reference to state of current knowledge
The causes of illiteracy are complex (Jones, 1987; Ferrara,
1990; Hyon, 1994).
• Past: for reference to single studies
Jones (1987) investigated the causes of illiteracy.
• Present Perfect: for reference to areas of inquiry
The causes of illiteracy have been widely investigated
(Jones, 1987; Ferrara, 1990; Hyon, 1994).
 VERBS, ADJECTIVES & THEIR STRENGTH
Adverbs and adjectives can be used to adjust the strength of
your claims. Examples:
• The data clearly show that . . . (strong claim)
• The data indicate that . . . (weaker claim)
• The data suggest that . . . (weaker claim)
• A dramatic difference was observed. (a very big difference)
• A significant difference was observed. (a clearly noticeable
difference)
• A slight difference was observed. (a minor difference)
 MODAL VERBS

• Modals are frequently used to adjust the degree of certainty

or necessity.

• They allow the writer to be precise & accurate in making

assertions.
 DEGREE OF CERTAINTY MODAL EXAMPLE

Certain Assertion of fact (none) Aspirin reduces pain.

Prediction showing will Aspirin will reduce pain.

certainty
Assertions showing can Aspirin can reduce pain.
capability
Probable Prediction showing should Aspirin should reduce pain.
probability
Possible Prediction showing may Aspirin may reduce pain.
possibility
Prediction showing might Aspirin might reduce pain.
possibility
Prediction showing could Aspirin could reduce pain.
possibility
 DEGREE OF MODAL EXAMPLE
NECESSITY
Fact Assertion of (none) Students use the library.
fact
Requirement Requirement must Students must use the library
or obligation for this project.
Recommendation Strong should Students should use the
recommendati library as much as possible.
on/advice
Opportunity or can Students can use the library
option if they wish.
Suggestion Suggestion could Students could use the
library for their meeting.
APA
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