- Writing about Evidence
- Attribution to a Source
- Verbs of Attribution
- Using Quotations as Evidence
- How to Incorporate Quotations in Paragraphs
Writing About Evidence
Be intentional about your use of evidence. Ask yourself a few questions:
- What piece of evidence best demonstrates the idea I develop in this paragraph?
- Do I need to summarize (focus on the main point or finding), paraphrase (explain a particular detail), or directly quote this evidence?
- What important context do I need to identify to accurately and clearly write about this evidence?
- How does this piece of evidence demonstrate the idea?
- How does this evidence fit with other pieces of evidence?
Learn more: Effective Summarizing and Paraphrasing
Attribution to a Source
- Use the name of the author or authors. In CSE and APA format, a surname is typically used; however in MLA and Chicago, it is more usual to include a first name and surname in addition to position, if it is relevant (e.g., agricultural historian, Douglas McCalla or former Ontario premier, Bob Rae).
- Use the name of the source in disciplines like Classics, English, and Philosophy. This is not a common practice in the sciences or social sciences; instead use author names.
Verbs of attribution
- adds, admits, affirms, argues,
- confirms, declares, insists,
- mentions, proposes, reports, states,
- reveals, suggests, thinks
More alternatives to "X writes":
Using Quotations as Evidence
When to use a direct quotation:
- when the writer's style or eloquence is so powerful that summarizing or paraphrasing would be significantly less effective.
- when the writer’s words give your argument validity and support.
- when you want to comment on, agree with, or take exception to what the writer has said.
- when you want to comment specifically on the writer’s choice of words.
How to Incorporate Quotations into Your Writing
There are many ways to introduce quotations.
- Tromly argues that “Jane’s most important relationship exists in that strange imaginative mid-region half-way between illusion and reality.”
- According to Tromly, “Jane’s most important relationship exists in that strange imaginative mid-region half-way between illusion and reality.”
- “Jane’s most important relationship” occurs, in Tromly’s view, “half-way between illusion and reality.”
The next two examples make a direct comment on the material quoted:
- Tromly is wrong when she argues that “Jane’s most important relationship exists in that strange imaginative mid-region half-way between illusion and reality.”
- Tromly argues convincingly that Jane Eyre’s attachment to Rochester “exists in that strange imaginative mid-region half-way between illusion and reality.”