Quoting

Definition of quoting: " repeat or copy out a group of words from a text or speech"

(Definition of this word came from the Oxford American Dictionaries Apple computer widget)

Guidelines for using a quote:

• A quote should be used when the original was so well stated that there isn't a better way to express the same information.
• A quote should be brief.
• A quote should be word for word from the original. Copy all the words and in the exact order they were used in the original.
• The exact location of the quote should be given.

Example of a properly used quote:

The original text:

The beginnings of America’s air force can he traced to a New Hampshire man, Prof. Thaddeus Lowe (1832–1913), who used a balloon to observe the movements of Confederate troops in the Civil War. Lowe was fortunate in that Confederate gunfire failed to wreck his ship. The Union forces credited Lowe’s up-to-the-minute reports with saving them at the Battle of Fair Oaks (1862). The South had little success with balloons. (FactCite, 2009.)

Paragraph a student wrote including a quote from the original text above:

The Battle of Fair Oaks took place in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, on May 31 and June 1, 1862. Confederate forces led by General Joseph E. Johnston attacked the Union troops. The 60,000 Confederate troops faced about 100,000 Union troops. General George B. McClellan drove the Rebs back toward Richmond. During the battle, General McClellan received troop movement information from balloonist Thaddeus Lowe. “The Union forces credited Lowe’s up-to-the minute reports with saving them at the Battle of Fair Oaks.” (FactCite, 2009)