How do I choose quotes from my article?

Quoting original sources in your writing is an important part of most academic writing, but choosing the right quotes to use can feel intimidating. We've included a few rules of thumb to guide your quote choice and a helpful document to organize your thoughts and specific rhetorical features of your articles.

When to quote:

• When the specific language used by the author in the original article is critical, not the idea. Does rewriting it in your own words diminish its impact? If not, you should probably paraphrase or summarize it instead.
• When the author's words provides authority or credibility that is essential to your argument
• When you're analyzing the author's word choice

What to quote:

• Only the words or phrases that are critical to demonstrate authority on your topic
• Word choice that is a good example of a rhetorical feature you're analyzing

How to quote:

• A quote should be introduced by attribution (According to Blaine in her research, "....")
• A quote should be embedded in your own writing as a part of your sentence
• After you include a quote, you should explain how it relates to your idea, do not summarize the quote
• Avoid over-quoting. That could mean:
  • including too many quotes (remember, quotes are used to add authority or serve as an example of your ideas or analysis)
  • using quotes that are too long (if you can summarize or paraphrase the quote without diminishing its impact, you should do that instead; only quote the specific language you're analyzing or using for authority)

You can read more about considerations and tips for effectively quoting sources here.