Internal Citations and Punctuation

A quote is any group of words that is coming from a source other than you. It does not have to be (and usually won’t be) a complete sentence. It can be something some one said, or a group of words pulled from an article, book, journal, etc.

Internal citations are giving credit to a source right after the idea you used from them. It is in parenthesis, and comes before the punctuation but after the quotation marks. Typically, you will put the authors last name and the page number- no commas, no #, no pg. Ex. It was clear the Grinch was reformed because “his heart grew three sizes that day” (Seuss 26). Ex. It was clear the Grinch was reformed because his heart got exceptionally larger than it was before (Seuss 26).

A direct quote is ‘copy and pasting’ words in the order they were originally spoken or written. A direct quote requires quotation marks. SOURCE: Mr. Jones: It was the hottest day I had ever experienced. DIRECT QUOTE: Mr. Jones said, “It was the hottest day I had ever experienced” (Jones 1). SOURCE: August is often times the hottest month of the year due to the proximity of the sun to our line of longitude. DIRECT QUOTE: Typically, the temperature will be higher in August because of “the proximity of the sun to our line of longitude” (Jones 1) You should have 2-3 of these in your paper, which means you should have 3-5 quote cards.

A paraphrased or summary quote is when you take an idea from someone else’s words and put them into your own words. You do not need quotation marks but you do need an internal citation. SOURCE: August is often times the hottest month of the year due to the proximity of the sun to our line of longitude. PARAPHRAED: Typically, because of how close we are to the sun in August, it is very hot (Jones 1). You should have about 15 summary cards in your own words for your paper!

A quote cannot stand alone as a complete sentence! You need some of your own words before, after or in between the quote! A simple introduction would be: He said, “…” A sophisticated intro would be using the quote words together with your idea.

There should be a comma, an exclamation point or a question mark before the final “ Unless it is the end of your sentence- then it goes “( ).

In addition to adding your own words to your quoted sentence, your quote should be: Introduced Cited (internal citation) Explained Rule of thumb- your explanation should be 3x the length of the quote.

Quotes are to be used to SUPPORT YOUR IDEAS. They give your CREDIBILITY- like saying, “look, someone else said this too,” or, “this is a proven fact!” So your paragraphs should stand with your own explanations, and the quotes are used ADDITIONALLY.