Larbi Ben M’Hidi University

Department of English
Module: Study Skills
Level: 1st Year (Licence)
Teacher: Mrs. S. AROUF
1. Direct Quotations
Objectives of the lecture: At the end of the lecture, students will be able to:
- define a direct quote
- incorporate direct quotes in their writing
- distinguish between APA short and long quotes
- distinguish between narrative and parenthetical citations for both APA short and
long quotes
Contents of the lecture:
3.1 Definition
3.2 Incorporating quotations in writing
3.3 APA Short quotations (fewer than 40 words)
3.3.1 Short quotation with narrative citation
3.3.2 Short quotation with parenthetical citation
3.4 APA Block/ long quotations (40 words or more)
3.4.1 Block quotation with parenthetical citation
3.4.2 Block quotation with narrative citation
3.5 Direct quotation of material without page numbers
Exercises
References

3.1 Definition
A direct quotation reproduces an author’s words exactly as they were spoken or
written, preserving even peculiarities of spelling, grammar, and punctuation. In other
words, using a quotation means bringing the original words of a writer into your work.
Student papers tend to overuse quoted material (so much so that many teachers
automatically regard excessive quotations as a sign of padding). Actually, your own
writing is more important to your teacher or supervisor. However, when you do
include quotations they should be acknowledged with the correct reference
conventions and listed at the end of your writing.
Quotations are effective in some situations, but must not be overused. They can be
valuable:
• when reproducing an exact definition,

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• when an author has expressed an idea memorably,
•when you want to respond to exact wording.
It is important to acknowledge the source of the quotations otherwise you may be
accused of plagiarism. When you quote directly, you must provide the author, year,
and page number of the quotation in the in-text citation in either parenthetical or
narrative format. Use the abbreviation “p.” to indicate a single page (e.g., p. 25; p.44);
use the abbreviation “pp.” to indicate multiple pages, and separate the page range with
a dash (e.g., pp. 34–36). When pages are discontinuous, use a comma between the
page numbers (e.g., pp. 67, 72).
3.2 Incorporating quotations in writing
 The main uses of quotations in writing are as follows:
- Support for an argument or point of view. As X has observed, “…”
- Exemplification of the point being made. Thus, for example, “…”
- Introduction of a point or viewpoint etc. According to X, “ . . . ”
- Conclusion of a discussion, analysis, etc. Therefore X concludes: “ . . . ”
- Explanation of a point, item, etc. X explains it as follows: “ . . . ”
 Quotations are generally introduced by a phrase/ sentence that shows the source,
and also explains how this quotation fits into your argument:
White and Arndt (1991), while acknowledging the importance of grammar in
producing written work, assert that “grammatical accuracy and correctness of form are
now important” (p.133).
 In many instances the quotation precedes the citation:
The Oral-Situational Approach was considered “as an alternative approach to the
audiolingual approach promoted in the United States” (Ellis, 2005, p. 3).
The format of a direct quotation depends on its length (fewer than 40 words vs. 40
words or more.
3.3 APA Short quotations (fewer than 40 words)
- An APA short quotation is made up of less than 40 words.
- It is incorporated as part of the text.
- It is enclosed with double quotation marks.
- The last punctuation mark is placed after the closing parenthesis for the citation.
3.3.1 Short quotation with narrative citation
Ordinarily, introduce the quotation with a signal phrase or sentence that includes the
author’s last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses. Put the page
number (preceded by “p.”) in parentheses after the quotation.

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 - Biebel et al. (2018) noted that “incorporating the voice of students with
psychiatric disabilities into supported education services can increase access,
involvement, and retention” (p. 299).
• In rare cases, the author and date might both appear in the narrative. In this case, do
not use parentheses.
- In 2018, Soto argued that “more similar stimuli, such as those coming from the same
modality, produce more configural processing” (p. 598).
3.3.2 Short quotation with parenthetical citation
If the signal phrase or sentence does not name the author, use a parenthetical in-text
citation (i.e., place the author’s last name, the year, and the page number in
parentheses) after the quotation. Use commas between items in the parentheses.
- The item read, “What were the best aspects of the program for you?” (Shayden et al.,
2018, p. 304).
- Effective teams can be difficult to describe because “high performance along one
domain does not translate to high performance along another” (Ervin et al., 2018, p.
470).
3.4 APA Block/ long quotations (40 words or more)
If a quotation contains 40 words or more, treat it as a block or long quotation. When
writing an APA block quotation,
- start the block quotation on a new line;
- indent the whole block 0.5 inch from the left margin (at the same spot where you
would start a new paragraph).
- Do not use any quotation marks.
- Use double spacing for the entire long quote;
- do not add extra space before or after it.
- Either (a) cite the source in parentheses after the quotation’s final punctuation or (b)
cite the author and year in the narrative before the quotation and place only the page
number in parentheses after the quotation’s final punctuation.
- Do not add a period after the closing parenthesis in either case.
- Start the text after the quotation on its own line, but with no indentation.
3.4.1 Block quotation with parenthetical citation
Researchers have studied how people talk to themselves:
Inner speech is a paradoxical phenomenon. It is an experience that is central to
many people’s everyday lives, and yet it presents considerable challenges to any
effort to study it scientifically. Nevertheless, a wide range of methodologies and
approaches have combined to shed light on the subjective experience of inner
speech and its cognitive and neural underpinnings. (Alderson-Day & Fernyhough,

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 2015, p. 957)
3.4.2 Block quotation with narrative citation
Flores et al. (2018) described how they addressed potential researcher bias when
working with an intersectional community of transgender people of colour:
Everyone on the research team belonged to a stigmatized group but also held
privileged identities. Throughout the research process, we attended to the ways in
which our privileged and oppressed identities may have influenced the research
process, findings, and presentation of results. (p.311)
3.5 Direct quotation of material without page numbers
When quoting from a written source that does not provide page numbers (e.g.,
webpages and websites, some ebooks), use any of the following approaches to locate
the quoted passage.
• Provide a heading or section name.
For people with osteoarthritis, “painful joints should be moved through a full range of
motion every day to maintain flexibility and to slow deterioration of cartilage” (Gecht-
Silver & Duncombe, 2015, Osteoarthritis section).
• Provide a paragraph number (count the paragraphs manually if they are not
numbered).
People planning for retirement need more than just money—they also “need to
stockpile their emotional reserves” to ensure adequate support from family and friends
(Chamberlin, 2014, para. 1).
• Provide a heading or section name in combination with a paragraph number.
Music and language are intertwined in the brain such that “people who are better at
rhythmic memory skills tend to excel at language skills as well” (DeAngelis, 2018,
Musical Forays section, para. 4).
Notes:
1. There are many verbs and phrases that can be used to introduce quotations in
writing. Some of the main structures are a s follows:
- As X observed/pointed out/suggested/noted/indicated “…”
- According to X, “…”
- For example, X argued that “…”
- X suggests that “…”
- The need for it is widely recognised: “…”
- Writing in 19 79, X commented that “…”
- To quote X: “…”
- Recent research by X shows that “…”

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2. Use brackets, not parentheses, to enclose any additional or explanatory material in a
quotation.
“They are studying, from an evolutionary perspective, to what extent [children's] play
is a luxury that can be dispensed with when there are too many other competing claims
on the growing brain” (Henig, 2008, p. 40).
3. If any incorrect spelling, punctuation, or grammar in the source might confuse
readers, insert the word “sic”, italicized and in brackets, immediately after the error in
the quotation.
- Nowak (2019) wrote that “people have an obligation to care for there [sic] pets” (p.
52).

Exercises:

1. Study the following paragraph from an article titled ‘The mobile

revolution’ in the journal ‘Development Quarterly’ (Issue 34 pages 85–97,
2009) by K. Hoffman. p. 87.
In the developing countries the effect of phone ownership on GDP growth is much
stronger than in the developed world, because the ability to make calls is being offered
for the first time, rather than as an alternative to existing landlines. As a result, mobile
phone operators have emerged in Africa, India and other parts of Asia that are larger
and more flexible than Western companies, and which have grown by catering for
poorer customers, being therefore well-placed to expand downmarket. In addition
Chinese phone makers have successfully challenged the established Western
companies in terms of quality as well as innovation. A further trend is the provision of
services via the mobile network which offer access to information about topics such as
healthcare or agriculture.
a.Write a summary of the main point, including a citation.
b. Introduce a quotation to show the key point, referring to the source.
c. Combine (a) and (b), again acknowledging the source.
2. Study the following extract from page 6 in a book written by Teresa Morley-
Warner in 2001.
To write successfully at university you need a sense of what the final product should
look and sound like, so if possible, read model assignments or if these are not
available, study the way in which journal articles have been written in your specific
area. These articles may be lengthy and some may be based on research rather than a
discussion of issues, but from them you will get a sense of how academic writing
‘sounds’, that is, its tone, and also how respected writers in your field assemble

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information. You will also gain a sense of the complexity of being an apprentice writer
in an academic culture, or rather cultures, where expectations may vary from
discipline to discipline, even subject to subject and where you can build a repertoire of
critical thinking and writing skills that enable you to enter the academic debates, even
to challenge.
a. Write a summary of the main point, including a citation.
b. Introduce an author prominent long quotation to show the key point.
c. Write a combination of the summary of the main point and an information
prominent long quotation illustrating the main point, again acknowledging the source.

References
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American
psychological association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
American Psychological Association. (2019). Publication manual of the American
psychological association (7th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Bailey, S. (2003). Academic Writing: A practical guide for students (1st ed.). London
and New York: Routledge.
Bailey, S. (2011). Academic Writing: A handbook for international students (3rd ed.).
London and New York: Routledge.
Jordan, R. R. (1999). Academic writing course: Study skills in English. Essex,
England: Pearson Education Limited.
Winkler, A.C., & McCuen-Metherell, J.R. (2008). Writing the research paper: A
handbook (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.