Whenever you include a paraphrase, summary, or direct quotation of another writer’s work in your paper, prepare your readers for it with introductory words called a signal phrase. A signal phrase usually names the author of the source and often provides some context for the source material. (See also 55b and 55c.)
When you write a signal phrase, choose a verb that is appropriate for the way you are using the source (see 53c). Are you providing background, explaining a concept, supporting a claim, lending authority, or refuting a belief? See the chart at the bottom of the page for a list of verbs commonly used in signal phrases.
Note that MLA style calls for verbs in the present or present perfect tense (argues, has argued ) to introduce source material unless you include a date that specifies the time of the original author’s writing.
Marking boundaries
Readers need to move from your words to the words of a source without feeling a jolt. Avoid dropping quotations into the text without warning. Instead, provide clear signal phrases, including at least the author’s name, to indicate the boundary between your words and the source’s words. (The signal phrase is highlighted in the second example.)
dropped quotation
Some experts have argued that a range of legitimate concerns justifies employer monitoring of employee Internet usage. “Employees could accidentally (or deliberately) spill confidential corporate information . . . or allow worms to spread throughout a corporate network” (Tynan).
quotation with signal phrase
Some experts have argued that a range of legitimate concerns justifies employer monitoring of employee Internet usage. As PC World columnist Daniel Tynan points out, “Employees could accidentally (or deliberately) spill confidential corporate information . . . or allow worms to spread throughout a corporate network.”
note: Because this quotation is from an unpaginated Web source, no page number appears in parentheses after the quotation. See item 4 in 56a.
Establishing authority
Good research writers use evidence from reliable sources. The first time you mention a source, include in the signal phrase the author’s title, credentials, or experience—anything that would help your readers recognize the source’s authority. (Signal phrases are highlighted in the next two examples.)
source with no credentials
Jay Kesan points out that the law holds employers liable for employees’ actions such as violations of copyright laws, the distribution of offensive or graphic sexual material, and illegal disclosure of confidential information (312).
source with credentials
Legal scholar Jay Kesan points out that the law holds employers liable for employees’ actions such as violations of copyright laws, the distribution of offensive or graphic sexual material, and illegal disclosure of confidential information (312).
When you establish your source’s authority, you also signal to readers your own credibility as a responsible researcher who has located reliable sources.
Introducing summaries and paraphrases
Introduce most summaries and paraphrases with a signal phrase that names the author and places the material in the context of your argument. (See also 55c.) Readers will then understand that everything between the signal phrase and the parenthetical citation summarizes or paraphrases the cited source.
Without the signal phrase (highlighted) in the following example, readers might think that only the quotation at the end is being cited, when in fact the whole paragraph is based on the source.
Frederick Lane believes that the personal computer has posed new challenges for employers worried about workplace productivity. Whereas early desktop computers were primitive enough to prevent employees from using them to waste time, the machines have become so sophisticated that they now make non-work-related computer activities easy and inviting. Many employees spend considerable company time customizing features and playing games on their computers. But perhaps most problematic from the employer’s point of view, Lane asserts, is giving employees access to the Internet, “roughly the equivalent of installing a gazillion-channel television set for each employee” (15-16).
There are times when a summary or a paraphrase does not require a signal phrase. When the context makes clear where the cited material begins, you may omit the signal phrase and include the author’s last name in parentheses.
Using signal phrases with statistics and other facts
When you cite a statistic or another specific fact, a signal phrase is often not necessary. Readers usually will understand that the citation refers to the statistic or fact (not the whole paragraph).
Roughly 60% of responding companies reported disciplining employees who had used the Internet in ways the companies deemed inappropriate; 30% had fired their employees for those transgressions (Greenfield and Davis 347).
There is nothing wrong, however, with using a signal phrase to introduce a statistic or fact.
Putting source material in context
Readers should not have to guess why source material appears in your paper. A signal phrase can help you make the connection between your own ideas and those of another writer by clarifying how the source will contribute to your paper (see 52a).
If you use another writer’s words, you must explain how they relate to your point. It’s a good idea to embed a quotation between sentences of your own. In addition to introducing it with a signal phrase, follow the quotation with interpretive comments that link it to your paper’s argument (see also 55c).
quotation with effective context
The difference, Lane argues, between old methods of data gathering and electronic surveillance involves quantity:
Technology makes it possible for employers to gather enormous amounts of data about employees, often far beyond what is necessary to satisfy safety or productivity concerns. And the trends that drive technology—faster, smaller, cheaper—make it possible for larger and larger numbers of employers to gather ever-greater amounts of personal data. (3-4)
In an age when employers can collect data whenever employees use their computers—when they send e-mail, surf the Web, or even arrive at or depart from their workstations—the challenge for both employers and employees is to determine how much is too much.
To avoid monotony, try to vary both the language and the placement of your signal phrases.
Model signal phrases
In the words of researchers Greenfield and Davis, “. . .”
As legal scholar Jay Kesan has noted, “. . .”
The ePolicy Institute, an organization that advises companies about reducing risks from technology, reports that “. . .”
“. . . ,” writes Daniel Tynan, “. . .”
“. . . ,” attorney Schmitt claims.
Kizza and Ssanyu offer a persuasive counterargument: “. . .”
Verbs in signal phrases
| acknowledges | comments | endorses | reasons |
| adds | compares | grants | refutes |
| admits | confirms | illustrates | rejects |
| agrees | contends | implies | reports |
| argues | declares | insists | responds |
| asserts | denies | notes | suggests |
| believes | disputes | observes | thinks |
| claims | emphasizes | points out | writes |