As discussed in Chapter 5, information not your own may be cited in the form of a summary (a brief overview of someone else’s ideas, opinions, or theories), paraphrase (a restatement of someone else’s ideas, opinions, or theories in the speaker’s own words), or direct quotation (statements made verbatim by someone else).
For examples of how to cite different types of supporting materials, including facts and statistics, see Table 10.1.
For examples of how to cite quotations, paraphrases, and summaries, see From Source to Speech, “Recording and Citing Books,” and From Source to Speech, “Recording and Citing Articles from Periodicals.”
TABLE 10.1 Types of Supporting Materials and Sample Oral Citations
| Type of Supporting Material | Sample Oral Citation |
| Examples (real or hypothetical) | “One example of a website that evaluates charities is GiveWell. Founded by hedge fund employees, GiveWell conducts research into how much good various charities achieve and then publishes their research . . . ” |
| Stories (extended or anecdotal) | “In J. R. R. Tolkien’s classic trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, a young Hobbit boy named Frodo . . . ” |
| Testimony (expert or lay) | “Dr. Mary Klein, a stem-cell researcher from the Brown University School of Medicine, echoed this sentiment when she spoke last Monday at the Public Health Committee meeting . . . ” |
| Facts | “According to the Farmer’s Almanac, published every year since 1818, originally the phrase ‘blue moon’ referred to the second of two full moons appearing in a single month.” |
| Statistics | “Data from the U.S. Census Bureau, which produces national population estimates annually using the latest available data on births, deaths, and international migration, indicates that in 2009, there was one birth every eight seconds and one death every twelve seconds in the United States.” |