Whenever you include a paraphrase, summary, or direct quotation of another writer’s work in your paper, prepare your readers for it with a signal phrase. A signal phrase names the author of the source and often provides some context for the source material.
When you write a signal phrase, choose a verb that is appropriate for the way you are using the source (see CMS-1c). Are you providing background, explaining a concept, supporting a claim, lending authority, or refuting an argument? By choosing an appropriate verb, you can make your source’s role clear. See the chart at the bottom of the page for a list of verbs commonly used in signal phrases.
Note that CMS style calls for verbs in the present tense or present perfect tense (points out or has pointed out) to introduce source material unless you include a date that specifies the time of the original author’s writing.
The first time you mention an author, use the full name: Shelby Foote argues. . . . When you refer to the author again, you may use the last name only: Foote raises an important question.
Marking boundaries
Readers should be able to move from your own words to the words of a source without feeling a jolt. Avoid dropping quotations into your text without warning. Instead, provide clear signal phrases, usually including 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
Not surprisingly, those testifying on the Union and Confederate sides recalled events at Fort Pillow quite differently. Unionists claimed that their troops had abandoned their arms and were in full retreat. “The Confederates, however, all agreed that the Union troops retreated to the river with arms in their hands.”9
quotation with signal phrase
Not surprisingly, those testifying on the Union and Confederate sides recalled events at Fort Pillow quite differently. Unionists claimed that their troops had abandoned their arms and were in full retreat. “The Confederates, however,” writes historian Albert Castel, “all agreed that the Union troops retreated to the river with arms in their hands.”9
Using signal phrases with summaries and paraphrases
As with quotations, you should introduce most summaries and paraphrases with a signal phrase that mentions the author and places the material in the context of your own writing. Readers will then understand where the summary or paraphrase begins.
Without the signal phrase (highlighted) in the following example, readers might think that only the last sentence is being cited, when in fact the whole paragraph is based on the source.
According to Jack Hurst, official Confederate policy was that black soldiers were to be treated as runaway slaves; in addition, the Confederate Congress decreed that white Union officers commanding black troops be killed. Confederate Lieutenant General Kirby Smith went one step further, declaring that he would kill all captured black troops. Smith’s policy never met with strong opposition from the Richmond government.10
Integrating statistics and other facts
When you are citing a statistic or another specific fact, a signal phrase is often not necessary. In most cases, readers will understand that the citation refers to the statistic or another fact (not the whole paragraph).
Of 295 white troops garrisoned at Fort Pillow, 168 were taken prisoner. Black troops fared worse, with only 58 of 262 captured and most of the rest presumably killed or wounded.12
There is nothing wrong, however, with using a signal phrase to introduce a statistic or fact.
Shelby Foote notes that of 295 white troops garrisoned at Fort Pillow, 168 were taken prisoner but that black troops fared worse, with only 58 of 262 captured and most of the rest presumably killed or wounded.12
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 setting up how a source will contribute to your paper (see R3).
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 it with interpretive comments that link the source material to your paper’s argument.
quotation with effective context
In a respected biography of Nathan Bedford Forrest, Hurst suggests that the temperamental Forrest “may have ragingly ordered a massacre and even intended to carry it out—until he rode inside the fort and viewed the horrifying result” and ordered it stopped.11 While this is an intriguing interpretation of events, even Hurst would probably admit that it is merely speculation.
note: When you bring other sources into a conversation about your research topic, you are synthesizing. For more on synthesis, see MLA-3c.
To avoid monotony, try to vary both the language and the placement of your signal phrases.
Model signal phrases
In the words of historian James M. McPherson, “. . .”1
As Dudley Taylor Cornish has argued, “. . .”2
In a letter to his wife, a Confederate soldier who witnessed the massacre wrote that “. . .”3
“. . . ,” claims Benjamin Quarles.4
“. . . ,” writes Albert Castel, “. . .”5
Shelby Foote offers an intriguing interpretation: “. . .”6
Verbs in signal phrases
|
admits |
compares |
insists |
rejects |
|
agrees |
confirms |
notes |
responds |
|
argues |
contends |
observes |
suggests |
|
asserts |
declares |
points out |
thinks |
|
believes |
denies |
reasons |
writes |
|
claims |
emphasizes |
refutes |