In-text Citations and Signal Phrases

In-text Citations and Signal Phrases

Directing Readers to Where You Got Your Information From

Poll

Have you cited evidence in an essay before?

• Yes

• No

• Maybe

Citing Evidence in Your Essay: The Basics

• There are two approaches to citing evidence in your essay...

• using a signal phrase OR

• using an in-text citation

Important!

Not only does citing your evidence give credit to where you got it from, but also, it prevents you from plagiarism!

In-Text Citations

What are in-text citations?

An in-text citation shows the reader where you got your information from by stating the AUTHOR or ARTICLE TITLE (whichever is available)

EXAMPLES:

(O'Brien)

("Does Free Community College Work?")

How do you create an in-text citation?

Steps

• Write your sentence with evidence (either directly quoted or paraphrased/summarized)

• Refer to the author's last name, or if there is no author, the article title (in quotation marks)

• Place this in parentheses ( )

• Put a period after the parentheses

Summary: In-text Citations

• place in parentheses ( )

• use the author's last name OR article title (if there is no listed author)

• For article titles, place them in quotations " "

• Put a period outside the parentheses ( ).

Multiple Choice

Which option is a correct in-text citation?

• (Bob Smith)

• (Smith)

• (How to Argue)

Multiple Choice

Which option is a correct in-text citation?

• ("The Art of Arguing")

• (Izzy Smithston)

• (How to Catch Chickens)

Multiple Choice

Which option is a correct in-text citation?

• (Kemble)

• (Mr. Zeiset)

• (Why the A Team is Great)

Multiple Choice

Which sentence correctly uses an in-text citation (including punctuation)?

• The average American "eats nearly 2,000 pounds of food a year" (Mowery).

• The average American "eats nearly 2,000 pounds of food a year" (Mowery)

• The average American "eats nearly 2,000 pounds of food a year" Mowery.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence correctly uses an in-text citation (including punctuation)?

• Though it has different colors, "fruit loops are all the same flavor" (30 Outrageous Facts About Food You’ll Think Are Made Up)

• Though it has different colors, "fruit loops are all the same flavor" "30 Outrageous Facts About Food You’ll Think Are Made Up".

• Though it has different colors, "fruit loops are all the same flavor" ("30 Outrageous Facts About Food You’ll Think Are Made Up").

Signal Phrases

What are signal phrases?

Signal Phrases signal where you got your information from by stating the AUTHOR or ARTICLE TITLE (if there is no listed author)

EXAMPLES:

Smith argues

According to Smith

The article "How to Write" shares

How do you create a signal phrase?

Steps

• Write a phrase that leads into your evidence

• Refer to the author's last name, or if there is no author, the article title (in quotation marks)

• Place your evidence

Let's Practice

Multiple Choice

Which sentence correctly uses a signal phrase (including punctuation)?

• According to some source, "Sharks don't have bones."

• According to the article 12 Shark Facts that May Surprise You, "Sharks don't have bones."

• According to the article "12 Shark Facts that May Surprise You," "Sharks don't have bones."

Multiple Choice

You read an article written by Anna Green and want to use evidence from it. Which option uses the SIGNAL PHRASE correctly?

• According to Green, "Politicians have used pizza to spy on reporters."

• According to an article, "Politicians have used pizza to spy on reporters" (Green).

• According to Anna, "Politicians have used pizza to spy on reporters."

Recap: In-text Citations and Signal Phrases

review + practice

When do I need to cite in my essay?

You must CITE using a SIGNAL PHRASE or IN-TEXT CITATION whenever you refer to research and evidence ( ideas that are not your own and come from a source).

In-text Citations

• place in parentheses ( )

• use the author's last name OR article title (if there is no listed author)

• For article titles, place them in quotations " "

• Put a period outside the parentheses ( ).

• EXAMPLES: (Walters) (Gehman) ("Pizza Facts You Never Knew")

  ​

Signal Phrases

• Write a phrase that introduces your evidence

• use the author's last name OR article title (if there is no listed author)

• For article titles, place them in quotations " "

• Then, place your evidence

• EXAMPLES: According to Lutz, According to "How to Eat Pizza Properly,"

Multiple Choice

True or False: You must use a signal phrases or in-text citation WHENEVER you refer to researched evidence.

• True

• False

• It depends

Multiple Choice

You don't have to use an in-text citation when you write the author's idea in your own words (paraphrasing).

• true

• false

Multiple Choice

You put your in-text citation inside of...

• "quotation marks"

• (parentheses)

• [brackets]

• $dollar signs$

Multiple Choice

If you don't have an author to cite, what information do you use for an in-text citation or signal phrase?

• use the title of the article, and PUT IT IN ALL CAPS

• use the title of the article instead, and put it in quotation marks

• use the URL

• just skip it and do nothing

Multiple Choice

Pizza has been everywhere: "In 2001, pizza was delivered to the International Space Station" (Green).

• Correctly Cited including punctuation

• Incorrectly Cited

Multiple Choice

According to Green, pizza has been everywhere: "In 2001, pizza was delivered to the International Space Station" (Green).

• Correctly Cited

• Incorrectly Cited