Created by Humber Libraries
Select tense carefully: Use the past tense to express an action or a condition that occurred at a specific, definite time in the past, as when discussing another research’s work and reporting your results.
| acknowledged added admitted agreed argued asserted believed claimed commented compared confirmed contended declared denied disputed emphasized |
endorsed granted illustrated implied insisted noted observed pointed out reasoned refuted rejected reported responded suggested thought wrote |
Examples of signal phrases (Bedford Handbook 583)
In the words of researchers Redelmeier and Tibshirani (2007),"...."
As Matt Sundeen (2005) noted, "...."
Patti Pena, mother of a child killed by a driver, pointed out that, "...."
"...." wrote Christine Haughtney (2008).
"...." claimed wireless spokesperson Annette Jacobs (2007).
Created by Cardiff University Informmation Services. Used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
To summarize:
Quoting Sources
When you quote a source, you include the author's exact words in your text. Use "quotation marks" around the author's words. Include signal phrases and an in-text citation to show where the quote is from.
Paraphrasing & Summarizing Sources
When you paraphrase or summarize a source, you restate the source's ideas in your own words and sentence structure. Select what is relevant to your topic, and restate only that. Changing only a few words is not sufficient in paraphrasing/ summarizing. Instead, you need to completely rephrase the author's ideas in your own words. You do not need to use quotation marks.
Always use in-text citations when you paraphrase or summarize, to let the reader know that the information comes from another source. Continue to use signal phrases as well. For more information about paraphrasing, please review the content on the paraphrasing page.
If the author's name is in your text, you do not need to repeat it in the in-text citation.
Format
Signal phrase, Author (Year), "quote" (p. page number).
Example
One researcher, Carol Gilligan (2005), concluded that "women impose a distinctive construction on moral problems" (p. 105).
If the author's name is not in your text, you must include it in the in-text citation.
Format
Signal phrase, "quote" (Author, year, p. page number).
Example
As a result, studies suggest that "women impose a distinctive construction on moral problems" (Gilligan, 2005, p. 105).
Use last names only. Add an "&" before the second name.
Format
Signal phrase, "quote" (Author, & Author, Year, p. page number).
Example
According to a study, "The poor and minorities were victims" (Frieden & Sagalyn, 2005, p. 29).
First time cited
Signal phrase, "quote" (Author, Author, & Author, Year, p. page number).
Example
Our text discussed the "ethical dilemmas in public relations" (Wilcox, Ault, & Agee, 2005, p. 125).
Subsequent times cited
Signal phrase, "quote" (Author et al., Year, p. page number).
Example
As mentioned before, there may be "ethical dilemmas in public relations" (Wilcox et al., 2005, p. 125).
In either the signal phrase or parentheses, give only the first author’s last name, followed by et al.
Format
Signal phrase, "quote" (Author et al., Year, p. page number).
Signal phrase with First Author et al. (Year) …
Example
Recent research showed that … (Graham et al., 2010).
According to a research study by Graham et al. (2010), …
Use shortened version of title.
Format
Signal phrase, "quote" ("Shortened Title", Year, p. page number). Note: Titles of articles in "Quotation Marks", titles of Books or Longer Works are italicized.
Example
One article stated that, "A death row inmate may demand his execution for notoriety" ("Right", 2005, p. 135).
A database source is NOT the same as an Internet source. Most sites do not reproduce the article exactly as it was published in the original journal or magazine. If you find an article on a news website, such as the BBC site or CBC site please remember to cite the source as a website.
Use author or title and year.
For an electronic source without pages but with numbered paragraphs, use “para.” and the paragraph number. If there are no numbered paragraphs, provide a section header.
Format
Signal phrase, "quote" (Author, Year).
Signal phrase, "quote" (Shortened title, Year).
Example
According to a study, "Twins reared apart report similar feelings" (Palfrey, 2005, Conclusions section).
Use the abbreviation “n.d.” for “no date.”
If there are no page numbers on an electronic source, you can use numbered paragraphs. Use "para." and paragraph number or provide a section header.
Format
Signal phrase with author’s name (n.d.), “quote” (p. page number).
Signal phrase, “quote” (Author, n.d., p. page number).
Example
According to Magnus (n.d.), "it has been difficult to identify a connection between watching television and eating habits" (p. 67).
This LibGuide is based on the APA Citations LibGuide created by Montgomery College Libraries. The content and format are used with permission.
The APA Formatting Style Guide by OWL at Purdue was also used with permission.
APA Citation Guide from Columbia College was also used with permission.