Rules of Writing

RULES OF DOCUMENTATION IN ACADEMIC WRITING

See "How to Format your References" for more information.

The basic rule is that

1. writers must put quotation marks around all materials copied directly from a source and
2. must identify -- in a footnote or bibliography or in parentheses in the text -- the source of all statistics, unique information and ideas, whether quoted directly or paraphrased, with a full citation, including page numbers.

Some student writing problems show up as errors or as patterns of avoidance. Some students, for example, never quote directly because they are unsure how to use quotation marks. Others quote everything because they don’t know whether paraphrasing requires quotation marks or a footnote.

Some students need practice in recognizing differences among direct quotation, indirect quotation, and paraphrase. Here are some common patterns (a footnote number would be required after each of these sentences):

He said "My investigations have revealed that the bureau is a thicket of deceit."
He said that his investigations had revealed the bureau to be a "thicket of deceit."
He said that his investigations had revealed widespread dishonesty in the bureau.
There is widespread dishonesty in the bureau, reports Maxwell.

The general rule is: "Quote directly only when the exact words of the source are important for some special reason." Students must combat their tendency to quote because they think that the prose style of the original is better than anything they could write, or because they don’t understand the quotation well enough to paraphrase it, or because it’s just easier to copy than to state an idea in their own words.

Guidelines for Use of Research Material

1. Whenever you use another writer’s exact words, or state another author’s idea in your own words, or use facts from a source (unless these facts are so common as to be part of the generally accepted store of knowledge in the field), you must give credit to that other author and tell the reader where the information or idea came from.  Note that I said you must give credit even when you use your own words.  This may be contrary to some habits you’ve developed in high school, but it is very important, because not to do so is plagiarism, which has serious consequences.  It is a kind of stealing -- stealing someone’s idea or the data someone has collected, without giving that person credit.

2. In academics, the basic forms used to give credit to another author and to tell the reader where the information came from are the footnote, or the in-text citation, with a  bibliography.

3. It is easy to get “captured” by another author’s words or organization and to end up using too much quoted material, or too many ideas from other authors, in a paper.  To avoid this problem, you must establish your own purpose, your own plan or outline, and your own point of view.  You must also be sure about who your audience is.  Then search for the facts or ideas you need to support your own goals.  That way, material from sources will fit into your own plan, not be your plan.

4.  When sources contradict one another, or when there are several places from which to get information or ideas, you must evaluate the worth of the sources and use the most reliable.  Consider such factors as the date of the material, the reliability of the person or journal or newspaper reporting it, the likelihood of a person’s being knowledgeable about, or present at, a reported event, and so on.  The least reliable sources are encyclopedias, secondary compilations of documents, quotations of quotations, prefaces, introductory surveys, or chapters in broad, general texts.  More reliable, as a rule, are original documents, firsthand accounts, the work of original researchers or thinkers or compilers who first printed an idea or a research report or a statistical table, and people who are experts in a specialized field, not writers of some compilation such as an introductory textbook or a popular magazine account.  Common sense will often help you decide which sources to use (whom would you call as witness in a trial -- the person who saw the accident or the person only heard about it?).  If you need help evaluating the worth of a book, check the Book Review Digest to see how others have viewed it.  If you need help selecting from several possible sources, see whether there is a recently published selected bibliography or review article.  The word “selected” tells you that someone who knows the field more or less well has selected from many possible books and articles the ones he or she considers best for a certain purpose (make sure you know what that purpose was; if it was different from yours, that person’s choice may not be useful to you).  If you are unsure how to evaluate the worth of a written source, ask for help at the desk of the reference librarian; don’t be afraid to ask for help.

5.  Many students quote too much.  The guide is this:  use direct quotation only when the precise words of the author are needed to justify your interpretation, or when those words are too exquisite to be missed.  Avoid long, dull quotations, especially of material considered common knowledge. Consider paraphrasing (saying in your own words) most of a long passage, even if you do want to quote some of it. Footnote numbers appear at the end of quotations or citations, or, if the cited material is more than a paragraph, at the end of each paragraph ( so the reader doesn’t get lost).

6.  When you quote material directly, you have an additional responsibility besides the footnote.  If the quotation is shorter than four lines, use quotation marks and just include it right in your paragraph, making sure that it fits in smoothly.  Remember to include both sets of quotation marks, at the beginning and at the end of the quote.  If it is longer than four lines, then use no quotation marks.  Instead, indent the whole thing five spaces and single-space it.  The spacing serves instead of quotation marks to tell the reader that the passage is quoted.

7.  Keep exact notes so that you know exactly where you got your information.  If you found the information on-line through your computer, be sure to note date, medium, and location.  The goal of references is for someone else to be able to go exactly to where you found the information and verify it.

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See "How to Format your References" for more information.