8.4 Referencing quotes

Quoted material can add to a discussion significantly. It can offer a summary of points that you have explored, or provide an example or even enable you to contrast two different definitions. However, quotes should not be seen as a substitute for your own words. They should be used sparingly. Moreover, quoting material involves the development of particular skills, those of referencing, integrating and selecting. As with ideas, you need to reference the source of the quote that you use as follows: (Author, date, page number). These details come at the end of the quote. For illustrations of this you might want to look back through the earlier extracts that we worked on and see how the authors themselves referenced quotes, and how we have given the source of each extract and referenced that source at the end of the course.

Once you have decided on the quotes you want to include and made a note of the references, you need to think about integrating them into your discussion. This involves introducing them so that they flow on from what comes before. You also need to take care not to over-rely on quoted material, using it in place of putting ideas into your own words. Remember, quotes should have a specific purpose and you need to think about whether or not they add something to your discussion.