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Evidence-Based Arguments: Quoting

Basics of Quoting Other Writing

In most social science disciplines, you will use direct quotations only sparingly. Use a direct quotation only if the exact phrasing of the original material is crucial to your point.  Paraphrasing the idea in the author's own words is the best approach. 

Use quotation marks around the words you are borrowing directly from another source. For longer passages, use block quotations.

Example: Samson (2010) stated, “Mirror neurons allow for imitation and empathy” (p. 214).