Avoiding Generalities

When writing a paper, it is important to avoid vague generalizations, especially when it comes to characterizing the thoughts of others, whether they hold similar or contrary positions to your own. Catch-all phrases such as "critics say" or "is widely regarded as" are vague and unconvincing because they have no basis for verification. These types of phrases might seem useful to condense research where you've discovered ubiquitous agreement on a particular position, but in those cases, it would be better to cite a series of authors or quote a particular instance rather than make a sweeping generalization. A properly placed quotation can articulate your position and provide substantiation at the same time. Most often a quotation is taken from the literature, but also sentences from a speech, scenes from a movie, elements of a painting, etc. may be quoted if they further the argument you're trying to make.

Did it drive you crazy as a kid when an adult in your life told you you had to do something "Because I said so!," and offered no other justification? Think of that when you're about to write, "They say that ... ," or "Most people agree ..." You're not giving the reader any reason to believe you. They're going to furrow their brows just as you did as a child, and your trust with your reader will be compromised.

Collecting Quotations

While you're researching your topic, when a brilliantly worded sentence catches your eye, save it. When you find a statement summarizing evidence you plan to use or evidence you think you might use, save it. Look for statements that concur with your argument, but also for assertions that contradict your claims, as you'll use these for refutation purposes. 

You can use programs like Zotero or EndNote, or simply drag the quotation into a document. Just make sure you're also saving the complete source material (for both in-text citations and the reference page), so you won't have to go searching for it later. If you can organize your quotations by topic, so much the better. They'll be much easier to find when you need them.

When to Quote, Paraphrase, and Cite

It's important first to recognize when citations are required. In the U.S., ideas are always attributed to the thinker or writer, as are any facts discovered through research. If you find information at a particular source, you'll usually need to cite that source, though commonly known and accepted facts (such as the undisputed dates of a particular war, for example, or the pound equivalent of 32 ounces) need not be cited.

There are times when a quotation will give you maximum impact and times when paraphrasing is more effective. Look at the following alternatives in a paper about transforming cultural mores.

• "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong," (Gandhi, 1931).
• In fact, as Gandhi said in 1931, offering forgiveness is not a display of weakness, but indeed, its opposite.

In this case, while the second sentence isn't a bad summary of the idea, both the syntax of the direct quote and the reputation of the speaker make the quotation far more powerful than the paraphrased reference. Quotations are useful when the author is particularly well-known, when you want to add an air of authority to the information, and when the exact words are particularly eloquent or historically significant. This one meets all the criteria.

Here's one from an essay about the use of alternative medicine: 

• One bright spot in the ongoing campaign against human trafficking has been the United Nations, founded after the World War II.

In this case, there's no need to quote or paraphrase. The first part of the sentence is your opinion, and the second part is general and undisputed knowledge. Widely accepted facts like when the UN was founded needn't be paraphrased or cited. If you were to then go on to tell us what exactly the UN has done to combat human trafficking, you'd need to cite your sources.

Here's an example of paraphrasing:

• There are actually 69,436,660 registered Catholics in the United States (22% of the U.S. population) according to the American bishops' count in their Official Catholic Directory 2013.

You wouldn't need to quote the directory, because there's no more power in the quote than in your summary of it. But since it is a precise number that isn't common knowledge, you do need to cite it. Notice that the word "actually" is coloring the phrase. It's the author's way of disputing a possible perception that the religion is in decline. This is how using your own words gives the option of contextualizing. Paraphrasing gives you more flexibility with sentence structure and allows the reader to hear your unique voice and reasoning in the paper.

The catch with paraphrasing is that you need to be sure that all the words you're using are actually your own, other than conventional terms and designations (like "registered Catholics"). If there are particular phrases within a work you're paraphrasing that you'd like to quote directly, you'll want to put quotes around those phrases, like this:

In Democracy Matters, for example, West advocates revisiting the foundation of the U.S. Constitution to recognize and counter "free market fundamentalism" which he believes, among other policies, has undercut the document's intention (West, 2004). 

Here, the phrase "free market fundamentalism" is clearly a phrase unique to West's work and must be recognized as such by using the quotation marks.

To Quote or to Paraphrase?

Consider whether you should quote, paraphrase, or simply state the following examples:

1. On life: "90 percent of it is half mental." 
2. About 68 percent [of people over age 25 in the U.S.] do not have a bachelor's degree.
3. Fewer homes were lost to fires in San Diego County last year than this year. 
4. Bitter herb combinations have been used for centuries to stimulate the digestive system.
5. "[The disappearance of honeybees] is the biggest general threat to our food supply."

The first sentence is a good example of something you should quote. Knowing who said it (Yogi Berra) is important, because it's an original thought, and because knowing the speaker is one reason why it's funny. You wouldn't want to paraphrase it because the exact words are important to the humor and the wording is unique to the speaker.

Number 2 could be paraphrased or quoted, but paraphrasing might be the better choice because you could leave out the brackets and put the statistic in context of whatever you're writing about—for example, "In fact, despite the assumptions of many middle class parents, only about 32 percent of people living in the United States have completed a bachelor's degree," (2015, Politifact.com).

Number 3 is a bit of a gray area as far as citation is concerned. You might assume that it's a common fact that could be found anywhere, and so you wouldn't need to cite it. That said, it may depend on the context of the quote, and whether it's a disputed idea. If your reader questions it, you're going to lose credibility without a citation that he or she can follow up on. If it is disputed, you'll want to paraphrase and cite the source. It's not likely that quoting directly would provide more credibility, so it is therefore unnecessary.

Number 4 would generally not need to be cited, though you'll likely be following it up with more specific information that will. You might consider that a quote from an herbalist or doctor offering the same information might give the skeptical reader a feeling of being on more solid ground. 

Number 5 is one you'll want to quote directly, as the person who said it (Kevin Hackett, of the USDA) is a key person in the debate about honeybee colony collapse and what to do about it. You'll note that there's no question about whether or not to cite the source, because it's an original thought, not a common fact.

You see, then, that while the issue of citation is relatively straightforward—when in doubt, cite—the question of quotation versus paraphrase is subtler. It's a decision based both on the needs of the argument and artistic sensibility.  

The revision process will be helpful in this regard. You'll notice if your paper plods from one quote to another, overwhelming the reader with other people's words. You'll also notice whether it seems less than authoritative and needs the backing of direct quotes. The citations, throughout, are a foundational element, showing the reader how your argument developed and why you think as you do about the subject. Let those whose shoulders you're standing on support you, but don't let them take over. It's your paper, after all.