Copy

Copy? Yes, with today's technology, you simply copy the text you wish to quote and CITE it properly!

In fact, the more research you have the less you actually need to write!

Your job is to organize and present the material you have researched!

As long as you don't "steal credit" for it no one cares because it's not stealing when you GIVE credit in return!

How to copy words and ideas without stealing them:

1) Select or paraphrase a quotation you believe best supports your position punctuate and and cite it properly. Long quotations (three or more lines) belong in block quotation format.

2) Use Parenthetical Citation.

3) Remember to put together a "Works Cited" page.

That's it.

Punctuation and Quotation Marks.

In America, commas and periods go inside quotation marks, while semicolons and colons go outside, regardless of the punctuation in the original quotation. Question marks and exclamation points depend on whether the question or exclamation is part of the quotation, or part of the sentence containing the quotation. Some examples:

See the chapter entitled "The Conclusion, in which Nothing is Concluded." (Periods always go inside.)
The spokesman called it "shocking," and called immediately for a committee. (Commas always go inside.)
Have you read "Araby"? (The question mark is part of the outer sentence, not the quoted part, so it goes outside.)
He asked, "How are you?" (The question mark is part of the quoted material, so it goes inside.)

Note that in American usage, all quoted material goes in "double quotation marks," except for quotations within quotations, which get single quotation marks.

There are a few instances where it's wise to put the punctuation outside the quotation marks — cases where it's really important whether the punctuation mark is part of the quotation or not. A software manual, for instance, might have to make it very clear whether the period is part of a command or simply ends the sentence in which the command appears: getting it wrong means the command won't work. Bibliographers are concerned with the exact form of the punctuation in a book. In these cases, it makes sense. Most of the time, though — when lives don't depend on whether the comma is or isn't part of the quotation — stick with the general usage outlined above; it's what publishers expect.

Block Quotations.

Short quotations — say, no more than three or four lines — usually appear in the text surrounded by quotation marks, "like this." Longer direct quotations, though — and sometimes shorter quotations of poetry — should be set off as block quotations or extracts, thus:

Notice that the quotation is indented on both sides: most word processors make that easy. Notice, too, that you don't use quotation marks around a block quotation: the indention (not "indentation") is enough to indicate it's a quotation. Most teachers expect block quotations to be single-spaced. (Lynch)

Always be sure to include proper citations in block quotations; the usual route is to put the citation in parentheses after the closing punctuation in the quotation itself.

Paraphrase

Put the material into your own words but give the author the credit for the idea... you must still use parenthetical citation to cite (give credit) to the author.

USE Parenthetical Citation.

The importance of accurate citation cannot be overstated: a paper without proper citations is open to charges of plagiary. It's not simply a matter of having the minimum of five footnotes in your research paper to keep the teacher happy, and it's not simply a matter of avoiding honor-code trouble. Careful citation shows your reader that you've done your homework, and allows him or her to check up on you. It amounts to laying your intellectual cards on the table.

Cite your source for every direct quotation and every borrowed idea. Two standards are common in English papers: that of the MLA Style Guide and that of The Chicago Manual of Style. Use the MLA style, it calls for a list of "Works Cited" at the end of a paper in standard bibliographical form, alphabetical by author:

Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver's Travels. Edited by Herbert Davis. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1965.

Citations in the text of the paper would then include the author's name (with a year or abbreviated title if more than one work is cited) and page number; for instance:

". . . the most pernicious race of odious little vermin" (Swift 120).

All citations should appear under the name of the main author, but should include the names of editors, translators, and so on (writers of introductions aren't necessary). Include the city, publisher, and year of publication. For works of prose, give a page number or a range of pages; for works of poetry, give a line number or range of lines.