Signal Phrases

A signal phrase introduces a new voice (in the form of a quotation) into an essay. Its essential parts (in any order) are the following:

·the full name of the author

·a word or phrase to identify his or her expertise (if known)

·the name of the work (use quotation marks for “Essay Tittles” and “Article Titles.” Book Titles should be italicized (if possible) or underlined (if it can not be italicized), but not both

·a specific—and—appropriate—verb (see the list below and on the back of this sheet)

“Most people lose in most competitive encounters, and it’s obvious why that causes self-doubt” (Kohn 34).

Quote is the essay “No-Win Situations” written by Alfie Kohn.

In the box below, copy the above quotation and use a signal phrase that includes the title of the article, the author’s full name, and a verb. Instead of using says or states, choose from the following list the verb which most accurately conveys your meaning:

Acknowledges / Believes / Confirms / emphasizes / points out
Adds / Claims / Contends / explains / reasons
Admits / Comments / Declares / implies / reports
Agrees / Compares / Demands / Insists / suggests
Argues / Concedes / Denies / Notes / thinks
Asserts / Concludes / Disputes / observes / writes

«Remember to use quotation marks around quoted material.

«Recheck your quotation to make sure you have copied the author’s words accurately.

«Note that the period goes after the parentheses. See the example on the other side.

« If the article is only one page, you do not need to include the page number at the end.

«If you use material from an electronic database or Internet sources that do not include numbered pages or numbered paragraphs, place the period inside the closing quotation marks—unless you are using the author’s name at the end.

«The first time you refer to an author, use an appropriate signal phrase; however, in subsequent passages, you should refer to the author only by his or her last name.

«It is advisable to avoid beginning or ending a paragraph with a quotation.

Attribution Verbs

Source Is Neutral

Comments / Observes / says
Describes / points out / sees
Illustrates / Records / thinks
Notes / Reports / writes

Source Infers or Suggests, but Doesn’t Actually Say So

Analyzes

/ Asks / assesses
Concludes / Considers / finds
Predicts /

Proposes

/ reveals
Supposes / Speculates / suggests
Infers / implies

Source Argues

Alleges

/ Claims / contends
Defends / Disagrees / holds
Insists / Maintains / argues

Source Agrees with Someone/Something Else

Admits / Agrees / concedes
Concurs / Grants / allows

Source Is Uneasy or Disagrees

Belittles / Bemoans / complains
Condemns / Deplores / deprecates
Derides / Laments / warns

Attribution Verb section adapted from Crossfire by Gary Goshgarian and Kathleen Krueger.

Examples of incorporating quotes using signal phrases:

In the article “No-Win Situations,” author Alfie Kohn concludes, “Most people lose in most competitive encounters, and it’s obvious why that causes self-doubt” (34).

As author Alfie Kohn explains in “No-Win Situations,” “Most people lose in most competitive encounters, and it’s obvious why that causes self-doubt” (34).

“Most people lose in most competitive encounters,” according to author Alfie Kohn, “and it’s obvious why that causes self-doubt” (34).

In the article “No-Win Situations, author Alfie Kohn believes, “While this is going on, competition is having an equally toxic effect on relationships” (34).

In the article “No-Win Situations,” author Alfie Kohn notes, “The entire dynamic of the game shifts, and one’s attitude toward the other players changes with it” (33).

“Studies have shown that feelings of self-worth become dependent on external sources of evaluation as a result of competition” (Kohn 34).

“Competition leads children to envy winners, to dismiss losers (there’s no nastier epithet in our language than ‘loser!’), and to be suspicious of just about everyone” (Kohn 35).

“Competition makes it difficult to regard others as potential friends or collaborators; even if you’re not my rival today, you could be tomorrow” (Kohn 35).

“If large numbers of people insist that we can’t do without win/lose activities, the first question to ask if whether they’ve ever tasted the alternative” (Kohn 34).

Kohn also points out that we need to “[n]ote the significance of an ‘opponent’ becoming a ‘partner’” (40).