9 Using Quotations
A quotation consists of the exact words found in a source. All quotations must be cited (footnoted); not doing so constitutes plagiarism, which means presenting someone else’s words, ideas, or numbers as your own. There are examples of plagiarism in the final section of this book.
Quotations should never carry your argument, but can illustrate or support it. As a general rule, you should quote secondary sources sparingly. Place short quotes (1-2 lines) in the text using quotation marks; longer quotes are indented (right and left) and single-spaced, with no quotation marks. Always introduce quotations to indicate who is speaking.
You should quote primary sources when:
- Your primary source provides a fact or concept that directly supports your argument.
- Your source uses terminology that is now obsolete, but that conveys the atmosphere/way of thinking of the time.
- The source is unclear or ambiguous; you are obliged to put your own interpretation on it, and want to make the reader aware of this fact.
You should quote a secondary source when:
- The historian quoted is using a phrase or expression or formulating a problem in a way that is unique and that you find particularly useful for your argument.
- The passage quoted is critical to your argument – for instance, you are challenging the author’s interpretation and intend to refute it
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