quoting sources

Introductory Phrases

Introductory phrases are phrases that are used to introduce quotations or paraphrased information. It is important to not overuse the same introductory phrases or verbs in describing research. The following verbs are examples of verbs that can be used as part of introductory phrases to limit redundancy.

Useful Verbs

state / find / describe / show
argue / posit / assert / study
contend / report / note / propose
propose / write / claim / demonstrate
acknowledge / mention / contend / conclude
maintain / add / discover / volunteer
inferred / stress / grant / establish
suggest / reason / illustrate / observe
deduce / declare / emphasize / explain

Sample Phrases

The following introductory phrases provide examples of ways to introduce quotations or paraphrases in your research and utilize some of the verbs above.

According to Jones, the inability to read was found to...

Hart wrote the ability to distinguish...

Smith reported that "men were unable to balance the ball" (237).

Researchers acknowledged that "the test was not valid due to a malfunction" (Kim 1).

The author mentioned that the release of pollutants was never...

The findings posited by Jones are clear evidence...

Rutledge concluded that "the sea was unsafe for the new motorcrafts" (6).

Piaget stressed the element of chance...

More sample phrases

In Amy Cruise's words,

Johnson's Field Guide to Exotic Animals reports that

Henry VIII suggested,

James Harner shows that

Clinton ventured to say,

As Elizabeth Montgomery puts it,

Lisa Stroud insisted that

Gauguin and Van Gogh agreed,

Michael Crichton believes that

Walt Whitman reminds us that

Nixon went on the record saying,

Linda Thornton remarked that

To quote Lyndon B. Johnson,

Kim's point is that

Isaac Asimov in Time argues,

Cicero goes on to explain that

William Hartford testified,

Poe observes that

Gillman leads the reader to the point that

According to Valerie Furmount,

Aristotle wrote,

Remember: It is important to use introductory phrases to introduce quotations and to place the quotations in their appropriate places within the paper.