Quote Integration

C: Citing the Source

After you have created your source introduction, your next step should be source integration (actually citing the source). In general, there are three basic ways you could do this:

• Direct Quotation
• Paraphrase
• Combination of both

Direct Quotation

Direct quotation is exactly what it sounds like it is— it is the direct quoting of another author’s words or ideas word-for-word. To illustrate, let’s return to our example from the last section. As a reminder, the prompt question the example quote will be supporting is this one:

What are two of the benefits of holding a regular family council?

Applying the skills learned in the “Introducing the Source” lesson, the quote introduction becomes:

In an April 2016 General Conference talk entitled “Family Councils,” Elder M. Russell Ballard teaches….

Now, imagine for a moment that one of the benefits you want to focus on in your essay is the family council’s ability to protect the family from the temptations of the outside world. Based on the thoughts shared in M. Russell Ballard’s Conference talk, a good supporting quote for this “benefit” might be this one:

“A family council that is patterned after the councils in heaven, filled with Christlike love, and guided by the Lord’s Spirit will help us to protect our family from distractions that can steal our precious time together and protect us from the evils of the world.”

Based on this quote, a good application of “direct quotation” with the source introduction we already created might be:

In an April 2016 General Conference talk entitled “Family Councils,” Elder M. Russell Ballard teaches that “A family council that is patterned after the councils in heaven, filled with Christlike love, and guided by the Lord’s Spirit will help us to protect our family from distractions that can steal our precious time together and protect us from the evils of the world.”

Paraphrase

Another approach you can take to quote integration is the use of paraphrasing. Unlike a direct quote where the author’s words are quoted word-for-word, a paraphrase is a summary of another person’s words or ideas. To illustrate, let’s return to our example from the last section. As you likely remember, the selected quote from M. Russell Ballard was:

“A family council that is patterned after the councils in heaven, filled with Christlike love, and guided by the Lord’s Spirit will help us to protect our family from distractions that can steal our precious time together and protect us from the evils of the world.”

When seeking to paraphrase instead of directly quote a source, the first question you’ll want to ask yourself is, “what is this person trying to say?” then perhaps followed by, “can it be summarized in a more clear and simple way?”

Elder Ballard makes lots of points in his quote, but given the fact that the benefit of the family council we want to draw attention to in our essay is its ability to protect the family from the temptations of the outside world, perhaps the best summary we could come up with would be:

In an April 2016 General Conference talk entitled “Family Councils,” Elder M. Russell Ballard teaches that the family council, facilitated by the guiding hand of the Holy Ghost, can provide the family with an added layer of protection from outside worldly influences.

Notice how Elder Ballard’s tone and ideas are accurately represented in the paraphrase above even though they are not quoted word-for-word? Notice also how there is enough difference in word selection and word ordering that, while representing Elder Ballard’s quote accurately, it is in no way a direct quote? This is what you will want to try to accomplish when paraphrasing. You’ll want it to be an accurate summary of the author’s ideas, but also different enough in word choice and order that it in no way plagiarizes this author’s words.

Combination of Both

One final approach you can take to quote integration is a combination approach— meaning paraphrase combined with direct quotation. While generally considered a more advanced approach to quote integration, this approach tends to get rid of the less applicable parts of a direct quote. This then helps the writer to get to the main point much more quickly and effectively.

Whenever you are considering taking a combination approach to quote integration, the main question you should be asking yourself is, “which part of this quote contains the most important information?”

Returning to our example quote from Elder Ballard, what part of his quote might be the most important part to share given your essay’s focus? How could you effectively combine it with the source introduction you already created?

“A family council that is patterned after the councils in heaven, filled with Christlike love, and guided by the Lord’s Spirit will help us to protect our family from distractions that can steal our precious time together and protect us from the evils of the world.”

Well, based on the benefit you want to highlight in your essay (the family council’s ability to protect family members from outside temptations), perhaps the most important part of that quote is the section that focuses on the family council’s ability to “protect us from the evils of the world.” Based on this selection, an effective use of direct quotation combined with paraphrase might be:

In an April 2016 General Conference talk entitled “Family Councils,” Elder M. Russell Ballard teaches that the family council, facilitated by the guiding hand of the Holy Ghost, can “protect us from the evils of the world.”