While it’s important to use a signal phrase, repeating the same language and placing it prior to the source material will make your writing predictable and perhaps even boring to readers. Indeed, signal phrases and other forms of attribution function as signposts to readers so that it’s clear whose ideas belong to whom.
Attributing information to a specific source is another way writers make sure their ideas stand out on the page. Did you notice anything else about the short passage I just read? You probably noticed this sentence: “While Zernike’s contention should be concerning, what should also be clear is that some 16 year olds may be more mature than some 18 year olds.” Why use the author’s name again as I have done? Using the author’s name again and attributing an idea to that source shows my view of the issue relative to Zernike’s view, and in this way makes it clear to readers what ideas are mine and what ideas are Zernike’s. In APA when using a signal phrase, put the date of publication in parenthesis directly after the author’s last name. Note how in this revised passage, the author, Zernike, is named before the quote so readers know the source right out of the gate, and then the quote is integrated. While Zernike’s contention should be concerning, what should also be clear is that some 16 year olds may be more mature than some 18 year olds. According to Zernike (2019), “Car crashes remain the leading cause of death for teenagers, who have a crash rate four times higher than that of older drivers” (p. Recent studies have shown that car accidents are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States. Listen to this updated version of the content I just read: Although some 16 year olds may appear more mature than some 18 year olds, records show that 16 year olds are more likely to get involved in car accidents.Ĭould you tell what content in that section was mine and what content came from a source? Absolutely not, right? Now obviously if you could actually see the page and a direct quote was used, then you would be able to tell what material was quoted, but even then, it’s a good idea to give a quote authority by using a signal phrase to name the author prior to the direct quote. “Car crashes remain the leading cause of death for teenagers, who have a crash rate four times higher than that of older drivers” (Zernike, 2012, p.
You may be wondering, What’s the benefit of using a signal phrase? Well, for starters, signal phrases help writers distinguish their ideas from a source’s ideas. Ī signal phrase in APA: Jones argued that. MLA uses signal phrases as well, and the key difference between the way signal phrases are used is that MLA uses present tense verbs and APA uses past tense verbs.Ī signal phrase in MLA: Jones argues that. Common signal phrases include such phrasing as According to X, As noted by X, As X argued, stated, reported, or some other past tense verb, and other similar constructs.ĪPA is not the only documentation style that uses signal phrases. A signal phrase is a natural part of an APA narrative in-text citation as it attributes information to a particular author like this: Clements (date of publication in parentheses) explained signal phrases in a recent fabulous podcast. All a signal phrase is is some introductory text that precedes (and sometimes splits and follows) information that comes from a source whether that information is a direct quote, a paraphrase, or a summary. In case you’re wondering what a signal phrase is, let me start there. In this episode, I am going to discuss using signal phrases and interacting with texts. This is Kurtis Clements with another Effective Writing podcast. Signal Phrases and Interacting With Texts (APA Style 7th Ed.) Transcript Signal Phrases and Interacting With Texts (APA Style 7th Ed.) Podcast
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