9SOSE: Quoting

Here are some tips and examples about QUOTATIONS. Quotations are always someone else's EXACT WORDS. A quote must match the original exactly, word for word.

Using quotations can be good for:

• Giving evidence and support for your statements


• Referring to the sources you have used


• Giving examples of different ideas about a topic


• Highlighting something that you are disagreeing or agreeing with


• Preventing plagiarism by acknowledging others' words

In the following short example, I have used "Why leave home" on page 4 of SOSE Alive 2. I have used my own words for the first two sentences, and a quote in the third:

Historians do not know exactly why the Viking population first began moving out from Scandinavia. Perhaps their territories were becoming overpopulated. Some young men "may have wanted to build a name for themselves in the Viking community for courage and daring".

It is usually best to quote PRIMARY SOURCES because they are such a direct link with what we are studying. In the following example, I have quoted Source C from page 5 of SOSE Alive 2. Because it is a longer quote, I have put it in italic and used a line break, instead of using "quotation marks".

We can learn about the Vikings' appearance from the people who encountered them and wrote about the experience. One Arab trader was very impressed:
I had never before seen such perfect bodies; they were tall like palm trees, blond, with a few of them red ... Every one of them brings with him and axe, a sword and a knife. They never leave these things ... From their bellies to their necks they are tattooed in green with trees and other pictures.

Another good example of a primary source being quoted is under "Going berserk" on page 9 of SOSE Alive 2.