ENG 102: College Writing II
Writing Knowledge Bank
Introducing Quotations with Signal Phrases
When you use a quotation in your writing, it is very important to integrate it into one of your
sentences. While there are multiple ways to do this, one of the most common is to use signal
words and phrases. While the most obvious signal phrase is the author’s name + “said,” as in,
“Jane Doe says,” more successful choices will offer your reader some context for the quotation.
The following list provides a range of verbs for you to consider as you move beyond “she said.”
It is up to you to choose the signal phrase that best suits your situation; that is, don’t use
“questions” if the author is not actually questioning anything.
Note: Although more popular forms of writing often place signal words after quotations,
academic writing will put the signal words before the quotation. See the second page of
this handout for examples of signal phrases in action.
Accepts
Critiques
Proposes
Acknowledges
Declares
Questions
Adds
Defends
Reasons
Admits
Demonstrates
Recognizes
Affirms
Denies
Refutes
Agrees
Describes
Rejects
Argues
Emphasizes
Reminds us
Articulates
Grants
Reports
Asks
Illustrates
Reasons
Asserts
Implies
Reveals
Believes
Insists
Reviews
Claims
Maintains
Shows
Comments
Mentions
States
Concedes
Notes
Stresses
Concludes
Observes
Suggests
Confirms
Points out
Thinks
Contends
Postulates
Writes
ENG 102: College Writing II
Writing Knowledge Bank
Examples of Signal Phrases in Action
The following three examples demonstrate how you can use signal phrases in academic writing.
While each example is slightly different, notice that they all have several points in common.
When using signal phrases, remember to:




Place the signal phrase before the quotation
Include the author’s name in the signal phrase
Include the citation after your quotation
Punctuate properly
Example 1:
It is in this vein that John Doe argues, “blah blah blah” (citation).
This is a simple way to introduce a quotation using a signal phrase. It contains the authors name
followed by the verb, and a comma is used at the end of the signal phrase.
Example 2:
Reyes illustrates this idea:
Blah blah blah this is a long quotation. I am including it in full because everything here
is extremely important to my argument. Clearly, the author is brilliant, and I’m quite
glad I spent so much time researching this topic. Blah blah blah. (citation)
In this example, the signal phrase only includes the author’s last name. Once you have
introduced the author’s full name one time, use only their last name in future references.
This example also uses a colon rather than a comma at the end of the signal phrase. Do this when
you are introducing a long quotation—defined as 40 or more words—and format it as a block
quotation. For more information about block quotations, see the Handling Quotations handout in
the Writing Knowledge Bank.
Example 3:
Nevertheless, Brown emphasizes this point in “Article Name” when she states that “blah blah
blah” (citation).
Finally, this example demonstrates how you can use multiple signal words in one sentence.
Because the word “that” integrates the quotation into the sentence in a way that makes
grammatical sense without additional punctuation, this example does not include a comma or a
colon just before the quotation.