Search results for 'tag:Essays tag:Quotation marks' matching tags 'Essays' and 'Quotation marks'

Re: quoting

Tanit — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:17:04 GMT

Hi,

I think the example shows how the reference is made to Cormack's work (published in 1994?), ...

Yes, you got it right. It's the year in which the book was published

... but my question is, When you make such a reference, what is the barometer for measuring how exact (?) the your referencing wording has to be?" It doesn't look to be that it has to be written verbatim since you are not quoting. I think like indirect quoting, since you are not using the author's words quote for quote...

Again, that's correct.
If you were copying the words used by the author(s), than you'd need to put them within quotation marks (if it's a short phrase or sentence) or to indent them in your text (if the quotation is long).
In the example about Cormack's work, the author is expressing with his/her own words (= paraphrasing) something that has been written by Cormack. S/he could be putting into a short sentence the main point of a huge book, or rephrasing a sentence that appears in Cormack's text. The important thing, when using this type of reference, is not to use the original words.
If you ask me what's the point, all I can answer is that guidelines (at least, the ones I've read!) suggest not putting too many direct quotations (that is, those enclosed in speech marks) in an essay/article/etc for a number of reasons: i) they would make the essay less readable; ii) the essay would appear as a collection (patchwork?) of other texts, rather than a critical reflection on those; iii) the more direct quotations are in the essay, the less effective they would be - in other words, only put the most important direct quotations, the ones you want to emphasise.

... and using your words to note what the author said, there might be a slight chance of misinterpretation of the author's intent.

If you're using referencing systems like this one, you're either writing an academic work (article/report/essay/dissertation/etc.) or a professional report, so you are writing either for somebody who will assess your piece of writing or for peers who know something about the topic. You don't want to misinterpret the text, do you?

Also, how the Harvard Style of Referencing differ from APA Style on the same topic area?

Sorry, I can't answer. I've never used or studied the APA style.

Whatever you're writing, I wish you good luck!

what to do with movie titles, book titles, tv shows?

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 00:17:34 GMT

Hi, I'm writing an essay where I have to talk about book titles, movie titles, and TV show titles, sometimes in the same sentance. What do I do? Undeline, Italics, or Quotation marks?

thanks!

Re: Have a question

Marius Hancu — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 14:07:18 GMT

I ain't worried bout a damn thang, with unconditional love.

All these are very informal, very probably not appropriate for such an essay, if used directly. Thus, use quotation marks:

He said, nonchalantly, "I ain't worried bout a damn thang, with unconditional love."

if you insist on using the quotation and that'll make it clear it's not your own sentence, but reported speech.

Re: hyphens, dashes etc.

Tanit — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 18:46:42 GMT

Nona The Brit wrote:

They are quite long with complex structures, so they are only suitable for a formal context.

Thank you, Nona. These are two paragraphs for a PG essay I'm writing, so I think a formal register is appropriate.

Mister Micawber wrote:

3-- the South Korean GDP
no comma after dramatically changed
no the after Despite
so-called is hyphenated
I would capitalize Tigers
I like the period outside the quotation marks: 'Asian Tigers'.

Thank you, too, MM. I've put your corrections into my essay ... except the last one! Even though I agree with you (and it also would be more natural for me, since this is how I'd write it in my own language !), this is how they want us to write here.

Re: Persuasive Essay Thesis Statement

Mister Micawber — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 07:20:33 GMT

Hi Crazy-- I finally got here. I have added some comments in brackets after underlined 'problems':

Do Sports and Drugs Mix?

Since the dawn of time [a ridiculous exaggeration; delete it] it seems that you canât [do not use contractions in essays: change to cannot] think of sports without some sort of drug scandal creeping into the thought as well. Itâs [contraction: it is] not just baseball that is tainted with scandal; it is every sport from football to gymnastics.

When you think of sports, what comes to mind? The different sporting events, the many unique players that make up their sport or the drug scandals spread throughout. Maybe itâs a little bit of each. [the first is not a complete sentence; the second is an afterthought: combine them into a single complete sentence: 'What probably comes to mind is....'] To level the playing field for those players that chose not to use performance-enhancing drugs, why donât the big wigs [slang: change to officials] drug test everyone before their game or events that they are in? Itâs [It is. I won't make this note for further contractions below] bad enough that sports players have more perks than the normal civilian [wrong word; civilian is the opposite of soldier; use e.g. person], if my brother, who played baseball in high school, would have used [wrong verb form: use had used] steroids to help his game he would have been kicked off the team. So [essentially conversational and meaningless; delete] why isnât the same true for professional sports players? Maybe the owners of the teams donât want to lose their star players, so they cover it up somewhat, but why not drug test each and every one of the players so that there arenât any favorites? That way, when someone comes up positive they can be reprimanded in the proper, professional manner.

OK, I'm going to stop here, Crazy, and leave you with some general comments to take into consideration for your essay revision.

First, I think your essay so far is quite good. Your flow of language is natural, easy to follow, straightforward and to the point-- and these are key features of a good essay. You have an admirable ease of expression.

A big potential problem (and I say potential because it much depends on who is grading your essay) is that it is overall too informal in register: you are writing naturally, and much as you would speak. If your teacher requires a more formal approach to essay composition (and most do), then your use of contractions (isn't, don't), slang and casual English (bigwigs, kicked off, perks), and conversational structures (What comes to mind? The events, the players.... That way,...) are going to lose you points. In your revision, put your head to saying what you want to say in a more formal manner and with a more formal vocabulary. It is easy to go overboard on this (and most essayists in fact do, making their writing turgid and convoluted in the process), but trying to be bit more businesslike in language should improve your essay. For the rest below, I shall just embolden some areas to think about:

Not only do the players that use performance-enhancing drugs get an unfair advantage they also put themselves at risk for many different things from sterility, infertility, liver damage to even death. Are the risks worth all that? Some players may think so.

There are many different types of performance-enhancing drugs that players can use to help them in their sport. One type is Anabolic Steroids. This type of drug increases muscle strength by encouraging new muscle growth. They also allow the person using them to train harder and longer for any given period. Yet this drug has damaging side effects, liver damage, sterility in men and infertility in women, and it can lead to death.

Another type of performance enhancer is (hGH) Human Growth Hormone, while this natural and important for human growth, especially in children and teenagers, excessive hGH levels increase muscle mass. Some of the side effects of this drug include overgrowth of hands, feet, and face, enlarged internal organs, and heart problems.

If theses drugs were safe for use by athletes or anyone for that matter, then why can they lead to the playersâ early death? Because they over stimulate the natural growth of the body and itâs muscles and organs.

Sammy Sosa admitted to using performance-enhancers while playing baseball and stated â Steroids are very lethal and very bad for you.â Many fans of sports feel cheated having learned that some of their favorite athletes have admitted to using performance-enhancers to increase their âgame.â Dr. Dean Edell said âMost drugs, steroids, or supplements don't live up to their billing and even if they did, the side effects can be dangerous to your health.â If doctors will tell you that these drugs are not safe for consumption then why do people take them and use them on a regular basis? To make them feel good about themselves. To give them a better advantage over the âregularâ players. To make them stand out above everyone else in their game or sport. These seem like the logical answers.

One classmate of mine in high school used steroids for 3 [write out small numbers: three] years while playing football and was the quarter back of our team. Everyone thought he was going to make it to the NFL but during our senior year of high school he was drug tested before the homecoming game and was found to be positive. When confronted with this information only then did he admit that he had been using steroids on a regular basis for 3 years. He was immediately kicked off the team and stripped of the chance to play football in college. He was labeled a druggie and a fake by everyone in town. No one wanted to be associated with him from that point on. Fellow classmates wouldnât talk to him and so he and his family moved but not before he gave a speech to everyone in our school. He stated âI know what I did was wrong and I know the risks that I was taking when I chose to take steroids but I wanted to be the best player I could be and I thought this was the way to be that âStarâ player, it made me that star player for awhile. I am sorry that I hurt our school and my fellow players and I only wish that I could go back and undo the damage I have caused.â

So far so good. Study the use of the comma- there are a number of grammar websites. Do not abuse quotation marks.

Good luck!
MM

Re: pants or a pair of pants?

WaÃ¯ti — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 18:05:30 GMT

Not sure about that Anon... Think of a whole excerpt from a book with several sentences that you want to quote in your essay... Then you probably wouldn't want to turn the end-of-sentence periods into commas : I think it would definitely have no sense doing that... Or am I mistaken as to what you suggested saying periods would not be allowed inside quotation marks ?
Any grammar guru around to comment ?
WaÃ¯ti.

Re: Using questions to make a point in essays

davkett — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 12:00:27 GMT

I think the quotation marks in the original may have been there just to isolate the statement at issue.

If the dialogue represents a conversation, I like the one-word-sentence option.

"Can you do X?"

"Definitely."

"Can you do Y?"

"Probably not."

If it's an abstract or rhetorical dialogue -which I guess it would be in an essay- you might consider this (building on Mister Micawber's): Can one do X? --definitely. Can one do Y? --probably not. (Though I still, even here, personally like the one-word-sentence option.)

Little understanding of reported speech.

munchun2004 — Tue, 18 Jan 2005 23:54:06 GMT

I saw this article from the web and I think it is worth to post part of the article in this forum.
Following is the article

...AND REPORTED SPEECH

Dear English Doctor,
Please explain about word changes in reported speech.

If you say to me "My sister is going to Chiang Mai", I can report that in two ways. I can use your words in a direct quotation as follows:

He said, "My sister is going to Chiang Mai."
In this case, the exact words that you said are repeated and surrounded by quotation marks in order to indicate that they are, indeed, your words.

I can also report your speech in a more general way in an indirect quotation like this:

"He told me his sister was going to Chiang Mai."
In this case, the essence of the meaning of what you said has been distilled and incorporated into my report to a third party. No quotation marks are necessary as the words are not an exact replication of your statement.

More examples:

Direct quotations

1. "Can you see," he asked me, "whether the train has arrived?"
2. I swear I heard her say, "My dog ate my daughter."
3. "Sing me my favorite song," were the last words she ever spoke.

Indirect quotations:

1. He asked me to see whether the train had arrived.
2. I swear I heard her say that her dog had eaten her daughter.
3. She asked me to sing her favourite song, and those were the last words she ever spoke.
>>

As the article has made it clear, reported can be used in Direct or Indirect quotations. My question is, how the reported speech goes when it comes to the grey area of Indirect Quotation like the following situation.

Statement 1) The lecturer says that we have to limit our words into 1200 words in our essay in class today.
Statement 2) The Lecturer said that we had to limit our words into 1200 words in our essay in class today.

I often hear English speakers say in present tense like statement 1 when they try to tell other people what they heard from other people. However, sometimes the English speaker just use the past tense like statement 2 to convey what they heard. I just wonder how come sometimes they can simply switch in between the sentences like statement 1 and 2 shown above whenever they like. Is there a concept in reported speech that governs this kind of situation?

I visited some websites for answer and they said we could use the present tense when the event was just said or was still currently related. I tried to put this concept in use but simply couldn't make myself clear because even the event is still currently related, when the statement comes out from other people's mouth, it is always in the past according to reported speech rules. If what the websites tell me is true, how about the following situation?

(Fact: we are still in progress of writting the essays as the following statements are made.)
Statement 3) The lecturer says that we have to limit our words into 1200 words in our essay in class yesterday(or last week).
Statement 4) The lecturer said that we had to limit our words into 1200 words in our essay in class yesterday(or last week).
Most often hear:
Statement 5) The lecturer says we have to limit our words into 1200 word in our essay. (Note: Without the date. What the lecturer told them was in week ago and that statement still holds true. It this statement is correct, how come statement 4 and 5 cannot be used?)

In short, I think my question is, why English speakers can switch between the usage of 'say' and 'said' whenever they want and what is the concept that lies behind their minds that makes them think what they say is correct? How they think when they change in between the two words, 'say' and 'said'?

Following is just another example I hope you could help me with.
Statement 6) I saw(or visited) a website yesterday(or last week) and it says that one third of people who live in this country don't know anything about the stock market.

I don't know if I should use the phrase "and it says" after the previou phrase "I visited a website last week". What I saw from the website was in the past but the event I stated out is still holds true or is still related to current situation. I just don't know if the statement 5 show above could be used.

I hope somebody could help me out with the above question and if you think what I ask is not clear enough, please inform me and I will post another message to clear myself up.

Willl someone please advise me what to put in conclusion?

Guest — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 00:17:31 GMT

This is supposed to be a letter to specific group of people
Basic objective of this essay is to "present my position with regard to your topic and try to convince the audience of that position."
Please advise me how to finish this up
(everything in quotation marks are for my privacy..:) )

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear local store owners in "CITY"
Greetings, my name is "NAME", a "COLLEGE"
Presently, a lot of "CITY" residents are concerned about predicted placement of Home Depot and Loweâs. The idea that these box stores would affect local storesâ businesses had been proposed and reported by many media.
Recently, I have written a research paper regarding this issue of box stores entering into "CITY". After researching and discovering many facts, I discovered some solutions that may be beneficial to many "CITY" residents. The solution that I proposed in my paper was the so-called âhalf and halfâ idea, which is to allow only some box stores to be placed in "CITY". Even though this idea might not be euphonic to some of the "CITY" people, I believe that this is the best solution yet to help majority of the residents because of several reasons.
First, there are some residents in "CITY" who need chained stores. For instance, "NAME", who is a general contractor, contrasted his experience of obtaining a faucet from a local store for $130, which took three weeks to get, and acquiring the same faucet for $89 on the day that he needed.
In addition, since this idea includes penalizing the box stores when they âsmotherâ local stores, this idea would not affect the local storesâ business as much. For example, when an inspector for local economy surveys both "COMPANY" and OSH and finds out that OSH is trying to monopolize on some items by lowering many of its items, the economist may report to the government and let the government penalize the box stores.
To find out if majority of "CITY" residents are in favor of this idea, I conducted a poll in downtown "CITY" and 84.5% of the people polled agreed that this idea is the best idea yet. Since this solution has benefits for wider range of "CITY" residents and favored by majority of people, I believe it is not difficult to conclude that this is the best known solution yet.

Re: Trying to finish paper

miriam — Tue, 25 May 2004 03:09:47 GMT

There are different conventions, but I've always used the MLA Handbook for writing papers. This is what it says:
"Use quotation marks for the titles of works published within larger works. Such titles include the names of articles, essays, short stories, short poems, chapters of books, and individual episodes of television and radio programs. Also use quotation marks for songs and for unpublished works, such as lectures and speeches."

Use italics for the title of the novel in which that chapter appears.

Hope it helps.

Miriam