Pollan continues, “But the national conversation unfolding around the subject of food and farming really began in the 1970s” (29).Michael Pollan observes that “Americans today are having a national conversation about food and agriculture that would have been impossible to imagine even a few short years ago” (29).Any future signal phrase should refer to the author by last name only or with a pronoun when it’s perfectly clear to whom that pronoun refers. But in MLA papers, if you are referring to an author for the first time in your essay, you should include that author’s first name (you might also want to include the author’s credentials and the title of the source-see “Types of Signal Phrases” below). For instance, APA style guidelines require no reference to an author’s first name at any point in an essay and few if any gender specific pronouns. In many instances, a signal phrase should contain only the last name of the author or authors of the source text (as opposed to the author’s first and last name). Referring to the Author within a Signal Phrase A signal phrase may also include information explaining an author’s credentials and/or affiliations as well as the title and/or publisher of the source text. Signal phrases can also be used as meaningful transitions, moving your readers between your ideas and those of your sources.Ī basic signal phrase consists of an author’s name and an active verb indicating how the author is presenting the material. It is important to use signal phrases to clearly attribute supporting evidence to an author and to avoid interrupting the flow of an essay. For MLA (as well as Chicago style), the same verbs can also be used in the present tense instead of the past tense, as the second section below shows.A signal phrase, also known as an attributive tag, is a device used to smoothly integrate quotations and paraphrases into your essay.

The examples in the first section are adapted to APA, which recommends past-tense verbs in signal phrases. In the examples below, the author being cited is Jane Doe. However, a few select signal phrases contain no verbs (e.g., 'According to ,'). Often, signal phrases can be distinguished by the presence of a verb like 'indicate' or 'argue' that references what the author is doing in the original source. These expressions, which usually occur in the parts of sentences that come just before quotes and paraphrases, are called signal phrases (or, in some cases, lead-in phrases). It is relatively simple to use a wide variety of different expressions to introduce both direct and indirect citations. In most citation styles, including APA, MLA, and Chicago style, you can add variety to your research writing by not always using the same sentence structure to introduce quotations, paraphrases, or pieces of information borrowed from different sources. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Writing Letters of Recommendation for StudentsĬopyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University.

Signal phrases examples list