Introducing Evidence: Attribution, Quotation and Paraphrase

The signal phrase is already an argument

Evidence never arrives naked. It arrives inside a phrase that tells the reader how to take it, and the verb in that phrase does argumentative work:

• notes, observes, reports — neutral, the fact is not in dispute;
• argues, contends, insists — this is a position, and positions can be answered;
• concedes, admits, acknowledges — even a supporter grants this, so it costs the other side something;
• assumes, presumes — you are about to attack the foundation, not the claim.

Writing "Source C says…" for every source throws away the whole toolkit. Choosing concedes instead of says can do the work of an entire sentence of commentary.

Quote short, quote inside your own sentence

The strongest quotation on this exam is usually three to eight words, woven into a sentence you built:

Weak: the writer dumps four lines and then explains them. Strong: the writer keeps the grammar and lets the borrowed phrase sit in it, so that the analysis and the evidence occupy the same sentence.

Long block quotations are risky for a second reason: they consume space you are being scored on. The rubric rewards your commentary, and a quotation is not your words.

Paraphrase, summary, and when each is right

• Quote when the exact wording is the point — the connotation, the rhythm, the euphemism.
• Paraphrase when you need the content but the wording is unremarkable. Paraphrase must change structure as well as words; swapping synonyms into the original sentence is not paraphrase.
• Summarise when you need only the position, usually to set up a disagreement.

All three require attribution. On the synthesis essay, cite by the label given in the prompt — (Source A) — or by the author's name; an uncited borrowing reads as your own claim and loses the evidence you actually had.