This section dealt with using sources. The main focuses of the reading was quotations. When you fail to properly acknowledge sources it is considered plagiarism. You should use quotations when the wording is vivid and memorable, when the words are from respected authorities, or when an authors beliefs challenge those of experts. You can use italics to stress a point and when you omit words from a phrase ellipsis marks should be used. There are several different ways you can introduce a quotation. A colon can be used when there is an independent clause before the quotation. A comma usually follows an introduction that incorporates the quotation in its sentence structure. Finally, when using the word “that,” no punctuation is needed.
I found this reading to be rather helpful. For me it was much of a refresher from prior writing classes. I always fear I may unknowingly plagiarize so after reading this I feel more confident in my writing. The section of the reading dealing with brackets was new information to me. I have always seen the brackets used in magazines but never knew exactly their purpose. Now I will be able to conform any quotes I use to be grammatically correct.