Within the typical structure of an essay, dissertation or thesis, a literature review is required to position your own argument within its academic context. Normally, this should immediately follow, or even be incorporated into, the introduction.  It will inevitably include many summaries and references, and probably some paraphrase and quotation for key points.  With the possible exception of literary quotations, the amount of attributed material should sharply decline after that.

Clearly the proportion of source material to original text diminishes as we move from quotation, through paraphrase and summary, to reference. Therefore, as a text is supposed to be the work of its author, not an anthology of the words of others, any move up the list must be justified. A simple reference should always be preferred to a summary unless a summary is essential to the line of argument; a summary is preferable to a paraphrase unless a more detailed exposition is necessary. You should only use quotation in two situations.

1. When the writer has expressed an idea so eloquently and succinctly that it would be impossible for you adequately to convey it using other words.
2. The actual words used by the writer are of great interest, and as important as the ideas they express. This is normally the case in literary and linguistic analysis, and often so in history, philosophy and sociology.

Having outlined the principles, we will now examine techniques and conventions of quotation and paraphrase. I will not attempt to advise on references because there is, unfortunately, no universally accepted method of reference. You will need to follow the stipulations of the department or publisher you are writing for. If you are free to choose a system, you must follow it consistently. Nor have I devised any specific exercises in summarising because this skill can be regarded as an extreme form of redundancy reduction in which most details, examples and explanations are deemed redundant and omitted. You should already, therefore, have mastered the relevant techniques.

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The following suggestions are intended to help you to be precise, clear and consistent when quoting. However, specific institutes and publications may have alternative rules. You should check before submitting your work.

1. Opening and closing quotations:

a) Quotations of three lines or longer should be indented, and no inverted commas should be used. Click here for an example.

b) Quotations shorter than three lines should be opened and closed with single inverted commas. Click here for an example.

2. Quotations inside quotations:

Sometimes the text you are quoting itself includes a quotation. If the quotation is indented (because it is three lines or longer) then single inverted commas should be used for the embedded quotation. Double inverted commas should be used for quotations inside quotations of under three lines that are signalled by single inverted commas. Click here for examples.

3. Omitting sections of text:

To miss out a section of text, use an ellipsis, in other words put three full stops one after another, thus ... You should only use one ellipsis (three full stops) for each omitted section, no matter how long the missing text is. Click here for an example.

4. Adding emphasis.

To emphasise any section of the quotation, underline or italicize. You must then write 'emphasis added' in brackets after the quotation and, when applicable, following the page reference. Click here for examples.

5. Modifying sections of text:

The original text is followed by a quotation derived from it. Make all the changes necessary to make the quotation typologically correct.

1. The eighteenth century, as is notorious, saw a general movement among the enlightened dissenters through Arianism to Socinianism towards the resting place of Unitarianism, which entailed the denial of the Trinity and of Christ's divinity. (Thompson 1993: 157)

The basis of Thompson's thesis is his observation that the eighteenth century saw a general movement among the enlightened dissenters through Arianism to Socinianism towards Unitarianism, which entailed the denial of the Trinity and of Christ's divinity.

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2. From the modern point of view, it is strange that scholars do not know when Jesus was born and when he died. This will not be surprising to those who read academic discussions of ancient history. (Sanders, 1995: 54)

As Sanders notes, the fact that scholars do not know when Jesus was born and when he died is not surprising to those who read academic discussions of ancient history.

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3. As king, he personifies and embodies 'man' in his full potential - a meaning to which such words as 'royal' and 'master' will accrete as they are used in the play. He is the essential man. His royalty carries in itself all the meaning which 'man' has against 'beast' or 'thing' - which is to say that he personifies culture. (Long, 1976: 168)

As king, Lear personifies and embodies 'man' in his full potential. His royalty carries in itself all the meaning which 'man' has against 'beast' or 'thing' - which is to say that he personifies culture.

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4. The solution of the difficulty lies, in our opinion, in understanding the nature of the post-capitalist societies as societies in transition between capitalism and socialism. (Mandel, 1983: 237)

For Mandel, the solution of the difficulty lay in understanding the nature of the post-capitalist societies as societies in transition between capitalism and socialism.

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5. Later sources represent Felix and Sigebert as having met in Gaul and travelled to England together, but this is contrary to Bede's narrative which seems to imply that Felix's journey to East Anglia had been made at the prompting of the archbishop in Canterbury. (Blair 1970: 108)