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Referencing: Direct Quotations
 
     

Direct Quotations Indirect Quotations Styles

Direct Quotations:
A direct quotation is when the actual words of the writer are used.

This quotation is identified by the use of quotation marks followed by a bracketed reference to the source. Like this:
1. “Actual Words”
2. Author's surname, followed by a comma
3. Date of publication, followed by a colon
4. Page number

Example:

“Surely HIV/AIDS will find a cure sooner or later.” (Masa, 2000: 85)

Using the author’s name in the sentence
When you want to use the author's name in the sentence containing the quote you only add the date and page number after the author's name.

Example
Malie (1999:76) states that writing is a skill which, " is more like a car that is not serviced and if not practiced is bound to depreciate."

When you don’t want to use all the author’s words
Sometimes you may not want to use the whole sentence because not all of it is relevant or maybe it is too long. What you should do is to insert three dots " … " to show that the quotation is missing a section. This can be done at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the quotation. These three dot are called “ellipses”.

Example
Malie (1999:76) describes the process of reading as an act if unattended ". . . is bound to depreciate."

 
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