ABSTRACT
Direct quotation may be preferable to a summary or paraphrase for any of several reasons. Some of the unique benefits offered by a direct quotation are as follows: Expert declaration, direct support, Effective language, Historical flavor, Specific example, Controversial statement and Material for analysis. The historical present tense is a convention in the humanities, for example English, history, and philosophy that discusses and quotes all sources in the present tense. The historical present has the conceptual benefit of treating all ideas as equally alive and active, “in play,” and available for consideration. An effective method of reducing a source’s words while retaining the benefit of quoting exact words is to leave out the words of lesser importance. An analogy forms a comparison between a new idea or something the writer wants to explain and something already familiar to the reader. By comparing the unfamiliar to the familiar, the writer clarifies the unfamiliar.
