Signal Phrases

Good readers will look for the way you set up your quotes as well as the way you interpret them. Use signal phrases to ensure smooth paragraphs.

As I keep mentioning, good writers are writers who know their options. Often, a well-placed word or phrase is necessary to guide readers.  Signal phrases also separate your ideas from the source’s ideas.  This is crucial.

Here are some verbs you might use for strong signal phrases. Notice how they give away the author’s tone. Of course, the catch is that you’ll have to understand the quote and the author’s tone, which is the author’s attitude toward the work. This is the tough part! Here are some ready-made options for you:

Author is neutral

comments,describes, explains, illustrates, notes, observes, points out, records, relates, reports, says, sees, thinks, writes

Author infers or suggests

analyzes, asks, assesses, concludes, considers, finds, predicts, proposes, reveals, shows, speculates, suggests, supposes

Author argues

claims, contends, defends, holds, insists, maintains

Author agrees

avers, admits, grants, concedes, notes, agrees

Author is uneasy or disparaging

belittles, bemoans, complains, confesses, condemns, deplores, deprecates, derides, disagrees, laments, warns. (Notice how the de- prefix here lets us know that what follows goes away or from. These words have much different tones from the “togetherness” of co- com- prefixes. Little effects like this aren’t lost on careful readers!)

We basically just looked at the verbs used within these phrases.  Let’s think of other ways of signaling that what follows is theirs–and that they are weighty, credible voices:

• Author’s affiliation
• Name of the text or the title of the journal in which it was published
• When the work was published
• Acclaim the work received: Was it well-received?  Is it widely cited?

Avoid plagiarizing from wikis or authors’/publishers’ websites when drawing in information about an author or work.

Critical readers expect you to show that you know why a given voice matters and from where it’s coming.  Obviously, the first time you use an author, the signal phrase is particularly important, and we also want to avoid lulling readers by only ever mentioning author names.  (Something should be saved for the citation anyway.)