Drafting

Signal phrases come before a quotation or paraphrase to put borrowed information into context. As the term suggests, these phrases signal that you are presenting material from another source (such as a book, article, video, webpage, podcast, film, song, etc.). Stylistically, signal phrases help transition from your own words to another author’s words. A signal phrase should answer the following questions about the source: 

The following example illustrates a sample Signal Phrase: 

This Signal Phrase answers the question “Who said this?” (William Wordsworth), “Why are you using this information?” (to show an English Romantic poet’s view), and “Where did you get this information?” (Lyrical Ballads).  

Notice that this Signal Phrase includes the verb “asserts.” Make sure to use a strong verb to introduce a quotation or paraphrase. In addition to “asserts,” you could use: acknowledges, addresses, argues, confirms, contends, declares, describes, discusses, questions, challenges, disputes, explains, illustrates, posits, states, suggests, warns, writes, etc.  

When writing signal phrases, make sure to feature the author’s full name and the source title on the first mention to provide context. Subsequent mentions of this author and work can feature the person’s last name only and do not continue naming the source. For example, after introducing William Wordsworth on first reference (as shown above), every additional time this author or work is mentioned, you can simply say “Wordsworth describes…”. This shortened signal phrase prevents repetition of continuing to state the author’s full name and credentials over and over.