What percentage of a research paper should be quotes?

As a general guideline, we recommend that quotes take up no more than 5–10\% of your paper. If in doubt, check with your instructor or supervisor how much quoting is appropriate in your field.

How much quotation is acceptable in an research paper?

There are no official limits to quotation length, though any quotations that are more than four lines should be formatted as a separate block quote. However, it is generally better to paraphrase the sources you cite rather than use direct quotations.

How many quotes should a paragraph be in a research paper?

There’s a simple rule for how many quotes should be in an essay. Here’s a good rule to follow: one quote for every five paragraphs. A paragraph is usually 150 words long, so you’re looking at one quote in every 750 words, maximum.

How long can a quote be in a thesis?

Quotes fewer than 40 words should be incorporated into the text of the paragraph. Quotes comprised of 40 or more words, need to be formatted in block quotes.

Can you use a quotation for your thesis?

Never assume that a quote explains itself; quotes cannot stand alone. Tell your reader what we should see in the quote you have chosen or what this quote illustrates that will support your point and ultimately your thesis. Do not use quotation marks around quotes longer than 4 lines.

Can you use too many quotes in essays?

If you include too much quotation in your essay, you will crowd out your own ideas. Consider quoting a passage from one of your sources if any of the following conditions holds: The language of the passage is particularly elegant or powerful or memorable.

How many direct quotes should a research paper have?

Probably only about 10\% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes. Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers.

How many direct quotes should a research paper have apa?

A general rule of thumb is that no more than fifteen percent of your paper should be quoted material.

How many quotes can you use in a paragraph?

Generally speaking, the absolute minimum is three quotes per paragraph but you should not overload your paragraphs either. Overcrowding your essay with too many quotations will lead to failure to develop your ideas, as well as your work appearing too convoluted for your assessor.

Can you put a quote in your thesis?

Whenever you quote the exact words of another author or speaker in your thesis or dissertation, it is essential that you quote those words with accuracy and observe with precision and consistency all appropriate scholarly techniques and editorial styles.

Can a quote be a thesis statement?

Adding direct quotes to any piece of writing is very important as it helps in expanding upon the idea you have in mind as also acts as the evidence for the same. Quotes are also important as they usually support the arguments in the essay and hence can be used to develop the thesis statement.

How many quotes should I use in my essay?

Therefore deciding how many quotes to use is important. You should concentrate on using no more than one quote per section or paragraph. You can use one to help explain the background information on your piece or one first thing to help draw your reader in. You can use one to prove each main supporting point in the paper.

How many direct quotes should be in a 10 page paper?

This is a hard question to answer mostly because if you are writing a ten page paper, you will need to have more direct quotes than a three page paper would need. Just try to keep it to one per paragraph and you should be fine.

How many sources should you cite in an essay?

For a lengthy essay, there is no way 5 sources are going to suffice for the research purposes. A reference list of at least 15 is considered ideal for in this case. Again, if the student is to write a very short research paper of say about 1000-1500 words, and he cites 30 sources in his work, it will be considered an over kill.

How do you use direct quotes in an essay?

You can use a direct quote if it is longer but you would need to put it in a different context in your paper. You would put parenthesis around sources that are about a sentence or less long and you would put longer direct quotes in a single spaced and indented box paragraph separate from the paragraph. How many quotes?