Question

Here is a sentence from “The Ages of Distraction” by Frank Furedi:
In An Essay on Truth (1770), the Scottish philosopher James Beattie, who had a reputation for voicing the moral anxieties of his times, located inattention as the source of the “criminal habits” that “debase the moral faculty.”
You decide that the words you want are “debase the moral faculty,” not because they are pre-quoted, but because these words help you make the point you are trying to make. You could try to locate the original source. Or you could do this:
James Beattie argues that, when we try to multitask, we run the risk of “[debasing] the moral faculty” (qtd. in Furedi).
We read “qtd. in” as “quoted in.” Therefore, we are saying that we found these words from Beattie inside a text by Furedi. Note that quoting pre-quoted material can only be accomplished by placing the owner of the words (Beattie) in the sentence and the owner of the text (Furedi) in parentheses.
ASSIGNMENT
The following sentence appears in “The Respect Deficit” by Richard V. Reeves:
Jeremy Waldron argues that “we believe there is just one kind of human being,” even if people exist under different conditions, for example in terms of their economic situation.
We decide we want to quote some words that exist inside the quotation marks. So we write this sentence:
We would be kinder to one another if, like Jeremy Waldron, we understood that “there is just one kind of human being” ( ).
1. What goes inside the parentheses? Highlight the correct answer in yellow.
a. quoted in Reeves
b. quoted in Waldron
c. qtd. in Reeves
d. qtd. in Waldron

Handling Writers’ Names
First time versus second time
The general rule is this: The first time you refer to a writer, use the first and last name. After that, use the last name only. While skimming, whenever we come across anyone’s last name, we assume that that person’s full name will appear earlier in the text. This rule applies to women just as much as it applies to men.
ASSIGNMENT
Ken Connor imagines a day when we might judge all the presidential hopefuls “on the basis of the content of their character and their qualifications to serve.” Ken Connor tells of an exciting new proposal that could turn this idle dream into a reality.
2. Which is true of the underlined words? Highlight the correct answer in yellow.
a. They are correct as they are.
b. They should be changed to “Ken.”
c. They should be changed to “Connor.”
d. They should be changed to “Mr. Connor.”

Name in text or citation, but not both
When we borrow the words of another writer, the name of that source writer must appear in the sentence that borrows the words—either in the sentence itself or in the parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence. The name appears in one place or the other, but not in both.
Example:
incorrect: Brownie McGhee recalls that he “never had the blues; the blues had [him]” (McGhee).
The sentence already tells us that the words belong to Brownie McGhee. We don’t need the citation to tell us a second time.
correct: Brownie McGhee recalls that he “never had the blues; the blues had [him].”
Speaking of citations, it’s time we paid a little more attention to how to format them. Here is a sentence we saw earlier:
One way to eliminate war is to return to a “period of the goddess” in hopes of restoring “a relatively peaceful time” (Berry 184).
Look closely at the last word of the sentence and the citation. You’ll notice that, following the last word of the sentence, we have a quotation mark, then the citation, then a period. The period moves out of its normal position so that it can appear to the right of the citation.

ASSIGNMENT
Francois Rochefoucauld reminds us that “the defects of the understanding grow worse as we grow old” (Rochefoucauld).
3. What is wrong with the sentence above? Highlight the correct answer in yellow.
a. The citation should be removed.
b. The period is misplaced.
c. The sentence needs a signal phrase.

When we reach old age, we fall victim to “the defects of the understanding.” (Rochefoucauld)
4. What is wrong with the sentence above? Highlight the correct answer in yellow.
a. The citation should be removed.
b. The period is misplaced.
c. The sentence needs a signal phrase.

Answer 1

1. What goes inside the parentheses?
a. quoted in Reeves
b. quoted in Waldron
🟨 c. qtd. in Reeves
d. qtd. in Waldron
(Explanation: Waldron is named in the sentence, so the parenthetical indicates you found Waldron’s words quoted in Reeves.)

2. Which is true of the underlined words?
a. They are correct as they are.
b. They should be changed to “Ken.”
🟨 c. They should be changed to “Connor.”
d. They should be changed to “Mr. Connor.”
(Explanation: After the first full-name mention, use the last name only.)

3. What is wrong with the sentence above?
🟨 a. The citation should be removed.
b. The period is misplaced.
c. The sentence needs a signal phrase.
(Explanation: The author is named in the sentence, so the parenthetical citation is redundant.)

4. What is wrong with the sentence above?
a. The citation should be removed.
🟨 b. The period is misplaced.
c. The sentence needs a signal phrase.
(Explanation: The parenthetical citation should come before the final period, not after it.)