Question

Which of these sentences correctly and effectively incorporates source material into an essay?


There is an article I read in Time magazine that talks about why introverts can be great in certain situations. Introverts are more cautious and deliberate than extroverts, but that means they tend to think things through more thoroughly, which means they can often make smarter decisions.


In his Time magazine article, “The Upside of Being an Introvert,” Bryan Walsh sets forth one of the strengths that introverts can bring to the workplace: “Introverts are more cautious and deliberate than extroverts, but that means they tend to think things through more thoroughly, which means they can often make smarter decisions” (2).


“Introverts are more cautious and deliberate than extroverts, but that means they tend to think things through more thoroughly, which means they can often make smarter decisions.” This means that introverts are better decision makers than extroverts.


Bryan Walsh wrote on page two of “The Upside of Being an Introvert,” that “Introverts are more cautious and deliberate than extroverts, but that means they tend to think things through more thoroughly, which means they can often make smarter decisions.”

Answer 1

Sentence 2 is the best choice.

Why: it uses a clear signal phrase naming the author and the article, it integrates the quoted material smoothly, and it includes a parenthetical page reference so the reader can find the source. Sentences 1 and 3 lack proper attribution/citation; sentence 4 is awkwardly phrased and unnecessarily states the page in the running text.

Small style note: if you’re using MLA and you’ve named the author in your signal phrase, the parenthetical should contain only the page number (as in sentence 2). In APA you would include author and year (Walsh, 2014, p. 2).