Quotations, i.e. word-for-word citations, reproduce a passage (from another text) which you are subjecting to critical analysis and/or which supports your argument. Quotations cannot be left to simply speak for themselves but must be analysed and discussed. A quotation from a source serves as evidence for your claims. It should be incorporated into your argument and, when necessary, be accompanied by source critical discussion. Appropriately inserted quotations from sources lend a text an air of vividness. Quotations from secondary literature are useful when you are engaging with a specific passage; you may be criticising it or using it to support your own argument, or it may simply represent a particularly incisively worded statement. Quotations should not be overused; employ them selectively at points in your text where they will be most effective.

When inserting quotations, the following aspects should be considered:

Accordance with the Original

A quotation must be identical to the corresponding passage in the original text. When a quotation is incorporated into a sentence, however, small grammatical changes (in case, tense, etc.) may be necessary. Any such changes must always be indicated. Omissions from a quoted passage are indicated by [...] (i.e. an ellipsis within square brackets), while additions are also placed within square brackets. Square brackets should also be used for any clarifications which may be required for understanding due to the quotation’s removal from its original context. For example, clarifications are usually provided for pronouns: “As a result, they [the Venetians] concluded a peace treaty with the French crown.“

Example 1:

Jacob Burckhardt was of the following opinion about the Greek people’s settlement of the area which became known as Ancient Greece:

“The supremely gifted people whom we know as the Greeks arrived in the area which they call their homeland as a diverse number of tribes, perhaps only very gradually, in much the same way as the Slavs, Teutons, Celts, Celtiberians and Italians elsewhere, only within an even smaller area.”¹

¹  Translated from: Burckhardt, Jacob: Griechische Culturgeschichte, Bd. 1 (Jacob Burckhardt Werke 19), Munich 2002, p. 5.

Example 2:

Jacob Burckhardt argued in his Griechischen Culturgeschichte that the Greek people might have entered the area of Ancient Greece, “perhaps only very gradually” and “as a diverse number of tribes”, like “the Slavs, Teutons, Celts, Celtiberians and Italians elsewhere, only within an even smaller area”. ¹

¹  Translated from: Burckhardt, Jacob: Griechische Culturgeschichte, Bd. 1 (Jacob Burckhardt Werke 19), Munich 2002, p. 5.

Example 3:

In his Griecheschen Culturgeschichte, Jacob Burckhardt did not want to commit himself immediately on the question of which peoples had first inhabited the area of Ancient Greece: “We may learn more about which inhabitants they [the Greek tribes] encountered by studying prehistoric monuments.” ¹

¹  Translated from: Burckhardt, Jacob: Griechische Culturgeschichte, Bd. 1 (Jacob Burckhardt Werke 19), Munich 2002, p. 5.

Example 4:

Jacob Burckhardt argued in his Griechischen Culturgeschichte that “prehistoric monuments” could provide more information about which peoples were already settled in the area of Ancient Greece before the arrival of the Greeks. ¹

¹  Translated from: Burckhardt, Jacob: Griechische Culturgeschichte, Bd. 1 (Jacob Burckhardt Werke 19), Munich 2002, p. 5.

Contextual Fidelity

A quotation must remain true to its original context. If its context is distorted, its meaning can be misinterpreted.

Quotation Marks

All quotations (even those which only represent the names of specific terms or concepts) must be placed within quotation marks. Quotations which are longer than one sentence (or, alternatively, longer than three lines) should be set aside from the rest of the text in an indented paragraph (if so desired, also with a smaller font size). These so-called block or displayed quotations are not enclosed within quotation marks.

Typographical Errors

Typographical errors (commonly known as “typos”) – including incorrect, falsely positioned or missing punctuation marks – which appear in the original text must be reproduced in a quotation. The term “sic” (a Latin abbreviation for “thus was it written”) should be added in square brackets directly after an error to indicate that this was not the result of your own negligence, but a letter-for-letter transcription of the original. Alternatively, you can add an exclamation mark in square brackets [!] immediately after an error. You can also use [sic] to indicate a factual error or inaccuracy in the original.

Punctuation and Quotation Marks

If you quote a sentence in full, the closing punctuation mark (e.g. the full stop, comma, question mark, etc.) should be placed within the quotation (i.e. before the closing quotation mark). If only part of a sentence is quoted, the closing punctuation mark follows the closing quotation mark. There is only one exception to the aforementioned rule that a quoted passage must be reproduced as it is in the original (including all its punctuation marks and errors): double quotation marks in the original are to be replaced with single quotation marks in a quotation which is already enclosed within double quotation marks.

Original Language

All sources must be quoted in the language in which they were originally written. In Switzerland, an academic readership in the field of history can be expected to be able to read German, French and English. Quotations from sources in other languages should be accompanied by a translation, which is usually placed in a footnote. If you include a translation by another researcher, you should list all relevant details (e.g. “translated by”, publication details).

Secondary Quotations

Sometimes you will find a relevant quotation in the secondary literature which has been taken from another text. If you cannot find this original publication but still want to include the quotation in your own text, add the phrase “As cited in” in the corresponding reference.

Secondary quotations are viewed in a critical light, because you as the author cannot guarantee their authenticity or accuracy. As such, quote from the original text whenever possible!

Example:

Ernst Bassermann: Aus der Jugendzeit : Lebens-Erinnerungen, Mannheim 1913, pp. 166-7. As cited in: Gunilla Budde: Auf dem Weg ins Bürgerleben, Göttingen 1994, p. 91.

Paraphrasing is preferable to quoting directly from the secondary literature, because it gives you the opportunity to incorporate the ideas expressed in the original text into your own argument and to articulate them in your own words. Paraphrasing also stimulates a thought process which cannot be replicated by simply transcribing a passage. As with quotations, you should only resort to paraphrasing when this is necessary for your argument.

Paraphrased text, like a quotation, must accurately reproduce the meaning of the original passage. Moreover, the style of the original should not be altered. Still, a correct paraphrase only borrows those words from the original which are necessary to produce an accurate rendering of its meaning. A “plagiarised” paraphrase, in contrast, is based overwhelmingly on the original. It reproduces sections of text word for word even when an alternative formulation could have been employed without any shift in meaning.

An Example of Paraphrasing

Original Passage

When searching for the underlying reasons for the papacy’s rejection of the revolution and the post-revolutionary state, it may be helpful to examine one further item from the long list of papal complaints: the collapse of the monarchy. That the popes condemned this turn of events is not surprising; after all, the monarchy had been viewed in Rome since time immemorial as the best form of government. Although there were undoubtedly also theological reasons for the popes’ position, most significant was that the papacy itself resembled a monarchy in two respects: both the universal church and the State of the Church, with the papacy at their respective heads, were hierarchical – and thus monarchical – in structure. The twin concerns of the pope, as spiritual head of the universal church and as ruler of the State of the Church, to safeguard the interests of both institutions also played a role here.

A Correct Example of Paraphrasing

Birgit Emich emphasises that the papacy rejected both the revolution and the post-revolutionary state, not least because these developments brought about the collapse of the monarchy, which according to Roman tradition was generally regarded as the best form of government. Moreover, Emrich argues, the papacy represented a form of double monarchy in its own right. As such, in his dual role as spiritual head of the universal church and political ruler of the State of the Church, the pope denounced the new political forms.¹   

¹ Translated from: Emich, Birgit: Papsttum und Staatsgewalt : Roms langer Weg in die Moderne, in: Mörschel, Tobias (ed.): Papsttum und Politik : Eine Institution zwischen geistlicher Gewalt und politischer Macht, Freiburg, Basel, Vienna 2007, pp. 35-58, here pp. 42-43.

An Incorrect, Plagiarised Example of Paraphrasing

Birgit Emrich has illustrated that, when searching for the underlying reasons for the papacy’s rejection of the revolution and the post-revolutionary state, it is useful to examine the collapse of the monarchy as another example from the long list of papal complaints. While it is not surprising that the popes condemned this turn of events – monarchy had been viewed in Rome as the best form of government since time immemorial – decisive in this regard was that the papacy itself represented a monarchy in two respects. Both the constitution of the universal church as well as the political structure of the State of the Church, with the papacy at the head of both, were hierarchical in nature. As such, it is clear that the twin concerns of the pope, as both spiritual head of the universal church and ruler of the State of the Church, to safeguard the interests of both institutions played a role here.¹

¹ Translated from: Emich, Birgit: Papsttum und Staatsgewalt : Roms langer Weg in die Moderne, in: Mörschel, Tobias (ed.): Papsttum und Politik : Eine Institution zwischen geistlicher Gewalt und politischer Macht, Freiburg, Basel, Vienna 2007, pp. 35-58, here pp. 42-43.