Shanna is writing a research paper about the themes in Hamlet. One source she is using includes the quotation: "Hamlet taught us all how to be human." Should Shanna quote this directly or paraphrase it in her paper? Why? A. She should paraphrase it because it is not a statistic nor a fact. B. She should quote it in order to avoid plagiarism. C. She should quote it because the wording is creative and unique. D. She should paraphrase it because it is not the focus of her paper.

The Correct answer is C! just took the test

A. She should paraphrase it because it is not a statistic nor a fact.

One thing to note first is that when writing a research paper, quoting should be done sparingly as it does not at all demonstrate an author’s ability to synthesize the writing of experts into his or her own work. The only two times when one would really want to quote would be when incorporating a statistic into one’s paper or when the original wording is so creative or unique that to paraphrase it would detract from it.