- 2-minute read
- 9th April 2016
Quoting Sources: Alternatives to ‘Said’
Quoting is an essential part of academic writing, allowing you to demonstrate the breadth of your research and support your arguments with evidence. As such, it’s important to quote sources properly by embedding them in your essay.
The most common way of doing this is using the word ‘said’, as in:
Nietzsche (1995) said the Greek idea of art was embodied ‘in the intensely clear figures of their gods’ (p. 25).
However, if you’re using a large number of quotes, introducing them all like this could seem stilted and repetitive. It’s therefore handy to have a few alternatives to ‘said’ up your sleeve.
Context-Neutral Alternatives to ‘Said’
‘Said’ is a very versatile word, but there are a few other terms that can be used in various situations:
- State: to say (Elliot states that an artwork is ‘a complex of phenomenally objective qualities…’)
- Remark: to comment or mention in passing (Robinson remarks that artistic acts ‘express qualities of mind…’)
- Note: to take notice of (Hume noted that ‘a certain degree of diversity in judgement is unavoidable…’)
Another all-purpose alternative to ‘said’ is to simply attribute a quote to its author with a phrase like ‘according to’, ‘in the words of’ or ‘as reported by’:
According to Wollheim, interpretations of the same artwork can be ‘compatible’, ‘incommensurable’ or ‘incompatible’.
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Context-Dependent Alternatives to ‘Said’
Other alternatives to said are context-dependent, since they have specific meanings. The best term for any given situation will, therefore, depend on what the person you’re quoting is doing, such as arguing or explaining a particular point.
A few broad categories of these context-specific terms include:
| Category | Examples | Applicable When… |
| Attributive | claim, believe, suggest | The quotation is an idea held by the quoted author. |
| Argumentative | argue, claim, assert | The quoted text is a point being argued by its author. |
| Explanatory | explain, clarify, explicate | The quoted text is clarificatory. |
| Inquisitive | asked, inquired | The quoted text is a question being asked by the author. |
‘Argued’, for example, is an appropriate term to use if you’re quoting someone advancing a particular point of view:
Lamacq (2016) argues that music has changed little in the last decade.
However, ‘argues’ would be inappropriate if the person being quoted was simply asking a question or tentatively suggesting something. So make sure you understand the words you use when introducing a quote, as otherwise it might not make sense!