Signal phrase
Also called: attributive tag
The words that introduce borrowed material and name its source, such as “As Larsen argues,” or “According to the 2023 review.”
A signal phrase does two things at once: it attributes, and it frames. “Larsen notes,” “Larsen concedes,” and “Larsen overstates” all point at the same source while telling the reader how much weight to give it. The verb is the argument.
Signal phrases matter most around quotations. A quotation dropped into a paragraph with no introduction — a “dropped quote” — forces the reader to work out why it is there. Leading with a signal phrase also makes it obvious where the borrowed material starts, which is one of the practical defences against accidental plagiarism.
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See also
Narrative citationAn in-text citation where the author's name is part of your sentence and only the date or page stays in brackets.Direct quotationReproducing a source's exact words inside quotation marks or as a block, with a citation that includes a locator.PatchwritingRewriting a source by swapping synonyms and reordering clauses while keeping its sentence structure — a paraphrase that is not one.