How to Write a Signal Phrase

A signal phrase alerts your reader that you are about to present evidence from another source. A typical signal phrase includes:

1) The full name of your source.
2) An appositive phrase which identifies his or her occupation.
3) A verb or phrase that is roughly equivalent to “says”.

Here are some examples:

• Bill Henderson, a professor at Harvard University, points out that . .
• Susan Hernandez, author of the book The Cold War, asserts that . .
• Mary Jones, a general in the U.S. army, notes that . . .
• Samuel Kent, a journalist with the New York Times, found that . . .

The phrase "according to" is also very useful. When using "according to", do not use a verb like "says".

• According to Sophia Lucas, a writer for the website Lonely Planet, "France is beautiful."

Appositive Phrases

An appositive phrase is a noun phrase that typically describes the occupation of the person who is the source of your information.

• If the appositive phrase is long, place it after the name.
• If the appositive phrase is short, place it before the name.

Study these examples:

• Donald Trump, the president of the United States, says that . . . .
• President Donald Trump says that . . .

In the first example, above, the phrase "the president of the United States" is an appositive for Donald Trump. Since this particular appositive is long (six words), we have placed it after the name, Donald Trump.

In the second example, the word "President" is also an appositive for Donald Trump; however, in this case, the appositive is short (only one word), so we have placed it before the name, Donald Trump. ("President" is also a title, so we have capitalized it).

Now notice the punctuation:

• According to Donald Trump, the president of the United States, "We need to build a wall" (Trump).
• According to President Donald Trump, "We need to build a wall" (Trump).

In the first example, we have placed the appositive between parenthetical commas. (That is, we have placed a comma both before and after the appositive).

In the second example, we have not placed a comma between "President" and "Donald Trump."

Here is the general rule:

• If the appositive is long and comes after the name, place it between parenthetical commas.
• If the appositive is short and comes before the name, do not place a comma between the appositive and the name.

Here are some more examples of short appositives that come before the name (and therefore are not separated from the name by a comma):

• Harvard professor Bill Henderson points out that  . . . .
• Author Susan Hernandez asserts that . . . .
• General Mary Jones notes that . . .  .
• Journalist Samuel Kent found that . . .

Often you won’t really know the “occupation” of your witness. You may not even know her name. Still, you have to provide some information about your source. Study the following examples:

• According to writer Arthur Franklin, . . . [If you are reading an article written by Franklin, it is safe to assume that he is a “writer” or an “author,” so you could use one of these words as your appositive].
• According to the website Communism in America, Stalin was a . . . . [In this case, we couldn't find the author’s name, so we used the name of the website instead. Note that the names of websites always get italicized].
• According to an article in the New York Times, Stalin was . . . . [Here, we have chosen to leave out the author’s name, since the New York Times is what really gives credibility to our witness. Note that the names of publications, like websites, also get italicized.

Check Your Understanding:

1. Should the appositive come before or after the name?
2. How is the punctuation different, depending on whether the appositive comes before or after the name?

Instructions for the Quiz

The quiz consists of sentences that start with signal phrases. The appositive in signal phrase is highlighted. Your job is to decide whether the appositive phrase is punctuated correctly or not. Your choices are:

• Yes, the appositive phrase is punctuated correctly.
• No, the appositive phrase is NOT punctuated correctly.

Instructions for the Quiz

Answer the questions.

Quiz