為了支持自己的論點或是為了修辭上的考慮，在研究論文中引用文獻作為實證，是非常好的寫作手法，其中直接引用更是強化自己論點的極佳方式，透過引用學術圈內其他研究者的觀點及想法，不但可以為文章在學術領域中找到定位，更有助于論點的可信度。
然而，如果單純將一段引文一字不漏的貼到文章里，這樣的做法不僅無法達到預期的效果，更不可能向讀者證明作者的論點。作者需要清楚地告訴讀者，該段引文是如何支持他的論點的。
“三明治引用法” Quotation Sandwich能夠有助于科研人員有效地引用文獻內容。
“三明治引用法”包含下列四個步驟：
1. 呈現論點：首先陳述作者的觀點與看法，也即接下來的引文所要支持的論點。
2. 介紹引文：使用轉承詞（如：for instance或for example），清楚地點出該段引文能支持文中的主要論點，然后提供引文來源的信息，如：作者、出處（書籍、文章、部落格）。
3. 引文內容：列出完整的引文內容，盡可能包含能支持作者論點的文字。
4. 詮釋引文：指出支持作者論點的關鍵詞，并解釋為何覺得這段引文很重要。此類詮釋大多以下列詞組開頭，如：This description shows…、This passage emphasizes…、As (insert author’s name) demonstrates…、In other words, X argues…。
報價三明治
以下是所有研究論文的兩個基本規則：
如果你沒有想到，請告訴讀者你在哪里。
不要浪費你的報價。
告訴我們你在哪里得到它
這是絕對的：不要假裝別人的話是你自己的。這是欺詐。（在學術界，我們稱之為剽竊，這是一個快速旅行，成為這個優秀機構的前學生）。無論您是使用直接引用還是間接引用，文本應該向仔細的讀者清楚你停止說話，你的來源開始。
無論您是使用您支付的書籍100美元的書籍還是免費提供的互聯網來源，本規則都適用。是的，維基百科和About.com都適用于所有人，但是您沒有在那里寫下這些話，所以不要說謊，告訴我們他們是你的。
要查看直接報價，請訪問EasyWriter§23a（第121頁）或作者規則§37（第302頁）。要查看間接報價，請訪問EasyWriter§23d（第124頁）或作者規則§13d（第108頁）。
尷尬的問題：常識
你不必引用你所看到的一切。如果您需要字典來學習“適應環境”的定義，請不要引用。一般規則（難以實施）是不引用常識。什么是常識？這是大多數目標受眾群體應該知道或可以輕松訪問的信息。富蘭克林·羅斯福是美國第32任總統嗎？是的（即使你不知道 - 這些信息可以從幾十個來源獲得）。常見的知識是因為小兒麻痹癥而失去了雙腿的使用嗎？也許，雖然不會是在1940年。他是常識，他是哈佛的“C”學生嗎？可能不會。你必須引用那個。
做三明治
當你做了一個下降的報價，你浪費了它。一個丟棄的報價簡單地落入文本，沒有任何介紹或討論。你假設讀者可以弄清楚為什么它在那里，它為論證做出了什么貢獻。（基本上，你給讀者分配解釋事情的任務，一個你應該做的工作。）這是一個丟棄報價的例子：
這個世界上的任何人都可以歸類為有計算機成癮。沒關系，如果你是白人或黑人，貧窮或富有，女性或男性，聰明或愚蠢，你可以有這個問題。許多孩子沉迷于電腦上的所有不同類型的游戲。“有些孩子每周玩電腦游戲多達30小時”（“電腦癮”）。如今，許多孩子在電腦上玩耍，而不是專注于學校工作。
一個更好的路線是制作一個三明治的報價：
介紹（也許包括一個評論，為什么你的來源值得聽）
引用的材料本身（無論是直接引用還是間接引用）
引用
討論這篇文章對你論文的論點的貢獻
以下是一個例子：
1999年，城市交通研究中心的研究人員對手機問題進行了調查，得出結論認為“沒有國家認可的手機使用和交通事故之間的聯系”（Alasdair和Burris）。由于研究成果如此不確定，所以在通過可能不必要的法律之前，請先等待。
如果您在研究論文中做出報價三明治，您將獲得三個好處：
如果你曾經試圖遵循“遲來引用”的愚蠢和懶惰的策略（當紙張沒有引用設備時，總是一個剽竊的一個很好的借口），三明治就會拯救你。上面的計算機成癮樣本只是用報價代替學生自己的寫作;如果她推遲了引用，她可能完全錯過了。實際上做一些報價使它脫穎而出。
如果您在撰寫簡短的文章時遇到麻煩，那就是說不出來，報價三明治就會給你合法的內容，以便你的文章。
由于大多數研究論文的目的不僅在于您所發現的內容，而且將其轉化為解釋結果，討論部分將您的論文推向目的地。
引文機械
雖然大學使用了幾種引用格式，但兩種是非常常見的：MLA和APA（上述引用是MLA風格）。他們有幾個特點：
文中的引文是括號中的簡短評論。
后頁提供了完整的書目材料。
腳注是偶然的評論，不是參考書目。
語法手冊，在線資源，英語教師和圖書館人員都可以獲得很多幫助。你不必發明東西。有人已經弄清楚如何引用你的來源。
混合配對
當你正在進行研究時，你的源材料將會遇到幾種不同的引文樣式。但是，當您正在撰寫論文時，您必須使所有內容保持一致。如果這是一本MLA論文，整個事情應該是一個MLA論文，而不是不同風格和引文的拼貼。以下是幾個非常常見的學生錯誤：
不要在MLA Works Cited頁面中使用APA文本引用。如果你真的想做一個APA論文請求許可，那么也要做更困難的APA參考頁面。
如果您正在撰寫一本MLA論文，所有的本文引用都是MLA風格！不要扔幾個APA引用的品種！（同樣的規則適用于APA論文。）
如果您正在編寫一本MLA論文，作品被引用頁面上的所有條目都是MLA風格！APA參考頁的相同規則！
不要發明書目頁沒有創造力的地方。如果您在參考手冊或網站中找不到您需要的內容，請咨詢某人（例如圖書館員或英語老師）。
如果你引用以APA風格寫的來源，并且正在撰寫一本MLA論文，請以MLA風格引用。
互聯網咆哮
我的大多數學生認為一個裸露的網址是參考書目頁面所需要的。錯誤！如果我引用富蘭克林·羅斯福的維基百科頁面，那么MLA作品引用條目或APA參考文獻比www.wikipedia.org有更多的內容。這是引用真的應該是這樣的：
工作重點：
“富蘭克林·羅斯福”。維基百科，自由的百科全書。維基百科，自由的百科全書，2011年8月2日。2011年8月2日。。
APA：
富蘭克林·羅斯福（2011年8月2日）。在維基百科，自由的百科全書。檢索于2011年8月2日14:55，從http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Franklin_D._Roosevelt&oldid=442613417
The Quotation Sandwich
Here are two basic rules for all research papers:
1.If you didn't think it up, tell the reader where you got it.
2.Don't waste your quotations.
On telling us where you got it
This one is absolute:don't pretend that the words of other people are your own. That's fraud. (In the academic world, we call it plagiarism, and it's a quick trip to becoming aformerstudent of this fine institution.) Whether you are using a direct quotation or an indirect quotation, the text should make it clear to the careful reader when you stop talking and your source begins.
The rule applies whether you are using material from a book you paid $100 for or an Internet source that came to you free. Yes, Wikipedia and About.com are available to everyone, but you didn't write the words there, so don't lie and tell us that they are yours.
For a review of direct quotations, go toEasyWriter§23a (page 121) orRules for Writers§37 (page 302). For a review of indirect quotations, to go toEasyWriter§23d (page 124) orRules for Writers§13d (page 108).
Awkward question: common knowledge
You don't have to citeeverythingyou look up. If you needed the dictionary to learn the definition of "acclimate," don't cite it. The general rule (which is difficult to implement) is that you don't cite common knowledge. And what is common knowledge? It's information that most members of your target audience should know or have easy access to. Is it common knowledge that Franklin Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the USA? Yes (even ifyoudidn't know it—that information is available from dozens and dozens of sources). Is it common knowledge that he had lost the use of his legs because of polio? Perhaps, though it wouldn't have been in 1940. Is it common knowledge that he was a "C" student at Harvard? Probably not. You'd have to cite that one.
Making the sandwich
When you do a?dropped quotation, you waste it. A dropped quotation simply drops into the text without any introduction or discussion. You assume that the reader can figure out why it's there and what it contributes to the argument. (Essentially, you're assigning the reader the task of explaining things, a job you should have done.) Here's an example of a dropped quote:
Anybody in this world can be classified as having a computer addiction. It does not matter if you are white or black, poor or rich, female or male, smart or dumb you could have this problem. Many children become addicted to all the different kind of games on their computers. "Some children play computer games up to 30 hours a week" ("Computer Addiction"). Nowadays many children play on their computers instead of concentrating on their school work.
A much better route is to make a sandwich of the quote:
The introduction(perhaps including a comment about why your source is worth listening to)
The quoted material itself(whether it's a direct quote or an indirect)
The citation
A discussionof the contribution this material made to your paper's argument
Here's an example:
Researchers from the Center for Urban Transportation Research surveyed research on the cell phone issue as of 1999 and concluded that there is"no nationally-accredited document to prove the connection between mobile phone use and traffic accidents"(Alasdair and Burris).Because research results have been so inconclusive, it makes sense to wait before passing laws that might well be unnecessary.
If you make quotation sandwiches in your research papers, you will get three benefits:
If you were ever tempted to follow the stupid and lazy strategy of "putting in the citations later" (that's always a thin excuse for plagiarism when a paper comes without the citation apparatus), the sandwich will rescue you. The computer addiction sample above is simply using the quote as a substitute for the student's own writing; if she had postponed doing citations, she could have missed that one altogether. Actuallydoingsomething with the quote makes it stand out.
If you have trouble writing short papers that just don't say enough, the quotation sandwich will give you legitimate content to flesh out your essay.
Because the purpose of most research papers goes beyond mere reporting of what you found and moves into interpreting the findings, thediscussion sectiondrives your paper toward its destination.
The Citation Machinery
Though there are several citation formats used in the University, two are extremely common: MLA and APA (the citations above are in MLA style). They share several characteristics:
Citations within the text are very brief comments in parentheses.
A back page gives complete bibliographic material.
Footnotes are for incidental comments, not for bibliography.
Lots of help is available from grammar handbooks, online sources, English teachers, and library personnel. You don't have to invent things. Someone has already figured out how to cite your source.
On mixing and matching
When you are doing research, you will run into several different citation styles in your source material. When you are writing your paper, however, you must make everything consistent. If it's an MLA paper, the whole thing should be an MLA paper—not a collage of different kinds of styles and citations. Here are several very common student errors to avoid:
Do not use APA in-text citations with an MLA Works Cited page. If you really want to do an APA paper ask permission, then do the much more difficult APA references page too.
If you're writing an MLA paper,ALLof the in-text citations are MLA style! Do not throw in a couple of APA citations for variety! (The same rule applies to APA papers.)
If you are writing an MLA paper,ALLof the entries on the Works Cited page are MLA style! Same rule for APA Reference page!
Do not invent. The bibliographic page is no place for creativity. If you can't find what you need in a reference handbook or website, ask someone (librarian or English teacher, for example).
If you are quoting a source that was written in APA style and you are writing an MLA paper, cite it in MLA style.
Internet rant
Most of my students think that a bare web address is all that the bibliography page needs. Wrong! If I were to cite the Wikipedia page for Franklin Roosevelt, there's a whole lot more to the MLA Works Cited entry or the APA References entry than www.wikipedia.org. Here's what the citations really should look like:
MLA:
"Franklin D. Roosevelt."Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2 Aug. 2011. Web. 2 Aug. 2011. .
APA:
Franklin D. Roosevelt. (2011, August 2). InWikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.Retrieved 14:55, August 2, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Franklin_D._Roosevelt&oldid=442613417
