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Find & record quotes

No matter where you find a quote, make sure you record its bibliographical details.

An essay isn't just a list of facts – you need quotes and examples from books, websites, people and other resources to prove your argument.

There's no one place to find good quotes. However, once you begin your research, you'll start noticing parts of the text that would add to your essay. Record them in your essay plan, so you can see how they work with each paragraph, and with your essay as a whole.

You never know which quotes you'll need later, so copy and paste into a Word™ document the bibliographical information of all the quotes you find. When you finish writing, tidy up this list and your bibliography's done.

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Locate information

Bibliographies

For example

'Port Phillip was a free settlement.' Discuss

Paragraph 1

  • Statement - Port Phillip was set up to be a 'free' settlement.
  • Example - 'All men have equal political rights...' Fawkner, J P 1832-1871, Papers, Manuscripts collection, State Library of Victoria, MS 13273
  • Explanation - Fawkner wanted an end to transportation and moved to Port Phillip with dreams of creating a fair society.
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