The Source: Verbal Citation That Builds Credibility
After stating a claim, a competitor must back it with evidence that is verbally cited clearly enough that a judge could find the source later. You will be able to cite a source aloud with outlet, date, and enough context to be credible.
The Anatomy of a Verbal Citation
A complete verbal citation names the outlet, gives a date (at least the month and year), and briefly identifies who is speaking if it is a quote, such as "according to Reuters, reporting on March 7th of this year, Federal Reserve economist Claudia Sahm said the labor market is cooling faster than official models expected." Dropping the date or outlet name makes evidence sound unverifiable and invites judges to discount it.
Weaving Citation Into Natural Speech
Citations should sound conversational, not like a bibliography read aloud; varying the citation's position in the sentence — sometimes leading with the outlet, sometimes leading with the fact and citing at the end — keeps the speech from sounding mechanically repetitive. A citation like "Unemployment hit 4.2 percent last month, the highest in two years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics" flows more naturally than always starting every single point the same rigid way.
Continuing the Fed rate-cut point one.
"According to Reuters, reporting on March 7th of this year, Federal Reserve economist Claudia Sahm said the labor market is cooling faster than the Fed's own models expected, a claim backed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics' report that unemployment climbed to 4.2 percent last month, the highest reading in two years."
1. What must a complete verbal citation generally include?
Answer all 1 to check.
A strong verbal citation names outlet, date, and speaker, delivered conversationally rather than as a rigid, repetitive formula.