signal phrase

English

Etymology

signal +‎ phrase

Noun

signal phrase (plural signal phrases)

  1. An indication that something is a paraphrase or direct quote.
    "Smith suggests that..." and "In Smith's words..." are both signal phrases.
    • 1993, Sheila Cooper, Rosemary Patton, Ergo: Thinking Critically and Writing Logically, page 220:
      Introduce the material being cited with a signal phrase, usually the authors name, and use a parenthetical citation stating the page number of the sentence.
  2. A phrase that signals a particular meaning or stance.
    • 1996, Mary Ann Christensen, Interpreting Literature & the Arts, page 76:
      To identify an opinion, look for signal phrases such as “I think,” “I consider,” “I'm convinced,” “I guess,” “I believe,” or “I feel.”

References
  • John Richard Stevens (2007), “Signal phrases”, in Writing Better Essays‎, archived from the original on 2007-08-14
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