Signal phrases appear at the beginning of a sentence to indicate borrowed information, as in this example of a signal phrase using documentation format from the American Psychological Association: "According to Smith (2013), the inference reveals the author's bias." The language you choose for the signal phrase affects your reader's understanding. Explaining that a source "endorsed," "argued" or "admitted" tells the reader something about the source's attitude about the topic. For a more objective approach, use words like "stated," "reported" or "observed." Good signal phrases also indicate how the quote, paraphrase or summary connects to the rest of the information in the essay.