There is nothing wrong with students using direct quotes in their work. Sometimes, authors present material in a way that is so good, there would just be no point in paraphrasing it.
Having said that, when you write an assignment for an agency, you're being paid for original words - just as when you write for your university, the tutor wants to know how well you understand the material. A piece of work that uses direct quotes excessively is hardly original.
As a general guideline, I would not expect the word count of your work to be taken up by more than 10% of direct quotes.
Using Direct Quotes - Some Guidance
If you need to change a word within a direct quote, the word gets put in brackets:
Original text: “Now the one-size-fits-all phase of education has ended for Jane & John in our classes” (Smith, 2003, p. 7).
Change: “Now the one-size-fits-all phase of education has ended for [students] in our
classes” (Smith, 2003, p. 7).
If you need to leave out an unnecessary section within the quote, you use '...':
Original text: “Now the one-size-fits-all phase of education has ended for Jane & John in our classes” (Smith, 2003, p. 7).
Change: “Now the one-size-fits-all phase of education has ended… in our classes” (Smith,
2003, p. 7).
If you need to incorporate a piece of a quote into your own sentence, you do it like this:
Original text: “Now the one-size-fits-all phase of education has ended for Jane & John in our classes” (Smith, 2003, p. 7).
Change 1: I will no longer be using the old model of “one-size-fits-all education” (Smith, 2003, p. 7) in my classroom.
Change 2: “One-size-fits-all education” (Smith, 2003, p. 7) just does not work anymore.
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