When is it acceptable to quote, as opposed to paraphrasing?

Answer 1

QUOTATIONS should be used sparingly. (The shorter the essay, the more sparingly quotations should be used!)

As a general rule, there are only two situations in which direct quotations are appropriate: (1) When the wording of the original quotation is so good that to paraphrase it in any way would simply not do it justice and (2) when the quotation is uttered by someone of such importance to the study that it serves as a form of documentation, with regard to whatever point is being made.

Over-quoting is one of the most common mistakes made by writers, students and non-students alike. Excessive quoting is a form of laziness on the part of the writer, who by doing so abdicates the responsibility to be selective and to interpret (paraphrase) for the reader. When quotations are used as a way of filling up space, this is painfully obvious. In most cases, the writer would be better served by falling short of the required word or page count but at least delivering an honest piece of writing.

Answer 2

A good time to quote is if what you are referencing is extremely technical, specific, or well-stated to the point that rephrasing it might be detrimental.