Final answer:
The claim that you do not need to quote and cite phrases of three or more consecutive words from a source is false. Proper citation is required to avoid plagiarism, and quoted material must be integrated with signal phrases for clarity.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that if you use THREE OR MORE CONSECUTIVE WORDS from a published (or internet) source, you don't need to quote the phrase and cite the source is false. Whenever you use exact wording from a source, regardless of length, you must put the passage in quotation marks and give proper credit to the original author to avoid plagiarism. This applies to all instances of using someone else's words, including from online sources.
When you quote smoothly and correctly, you extract only the essential part of the quotation that supports your point and integrate it into your work in a way that maintains the flow of your own narrative. To prevent a disruption of the text and ensure that the reader understands the relevance of the quotation, its source should be introduced with an appropriate signal phrase.