Quotation

3WaystoIncorporateaQuote.pptx

Three Ways to Incorporate a Quote

When you incorporate a quote…

You should “introduce” the quote in one of three ways illustrated in these slides.

You should give credit to the source by including the authors of the source and the page number in a parenthetical reference

You should always provide significance (explain why you’ve included the quote). In the following slides, the sentence of significance will be underlined.

You should NEVER “drop” a quote into a paragraph. A quote is considered “dropped” if you fail to introduce it and/or provide significance.

Every quote should be a complete sentence (an independent clause).

A block quote runs “over four lines” in your essay. They are formatted and punctuated differently than quotes of four lines or less that are discussed here.

1. Use a Present Tense Verb

Here are some “verbs” to consider:

says writes answers states questions declares

said wrote answered stated questioned declared

Here are examples of using a verb to set up a quote

Smith says, “It’s time to stop” ( Briggs 30). Smith is the only character in the novel who expresses his opinion.

Jones states, “I totally agree” ( Deal, Purcell, and West 98). Jones concurs with other experts on this diagnosis.

Hill questions, “Are you sure?” (89). Hill’s question clearly indicates his doubt of the findings.

In the last example, “Hill” is the name of the source, so it’s not necessary to repeat the name in the parenthetical reference.

Parenthetical Reference

After a sentence that includes a quote, add information about the source it came from in parentheses

You should include the last names of the authors of the source (some sources may have more than one author)

You should include the page number where the quoted words are found

You SHOULD NOT include the word “page” or an abbreviation of it such as, pg.

2. Incorporate Quoted Words within Your Sentence

Use exact quoted words, which must fit seamlessly within your sentence

Do not take the quoted words out of context

Use ellipsis (three dots with a space before and after each dot) to indicate omitted words

Don’t forget the parenthetical reference

Examples of Quotes Embedded in a Sentence

She took the girl to the park where she “discovered the doll” that her brother had hid (Marvin 675). This discovery illustrates her motive for hurting her brother.

The words “discovered the doll” constitute a direct quote. They are exact words taken from a text. To avoid plagiarism, they must be in quotation marks.

3. Use a colon:

Write a complete sentence ending in a colon, and followed by a quote

The quote should be an “example” of what your sentence claims

The quote must also be a complete sentence

Examples of using a colon:

Gail is clearly terrified: “She shook with fear and let out a piercing scream when she discovered Walter’s body” (Beasley 87). This demonstrates one of Gail’s many emotions.

Chryssi Tsoupanarias describes her infection from piercing: “Mine’s all red” (Levine 151). Levine incorporates statements from several piercers into her essay to establish credibility.

Notice the Punctuation

Place all direct quotes in “quotation marks”

The parenthetical reference should be enclosed in (parentheses) [not brackets,] at the end of the sentence, even with an embedded quote

The period belongs after the parenthetical reference, not at the end of the quote

Don’t confuse a colon: with a semi-colon;