quotes and argue or explain

IN MLA FORMAT

TEMPLATES FOR INTRODUCING QUOTATIONS

1. X states, “Not all steroids should be banned from sports.”

2. As the prominent philosopher X puts it, “__________.”

3. According to X, “__________.”

4. X himself writes, “__________.”

5. In her book, __________, X maintains that “__________.”

6. Writing in the journal __________, X complains that “__________.”

7. In X’s view, “__________.”

8. X agrees when she writes, “__________.”

9. X disagrees when he writes, “__________.”

10. X complicates matters further when she writes, “__________.”

Explanation below that will make you understand.

TEMPLATES FOR EXPLAINING QUOTATIONS

The one piece of advice about quoting that our students say they find most helpful is to get in the habit of following every major quotation by explaining what it means, using a template like one of the ones below.

Basically, X is warning that the proposed solution will only make the problem worse.

In other words, X believes __________.

In making this comment, X urges us to __________.

X is corroborating the age-old adage that __________.

X’s point is that __________.

The essence of X’s argument is that __________.

When offering such explanations, it is important to use language that accurately reflects the spirit of the quoted passage. It is often serviceable enough in introducing a quotation to write “X states” or “X asserts,” but in most cases you can add precision to your writing by introducing the quotation in more vivid terms.