Ms. Disher’s Quick Guide to Quoting and Parenthetical Citations
*Since you must mention the title and author of the work (Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451) in your opening sentence,
parenthetical citations can just include the page number for the quotes you pull. In another paper, you would need
to include the author’s last name in the citation if you didn’t mention it early on (Bradbury 68).
When introducing a quote in your paper, you must INTRODUCE it in some way to give context to the quote.
As we see through the character of Captain Beatty, censorship is meant “to protect” the people, not to harm them
(68).
Mildred’s reaction to discovering her husband’s hoard of books was that “her face went pale” (70).
In Julius Caesar, the tension builds when Brutus accuses Cassius of accepting bribes: "Let me tell you, Cassius, you
yourself / Are much condemned to have an itching palm, / To sell and mart your offices for gold . . ." (4.3.9-11).
If you pull two quotes, ideas, or individual descriptive words from the same page, you may just cite the page at
the end of the sentence rather than after each word.
Guy Montag thought that books were “useless” and “harmful” before his intellectual awakening (80).
The page number where the quote is found in the book goes in parenthesis AFTER the quote but BEFORE the
period.
Incorrect: “Mind over matter.” (50)
Incorrect: “Mind over matter”. (50)
Incorrect: “Mind over matter (50).”
Correct: “Mind over matter” (50).
You can use brackets [ ] inside a quotation to clarify points that may be ambiguous (unclear) to your readers or to
provide additional information.
Example: “It [Cedar Ridge High School] is a nice place to work,” said Ms. Disher. “My inspiration [to teach] partially
came from the movie Dead Poets Society, even though it’s cheesy at parts and I’m not and never will be Robin
Williams.”
Quoting “Chunks” from a Larger Work: If you want to quote from several pieces of a long speech or piece of text
but do not want to use the entire speech/text (not all of it may be relevant to your argument, and quotes are
best when they’re short and to the point), use ellipses (…) to indicate space between lines.
Example: Drawing Othello further into his web, Iago suggests that public embarrassment would be intolerable:
"Who steals my purse steals trash; . . . / . . . / But he that filches from me my good name / Robs me of that which
not enriches him / And makes me poor indeed" (3.3.157-61).
**Remember, since Fahrenheit 451 is a LONG work (a full novel) you must underline or italicize the title instead of
using quotation marks!
Correct: Fahrenheit 451, Fahrenheit 451
Incorrect: “Fahrenheit 451”
Introducing Quotes with Acknowledgment Phrases
Directions: In this exercise you will get practice introducing quotes uses a variety lead-ins, or acknowledgment
phrases. Introduce each quotation with an acknowledgment phrase by following the Instructions provided for each
situation.
a. Quotation: I always dreamed of it as being a kind of earthly paradise where no troubles ever intruded.
Speaker: Linnea Aycock
Instructions: (1) Introduce the quotation with the acknowledgment phrase Linnea Aycock said, and use brackets to
show that Aycock is talking about Tahiti.
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b. Quotation: Our inspiration was a cartoon that appeared in a children's magazine. Speaker: A NASA scientist
Instruction: Use brackets to indicate that the cartoon inspired the design of a new space helmet.
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c. Quotation: My generation never thought of college in terms of making ourselves employable. It was OK to be
interested in Plato or T. S. Eliot or Freud, but never in IBM or General Mills. It was easy then to regard jobs with
contempt since there were so many of them. It is very different with today's job-conscious generation. The
response to Shakespeare now is likely to be, "How will he help me in my job?" Writer: Ronni Jacobsen
Instruction: Quote two or three sentences that communicate the main idea of this passage. Use ellipsis dots to
represent what you omit.
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d. Quotation: If idiots drive motor vehicles when they are drunk, this should happen: they should lose their licenses
and be sent to jail-for 90 days or longer. Speaker: Sergeant Robert Symmes
Instruction: Introduce the quotation with the words Sergeant Robert Symmes said that. Alter the quotation by
deleting the word if, inserting who after idiots, omitting this should happen:, and making whatever other changes
are necessary.
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