INCORPORATING QUOTATIONS
INTO WRITING
Mrs. Dobbs’s pups… just because!
Blended Quotes
• Quotations cannot simply be “dropped” into
a text!
• This causes confusion for the reader
(especially if they’ve forgotten the quote!).
• It also makes the reading “rough” and
“choppy,” which only detracts from your
persuasiveness.
• Therefore, quotes must be “blended” into
your writing seamlessly…. Like this….
Types of Blending
a
b
c
Before stabbing himself, Othello reminds his
listeners, “‘I have done the state some
service and they know’t.’” He speaks of
himself as “one that loved not wisely but too
well” and compares himself to “‘the base
Indian’” who “‘threw a pearl away / Richer
than all his tribe’” (5.2.337-47).
a = run-in quotation
b, c = embedded quotations
Run-in Quote Defined
• Run-in quote: formally introduces the
quote by who is saying it/ introduction is
always followed by a comma
• Before stabbing himself, Othello reminds
his listeners, “‘I have done the state some
service and they know’t.’”
Embedded Quote Defined
• Embedded quote: a quotation that is
“mixed” into the writing and is used as if it
is part of the writer’s own words
• He speaks of himself as “one that loved
not wisely but too well” and compares
himself to “‘the base Indian’” who
“‘threw a pearl away / Richer than all his
tribe’” (5.2.337-47).
Setting up Quotes
How do you blend quotes exactly? You add TCS!
Set them up with a TCS:
(Transition, Context, Speaker).
However, before stabbing himself,
Othello reminds his listeners, “I have done
the state some service and they know’t”
(5.2.337).
Setting up quotes
TCS (Transition, Context, Speaker).
WRONG
RIGHT
“I have done the state some service and
they know’t” (5.2.337).
T
However, before stabbing himself, Othello
reminds his listeners, “I have done the state
some service and they know’t” (5.2.337).
Setting up quotes
TCS (Transition, Context, Speaker).
WRONG
RIGHT
“I have done the state some service and
they know’t” (5.2.337).
T
C
However, before stabbing himself, Othello
reminds his listeners, “I have done the state
some service and they know’t” (5.2.337).
Setting up quotes
TCS (Transition, Context, Speaker).
WRONG
RIGHT
“I have done the state some service and
they know’t” (5.2.337).
T
C
S
However, before stabbing himself, Othello
reminds his listeners, “I have done the state
some service and they know’t” (5.2.337).
TCS Rule #1
• Every blended quotation must have TCS!
WRONG
RIGHT
The “influence [of] Austen’s secluded
lifestyle” was profound.
According to Jim Halloway’s criticism
entitled “Jane Austen’s Life and Times,”
Halloway describes the “influence Austen’s
secluded lifestyle had upon her writing.”
TCS Rule #2
• TCS can appear in any order, but MUST
appear BEFORE the Quotation!
WRONG
RIGHT
For example, the “influence [of] Austen’s secluded
lifestyle […] upon her writing” had a profound impact,
which Jim Halloway describes in his literary criticism
entitled “Jane Austen’s Life and Times.”
According to Jim Halloway’s criticism entitled “Jane
Austen’s Life and Times,” Halloway describes the
“influence Austen’s secluded lifestyle had upon her
writing.”
TCS Rule #3
• TCS is the ONLY PLACE where you should
mention any PLOT!! And it’s a “mention”/ a
“reminder”– NOT a PLOT SUMMARY! You
have to assume your educated/ informed reader
knows the text.
For example, when Macbeth contemplates whether
or not to kill the king, he weighs the role of Duncan
as being at his home in “double-trust” as a reason not
to kill his sovereign.
Correcting problems
Othello says, “One that loved not wisely but too
WRONG
well” (5.2.343).
(Incorrect blending = has formed a FRAGMENT
or INCOMPLETE SENTENCE!)
RIGHT
Othello speaks of himself as “one that loved not
wisely but too well” (5.2.343).
Correcting problems
WRONG Othello asks his auditors to “speak of me as I am” (5.2.341).
(The pronouns “me” and “I” do not agree in person with their
antecedent. They need to be changed!)
RIGHT Othello bids his auditors to “speak of [him] as [he is]”
(5.2.341).
Notice that I changed words in the quote by putting brackets
around them. You can do this; however, if you have to
change too many words like I did in the example above, it’s
probably best to just blend in another way because your
quotation may lose credibility.
A better way to blend it…
• Othello asks his auditors, “Speak of me as I
am” (5.2.341).
• Notice that I capitalized the word “Speak”
here b/c I have created a run-in quotation.
You should always capitalize when
introducing a quotation formally even if it’s
not capitalized in the text.
Correcting problems
Iago bids his wife to “hold your [her] peace”
WRONG (5.2.218-19).
(Your sentences, including your bracketed words,
must read as if there were no brackets. So, in this
case, I need to leave out the “your” b/c I have
replaced it with “her”.)
RIGHT Iago bids his wife to “hold [her] peace” (5.2.218-
19).
Correcting problems
Othello says that “I have done the state some
WRONG
service” (5.2.338).
(Incorrect mixture of pronouns again. It switches
from third-person “Othello” to first-person “I.”)
RIGHT Othello says, “I have done the state some service”
(5.2.338).
Correcting problems
Othello says that he “have done the state some
WRONG
service” (5.2.338).
(Subject and verb of subordinate clause do not
agree. The noun “he” must be followed with
“has.”)
RIGHT Othello says that he has “done the state some
service” (5.2.338).
Present to Past = OK
• When we are writing about literature, we need to use
present tense; however, it is acceptable to leave the verbs
in the quotations in past tense. Like in the example below,
I use the present tense verb “goes,” but the quote has a past
tense verb “did” instead of “does.” It’s acceptable to leave
this the way it is.
Macbeth goes to kill the king, and he “did the
deed.”
Quotations within quotations
Use single quotation marks for quotations within
quotations. This tells that something is spoken.
Also, use slashes / to show line breaks in poetry.
In her dying speech, Emilia asks her dead
mistress, “‘Hark, canst thou hear me? I will play
the swan, / And die in music. Willow, willow,
willow’” (5.2.246-47).
Ellipsis
• Use an ellipsis to cut out any unnecessary
parts of the quote, and put brackets around
the ellipsis to show that YOU added it and
that it’s not in the original text.
Jim Halloway writes about how “Jane
Austen’s legacy […] will be remembered
forever.”
In or out?
 Place commas and periods inside quotation marks.
 Place semicolons and colons outside quotation marks.
 Place question marks and exclamation marks inside if they belong
to the quoted sentence, outside if they belong to your sentence.
“I am not valiant neither,” says Othello (5.2.242).
Othello says, “I am not valiant neither” (5.2.242).
“Who can control his fate?” cries Othello (5.2.264).
Does Shakespeare endorse Othello’s implication that no
one “can control his fate”? (5.2.264).