Quotes…
It’s important that quotes get into your
argument. The better the quote, the more sound
your argument becomes.
Get quotes from texts, from other essays, from
articles, newspaper stories, books, news
sources, private interviews or any other source
that adds to your arguments credibility.
The Importance of Quotes as
Evidence
All well-researched and constructed paragraphs
require quotes from sources and other texts.
These quotes are used as evidence to support
previously stated claims. These quotes need to
be properly introduced.
Never, ever, ever, ever…
…ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever,
ever, ever should a quote be sitting by itself, alone,
crying, in the center of your paragraph like an emo
kid whose parents took away his My Chemical
Romance CDs.
Emo kids are annoying. “Nobody gets me. Nobody
understands me. I’m alone in this world. I want to be
different – I don’t want to follow some stupid trend – I’m
a non-conformist” (Emo Kid 43). Being different is
important to Emo kids – that’s why they all dress the
same.
BAD! BAD! BAD!
BAD! BAD! BAD! Think
about it like this: If you
are going to give a speech
or performance, and what
you are to say or sing or
whatever is very
important, would you want
to be properly
introduced? Of course
you would.
Hanging Quotes are
Kanye Quotes!
Your quote is the same way;
an unintroduced quote
awkwardly stands on stage
like an unknown speaker or
singer, with all eyes staring at
it.
This is called a “Hanging
Quote”. Or what I call “Kanye
Quotes” – quotes that are not
introduced, they jump onto
your paragraph’s stage
without being introduced.
Avoid Kanye Quotes
Don’t ever let a quote just jump into your
paragraph un-introduced. It’s your paragraph.
Your quotes shouldn’t interrupt your thoughts!
Rather, your ideas should be sharing the same
stage with your quotes!
Example of a Kanye
Quote:
Writers begin writing at a young age and are
motivated to do so by their environment. “I
began writing an early age when my
grandmother would sit with me at the kitchen
table and write in journals. We would read to
each other what we wrote and talk about it”
(Atwood 43). The impact that family and
environment plays a crucial role in a writer’s
development.
Introduced Quotes Examples of an “Introduced Quote”:
Novelist Margaret Atwood writes, “I began
writing when I was young…”
The article “A Lady Surfacing” states, “I began
writing when I was young…”
There! The quote is introduced. Your reader knows
who said/wrote the quote, or at the very least, knows
where the quote came from!
Get Your Voice In There!
Your voice needs to be in there somewhere,
joined in the same sentence along with the
quote. Never leave a quote by itself unintroduced… it sounds weird, it looks weird, and
it will eat all of your integrity as a writer.
An introduced quote…
Example: Writers begin writing at a young age
and are motivated to do so by their environment.
Novelist Margaret Atwood states, “I began
writing an early age when my grandmother
would sit with me at the kitchen table and write
in journals. We would read to each other what
we wrote and talk about it” (43).
What Comes Next? Not
This:
Example: Writers begin writing at a young age
and are motivated to do so by their environment.
Novelist Margaret Atwood states, “I began
writing an early age when my grandmother
would sit with me at the kitchen table and write
in journals. We would read to each other what
we wrote and talk about it” (43). This quote is
saying that.. Blah, blah, blah. Blah.
Or this… repeat or
summarize
Example: Writers begin writing at a young age
and are motivated to do so by their environment.
Novelist Margaret Atwood states, “I began
writing an early age when my grandmother
would sit with me at the kitchen table and write
in journals. We would read to each other what
we wrote and talk about it” (43). Atwood sat on
her grandmother’s table and wrote, influencing
her to write.
Follow the Evidence with
Interpretation…
From this point on you can add more interpretation, fill out
the paragraph and make your essay’s argument sound.
Example: Writers begin writing at a young age and are
motivated to do by different means. Novelist Margaret
Atwood states, “I began writing an early age when my
grandmother would sit with me at the kitchen table and
write in journals. We would read to each other what we
wrote and talk about it” (43). The impact that family and
environment plays a crucial role in a writer’s development.
If the early parts of a child’s life is dedicated to the art of
writing, odds are the child will continue to write into
adulthood.