Citation Lead-in Practice
Step 1: I can recognize the difference between a good lead-in and a bad one.
Mark each item either “A” for acceptable or “U” for unacceptable.
____Max reveals his true motivation for taming the wild things when he “sent the wild things off to bed without
their supper” (Sendak 16). He is clearly upset that his mother has punished him, and he is soothing his hurt
feelings by imposing his own punishment on the wild things.
____Max reveals his true motivation for taming the wild things. “He sent the wild things off to bed without their
supper” (Sendak 16). He is clearly upset that his mother has punished him, and he is soothing his hurt feelings by
imposing his own punishment on the wild things.
Step 2: I can format a quote using a lead-in if the context is provided for me.
The context for the quote and the quote itself are in separate sentences below. Rewrite it so that the
lead-in and the quote are in the same sentence without making it a run-on. You may borrow some of
the exact wording from the context provided if you wish.
After Scout’s terrible first day of school, Atticus tries to teach her a lesson. “You never really understand
a person until you consider things from his point of view” (Lee 30).
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Step 3: I can create my own lead-ins for a full quote.
Poe kicked the bird out of his house because it said he’d never see Lenore again. Rewrite the narrator’s
quote below so that it is preceded by a lead-in that gives us some context.
“Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul has spoken!” (Poe 84).
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Step 4: I can embed a quote within a sentence by using just the most important part of it.
Below is a quote from an article about a new paparazzi-proof suit with reflective glass embedded in it
to ruin photographs. Write a sentence of your own to explain how the company decides how many
presales are necessary to put the garment into production. Use just the most important part of the
sentence.
“If it reaches its goal in 30 days (the goal usually equals enough inventory sold to justify actually
manufacturing the product) then they'll be able to estimate how many garments to make based on total
number purchased” (Stinson).
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Citation Lead-in Practice
I can use ellipses to eliminate part of a quote I don’t need.
Rewrite the quote below using ellipses to eliminate any parts that aren’t relevant to a paper about
the meat and dairy industries.
There is a shortage of workers at many of the country’s western ports, and “Among
the largest exports from these ports are meat and dairy products, followed by other
foods like produce and canned foods, according to an analysis from the National
Retail Federation” (Wallace).
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I can use brackets to make the subjects of my quote fit with my lead-in.
Rewrite the quote below with brackets to make it less awkward.
After giving up her cell phone for 135 days, one journalist said that when she was
“Late to a meeting with my boss, and stuck in traffic, I prayed for a Wi-Fi-enabled
subway station or Starbucks to send an email from the back of a cab. No cigar. So, the
only option I had left to get in touch with him was to call on the cab driver's cell
phone” (King).
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