Quoting issues:

DO NOT begin or end paragraphs with a quotation. NEVER.
*******Do quote within a quote……

Instead of ending a paragraph with a quote, use another sentence or phrase to
emphasize the importance or relevance of that quote for your purposes or
claim. This is called Commentary.

ALWAYS PROVIDE CONTEXT: In other words, explain or set up a quote.
In the Selfie article, a quote would come out of nowhere, and be all by itself. Or a person
would write: Jessie Smith said…WHO IS HE?
INSTEAD: Jessie Smith, an associate professor at Ohio State University in the Department of
Communications, believes that….
This establishes Smith’s expertise and credibility.
CONTEXT
QUOTE
COMMENTARY (CQC)
Example:
-TS Perhaps one of the loneliest people on the ranch is Crooks. He has no friends because
he’s black. He is forced to sleep in a separate bunkhouse and is always alone. Crooks
doesn’t have anyone to talk with and doesn’t hang out with the other guys, who refer to
him as a “Nigger.” CONTEXT . One evening, when the other guys were at the
whorehouse, Lennie came into Crooks’s bunkhouse. Crooks was startled because no one
except Slim had ever come to his room. At first Crooks was angry and told Lennie,
QUOTE “I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain’t wanted in my room” (68).
COMMENTARY Since Lennie wouldn’t leave, Crooks invited him in. He told him a story
about his childhood. He told Lennie how his dad owned a ranch, and that they were the
only black family in the area. He also said that he didn’t understand why his dad didn’t like
him playing with the other children, but now he knows why. CONTEXT At one point in
their conversation, Crooks started to torment Lennie by saying George might not come
back from town. Lennie became frantic, and Crooks said, QUOTE “ Maybe you can see
now. You got George. You know he’s goin’ to come back. S’pose you didn’t have
nobody…How’d you like that?...A guy needs somebody to be near him” (72).
COMMENTARY When Candy came looking for Lennie to tell him of plans he had for the
ranch and came into the cabin, Crooks was content to have his company. Crooks also told
them that he was tired of being alone, and he wanted to join them on their own ranch.
However, when George got back from the whorehouse, he told Lennie and Candy they
shouldn’t be there and the three left. TRANSITION:
In every body paragraph, you will use one or more direct quotes from a text/novel to support your
thesis. If the quote just appears out of nowhere in your body paragraph, and you don’t provide any
context for what is happening in the quote, it will really confuse your reader. So, you need to set up
your direct quotes before they appear in your body paragraph.
i. To set up a quote you need to:
1. Explain what is happening in the scene that you are
quoting from
2. Explain who is thinking/speaking the quote
3. Explain how it relates to the topic of your paragraph
ii. Accurately and effectively setting up a quote can take
anywhere from 2 to 5 sentences (or more).
iii. NEVER: You never want to introduce or follow a quote by
saying, “In this quote…or This quote shows” or “This
quote proves.” Instead, use phrases to lead into the quote.
1. Examples
a. At one point in the novel, Melinda thinks,
“…….” (Anderson 43).
b. After Melinda approaches Rachel to tell her
the truth about Andy, Rachel says to her,
“……..” (Anderson 33).
c. Melinda is truly depressed after the attack.
She even begins to “…….” (Anderson 33).
Shortening a direct quote
Sometimes, you may need parts, but not all, of a direct quote
to support your thesis. In this case, use an ellipsis (…) to
shorten the quote.
Altering a direct quote
At times, you may need to change a word or a tense of a word
in a direct quote to make it fit grammatically in your paper. If
you change any part of a word, or add a word, to a direct
quote, you need to use brackets [ ] so that the reader knows
that you have made a change.
Example – “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all
men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain inalienable rights,…
2. Example – If you needed to make the above quote
from the Declaration of Independence fit a single
person, instead of a nation, you could alter the
wording
a. As a nation, “we hold these truths to be selfevident: that [this man is]… endowed by [his]
Creator with certain inalienable rights”
(Declaration of Independence).
Formatting a block quote
If the quote you are using in your paper goes over four lines of
text, you need to format it as a block quote. SEE THE MLA
STYLE document on my website and scroll down to
formatting quotes of four lines or more.
Introductory clauses and phrases should always be logical and grammatical:

NOT—In Smith’s essay, he says “ . . .”

In Smith’s essay, it says “ . . . ”, or

Smith’s essay states “. . . ”,

“…..” as quoted by Smith?????
Instead use:
In his essay, Smith states “. . . ”
Quotations within a Quotation
Use single quotation marks to enclose quotes within another quotation.
The reporter told me, "When I interviewed the quarterback, he said they simply
'played a better game.'"
Also: Nick Hollingsworth said last week, ”’There comes a time when society has to
change.’”
Introducing Quotes with Interesting Verbs
Verbs can be used to introduce summaries, paraphrases, and quotations that indicate the author’s
point of view on the topic, thus adding to the writer’s rhetorical power.
Author is
neutral
comments
describes
explains
illustrates
notes
observes
points out
records
relates
reports
says
sees
thinks
writes
Author implies
or suggests
analyzes
asks
assesses
concludes
finds
predicts
proposes
reveals
shows
speculates
suggests
supposes
Author argues
claims
contends
defends
disagrees
holds
insists
maintains
Author is uneasy
or disagrees
disparages
belittles
bemoans
complains
condemns
deplores
deprecates
derides
laments
warns
Author
agrees
admits
agrees
concedes
concurs
grants
Verbs to describe function:
Example:
The uniformity of the lines implies a standardization
or conformity.
evokes
ignites
conveys
implies
changes
enhances
elicits
suggests
conjures up
connotes
alters
manipulates alludes to twists
hints at
creates
depicts
juxtaposes portrays
maintains
explains
elucidates emphasizes
paints
produces
stirs