Integrating Quotes into a Research Paper
Using Signal Phrases
1. Avoid dropping quotations into the text without warning; instead, provide a clear
signal phrase.
In the barn with Lennie, the words of Curley’s wife “tumbled out in a passion of
communication” (Steinbeck 88).
In a desperate attempt to hide the truth, “Candy repeated sullenly, ‘Got it caught
in a machine’ ” (Steinbeck 78).
2. Note in the second example how to quote within a quote.
3. When quoting from a secondary source, you may also choose to use a lead-in phrase.
Some common lead-ins are listed below:
According to Warren French,
According to Novels for Students,
Warren French comments,
One critic suggests that
One critic observes,
4. When your signal phrase includes a verb, choose one that is appropriate in context:
acknowledges
compares
admits
agrees
argues
asserts
believes
claims
comments
grants
confirms
contends
declares
denies
disputes
emphasizes
endorses
refutes
illustrates
implies
insists
notes
observes
points out
reasons
states
rejects
reports
responds
suggests
thinks
writes
adds
confesses
exclaims
shouts
cries
Quote Chunks
You do not always have to use a complete sentence. Sometimes you might want to use
part of a statement or just a unique phrase.
a. In John Steinbeck: Modern Critical Views, Leo Gurko describes Curley as “the
closest thing to a villain in the book” (36).
b. One critic contends that Curley is “the closest thing to a villain in the book”
(Gurko 36).
c. Crooks scornfully rejects the idea of the dream, declaring that “nobody never
gets to heaven and nobody gets no land” (Steinbeck 74).
Long Quotations (Avoid for this paper, but here’s how!)
When your quote takes more than four lines, you must set off the quote from the rest of
the text.
a. Indent the entire quote ten spaces.
b. Use a normal right margin and double spacing.
c. Do not enclose the quote in quotation marks.
d. Put the period before the parenthesis.
e. The quotation must be introduced with a complete, informative sentence,
followed by a colon.
Example:
At the conclusion of Lord of the Flies, Ralph and the other boys realize the horror of their
actions:
The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them
now for the first time on the island; great shuddering spasms of grief that
seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke;
… and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and
sob too. (Golding 186)
Using the Ellipsis Mark
To condense a quoted passage, you can use the ellipsis mark (3 periods with spaces in
between) to indicate you have omitted words or sentences. The sentence that remains
must be grammatically correct.
Frustrated by her rejection, she declares, “ ‘If I catch any one man alone, I get along fine
with him. But just let two of the guys get together an’ you won’t talk. . . . Ever’ one of
you’s scared the rest is goin’ to get something on you’ ” (Steinbeck 77).
Using Brackets
Brackets (square parenthesis [ ] ) allow you to insert words of your own into quoted
material to explain a confusing reference or to keep a sentence grammatically correct.
For example, sometimes when you use quote chunks, you must change the “I” in a quote
to “he” or “she” to make the quote read smoothly into your sentence.
Crooks tells Candy that their “comin’ in an’ settin’ made [him] forget” (Steinbeck 82).