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English 1220
Writing Workshop
Dropped Quotations (DQ)
Dropped quotations are those quotations that appear in the middle of your paper without
being introduced. In order to transition into your quotation smoothly, avoid dropped
quotations in your writing. If you start your sentence without explaining who's speaking,
then the effect on the reader can be jarring. You want to eliminate that kind of confusion
as much as possible.
References:
LWP: pgs. 26-27, pgs. 82-85
Handbook Ch. 16-19
Student Example of DQ:
Manley Pointer would not leave Hulga alone about seeing her leg and showing him how
to take it off and put it back on. “Show me where your wooden leg joins on.” (196)
Why is this confusing to readers?
How do we fix this?
Fix #1: Using a complete sentence to introduce quotation
Manley Pointer is very intrigued by Hulga’s wooden leg: “Show me where your wooden
leg joins on” (196.)
The colon links the preceding sentence with the quotation. Because both parts of this
example are complete sentences, the colon (not the comma) is the appropriate mark to
link them.
Fix #2: Using an explanatory sentence to introduce the quotation
Manley Pointer shows that he is very intrigued by Hulga’s wooden leg when he asks her,
“Show me where your wooden leg joins on” (196.)
This example combines an explanatory sentence with the quotation.
Fix #3: Using a tag to introduce the quotation
Manley Pointer is very intrigued by Hulga’s wooden leg. He asks, “Show me where your
wooden leg joins on” (196.)
Another example of a DQ:
The narrator states, “We are all damned,” she said, “but some of us have taken off our
blindfolds and see that there’s nothing to see. It’s a kind of salvation.” (196). Pointer is a
prime example of seeing through Hulga’s mental wall and working around her to
manipulate her Manipulation has always been a primal instinct.
Fix #4: Integrate Quote into your sentence by using the word “that”
Hulga tells her mother, “We are all damned” (196). She adds that “some of us have taken
off our blindfolds and see that there’s nothing to see” (196).
or
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Hulga tells her mother that “we are all damned” (196). She continues, “but some of us
have taken off our blindfolds and see that there’s nothing to see. It’s a kind of salvation”
(196).
Fix #5: Weave a word or phrase from the quotation into you own sentence
Hulga’s nihilist outlook leads her to believe that everyone is “dammed” ; she contends
that some individuals see the world more clearly because they have removed their
“blindfolds” (196).
Student Examples of quoted phrases
Hulga’s birth name of Joy did little to represent the “bloated, rude, and squint-eyed”
woman that she had grown to be (O’Conner 188).
Manly is not even an adopted name of his, he used “a different name at every house”
(198).
When integrating quotations, you must be consistent with tense. You still must create a
sentence that correctly punctuated.
Hulga’s birth name of Joy does little to represent the “bloated, rude, and squint-eyed”
woman that she had become (O’Connor 188).
Manley is not even his actual name; he explains to Hulga that he uses “a different name
at every house” (198).
Here
are some signal words you can use to eliminate dropped quotations:
Acknowledges
Comments
Describes
Insists
Responds
Adds
Compares
Disputes
Maintains
Reveals
Admits
Concludes
Emphasizes
Notes
Says
Agrees
Concedes
Endorses
Observes
Shows
Argues
Confirms
Finds
Points
out
Suggests
Asserts
Considers
Endorses
Predicts
Thinks
Believes
Contends
Grants
Refutes
Warns
Claims
Declares
Illustrates
Reports
Writes
Denies
Implies
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Quotations do not speak for themselves; we use them in order to develop an argument.
Therefore, in addition to properly introducing, contextualizing, and punctuating
quotations, you must always show how the quotation is connected to your argument.
So, in this example, we are left wondering how the quote about Mrs. Freeman is
connected to the writer’s claim about nihilism. We also wonder why the quotation about
the name change is present.
Hulga has a nihilist view towards life that she believes in nothing and no reason to be
polite or to care for anyone. From that comes in Hulga’s negative remarks and actions.
Like when Hulga gives “Mrs. Freeman would take on strange resentments (from Hulga)”
(187) and how Hulga changed her name from Joy to Hulga as “Mrs Hopewell was certain
that she (Hulga) had thought and thought until she hit upon the ugliest name in any
language” (187) as a way to make her mother feel bad. Then the walk with the bible
salesman, Mainly Pointer, showed Hulga the ugliness in Nihilism.
The quotations that you choose to insert must match your purpose.
So, in keeping with the above topic of how Hulga’s nihilism may contribute to the way
she interacts with others around her, something like this would be more fitting:
Hulga has a nihilistic outlook on life. She claims that she believes in nothing, and thus
her beliefs affect the way she interacts with the people around her. Her actions seem to be
motivated by the idea that if she has nothing to gain in life, then she also has nothing to
lose. Hulga alienates herself from her mother and from Mrs. Freeman; she goes out of her
way to be rude and inconsiderate. For example, the narrator explains that Hulga
continuously “[stumps]” around the kitchen despite her ability to “walk without making
the awful noise” (188).
You should not insert quotations merely for the purpose of providing readers with plot
details or description.
Hulga goes about his attitude through the entire narrative; until a young gentlemen by the
name of Manly Pointer, comes by with nothing but good intentions and selling bibles to
spread the word of God. “He was now nineteen years old and he had been selling Bibles
for four months. In that time he sold seventy-seven Bibles and had the promise of two
more sales. He wanted to become a missionary because he thought that it was the way
you could do most for people” (191) invited in to the house, he tells his story form
childhood til recent age.
Creating Quotation Sandwiches every time
Bread: Introduction
Meat: Quote
Bread: Analysis of quote/link to your argument
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You also need to make sure that the claims we make about the text are supported with
evidence from the text.
Many people in the story shy away from the fact that this troubled girl did not have a
normal childhood compared to most children. The incident with her leg has caused Hulga
to feel bitter about the world, as well as feeling like God was not watching over her when
a hunter shot off her leg. Therefore, explaining why she is an Atheist and refuses to allow
her mother to keep a Bible anywhere in their house.
Issues of Formality (LWP pgs. 63-64)
 Freeman symbolizes how she speaks freely and really does not have a seal for her
mouth.
 Lastly, we have our final character of the story, and who can be viewed solely as
the antagonist, Pointer Manley.
 Yes, O’Conner did have names that symbolized who the character was and what
the character was all about; however, he would through in a curve ball.
 Her name fits her personality like a glove.
Paragraphs/Thesis Statements/Topic Sentences
First sentence of essay
In Flannery O’Conner’s short story “Good Country People” , a young man who
goes house to house soliciting with bibles is a phony and is actually against what he is
selling.
Introductory paragraph
In “Good Country People” (1955) by Flannery O’Connor, the names given to the
lead characters at first seem just like ordinary names. It is not until you get a few pages
into the story, when you realize that the names given to these characters play a significant
role in describing their individual personalities and what the names symbolizes. The
mother, Mrs. Hopewell, and the daughter, Joy/Hulga, are two very complex characters.
The names, Mrs. Hopewell and Joy/Hulga play an interesting role when analyzing the
“mother/daughter” dynamic in this story.
What are the characteristics of an effective thesis statements and introductions?
LWP pgs. 23-25, 140
142-143
First line of body paragraph:
 Joy-Hulga is thirty-two years old and is so sick that she is forced to live with her
mother, Mrs. Hopewell.

Mrs. Freeman works for the Hopewell’s as a tenant farmer.
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Sample Body Paragraph:
Manly Pointer has very manly features not only physically but in the way he acts
as well. When he is first introduced into the story his is nothing but a gentleman. He is
only trying to do his job and sell bibles. At the end of the story he completely changes the
way he acts and ends up being a thief that steals prosthetic body parts from young
women. He is very assertive the whole time but never trying to be rude which is like a
man.
Sample Conclusions
Lastly, Hulga’s artificial leg is continually talked about throughout “Good
Country People.” It says multiple times how it got blasted off while she was hunting, how
she walks around and how some characters are obsessed with her leg. The reader may be
able to notice that the fake leg is a symbol seeing as it is one of the main objects of this
story and how all the characters react with the leg.
The use of irony in the names of the characters is a very clever way that
O’Connor keeps the readers guessing and also creates a deeper meaning in her story that
keeps the reader thinking long after they have put it down.
What are the characteristics of an effective conclusion?
LWP pgs. 25-26, 165-166
Sample Titles
Saying and Doing Are Two Different Things
Names Are More Than Just a Coincidence
A Misleading Name
Other Issues
Use active voice: LWP pages 61-62
Do not evaluate the text: The words “interesting,” “brilliant,” “good,” and other
qualitative terms mean nothing. Do not use them. Instead, ask yourself what you
specifically mean by interesting, and how does the work achieve that effect?
Don’t be generic or write empty sentences.
All stories have some kind of hidden meaning for the reader to grasp.
The story is full of interesting symbolism.
The story explains that nobody is perfect in life.