On the record
When should I use quotations?
 Discussing specific arguments or ideas
- Important to forming counter-arguments
 Giving added emphasis to a particularly
authoritative source on your topic
- Quote an expert
-Harriet Jacobs, a former slave from North
Carolina, published an autobiographical slave
narrative in 1861. She exposed the hardships of
both male and female slaves but ultimately
concluded that "slavery is terrible for men; but it is
far more terrible for women."
When should I use quotations?
 Analyzing how others use language
- Literary analysis
The PB & J Approach
 The words that precede and follow a quotation are just
as important as the quotation itself
 Think of a sandwich, and the quotation/evidence is
the filling
 It needs bread, or it will be messy
Lead in
Evidence
Analysis
Setting up Quotations
 Provide a context for each quotation
Context should set the basic scene (when or where
something happened) or introduce the author
(establish credibility)
 A quote should NEVER stand alone
Embedding Quotations
 Quotations need to be introduced appropriately using
a signal phrase or sentence rather than being
"dropped" into the paragraph with no context.
 A dropped/stand alone quotation is inserted into the
text without any lead in.
 The boy was terrified. “He swore he had just seen an
unholy apparition.”
 Note that the quotation is not linked grammatically
with the preceding sentence. It is standing all alone
and quotations never should.
Ways to Fix Dropped/Hanging
Quotations
Method 1
 Use a full sentence to introduce the quotation.
 Incorrect: The Swede feared for his life. "You are all out
to get me" (Crane 97).
 Correct: The Swede feared for his life: "You are all out
to get me" (Crane 97).
 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 because a comma
would create a comma splice.
Method 1
 When embedding a quotation this way, a colon must
be used! No other form of punctuation will work.
 This method is used to introduce a block quotation or
a quotation that is a full sentence.
Method 1 Examples
 Incorrect: The sergeant's letters affected the girl for a
long time after she read them. “The story haunted her
for days” (135).
 Correct: The sergeant's letters affected the girl for a
long time after she read them: “The story haunted her
for days” (135).
 Incorrect: The boy was terrified. “He swore he had just seen
an unholy apparition” (66).
 Correct: The boy was terrified: “He swore he had just seen
an unholy apparition.”
Method 2
 Use an explanatory sentence to introduce the
quotation.
 Correct: The Swede showed that he feared for his life
when he shouted, “You are all out to get me" (Crane
97). This example combines an explanatory sentence
with the quotation.
Method 2
 The explanatory sentence for this method sets up the
quotation and gives the reader a sense of what is
happening.
 When using this method, make sure the quotation fits
the context of your explanatory sentence.
 To make the quotation fit the context of your lead in,
you may need to add or delete information. See
alterations section.
Method 2 Examples
 Incorrect: The sergeant's letters affected the girl for a
long time after she read them. “The story haunted her
for days” (135).
 Correct: After reading the sergeant's letters, the story
that she found there “haunted her for days.” (135)
 Incorrect: Holden gets frustrated and decides to leave.
"People are always ruining things for you" (Salinger
88).
 Correct: Holden gets frustrated and decides to
leave, claiming that "people are always ruining things
for you" (Salinger 88).
Method 3
 Use a simple "tag" to introduce the quotation.
 Correct: The Swede shouted, "You are all out to get me"
(Crane 97). This example uses a simple "tag" (a
sentence using wrote, said, shouted, remarked, etc.) to
introduce the quotation.
 Beware, using this method can be redundant if you
don’t change which “tag” you use.
Avoid the He Said/She Said
Add
Remark
Exclaim
Announce
Reply
State
Comment
Respond
Estimate
Write
Point out
Predict
Argue
Suggest
Propose
Declare
Criticize
Proclaim
Note
Complain
Opine
Observe
Think
Mention
Maintain
Believes
Feels
Method 3 Examples
 Alexander Ramsey notes, “intelligent political




discourse in this country is almost non-existent.”
My cousin mentioned, “the car is broken.”
“Turn in your homework,” our teacher screamed.
“English is, by far, the best subject,” Mr. Lyon
exclaimed.
She complained that, “no one ever puts their dishes in
the dishwasher.”
Method 4
 Using an expert.
 According to prolific author Stephen King,
“Timid writers like… passive voice [because it] is safe.”
 This is particularly effective in persuasive essays
because it lends credibility to your argument.
 Notable astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson points out,
“The good thing about science is that it's true whether
or not you believe in it.”
The Spice of Life
 Think of these methods like spices in a spice rack: you
wouldn’t cook with only one of them.
 Using only one spice would lead to boring and
predictable dishes
 Vary the ways you introduce quotations or your writing
becomes boring and predictable (see how boring and
predictable that is?)
Citing Sources
 Provide a parenthetical citation (a citation in
parenthesis) for the quotation
 According to some, dreams express "profound aspects
of personality" (Foulkes 184), though others disagree.
 According to Foulkes's study, dreams may express
"profound aspects of personality" (184).
 When Mr. Boeuf fails to materialize at the office,
Papillion assumes he is feigning illness: “if this goes on
I shall fire him. It’s not the first time he’s played me
this trick” (Ionesco 47).
Citing Sources
 It is important to cite any ideas that are not your own
to avoid plagiarism
 You do not need to give sources for familiar proverbs,
well-known quotations or common knowledge
 Use your discretion to decide what is common
knowledge, but cite a source when in doubt.
 Think crunchy PB: The quotation is the nuts and the
citation is the creamy goodness that surrounds it.
Analyzing Quotations
 Explain/Analyze the significance of the quotation
 Reader needs assessment of why the quotation holds
significance
Analyzing Quotations
 Analysis is the most important part of using
quotations or other evidence.
 Quotations are tools: they can’t build anything on their
own.
 It is up to you to build a convincing argument using
the evidence.
 How does this quotation support your argument or
help make your point?
Analyzing Quotations
 Your analysis should be longer than the quotation,
about twice as long (two pieces of bread)
 AVOID OVERUSING QUOTATIONS! They should
only make up about 10% of your essay
One Tasty Sammy
 When Mr. Boeuf fails to materialize at the office,
Papillion assumes he is feigning illness: “If this goes on
I shall fire him. It’s not the first time he’s played me
this trick” (Ionesco 47). Papillion shows no concern for
his worker’s well being; instead he worries about being
tricked. Papillion views his workers not as people but
as commodities. A worker who is not present cannot
be productive and therefore must be replaced.
One Tasty Sammy
 When Mr. Boeuf fails to materialize at the office,
Papillion assumes he is feigning illness: “If this goes on
I shall fire him. It’s not the first time he’s played me
this trick” (Ionesco 47). Papillion shows no concern for
his worker’s well being; instead he worries about being
tricked. Papillion views his workers not as people but
as commodities. A worker who is not present cannot
be productive and therefore must be replaced.
One Tasty Sammy
Perhaps the greatest flaw of teachers is the fact they often do
not teach writing. This idea manifests itself in many different
ways, but as one teacher researcher noted, “[the] challenge is
getting teachers to teach writing rather than merely assign
writing” (Scott 340). Teachers often do not model the writing
process for students. Instead, they detail the parameters
(length, style, etc.) of the assignment to be completed and
show students an example, which is inevitably the best
assignment the instructor has ever received. With no
roadmap to get from what is required to the finished product,
students are expected to gain insights of writing via osmosis
from the excellent example. Needless to say, this is a fruitless
endeavor. Writing is a skill, and as with any other skill,
proficiency is attained through practice; however, students in
the United States are being short changed when it comes to
practicing writing.
One Tasty Sammy
Perhaps the greatest flaw of teachers is the fact they often do
not teach writing. This idea manifests itself in many different
ways, but as one teacher researcher noted, “[the] challenge is
getting teachers to teach writing rather than merely assign
writing” (Scott 340). Teachers often do not model the writing
process for students. Instead, they detail the parameters
(length, style, etc.) of the assignment to be completed and
show students an example, which is inevitably the best
assignment the instructor has ever received. With no
roadmap to get from what is required to the finished product,
students are expected to gain insights of writing via osmosis
from the excellent example. Needless to say, this is a fruitless
endeavor. Writing is a skill, and as with any other skill,
proficiency is attained through practice; however, students in
the United States are being short changed when it comes to
practicing writing.
Alterations
 Use brackets to add information
 Change words to fit sentence structure
 “The Texaco station [just outside Chicago] is one of the
busiest in the nation,” said a company spokesperson.
 “With Scotch patience and pluck [Pudd’nhead Wilson]
resolved to live down his reputation and work his way
into the legal field yet.”
Alterations
 Use an ellipsis to omit information
Original quotation
“It is widely acknowledged that today’s drivers do more than just
drive. Whether the distraction arises from built-in ‘infotainment’
systems or from portable electronic devices brought into the
vehicle, drivers have a wide array of nondriving tasks available to
them at any given time” (Salvucci and Taatgen 67).
Shortened quotation
“It is widely acknowledged that today’s drivers do more than just
drive. . . . [D]rivers have a wide array of nondriving tasks
available to them at any given time” (Salvucci and Taatgen 67).
Alterations
When altering a quotation, avoid
distorting the author’s intended
meaning.
Alterations Gone Crazy
“We are going to get engaged,” Scott Reed, senior
political strategist for the US Chamber of Commerce
(which spent $35.7 million on federal elections in 2012)
told Bloomberg. “The need is now more than ever to
elect people who understand the free market and not
silliness.”
Brad Knickerbocker, Staff writer The Christian Science
Monitor / October 19, 2013
Alterations Gone Crazy
Political strategist Scott Reed noted the importance of
bring humor back to Washington: “The need is now
more than ever to elect people who understand…
silliness.”
Brad Knickerbocker, Staff writer The Christian Science
Monitor / October 19, 2013
Build Your Own Sammy
 Remember, the words (bread) that precede and follow
a quotation (messy deliciousness) are just as important
as the quotation itself
 Don’t make a sandwich without bread
Introduction
Evidence
Analysis