Embedding Quotations and
Using Textual Support
Ms Alexander
AP/IB English 3
Since I don’t like repeating myself over
and over…here are some GOOD
examples for you all. This is what it
means to “use textual support,” “use
evidence,” and “support your
argument/point with proof from the
text.” See it. Get it. Do it.
Using a complete and
unaltered quotation:
• Examples:
In Antigone, Tiresias confronts Creon and
says, “Pay the dead his due. Wound not the
fallen. It is no glory to kill and kill again.”
(153)
Creon bluntly states, “When do I take orders
from the people of Thebes? I am king, and
responsible only to myself.”
Using a phrase or phrases as a
part of your original sentence:
Antigone was simply doing what she saw as the
right thing and trying to obey the “written
unalterable laws of God and heaven,” even
though it went against the law of the land.
It is not by curiosity, but by pure pride that
Oedipus continues on his quest for answers
of the past, for he claims to “pursue his trail
to the end,” only wanting to prove that he is
capable of it, uninterested in what lies at the
end.
Using Ellipsis to shorten a quote or
make it fit with your sentence:
• Tiresias says to Oedipus, “…brother, as it is
shown, and father at once, to the children he
cherishes…father killer and father
supplanter.”
“The…law.”
• This all came about as a result of another
issue of pride: “The leader roughly ordered
me out of the way…and I struck him, for I
was angry.”
Quoting just words in a
list:
Lamb also capitalizes the words “Journey,” “Lighted,”
“Town,” “Sun,” “Life,” and “Mind” to give them
importance. He states that London holds “so much
life,” further emphasizing the excitement of the city
and providing a stark contrast to the “dead nature”
that Wordsworth and his fellow romantics love.
Lamb uses possessive repetition to separate his and
Wordsworth’s very different lifestyles. He repeats
“your” when discussing Wordsworth’s nature. “Your
mountaineers,” “your sun…” while talking about his
materialized objects like bookcases.
Referencing the line, sentence, or
paragraph to introduce the support:
• In the sentence “The lighted shops…power of
satiating me,” Lamb runs one sentence on
for eight lines. Within this sentence, he
displays…
• “Within the lengthy sentence in lines 4-13,
Lamb exclaims he has “formed intense local
attachments to…the innumerable trade,
coaches, wagons, playhouses, [and] the
crowds…”
Explanation is KEY
• Make sure to EXPLAIN the significance of a quote,
phrase, or support—don’t just throw it in without
thorough discussion/explanation.
Example…
• "From you; bird lore and god-craft all were
silent. Until I came-I, ignorant Oedipus
came-and stopped the riddler's mouth,
guessing the truth by mother wit, not birdlore." In this mocking statement he not only
dismisses the seer's abilities, but also boasts
about his own. Sophocles' careful use of
syntax reveals Oedipus' pride and
arrogance. His emphasis on “I,” when
speaking about himself, changes the tone of
the statement from contemptuous to
conceited.
Example…
• "It is against you and me he has made this
order." Antigone tells Ismene of the injustice
against their family. She is constantly
preserving the reputation of her family to
downplay the shame which was brought
upon it. This depicts Antigone's pride in
herself alone because she considers Creon's
orders personally insulting. Furthermore, it
is this abiding pride which causes Antigone
to be insensitive to the reasons as to why
Ismene will not cooperate in burying their
brother.
Not-so-good examples…
Referencing text without using
direct quotations or evidence
4
Lamb’s letter is surrounded with long, lengthy
details to clarify why he won’t accept the
invite. For example, in lines 5-8, Lamb
explains the lifestyle in the country, and with
the use of a dash, his last point is
emphasized.
No textual support
5
The sentences describing the country are
straight, short and to the point,
composed with nothing more than the
basic one-syllable words and a period…
No textual support
• 5 – full paragraph
In addition, Lamb uses details to show the
dullness of nature. When he describes the
city he uses a plethora of detail. He does this
to illustrate to the reader that the city has “a
lot to offer.” The lack of detail for nature
emphasizes that nature can’t offer anything
or give as much as the city can. It also shows
that the city is more exciting that nature.
Using quotes/textual support without
analyzing the importance or effect of it
• 5
• He [Lamb] shows a high contrasting point
between people of London and people like
hopeless Romantic Wordsworth as Lamb
states “…I have formed many intense local
attachments as any of your mountaineers
with dead nature.” In London, with the
hustle and “bustle and wickedness” that
occurs daily. [end paragraph]
Using quotations for
summary – no analysis
4
Lamb describes the “Journey” to Cumberland
as “desperate,” nature as “dead,” life in the
city as “awake,” London as a pantomime and
masquerade that “feeds” him, Wordsworth’s
emotions as “rural,” states he doesn’t envy
but should “pity” Wordsworth, and the
objects of the city as “visible.”