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Deborah Long
General Guidelines
Use quotations to support a point
you have made.
Avoid using too many quotations
or unnecessarily long ones.
Make sure that your quotes
provide critical analysis.
Do Not Use Quotations That . . .
1. reiterate or summarize plot.
Ex. “Walton and Frankenstein
meet in the mysterious white
world of the ice-bound Arctic”
(Goldberg 277).
2. state fact.
Ex. “Mary Shelley was only
nineteen when she wrote
Frankenstein” (Abbey 245).
Do Not Use Quotations that. . .
3. come from an unacceptable source.
Ex. According to my mother,
“Frankenstein is a wonderful horror
story.”
Ex. Cliff’s Notes say, “Frankenstein
has stirred the imagination of
generations of readers (16).”
Which quotes are acceptable
for literary analysis?
1. “Frankenstein suggests yet another
analogy. It teaches the tragic results of
attainment when an impetuous irresistible
passion hurries on the soul to its doom”
(Nitchie 270).
2. “Mary Shelly was only nineteen when she
wrote Frankenstein” (Moore 262).
3. “The whole story is but the elaboration of
the embarrassment and dangers which
flow from departure from the ordinary
course of nature” (Rossetti 267).
X
All quotes must be introduced or
integrated.
►Introduced Quote:
Critic Richard Horne asserts, “The
monster created by Frankenstein is
also an illustration of the embodied
consequences of our actions” (261).
►Integrated Quote: More than
anything else the novel functions as
“an illustration of the embodied
consequences of our actions” (Horne
261).
Quote That Is Not Introduced
or Integrated (error)
Frankenstein shows what happens when man
forgets his responsibility to his fellow
man. “The monster created by
Frankenstein is also an illustration of the
embodied consequences of our actions”
(Horne 261).
Incorrect use of the quote—not introduced or
integrated.
Introducing Quotes--1
You may introduce a quote with a verb
such as “says,” but you should also look
for other verbs that add variety (i. e.
“comments,” “notes,” “asserts,” “claims”).
Example:
Robert Walton claims, “I had rather die
than return shamefully,--my purpose
unfulfilled” (Shelley 160).
Note: If you introduce with a verb, you must
put a comma after the verb.
Introducing Quotes--2
You may also introduce a quote with a
sentence and a colon.
Example:
Robert Walton reveals his unbridled
ambition when he discusses the prospect
of abandoning his journey: “I had rather
die than return shamefully,--my purpose
unfulfilled” (Shelley 160).
Caution: Do not use a colon unless the
words before it constitute a complete
sentence and the quote is a logical
support for that sentence.
Capitalization Rules for
Introducing Quotes
☀ Capitalization rules require that all introduced
quotes begin with a capital letter. If your
quote does begin with a capital letter, you do
not have to change anything.
☀ If your quote does not begin with a capital
letter and you are introducing it, you must
change lower case to upper case. Anytime
you make any changes to a direct quotation,
you must use brackets [ ] to show that you
have made a change. (See examples on next
slide)
EXAMPLES
Elizabeth Nitchie observes, “The monster
himself is the earliest creation of Mary’s
and is probably her best, most subtle, most
perceptive characterization” (275). (Quote
began with a capital letter.)
Elizabeth Nitchie observes, “[T]he
earliest creation of Mary’s . . . is probably
her best, most subtle, most perceptive
characterization” (275).
• Note: We will discuss the ellipses later in the presentation.
Integrating Quotes
Integrating the quote means making
the quoted material part of your own
writing.
Example: The novel illustrates “the
embodied consequences of our
actions” in the form of the monster
himself (Horne 261).
Mechanics for Integrating
Quotes
When you integrate a quote, you are
making it part of your sentence; as a
result, you may have to make some
changes in the quote itself. The next
2 slides show changes that are
sometimes necessary when the quote
is integrated.
1. Capitalization
Integrated quotes may require that a capital letter be
put in lower case.
Example: He evokes our sympathy because
“[t]he monster has the perception and desire
of goodness, but . . . is delivered over to evil”
(Birkhead 266).
Note: The position of “the” in the sentence does not
require a capital letter, but it was capitalized in the
original quote.
2. Change in Verb Tense or
in Person
Because the integrated quote is part of your own
sentence, you may have to change verb tenses
and/or person in order to maintain
consistency.
Quote: “The forms of the beloved dead flit
before me, and I hasten to their arms” (Shelley
162).
Integrated: Victor confides to Walton that “[t]he
forms of the beloved dead flit before [him],
and [he] hasten[s] to their arms” (Shelley
162).
Parenthetical Documentation
• If the author of the quote is not
identified in the text, place author
and page number of the quote in
parenthesis after the sentence but
before the period.
• If the author is identified in the text,
you need put only the number of the
page on which you found the quote.
Quote within a Quote
When you are quoting someone who is
quoting someone else (most dialog in
books), you show that yours is a quote
within a quote by using a single quotation
mark inside the double quotation marks.
• Example: The narrator sadly recalls
Frankenstein’s last words: “‘ Farewell,
Walton! Seek happiness in tranquility and
avoid ambition’” (Shelley 162).
3. Using Ellipses
Sometimes it is desirable to leave out
part of a quote. When you do so, you
must use an ellipses to show where
you have left out the words.
“The monster . . . is also an illustration
of the embodied consequences of our
actions” (Horne 271). (See Whole Quote)
More on Ellipses
“The monster created by
Frankenstein is also an
illustration of the embodied
consequences of our actions”
(Horne 261).

In the previous slide the ellipses take
the place of “created by Frankenstein,”
the words left out.
More on Ellipses
Mechanics
 Ellipses are typed with a space between
each period (. . .)
 Ellipses are not necessary at the beginning
of your quote.
 Ellipses are necessary if you take words
out of the middle of the quote and if you
end the introduced quote before the end of
a sentence.
• Note: MLA no longer requires brackets
around your inserted ellipses, but they
may be used if you wish or if your teacher
requires them.
Long Quotations
Setting In
• In general you should avoid long
quotations, but if you do use a
quotation longer than 4 lines (on your
page), you must indent (2 tabs).
• When you indent a quotation, you do
not use quotation marks unless the
quote is a quote within a quote.
Avoiding Long Quotations
Paraphrase the material: You might decide
that you want to use the ideas of the critic
but want to put the ideas in your own words.
The paraphrase is the same length or longer
than the original.
Summarize the material: You might
summarize the material when you need to
say in a sentence or two what the author has
said in a paragraph or two. The summary is
shorter than the original.
 With a paraphrase or a summary you do not use
quotation marks; however, the information must be
introduced and must have documentation
afterwards.
Caution
Separating your sentence with a quotation
longer than three or four words confuses
your reader.
Example of Awkward Separation
When Robert Walton says, “Great God! what
a scene has just taken place! I am yet dizzy
With the remembrance of it,” he is referring
to his first sight of Frankenstein’s creature
(Shelley 162).
Quoting Poetry
Quoting poetry is somewhat different from
quoting prose.
If you quote more than one line of poetry,
you need to use a slash mark (/) to show
where the line breaks are.
Example. As he is dying, Beowulf says, “I
sold my life / For this treasure, and I
sold it well” (806-07) .
Punctuation is space / space.
Line #’s
Quoting Poetry
When you are quoting poetry, you
set in more than 3 lines (2 tabs).
When you set the lines in, you
type the poetry exactly as it
appears on the page; therefore,
you will not need the slash marks
because you are showing the line
breaks.
A Final Word
Quotes are used for support of points
you are making. Make sure that they
do indeed support the points and that
they are smoothly woven into your
writing. You may need to follow the
quote with some explanation, but do
not insult your reader by simply
telling him what the quote says.