BA6: Integrating
Quotations
Tips For Success
Assignment Specifics
 Choose 3 passages (at least 5 sentences each) that make
use of quotes, summaries, and paraphrases.
 Revise each.
 Discuss your changes.
 Format:
 For each passage:
 Original
 evaluation of original: purpose of sources, reliance of sources,
how might you integrate
 Revised
 evaluation of revised: how have changes enhanced the quality
of your argument?
Quoting
 When to do it:
 When you want to preserve specific wording.
 For example, clear language
 When the phrasing/diction is dynamic and interesting.
 When you want the authority of an expert whose opinions
support your ideas.
 When you want the opinion of an expert who challenges your
ideas.
 Avoid LONG quotes. You want short and snappy. If you think
it’s all good stuff, paraphrase instead.
Integrated Quotes: What They
Look Like
 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).
 Is it possible that dreams may express "profound aspects
of personality" (Foulkes 184)?
Brackets
 Use brackets to add/change words:
 Past to present tense
 Change pronouns
 Insert clarifications
 Jan Harold Brunvand, in an essay on urban legends,
states, "some individuals [who retell urban legends] make
a point of learning every rumor or tale" (78).
Ellipses
 Use ellipses when you omit words from the middle of the
quote.
 There is no need to use ellipses at the end or the beginning
of the quote.
 In an essay on urban legends, Jan Harold Brunvand notes
that "some individuals make a point of learning every
recent rumor or tale . . . and in a short time a lively
exchange of details occurs" (78).
The Quotation Sandwich
Integrating Quotes Fully
 Beer Drinking Example:
 http://uwc.ucf.edu/files/handouts/Integrating_Quotations
_MLA.pdf
Paraphrasing
 When to Do it:
 The details are important, but not necessarily the phrasing or
diction.
 How to Do it:
 Put the passage in your own words
 Match in length (or shorten slightly)
 Cite it!
When to Summarize
 When to Do it:
 The main point is important, but not the details, and
certainly not the phrasing or diction.
 How to Do it:
 Shorten/condense
 Include only main points
 Cite it!
Examples
 Original: Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes,
and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper.
Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as
directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the
amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes.
 From: Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976): 46-47.
 Paraphrase:In research papers students often quote excessively,
failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the
problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to
minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47).
 Summary: Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation
from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a
research paper (Lester 46-47).
Example: Paraphrase & Quotes
 In his famous and influential work The Interpretation of
Dreams, Sigmund Freud argues that dreams are the "royal
road to the unconscious" (26-7), expressing in coded
imagery the dreamer's unfulfilled wishes through a
process known as the "dream-work" (27). According to
Freud, actual but unacceptable desires are censored
internally and subjected to coding through layers of
condensation and displacement before emerging in a kind
of "rebus puzzle" in the dream itself (27-8).