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Integrating Quotations

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Integrating Quotations. Some General Tips. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: Integrating Quotations
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It is wise to avoid placing direct quotes in the parts of your paper where you state and restate your thesis—the introduction, topic sentences, and conclusion. Even though it may seem like the perfect place to put that "cool" quote, think twice about it, because quotes are best used to support your own analysis.

You will not wish to begin or end your paper with someone else's words, or make it appear as if all the major points in your essay came from someone else. It is best to try to use short quotes in your essay, rather than simply filling space with many long quotes. It is also essential to spend time analyzing the quotes you put into your paper.  

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Meticulous accuracy is also essential when using quotations. Change nothing from your source without indicating that you've done so—not spelling, not capitalization, not paragraph structure. (Exceptions are below.) Like the rest of your paper, your quotations and how you use them should make sense.

If you quote part of another work, it needs to make sense within the body of your paper. The quotation also needs to make sense in terms of syntax (with complete sentences, grammar, mechanics, and so forth). In other words, the quotation—as with the rest of your text—must be clear in terms of both content and form.

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When quoting from the story, make sure you include a page number in parentheses with each quote. Notice that the quotation marks come before the parentheses and that the period comes afterwards. Also notice that there isn't a "p." or "pg." with the page number in parentheses. Finally, notice that it is generally not necessary to include the name of the author of the primary text if it is a work assigned to the class as a whole.

Example: Miss Emily has many relationship to the townspeople, including "a tradition, a duty, and a care" (469).

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Notice that the first time you use an author's name, use their complete name (Raymond Carver). After that, you may simple use their last name (Carver).

Example: In"Postmodernism, or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism," Marxist theorist Fredric Jameson notes....

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You may choose to integrate short phrases from the work into your sentence.

Example: The ritualistic and primitive nature of the event is suggested in Old Man Warner's repetition of the saying "Lottery in June, corn be here soon" (705).

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Integrate quotes into your sentence by using a colon. Remember, a colon introduces a complete sentence.

Example: Paul conflates luck with money: "I thought when Uncle Oscar said filthy lucker, it meant money" (874).

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ELLIPSES

Ellipses are three dots { . . . } to indicate you have eliminated some words from the quotation. Note that there is a space between each dot.

Example: M. Loisel's life also changes because of this need to keep her secret: "He compromised all the rest of his life...to get the new necklace" (980).

When you use short quotes or singular words, no ellipses are necessary unless you leave something out in the middle of the quote. Also, do not use ellipses to indicate that you have left out the beginning of a sentence; only missing words from the end or somewhere in the middle of a sentence need to be indicated with ellipses. The same applies to eliminated sentences in between other (parts of) sentences.

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CHANGING OR ADDING WORDS

When you're quoting a line as part of your own sentence, you may alter or omit the closing punctuation of that line to make compatible with your own sentence's punctuation. For instance, you may insert a period where there was none if your sentence should end, or omit a period from the original if your sentence continues.

Original: "They look like white elephants," she said.

Example: The unspoken subject of their conversation is implied in Jig's line, "They look like white elephants" (653).

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Use brackets to indicate any changes you make to quotations in order to integrate them with the style or clarity of your sentences (for reasons of pronouns, verb tense, capitalization, or comprehension).

Original: Her knees were tumors on sticks, her elbows chicken bones.

Example: The horror and seriousness of the situation is quickly detailed by vivid imagery: "[Stella's] knees were tumors on sticks, her elbows chicken bones" (1137).

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Be careful of changing too much within such a short quotation. This tends to make the quotation awkward. In general, if you have to change more than two items in a short quotation, it's better to find another way to write it. Another option is to paraphrase the quote (see below).

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Particularly when quoting literature (instead of secondary sources), using the most effective part of a quotation as part of one of your own sentences will result in a stronger style. Instead of quoting the entire piece, use more of your own text.

Instead of: To describe Arnold Friend, Oates says, "He spoke in a simple lilting voice, exactly as if he were reciting the words to a song" (1057).

Example: Oates describes Arnold Friend's voice as "lilting...as if he were reciting the words to a song" (1057).

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