Incorporating Quotations: An In-Depth Tutorial Using a quote in an essay can be an effective way to demonstrate an argument, support a point, or simply give the reader a better idea of what you are talking about. Sometimes, you come across the perfect sentence that presents an argument better than you could articulate. Other times, you find data from a study which helps justify your thesis. Adding these to your essay can make your paper much stronger, but it s easy to fumble with a quote. A poorly integrated quote leaves the reader confused at best and raises concerns of plagiarism at worst. To successfully incorporate the exact words of a source into your essay, it is important to select an appropriate quote, introduce it, cite it, and give an explanation of what it means to you. Selecting a Quote Providing a quote from a reliable source is a powerful means of supporting your point. But, just as it is an ineffective strategy to carpet bomb an enemy to win a war, trying to overwhelm a reader with outside sources will not make your message more convincing. It is best to save quotations for moments that warrant an expert s opinion or a factual justification. In general, no more than 10% of your paper should consist of direct quotes. After all, an essay is meant to reflect your thoughts on a subject, not just echo the ideas of others. Direct quotes are not the only means of referencing another s work; paraphrasing and summarizing are equally effective means of conveying information. But, these are topics for another handout! So, what should you quote? A quote should contain information or insight that is not your own and is not common knowledge. Saying that some people like to listen to sad music does not warrant a citation. However, saying that when people with symptoms of clinical depression listen to sad music it seems to perpetuate cycles of negative thinking will need a citation (Garrido). Once you ve found something you d like to use, you may put it in your essay. Introducing a Quote Dropping a quote into an essay by itself without preparing the reader can be jarring. Before you use a quote, you will need to set it up. Give context regarding who it is from and what it is about. In argumentative essays and scientific papers in particular, this introductory statement helps lend credibility to the quote as you assure the reader that your source is valid. After you introduce the quote, you will need a signal phrase, something that tells the reader when your words end and the quote begins. The signal phrases below are in bold. Examples: - Writing requires more than a basic understanding of grammar. In his memoir On Writing, best-selling author Stephen King argues that writing and reading go hand in hand. He states - A lack of empathy in psychopaths can be measured by physical symptoms according to Cambridge professor of developmental psychopathology Simon Baron-Cohen (2011): - In 1984, George Orwell explains the concept of doublethink as a thought process that Work Cited: Garrido, Sandra. Sad Music and Depression: Does It Help? The Conversation, 12 Oct. 2016, www.theconverstaion.com/sad-music-and-depression-does-it-help-66123.
2 requires one - Hajo Holborn, a former professor of history at Yale University, critiques the political climate of Protestant Germany in the 17 th century as described by Veit Ludwig von Seckendorf, calling it All of these introductions help to prepare the reader for a quote, but how they are structured depends on the audience. In an essay directed toward academic scholars, 1984 needs little introduction, as in the third example. However, if you are writing for an audience that isn t so enthusiastic about literature or you re looking to emphasize someone s credibility, you may need an introduction more like that in the first example. The differences between the signal phrases are purely stylistic, as you will see in the next section. After your quote has been introduced, you can insert the quote and cite it appropriately. Supplying and Citing a Quote There are several ways to insert a quote into an essay, examples of which are shown below, so how you do so will be up to you. No matter what method you use, though, you will need to give an in-text citation that shows where the quote is from. Citations are incredibly important as they give proper credit for the words you are using and the ideas you are conveying. The citation tells the reader where they can find the source of the quote on your Works Cited page, Bibliography, or References, depending on the style you are using. How you cite will depend on your instructor s directions and the type of subject you are writing about. Forgetting to cite, whether deliberately or accidentally, is considered plagiarism by most institutions. Use MLA when writing for the humanities or liberal arts (e. g. English, cultural studies) Writing requires more than a basic understanding of grammar. In his memoir On Writing, best-selling author Stephen King argues that writing and reading go hand in hand. He states, if you don t have time to read, you don t have the time (or the tools) to write (King 147). Use APA format when writing about psychology, education, or other social sciences. A lack of empathy in psychopaths can be measured by physical symptoms according to Cambridge professor of developmental psychopathology Simon Baron-Cohen (2011): GSR measures reveal that psychopaths have reduced autonomic responsiveness (they are less aroused) while looking at pictures of individuals in distress (p. 79). Use Chicago style for the humanities or social sciences if MLA or APA are not recommended. In 1984, George Orwell explains the concept of doublethink as a thought process that requires one to know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies. 1 Use Turabian, a variation of Chicago style, for literature, history, social sciences, and natural science when APA, Chicago, and MLA are not recommended.
3 Hajo Holborn, a former professor of history at Yale University, critiques the political climate of Protestant Germany in the 17th century as described by Veit Ludwig von Seckendorf, calling it a grave mistake to trust Seckendorf s idealistic writings as accurate. 1 In the second example, the signal phrase is nothing more than a colon : placed after a complete sentence. The third example has a more subtle signal phrase, which allows the quote to match the flow of the sentence. In the fourth example, there isn t even a full quote given, only pieces of a quote linked together. Each of these methods accomplish the same goal using different formats. Which one you decide to use depends on what you think will best fit in the sentence you have in mind. In-text citations always come at the end of the sentence, after the quotation marks and before the period. If you mention the name of the author in the same sentence as the quote, you do not typically need to include their name in the citation. Note that all of the above quotes were taken from books with a single author; different resources will have different guidelines. Also, the quotes have been italicized and the citations bolded for your convenience; you would not do this in an essay. For quotes that are longer, or block quotes, see page 5 of this handout. Chicago and Turabian style use footnotes placed at the bottom of the page (which will not be shown here to conserve space) instead of in-text citations. The two are very similar, so be careful not to confuse one with the other. Now that your quote has been set up, delivered, and cited, it is time to explain why you used this quote. Analyzing a Quote Essays are a reflection of your thoughts on a subject. Other people may have a unique way of putting things into words, but it is up to you to interpret these statements for the reader and explain how they are relevant. Even if the correlation is obvious in your mind, always assume the reader hasn t noticed. A thousand people can read the same passage and come to a thousand different conclusions about what the author is trying to say. It is your responsibility to say, in no uncertain terms, what the quote means for your point. He states, if you don t have time to read, you don t have the time (or the tools) to write (King 147). While it is important to know how to construct a good sentence, it is equally important to know how to string sentences together to make a coherent point. The best way to learn this process is by reading the works of others who have done it successfully. GSR measures reveal that psychopaths have reduced autonomic responsiveness (they are less aroused) while looking at pictures of individuals in distress (p. 79). A psychopath that is self-aware of their lack of empathy may find means of cheating a written evaluation of their condition. Physical tests, such as the galvanic skin response measure, can give a more objective look at an individual s mental state. In 1984, George Orwell explains the concept of doublethink as a thought process that requires one to know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while
4 telling carefully constructed lies. 1 These juxtapositions give the reader insight into the key mechanics of a wide-reaching totalitarian government, which we can apply to the modern Chinese regime. calling it a grave mistake to trust Seckendorf s idealistic writings as accurate. 1 In theory, his writings and indeed the way Protestant Germany was run followed Christian principles, but in practice there were much darker contests for power that many propagators of absolutism would overlook. As a general rule of thumb, an explanation for a quote should be at least twice as long as the quote itself. So, if your quote takes up two lines, you will write four lines of analysis or more. The quotes above do not show complete analyses (this handout is long enough as is), but they show how an interpretation or explanation would begin and the gist of how they should be written. Your analysis should always make it clear how the quote relates to your thesis. The format of introducing, citing, and explaining a quote is standard in just about every type of essay. Doing so properly will make your essay more convincing and demonstrate a thorough understanding of your topic. Below are examples of times when the standard process or format will need to be tweaked. Oddities and Exceptions To keep things simple, all of the following examples will be cited in MLA format. Editing Quotes Sometimes, what we want to quote just won t work grammatically with the sentence we want to write. In this case, it is acceptable to make some minor adjustments to the quote, as long as you don t change its meaning. When you want to add or replace words with your own, include your own words in brackets [ ]. Use an ellipses,, if you want to omit a word or words in their entirety. Original quote: Writing and literature classes can be annoyingly preoccupied by (and pretentious about) theme, approaching it as the most sacred of sacred cows, but (don t be shocked) it s really no big deal. Edited quote in essay: Stephen King encourages aspiring writers not to worry about theme in their first drafts, bemoaning how literature classes [approach] it as the most sacred of sacred cows (200). Do not start or end a quotation with an ellipses. Even if you start your quote in the middle of the original text, you do not need to show that with an ellipses. Quoting Poetry Quoting and citing poetry is slightly different than prose. When quoting poetry, you would divide separate lines with a / and then cite using line numbers rather than page numbers. The
5 first time you quote a poem, the citation should include the word lines. For every quote after this, you can exclude lines as the reader will understand what the numbers represent. The narrator of The Raven tries and fails to comfort himself, proclaiming On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before. / Then the bird said Nevermore (Poe lines 59-60). When there are quotation marks within the quotation, use a single quotation mark for the inner quotes. Most citing styles quote poetry in a similar way. When quoting more than three lines of poetry, you will need to use a block quote. Block Quotes Block quotes are needed when you are citing a large passage. For most styles, a block quote is recommended when the passage is at least 40 words long or four lines long in the case of poetry. After introducing a block quote, place a colon : and start a new line. Indent an inch from the margin and add the quote without using quotation marks. The citation should go at the very end of the quoted passage after the final punctuation. Stephen King discusses the importance of consistency and perseverance when writing: There is a muse, but he s not going to come fluttering down into your writing room and scatter creative fairy-dust all over your typewriter or computer station. He s a basement guy. You have to descend to his level, and once you get down there you have to furnish an apartment for him to live in. (King 144) When quoting two or more paragraphs, indent each paragraph another quarter inch. For poetry, try to keep the formatting as close to the original as possible. Further Reading: Despite its length, this guide does not cover every aspect of incorporating quotations. Check out our many other helpful Writing Center resources related to quotation, source integration, and citation! Created Fall 2016 by Ronald Wilson