Quoting Made Easy

Most of your essay is in your own words, but you use quotes to:

•Back up your own thinking

•Illustrate your own thinking

•Prove that your analysis or conclusions are correct

You can actually follow a very simple pattern:

•The intro generally will not have a quote in it – it will be entirely your own words

•After that, you’ll start every paragraph with your own words

•Then, for possibly the second or third sentence of each paragraph, you can use a well-integrated quote to illustrate or prove the topic sentence of that paragraph

•And finally, you can close off each paragraph with a reflection of your own showing how that quote worked to support your point.

Let’s back up a bit:

How do you know what to quote?

Rule One: quote sparingly

• Limit the majority of quotes to one sentence or less

•If you have something that is longer, break it up with signal phrases and author tags, so the reader knows why you are quoting it.

“Xxx xxx xxxx,” the author wrote, offering justification for his actions. “Xxx xxx xxxx,” he added (page #).

Rule 2: quote just the good stuff

• memorable statements

•especially clear explanations stated by authorities

•controversial arguments in the speaker’s or writer’s own words

•Note: If it is important but not memorable or lacks clarity, you should summarize it or paraphrase it in your own words rather than directly quote it.

For example:

•The following is a quote by Martin Luther King, Jr., made during his “I Have a Dream” speech.

“We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Let’s check it:

“We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Is it brief? Not too long and not too short?

Is it memorable? Does it stand out as something quote-worthy?

Now, where and when should we use it?

•Only quotes that directly support some aspect of your thesis should be used.

All quotations must be tied to text! Do not simply sprinkle them in like confetti.

With which of these theses/topics should we use this quote?

1. MLK’s experience as a preacher allowed him to reach out to people of all races and inspire them to fight for civil rights.

2. MLK’s use of powerful rhetoric, figurative language and imagery attracted many to listen to his message of equal rights for all.

3. MLK’s organizational strategies, learned during the Selma, Alabama, bus boycotts, made the March on Washington a success.

Here’s the quote used in context.

Midway into his famous “I have a Dream” speech before 100,000 rapt listeners on the Washington Mall, King explained his dissatisfaction with the civil rights gains to date. He detailed a litany of unjust public behavior towards African-Americans, ranging from police brutality to disenfranchisement at the voting both. “We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream,” he sang out in his preacher’s voice (304). It was this stunning metaphor of running water and others like it that catapulted King into national respect and prominence.

Now, remember the topics for Bless Me Ultima?

• Loss of innocence

• Morality

• Identity

For which of these topics would you use the following quotes?

• “She understood that as I grew, I would have to choose to be my mother’s priest or my father’s son." (41)

• “But how could the blessing of Ultima be like the whirlwind? Was the power of good and evil the same?” (55)

• "'Hell, Andy,' Gene said softly, 'we can't build our lives on their dreams. We're men, Andy, we're not boys any longer. We can't be tied down to old dreams-'" (p. 68).

Stop here.

Let’s review:

What to quote and when to quote it

Rules for quoting:

• Use shorter quotes of 1 sentence or less.

• Choose quotes that are……memorable…concisely written…supportive of your thesis

• Well-integrated into the essay

Well-integrated? What does this mean?

• It means that the quotes are not all alone in the middle of your paragraph.

• Do not use quotes in an essay without explaining why they are important!

A well-integrated quote is a lot like a sandwich:

•On top you have a sentence that is your own thought and summary, setting the context for the quote that you intend to use to prove or illustrate your point.

• Then you have the quote (with author tag/signal phrase) to back up your thought.

• Then on the bottom you have a sentence of your own that reflects back on the quote.

How do we do it? Answer these questions.

• Who said this?

• In what context?

• What does it mean?

•How can we use this to support the thesis?

• When you can answer these, you will be able to INTRODUCE, CONTEXTUALIZE, & INTEGRATE the quote into your argument. Smooth integration is the mark of a mature writer and makes a paper flow.

For example:

King brought the crowd to a cheering roar like the sound of a great waterfall when he asserted that the promise of Abraham Lincoln’s “Emancipation Proclamation” had not yet been fulfilled. “One hundred years later, the Negro is still anguished in the corners of American Society and finds himself in exile in his own land,” he stated (303). King noted that the purpose of the giant gathering on the Mall was to illustrate the exact conditions across the South that make the Negro feel like exiles.

For example:King brought the crowd to a cheering roar like the sound of a great waterfall when he asserted that the promise of Abraham Lincoln’s “Emancipation Proclamation” had not yet been fulfilled. “One hundred years later, the Negro is still anguished in the corners of American Society and finds himself in exile in his own land,” he stated (303). King declared that the purpose of the massive gathering on the Mall was to illustrate the exact conditions across the South that still make the Negro feel like exiles, sometimes little better than slaves.

CONTEXT QUOTE REFLECTION TO THESIS

Integrating Quotations Smoothly into Text

There are three main ways to TIE quotations smoothly into text: 

T = tags that precede or follow the quote and tell who says it

"You brute. You brute," Holden mutters as he leaves the compound where he and Ameera have spent many happy hours.

Orwell confides, "Secretly, of course--I was all for the Burmese."

Integrating Quotations Smoothly into Text

There are three main ways to TIE quotations smoothly into text: 

I = introduce the quote with contextual information

  As Holden leaves the compound where he and Ameera have spent many happy hours, he mutters, "You brute. You brute."

Integrating Quotations Smoothly into Text

There are three main ways to TIE quotations smoothly into text: 

E = embed the quote within its context or reflection  Holden mutters, "You brute. You brute," as he leaves the compound where he and Ameera have spent many happy hours.   Orwell was "all for the Burmese" and hated working as an agent of the British Empire in Burma .

Let’s try it!

• Here’s our quote:

“There where the lonely wind of the llano sang to the lovers’ feat of your birth, there in those hills is your innocence” (71).

Let’s try it!

• Here’s our quote integrated with a TAG:

“There where the lonely wind of the llano sang to the lovers’ feat of your birth, there in those hills is your innocence,” Ultima whispered into Antonio’s dream (71).

Let’s try it!

• Here’s our quote introduced with context:

Antonio’s dream becomes a quest to find his innocence. His mother and the priest tell him when he will lose it, but only Ultima offers hope that it is always out there. “There where the lonely wind of the llano sang to the lovers’ feat of your birth, there in those hills is your innocence” (71).

Let’s try it!

• Here’s our quote embedded within context:

When Antonio seeks his innocence, Ultima comes to him and speaks of “the lonely wind of the llano [which] sang to the lovers’ feat of your birth,” and declares that “there in those hills is your innocence,” something Antonio thinks may already be lost (71).

Now you try it!