Quotations

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Quotations

• The How, Why, When, and Where of Quoting Other
  Peoples Work

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Why Use Quotes?

• Quotations can provide important pieces of
  evidence.
• They can also lend a fresh voice to your writing.

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When Should I Use Quotes?

• Use them at strategically selected moments in
  your writing
• Keep in mind, the majority of your paper should
  be YOUR original ideas.
• Using quotes, paraphrasing, and data works to
  support YOUR ideas.

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1. Discussing Specific Arguments or Ideas.

• Ex.
• Ellen Bailey reports that Langston Hughes was
  a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance
  (Langston Hughes). What she fails to do,
  however, is give credit to the many other artists
  and poets who preceded Hughes and influenced him.

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2. Giving added emphasis to a particularly
authoritative source on your topic.

• Ex.
• During Langstons childhood, he suffered not
  only because of the mistreatment of
  African-Americans, but also because of his
  poverty. Bailey notes Langstons grandmothers
  poverty was a source of embarrassment and
  ridicule (Langston Hughes).

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How do I set up and follow up a quotation?

• Once you've carefully selected the quotations
  that you want to use, your next job is to weave
  those quotations into your text.
• -The words that precede and follow a quotation
  are just as important as the quotation itself.

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Step 1 Provide a context for each quotation.

• Do not rely on quotations to tell your story for
  you.
• Because Langston had spent his life being raised
  by his grandmother, he decided as a teenager to
  visit his father in Mexico. This decision was met
  by his mothers objections (Langston Hughes).

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Step 2 Attribute each quotation to its source.

• Even if you place an internal citation after a
  quotation, you must still attribute the quotation
  within the text.
• Try to use words such as observed, argued,
  wrote, and declared.

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Step 3 Explain the significance of the
quotation.

• Once you've inserted your quotation, along with
  its context and attribution, don't stop!
• Your reader still needs your assessment of why
  the quotation holds significance for your paper.
• Poets are often known for their moodiness.
  Langston was no exception. There was a time
  during his struggles with his father that he
  contemplated suicide (Langston Hughes). This
  frustration and anxiety was eventually poured
  into his poetry.

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How much should I quote?

• As few words as possible.
• Remember, your paper should primarily contain
  your own words, so quote only the most witty and
  memorable parts of sources.

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Guidelines for selecting what to quote

• Excerpt fragments.
• (Sometimes, you should quote short fragments,
  rather than whole sentences.)

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• 2. Excerpt those fragments carefully!
• -Quoting the words of others carries a big
  responsibility.
• Well-known poet Langston Hughes really only held
  menial jobs (Langston Hughes).

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• 3. Use block quotations sparingly.
• -There may be times when you need to quote long
  passages.
• -However, you should use block quotations only
  when you fear that omitting any words will
  destroy the integrity of the passage

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Step 4 Provide a citation for the quotation.

• All quotations, just like all paraphrases,
  require a formal citation.
• Place the parenthetical reference after--not
  within--the closed quotation mark.