MLA: Inserting Quotations (style) Objective: Explain how to correctly integrate quotations into your writing, while still maintaining style. By: Rachel Level Colton Miller Vivian Hou Courtney Redmon Kayli Silimperi

Style You should use quotes sparingly. It should take up no more than 20% of your paper, otherwise your essay may sound choppy. Do not use strings of quotes. Every writer has their own style. Quotes are written in someone else’s style. This is important to understand when using them. Make sure the quotes are relevant to your topic, and make sense where they are used. There are many ways in which to correctly integrate a quote. Try using more than one method.

Style Use a complete sentence and a colon to introduce the quotation. *remember: do not use a semi-colon or coma. Example: Thoreau ends his essay with a metaphor: "Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in." Use an introductory, or explanatory phrase before the quotation. *remember: use commas to separate the quotations and phrases. Also, make sure the phrase is not a complete sentence. Example: Thoreau asks, "Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life?"

Style Use the quote as part of your sentence. *remember: you should keep the quotes short. Punctuate the sentence normally. Example: In "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For," Thoreau states that his retreat to the woods around Walden Pond was motivated by his desire "to live deliberately" and to face only "the essential facts of life." Integrate the quote directly into your own sentence. *remember: you do not need any punctuation between your sentence and the quote, as long as you use “that” before the quote. Or, you can just use a comma before the quote. Example: Thoreau argues that "shams and delusions are esteemed for soundest truths, while reality is fabulous."

Bad examples Tolkien was very talented in using descriptions. "He was as noble and as fair in the face as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves, and as kind as summer“ *remember: using quotes as individual sentences is incorrect. America is a country that built itself from the ground up; “if this self-confident nation’s manifest destiny stretched westward to the Pacific, it seemed also to stretch skyward with the great houses of industry and commerce” *remember: even if a quotation is an independent clause it can not be connected to your sentence with just a semi-colon.

Ex: “The ends justify the means.” - Machiavelli Author, Title, and Quote When using a quote remember to INTRODUCE the author and/or work before it. This includes when you are PARAPHRASING!!! Ex: “The ends justify the means.” - Machiavelli As Machiavelli once famously wrote, “The ends justify the means” (Machiavelli).

Author, Title, and Quote Ex: “This cat should not be here, he should not be about! He should not be here when your mother is out!” – Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat In his comical book The Cat in the Hat Dr. Seuss clarifies, “This cat should not be here, he should not be about! He should not be here when your mother is out” (Seuss, #).

Don’t forget to PEE! PEE (Point-Example-Explanation) When writing, your objective is to state the point, list examples to back the point up, and then explain the examples.

LTQT (Lead-Transition-Quote-Transition) Using this journalistic formula, it’s easy to integrate quotes in any form of writing! Your topic sentence would be considered the “L” (lead), where you state your point; from there, you build off of that in your “T” (transition), where you list the example(s). You then explain with your “Q” (quote). This process continues as you state your next example with the next “T,” and so on. (Transitional examples: for example, for instance, in fact, in other words, specifically, that is, thus, to be specific, to illustrate, etc.)

Do’s & Don’ts of Stylistic Quotations Introduce your quotes - Use variety Discuss your quotations - Explain Use only what’s necessary in the quotes - Paraphrasing can be helpful Blend quotes into your own sentences Use transitional words, phrases, and sentences Maintain unity PEE always DONT’s Use quotes as sentences - “Dropped” quote Insert quotes without introductions or explanations Jump from one quote to another without transitions

Works Cited http://www2.ivcc.edu/rambo/eng1001/quotes.htm The Research Paper http://www.byui.edu/english/mlaguide/integrating%20sources.htm