A NNOYING W AYS P EOPLE U SE S OURCES Kyle Stedman, Fall 2008 All quotations from Bell, Derrick. Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism. New York: BasicBooks, 1992.

How this Slideshow Works Original, annoying sentence comes first, with annoying parts sometimes highlighted in yellow. Then you’ll see an explanation of the problem in red, then non-annoying changes marked in blue.

The “Dead Dog in the Road” Quotation (quotation dropped in with no explanation or introduction) If aliens from outer space came to America, they might have things we need. “Those mammoth vessels carried within their holds treasure of which the United States was in most desperate need” (Bell 159). Those goods might stimulate our economy.

The “Dead Dog in the Road” Quotation (quotation dropped in with no explanation or introduction)  Fix this by changing the first sentence so that it introduces the idea and writer in the quotation: o Derrick Bell describes a situation in which aliens from outer space came to America carrying helpful supplies. He writes, “Those mammoth vessels carried within their holds treasure of which the United States was in most desperate need” (159). Those goods might stimulate our economy.

The “Fancy Dinner” Quotation (quotation is introduced with an unnecessary colon or comma)  Derrick Bell explains: “The jaw of every one of the welcoming officials dropped...” (160).  Derrick Bell explains that, “The jaw of every one of the welcoming officials dropped...” (160).

The “Fancy Dinner” Quotation (quotation is introduced with an unnecessary colon or comma)  When you introduce a quotation with a verb like writes, says, explains, describes, argues, etc., simply use a comma to separate your part of the sentence from the quotation: o Annoying: Derrick Bell explains: “The jaw of every one of the welcoming officials dropped...” (160). o Fixed: Derrick Bell explains, “The jaw of every one of the welcoming officials dropped...” (160).

The “Fancy Dinner” Quotation (quotation is introduced with an unnecessary colon or comma)  When you introduce a quotation using the word that, you almost never need a comma. It’s a common adjustment to the preceding rule. o Derrick Bell explains that, “The jaw of every one of the welcoming officials dropped...” (160). o Derrick Bell explains that “The jaw of every one of the welcoming officials dropped...” (160).

The “Keep On Driving Until You End up in a Ditch” Quotation (quotation makes a run-on sentence)  Bell describes a situation where these aliens make a startling demand, “In return, the visitors wanted only one thing—and that was to take back to their home star all the African Americans who lived in the United States” (160).

The “Keep On Driving Until You End up in a Ditch” Quotation (quotation makes a run-on sentence)  When your introductory sentence makes a complete sentence and does not end with a verb like writes or says, use a colon to introduce the quotation. (Extra: you also will almost always use a colon to introduce a long, block quotation.) o Bell describes a situation where these aliens make a startling demand: “In return, the visitors wanted only one thing—and that was to take back to their home star all the African Americans who lived in the United States” (160).

Quick Review If your sentence leading up to the quotation ends in a word like writes, says, explains, describes, argues, etc., use a comma before the quotation. If the last word before your quotation is that, don’t use punctuation before the quotation. If the last word before your quotation doesn’t fit one of the above options and makes a complete sentence, use a colon.

The “I Cuss in the Movie Theater When I Sit Next to Young Children” Comma (comma placed as if the rules are always the same in all situations, when really they’re not)  “The Space Traders’ offer”, writes Bell, “had come just in time to rescue America” (162).

The “I Cuss in the Movie Theater When I Sit Next to Young Children” Comma (comma placed as if the rules are always the same in all situations, when really they’re not)  When there’s no parenthetical citation, commas and periods always go INSIDE quotation marks. Citations are the only reason to put them outside of the quotation marks.  “The Space Traders’ offer,” writes Bell, “had come just in time to rescue America” (162).

The “I Swear I Did Some Research” Paraphrase (citation dropped in without clarity about what information came from which source) It’s possible that in this situation, white leaders in America would agree to the aliens’ demands. Racism is so ingrained in society that unless white leaders see a personal benefit to them, they won’t become actively anti-racist. History proves this view (Bell 160).

The “I Swear I Did Some Research” Paraphrase (citation dropped in without clarity about what information came from which source)  When citing a paraphrase, it’s crucial that you let readers know what information came from your source, and what came from your own thinking: o It’s possible that in this situation, white leaders in America would agree to the aliens’ demands. I find that racism is so ingrained in society that unless white leaders see a personal benefit to them, they won’t become actively anti-racist. Bell explains that history proves this view (160).

The “I Had to Work, So My Readers Should Too!” Citation (citation that doesn’t use the first words in a Works Cited page entry)  When the President discusses the issue with his cabinet, it’s clear that he has already made up his mind (Faces 160). Works Cited Bell, Derrick. Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism. New York: BasicBooks, 1992.

The “I Had to Work, So My Readers Should Too!” Citation (citation that doesn’t use the first words in a Works Cited page entry)  There should always be an exact connection between the words in a citation and the first words in a Works Cited entry. If I saw the citation (Faces 160), I would go to the F’s on the Works Cited page—but it wouldn’t be there! This book would be filed under Bell, Derrick—with the B’s.  (Extra: This is often an issue with websites. People often tend to put the web address ( in the citation instead of the name of the author (Gladwell). o When the President discusses the issue with his cabinet, it’s clear that he has already made up his mind (Bell 160).

Don’t be annoying! Learn to introduce, quote, paraphrase and cite sources correctly! Proofread BEFORE you submit your paper!