Incorporating Quotations How do I make my quotations fit in my essay nicely?

Guidelines for using quotations Use quotations from authorities in your subject to support what you say, not for your thesis statement or main points. Select quotations that fit your message. Choose a quotation only if its language is particularly appropriate or distinctive; its idea is particularly hard to paraphrase accurately the authority of the source is especially important to support your material the source’s words are open to more than one interpretation, so your reader needs to see the original.

Guidelines for using quotations Rely mostly on paraphrase and summary. If you quote, quote accurately. Integrate quotations smoothly into your prose, paying special attention to the verbs that help you to do so effectively. Document your source accurately. Set off quotations with quotation marks to avoid plagiarism.

Be careful – always check you quotation against the original If you have to add a word or two to a quotation so that it fits in with your prose, put those words in brackets. Make sure that your additions do not distort the meaning of the quotation. EX: “If you hail from western Europe, you will find that [your listener] is at roughly fingertip distance from you” (Morris 131). The original he was clear in context, but in excerpted material a reader would not know to whom he referred and therefore needs bracketed information to clarify the meaning.

What if I don’t need the entire quotation? If you delete a portion of a quotation, indicate the omission with an ellipsis. Make sure that the remaining words accurately reflect the source’s meaning. Make sure that your omission does not create an awkward sentence structure. Use ellipsis only in the middle of a sentence and NEVER at the beginning or the end. EX: Original “ Personal space is not necessarily spherical in shape, nor does it extend equally in all directions. (People are able to tolerate closer presence of a stranger at their sides than directly in front of them.) It has been likened to a snail shell, a soap bubble, an aura, a ‘breathing room’” (Sommer 26). With ellipsis “Personal space . . . has been likened to a snail shell, a soap bubble, an aura, a ‘breathing room’” (Sommer 26).

Are your quotations integrated smoothly Are your quotations integrated smoothly? No one likes choppy construction! If a quotation seems entirely self-evident to you, so that you have nothing to explain about it, then it is not really worth quoting. Limit direct quotations to words, phrases, or short passages that are so well written and illuminating that to paraphrase them would dilute the force of your argument. Sentences containing a quotation are punctuated as they would be if there were no quotation (except, of course, that quotation marks surround the quoted material).

Quote with proper grammar and syntax EX: Othello speaks of himself as “one that loved not wisely but too well” and compares himself to “the base Indian” who “threw a pearl away / Richer than all his tribe” (5.2.344-47). WRONG: Othello says, “One that loved not wisely but too well” (5.2.343). (Incomplete sentence) BETTER: Othello speaks of himself as “one that love not wisely but too well” (5.2.343). WRONG: Othello asks his auditors to “speak of me as I am” (35.2. 341). (The pronouns “me” and “I” do not agree in person with their antecedent.) BETTER: Othello bids his auditors, “Speak of me as I am, nothing extenuate, / Nor set down aught in malice” (5.2.341-42).

Quote with clarity WRONG: Othello believes that “I have done the state some service” (5.2.338). (Incorrect mixture of direct and indirect quotation) BETTER: In assessing his contributions to his country, Othello believes that he has “done the state some service” (5.2.338). Your introduction must supply enough context to make the quotation meaningful. Be careful that all pronouns in the quotation have clearly identifiable antecedents. WRONG: In the final speech of the play, Lodovico says, “Look on the tragic loading of this bed: / This is thy work” (5.2. 362-63). (Whose work?) BETTER: In the final speech of the play, Lodovico chastises Iago with harsh instructions to “Look on the tragic loading of this bed: / This is thy work” (5.2.362-63).

Quote only when needed Avoid excessive use of brackets; they make quotations more difficult to read and comprehend. Often a paraphrase will serve as well as a quotation, particularly if you are not explicitly analyzing the language of a passage. CORRECT: Though Iago bids his wife to “hold [her] peace,” Emilia declares, “I will speak as liberal[ly] as the north [wind]” (5.2.218- 219). BETTER: Though Iago bids his wife to keep quiet, Emilia declares that she will speak as liberally as she chooses (5.2.218-219).