A few basics to consider…

MLA For citing sources, the MLA parenthetical citation needs to be as unobtrusive as possible. Save the parenthetical citation for the end of the sentence rather than inserting it at the end of the quote.  

MLA The only time a reference should come at the end of a quote is when you have two different quotes from different sources in one sentence.  

MLA Your quote should be surrounded by quotation marks. There should be one space between the end quote and the beginning parenthesis. Your sentence’s punctuation should come after the end parenthesis.  

MLA Hawthorne’s repetition of the phrase “so fixed a gaze” reveals the intensity of Hester’s feeling as her husband sees her with her illegitimate baby (16).  

MLA Punctuation goes inside quotation marks in MLA: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Custom House,” an introduction to The Scarlet Letter, is...  

Use what is called the “literary present tense.”  

Hyphenating line breaks If you are continuing a word from one line to the next, the word must be: at least two syllables separated by more than one letter  

Comma Splices Two independent clauses need to be separated by either a period a semicolon a comma and a coordinating conjunction  

Comma Splices Now don’t worry, things are skittering along toward the brink of the abyss, and nothing you or I might do will alter their awful course.  

Now don’t worry. Things are skittering along toward the brink of the abyss, and nothing you or I might do will alter their awful course. Now don’t worry; things are skittering along toward the brink of the abyss, and nothing you or I might do will alter their awful course. Now don’t worry, for things are skittering along toward the brink of the abyss, and nothing you or I might do will alter their awful course.  

Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement pluralize Hawthorne wants the reader to use their imagination to… Hawthorne wants the reader to use his or her imagination to… Hawthorne wants readers to use their imaginations to…  

Avoid using “we” or “you” pluralize If your intentions are not pure, then you might not get the results you want. If people’s intentions are not pure, then they might not get the results they want.  

Integrating Quotes in Literary Analysis

Use quoted material sparingly. Your essay is your argument. Too many quotations can overpower your voice. In order to make your own writing flow as smoothly as possible, it is usually best to use only a small, effective part of a quotation as part of your own sentence.

Use powerful quotes Quote only words, sentences, or passages that are the most meaningful or that hold the most power.

Introduce Quotations Never drop a quotation in your paper. You must use your own words to introduce a quotation.

Ellipses When omitting words from within a single sentence, use only three ellipsis dots (. . . ). Three point ellipses have single typed spaces before and after the middle dot: Faulty: “water…had” Correct: “water. . .had”

Brackets Use brackets to show that you have changed something in the quote but have not altered the meaning or context of the quote. Example: “ As revealed to [Oedipus] by the Delphi oracle” (15). Use brackets to specify ambiguous pronouns within a quotation. Example: “ As revealed to me [Oedipus] by the Delphi oracle” (15).

You Do the Work Do not rely on quotations to do the work for you. You must always follow a quotation or paraphrase with commentary (your explanation/analysis/context). Never end a paragraph with a quotation.

Make Changes Quotations should fit into your argument. If punctuation, pronouns, or verb tenses do not flow with your own words, paraphrase or make minor changes to the quotation, surrounding the changes with brackets .

Pattern # 1 1. An introductory clause plus the quotation: Gatsby is not to be regarded as a personal failure because “Gatsby turned out all right at the end,” according to Nick (176). This is a complex sentence. Because is a subordinating conjunction.

Pattern # 2 2. An assertion of your own and a colon plus the quotation: Fitzgerald allows Nick to give a muted tribute to the hero: “Gatsby turned out all right at the end” (176). This works if your quotation is a complete clause.

Pattern # 3 3. An assertion of your own with quoted material worked in: For Nick, who remarks that Gatsby “turned out all right,” the hero deserves respect, but he does not inspire great admiration (176). This is what you are aiming for: pull only power words from the quotation and use them in your sentence.

Example On the following slide, the words in bold effectively introduce the quote. No quote ever stands alone. Follow your quotes with commentary. Do not begin commentary with “this quote shows” or “this quote reveals” or the equivalent. Note how the following commentary flows from the quotation and has substance.

Your turn… Take out your paragraphs and check your quotes for integration. Taken from A Writer’s Model: “A Locust in the Garden” The story alludes again and again to the sheltering comfort of the garden. The man tries to maintain an illusion that nothing serious has happened to him, that in time he will “feel as if he had always been like that” (397). The garden is his refuge against reality.  

Taken from A Writer’s Model: “A Locust in the Garden” The story alludes again and again to the sheltering comfort of the garden. The man tries to maintain an illusion that nothing serious has happened to him, that in time he will “feel as if he had always been like that” (397). The garden is his refuge against reality.  

Homework: Due Monday One paragraph with a thesis statement Two or three purposeful, well-integrated quotes