Embedding Quotations and Parenthetical Documentation

What does it mean to embed a quotation? Direct quotations are embedded in your sentences; embed means information you borrow becomes part of your ideas. Example: In stanza four, the speaker shows bravery when he says, “Presently my soul grew stronger,” and hesitating no longer, he confronts the knocker (Poe 19). In the above example, the information I borrowed from “The Raven” became part of my own sentence and ideas.

How do you embed a quotation? Rule 1: You must construct a sentence that allows you to incorporate the quotation naturally. DO NOT ever borrow information from another text and let it be its own sentence. Example: The “rustling of each purple curtain” is the first indication the readers have of the speaker’s fears (Poe 13). In the above example, the embedded quotation acts like my subject, so it is immediately followed by the verb is.

How do you embed a quotation? Rule 2: Direct quotations are embedded with quotation marks around them. Example: Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” indicates the setting is “in the bleak December” (7). As you can see in the example, the embedded quotation is in quotation marks.

How do you embed a quotation? Rule 3: Direct quotations are followed by the author’s last name and the page number(s) of a text in parentheses. This is the parenthetical documentation or internal citation. Example: Readers quickly learn the speaker wishes to escape his own thoughts: “I had tried to borrow / From my books surcease of sorrow” (Poe 9-10). In the example, my parenthetical documentation gives credit to Poe and lines 9- 10.

How do you embed a quotation? Exception to Rule 3: When the author’s name is mentioned in the sentence, you should only use the page number(s). The purpose of this exception is to avoid redundancy. This rule also applies when you are citing the same text throughout your entire paper. Example: Poe’s speaker makes a direct comparison between himself and the raven when he says, “But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only / That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour” (55-56). In the above example, I do not repeat Poe’s name in the parenthetical citation since his name begins the sentence.

How do you embed a quotation? Rule 4: Punctuation comes after the parenthesis. Example: The speaker chooses to reference the raven as an “ungainly fowl,” indicating his dislike for the bird’s presence (Poe 49). As you can see in the example above, there is no punctuation between Poe and the number 49.

Remember… These same rules apply when you cite lines from short stories, novels, critical texts, etc. All information embedded from outside sources should be part of one of your own sentences. All embedded information should be accompanied by an internal citation. All punctuation follows the internal citation. Internal citations should contain the author’s last name and the page number.