HOW TO QUOTE A BRIEF SUMMARY Bawcom

“Never have so many owed so much to so few” (Churchill 23). WHEN TO QUOTE EXAMPLES: Computers now have a new function, jokes Bill Larson, that of the “consumption of homework formerly eaten by the dog” (18). We have, perhaps, too much of a tendency to trust the experts. How many people did not invest in computers due to the remark by Digital Equipment President Ken Olsen in 1977 that, “there is no need for any individual to have a computer in his (sic) home” (“Computer Today” 126-27). “The Americans will always do the right thing after they have exhausted all alternatives” (Churchill 26). “Never have so many owed so much to so few” (Churchill 23). SPARINGLY!!! WHEN THE EXACT WORDS ARE NECESSARY; SUCH AS TO SHOW AN EXPERT’S: attitude, opinion, interpretation OR When you are going to refute a part of his or her argument (that is, to illustrate a point) OR AS A LAST RESORT WHEN YOU FEEL THAT PARAPHRASING WOULD CHANGE THE AUTHOR’S MEANING OR ELOQUENCE.

HOW TO USE A QUOTATION Lead up to it (provide a context) Signal it (attribute it) Cite it (use quotation marks and state where it is from) Elaborate on its significance

EXAMPLE HOW TO QUOTE (Lead-in) Kennedy, however, supported civil rights with only great hesitation-if he supported them at all . (Signal) This viewpoint is supported by political scientist James Burns who raised the question of whether the senator’s civil rights stand “amounted to a profile in cowardice”, a take-off of Kennedy’s book A Profile in Courage (Cite)(Bauer 26). (Elaborate) Courage is a trait individuals display when they are willing to associate themselves with unpopular causes.

HOW MUCH TO QUOTE AS FEW WORDS AS POSSIBLE “ I couldn’t believe it. It was just unreal and so sad. It was just unbelievable. I had never experienced such denial. I don’t know why I felt so strongly. Perhaps it was because JFK was more to me than a president. He represented the hopes of my entire generation.” Jane Doe grappled with grief and disbelief. She had viewed JFK, not just as a national figurehead, but as someone who “represented the hopes of [her] entire generation” (28).

BLOCK QUOTATIONS USE WHEN YOU HAVE MORE THAN 35 WORDS SET UP A BLOCK QUOTATION WITH YOUR OWN WORDS FOLLOWED BY A COLON INDENT- 10 spaces and begin quote DOUBLE SPACE OMIT QUOTATION MARKS CITING GOES AFTER THE PERIOD FOLLOW UP WITH YOUR OWN WORDS

EXAMPLE-BLOCK QUOTE (LEAD-IN) These two concepts, that of isolation and mortality, were brought together eloquently by (SIGNAL) John Donne in 1624 when we wrote in Meditation VXII: (Double spaced) No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, then Europe is the less, as if a promontory were, as well as if any manor of thy own friend were. Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. (17) NOTE THAT CITATION COMES AFTER PERIOD (ELABORATE) While many may debate the passage’s symbolism, few would disagree as to its relevance during the Renaissance nor to its current relevance, although for different reasons.

PUNCTUATION Keep periods and commas within quotations marks. Place all other punctuation marks outside the quotation marks. EXAMPLES: A) The coach yelled, “Run!” (indicates the speaker’s own excitement) B) The coach yelled, “Run”! (indicates the writers opinion, i.e. Can you believe after already having run 20 laps, he told us to run again?)

QUOTES WITHIN QUOTES If you are quoting a passage that contains a quotation, then you use double quotation marks . Bagdikian stated he wrote the book because of the “‘alarming’” turn that politics was taking (par. 16). (To do this first put in single quote marks then go back and put in double quote marks.)

ELLIPSIS USE WHEN YOU WANT TO LEAVE OUT TEXT USE ELLIPSIS (DOT-SPACE-DOT-SPACE-DOT-SPACE) . . . “ He spent thirty years working as a newsman . . . and won a Pulitzer Prize” (Harper par. 23). DO NOT USE ELLIPSIS AT THE BEGINNING OR END OF A QUOTATION, UNLESS IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE READER TO KNOW THAT SOMETHING CAME BEFORE OR AFTER.

INSERTING YOUR OWN WORDS 1 CHANGING PRONOUNS “ I couldn’t believe it. It was just unreal and so sad. It was just unbelievable. I had never experienced such denial. I don’t know why I felt so strongly. Perhaps it was because JFK was more to me than a president. He represented the hopes of my entire generation.” Jane Doe grappled with grief and disbelief. She had viewed JFK, not just as a national figurehead, but as someone who “represented the hopes of [her] entire generation” (16).

USING YOUR OWN WORDS 2 ADDING SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION THAT THE WRITER NEEDS TO KNOW. Harper goes on the explain that the 5 major media owners [Time Warner,Viacom, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, Bertelsmann, and Disney] may possibly become six (par. 15).

NONSTANDARD GRAMMAR, SPELLING OR WORD CHOICE-USE OF SIC. We have, perhaps, too much of a tendency to trust the experts. How many people did not invest in computers due to the remark by Digital Equipment President Ken Olsen in 1977 that “there is no need for any individual to have a computer in his (sic) home” (“Trusting Experts” 126-27). Little Lucy told the teacher, “My father just drinks decapitated (sic) coffee” (“Peanuts” A12).

THE END (at last)