USING QUOTATIONS IN YOUR WRITING How to effectively use words from a source

Tie everything together! All quotations should be tied to your sentences! Introduce them! They should not suddenly appear out of nowhere! NEVER use a quotation as simply a complete sentence all by itself in the body of your work!

INCORRECT…………………… This is how NOT to do it! Scout describes Walter Cunningham. “Walter looked as if he had been raised on fish food: His eyes, as blue as Dill Harris’s were red-rimmed, and watery”(Lee 23).

CORRECT….. This is how you could do it! Scout says, “Walter looked as if he had been raised on fish food: His eyes, as blue as Dill Harris’s were red- rimmed, and watery”(Lee 23). **Could it be more creative? YES! But this is at least marginally correct. It’s simplistic, but it’s a starting point. The quote begins blended with your commentary. (Scout says,) But don’t stop there! You should continue with your commentary………..

Add Context! Better… When she first sees Walter eyeing her lunch, Scout says, “Walter looked as if he had been raised on fish food: His eyes, as blue as Dill Harris’s were red- rimmed, and watery”(Lee 23).

Add Context! Better… When she first sees Walter eyeing her lunch, Scout says, “Walter looked as if he had been raised on fish food: His eyes, as blue as Dill Harris’s were red- rimmed, and watery”(Lee 23). Seeing Walter eyeing her lunch, Scout says, “Walter looked as if he had been raised on fish food: His eyes, as blue as Dill Harris’s were red-rimmed, and watery”(Lee 23). Use AAAWWUBBIS words or Verbs to give context!

Add commentary!---Discuss your quotations. Do not simply quote something from the literature and then leave the words hanging as if they were self-explanatory! Ask yourself----- What does the quote mean? More importantly----How does it help establish the point you are making? Understand that quotes are not substitutes for your ideas, and they do not stand by themselves! It’s often helpful to apply some interpretive phrasing after a quotation , to show the reader you are explaining the quotation and that it supports your argument: Here it is evident that….. clearly establishing…… This statement shows….. We can conclude from this that……

Here’s how the continuation might look… Seeing Walter eyeing her food, Scout says, “Walter looked as if he had been raised on fish food: His eyes, as blue as Dill Harris’s were red-rimmed, and watery”(Lee 23). From this image, it is clear that Walter Cunningham often went hungry. The author includes this information, in part, to cause the reader to feel sympathy for the Cunningham family and to understand the economic realities of some families during the Depression.

VARY the verbs that introduce your quotations! It makes your writing more INTERESTING!!!!! Harper Lee… The author… The character…. says comments writes affirms observes explains notes declares remarks alleges adds states claims argues informs us tells us

EMBEDDING An even more effective use of quotations is to embed a part of the quotation into your writing. Here’s an example of effectively embedding a quote: Scout recognizes Walter’s hunger in his “red-rimmed and watery eyes” and his looking “as if he had been raised on fish food” (Lee 23). Notice that only PART of the quote is used! And it’s not a random part! It’s the part with significance to the point in your commentary!

MORE IS NOT Necessarily BETTER! Use ellipsis--- Three periods with spaces between them (. . .) within a quotation to show that part of the original text is left out. Note…..ellipsis at the beginning or ending of a quote is usually unneccessary. Do not overuse words from your source in order to fill space!

Use single quotations around dialogue! But remember-----double quotations go around the entire set of words that are directly taken from the text! Example: Harper Lee’s use of dialect adds to the character development. Jem’s age and almost brotherly concern show when he says to Dill, “‘she ain’t gonna get you. He’ll talk her out of it. That was fast thinkin’ son.’” (Lee 55) ****NOTICE THAT BECAUSE THIS QUOTE ENDS IN DIALOGUE, THE PUNCTUATION IS INSIDE THE QUOTATION MARKS! -----BEFORE THE PARENTHETICAL CITATION!**** Example: Scout sees Jem’s emotion as she sees that his “shoulders jerked as if each ‘guilty’ was a separate stab between them” (Lee 128).

If you need to change something…………. USE BRACKETS!

MAKING CHANGES USING BRACKETS: Sometimes it’s necessary to change the form of a word (such as changing walks to walked) in a quotation to make it fit better with your writing Or maybe you need to add a word of your own to make the sentence flow. If this is necessary……use brackets to indicate anything you have changed. Regarding Mrs. Dubose, Atticus says to Jem that he “‘wanted [him] to see something about her.’” (Lee 112)

To RevieW: Don’t use quotes randomly. Have a purpose! Smoothly introduce them with your commentary Blend----connect them with your commentary… and your points! Vary the verbs that introduce them! Don’t overuse word from a source! Use ellipsis where appropriate to keep your work concise. Embed a quotation whenever possible in order to make your writing flow! Clarify your blending of dialogue and non-dialogue quotes with proper punctuation and quotation marks! Use brackets for changes in the form of the word or when adding your own words.