How to Use Quotes in Your Writing: Remember to ICE Them! Friday, May 24, 2019

Why Use Quotes in Your Paper? To provide evidence for your argument To analyze an idea or passage

Where to Use Quotes Never: introduction, topic sentences, conclusion Always: inside body paragraphs

Always ICE Quotes Introduce cite explain

Which quote has been introduced? Quote A: “He got a fair trial . . . What d’you think that trial cost?” (13). Quote B: Juror 10 insists, “He got a fair trial . . . What d’you think that trial cost?” (13).

Examples of ways to introduce quotes In response to Juror 8, Juror 10 argues . . . During the discussion, Juror 6 observes . . . As the conversation heats up, Juror 3 shouts . . . Juror 9 points out . . . For example, Juror 4 remembers . . . When Juror 3 yells . . . An example of this occurs when Juror 7 exclaims . . . argues, comments, concludes, observes, suggests, insists, counters . . .

Cite Your Quote in MLA Format Use only the part of the quote that is relevant to your argument. Put a comma after the introductory phrase. Put the period after the closing parenthesis. EXAMPLE According to Brown, “Spiders spin webs much faster than they did in the past” (9).

Explain the Quote Immediately following your quote, you should EXPLAIN how the quote supports your claim. Explain the connection between the quote and the specific point you are making in the paper. NEVER let a quote float!

Never Let a Quote Float Today, we are too self-centered. “We are consumers-on-the-run . . . the very notion of the family meal as a sit- down occasion is vanishing. Adults and children alike eat . . . on the way to their next activity” (Gleick 148). Everything is about what we want.

Effective Quote Today, Americans are too self-centered. Even our families don't matter as much anymore as they once did. Other people and activities take precedence, as James Gleick says in his book, Faster: “We are consumers-on-the-run . . . The very notion of the family meal as a sit-down occasion is vanishing. Adults and children alike eat . . . on the way to their next activity” (148). Sit-down meals are a time to share and connect with others; however, that connection has become less valued, as families begin to prize individual activities over shared time, promoting self-centeredness over group identity. The second example is more effective because it follows the guidelines for incorporating evidence into an essay. Notice, too, that it uses a lead-in phrase (“. . . as James Gleick says in his book, Faster”) to introduce the direct quotation. This lead-in phrase helps to integrate the quotation with the writer’s ideas. Also notice that the writer discusses and comments upon the quotation immediately afterwards, which allows the reader to see the quotation’s connection to the writer’s point.