1. Integrating Quotations

2. Why integrate/introduce quotations?
It is “hard to read a paper with quotations that have not been introduced--the quotations suddenly appear, as if they had been dropped out of the sky. The results are choppy and distracting” (EOL 213).

3. How to integrate quotations . . .
“Give your audience signals when you repeat what someone else has said [that] provide a clear transition from your own voice as a writer to the words you are using from someone else” (EOL 214).

4. Method #1 Weave quotations into your own sentence structure:
Like the turtle, the Joads “[turn] aside for nothing” (20) as they seek a new life in California.

5. Method #2
Introduce a quotation with an introductory sentence, followed by a colon:
In an explicit statement of his philosophy, Tom advises Ma: “. . . [S]top your worryin’ You got to think about that day, an’ then the nex’ day” (123).

6. Using brackets
“Use brackets if you need to alter tense, punctuation, capitalization, or number. (Brackets can also be used to clarify unspecific references in a quotation)” (UVA Writing).

7. For example . . .
Tom criticizes the man at the gas station, telling him that “I seen fellas like you before” (174).
should be revised to something like:
Tom criticizes the man at the gas station, telling him that “[Tom has] seen fellas like [him] before” (174).

8. Using ellipses and brackets
To condense a quoted passage, you can use the ellipsis mark (. . .) to indicate that you have omitted words. What remains, however, must be grammatically complete. Brackets [square parentheses] allow you to insert words of your own into quoted material, which can be especially helpful if the excerpt you choose does not name the speaker or if in the process of condensing material, you need to add grammatical connectives.

9. For example . . .
“Perhaps the best summation of the current state of ape language studies comes from a biologist, who writes that the line separating humans from other animals ‘remains hastily drawn, somewhere between the word and the sentence’” (18).
could be revised to:
“Perhaps the best summation of the current state of ape language studies comes from biologist [Robert Seyfarth], who writes that the line separating humans from other animals ‘remains hastily drawn, between the word and the sentence’” (18).

10. Punctuation before the quotation
“Similarly, commas before quotations are usually only necessary when the quotation follows a 'speaking' word ('he says,' 'she claims')” (UVA Writing).

11. For example . . . should be revised to:
Alfonsa shows herself to be skeptical about established societies, which she considers to be “machines for the suppression of women” (230).
Alfonsa shows herself to be skeptical about established societies, which she considers to be, “machines for the suppression of women” (230).

12. Quotations should never stand alone . . .
Quotations from the text should always be introduced by your own argument; a sentence from the text should never stand alone in your paper.

13. For example . . .
should be revised to something like:
Rochester introduces himself in a fever-ridden state at the beginning of the second section: “’Well,’ I thought. ‘I have had fever. I am not myself yet’” (68). At this point
Rochester introduces himself in a fever-ridden state at the beginning of the second section. “’Well,’ I thought. ‘I have had fever. I am not myself yet’” (68). At this point. . .
Here the colon attaches the quote to the sentence before it. This change, while small, is important; integrating quotations into your own words helps to assert control over the text, to guide your reader to your own interpretation of the passage rather than allowing other possible interpretations to invade your analysis.

14. Some practice . . . Join the following sentences and quotations.
Rose of Sharon has changed since she became pregnant. “She was all secrets now she was pregnant, secrets and little silences that seemed to have meanings” (175).

15. Possible answer
With Rose of Sharon’s pregnancy, she has changed so that she “[is] all secrets, secrets and little silences that [seem] to have meanings” (175).

16. Some practice . . .
Ma is a bit nervous about the trip to California. “Tom, I hope things is all right in California I’m scared of stuff so nice. I ain’t got faith. I’m scared somepin ain’t so nice about it” (122-23).

17. Possible answer
Ma expresses her doubts about their trip, telling Tom that “. . . [she] hope[s] things is all right in California [She’s] scared of stuff so nice. [She] ain’t got faith. [She’s] scared somepin ain’t so nice about it” (122-23).

18. Sources used
Odell, Lee, et al. Elements of Language Fifth Course. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2001.
UVA Writing. “Integrating Quotations.” The Writing Center. 10 April <