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Integrating Quotes. Research Paper. So, how do we integrate?. A frequent problem with using quotations is figuring Out how to insert them smoothly and effectively into your own writing. Check out these notes and examples to help you with your own use of quotations. .
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Integrating Quotes Research Paper
So, how do we integrate? A frequent problem with using quotations is figuring Out how to insert them smoothly and effectively into your own writing. Check out these notes and examples to help you with your own use of quotations.
When should I use quotations? A good quotation should do one or more of the following: • make an opening impact on the reader • build credibility for your essay • make the essay more interesting • close the essay with a point to ponder upon. Remember, don’t stuff quotations into your essay just cause. It can do more harm than good. If something you are writing about is common knowledge- like if you read it in more than four of your sources (ex. Your person’s birthday) then it shouldn’t be a quotation.
“Rule #1” • Do not leave your quotes "naked." Make sure they are clearly connected to the argument you are trying to make. • NO: After June's humiliating piano recital, Waverly adds insult to injury. "You aren't a genius like me" (Tan 151). • YES: After June's humiliating piano recital, Waverly adds insult to injury by declaring, "You aren't a genius like me" (Tan 151).
“Rule #2: Use a Signal phrase” • A signal phrase is a clause that lets the reader know who the author or source is. Example: Menninger says that,"George Washington was the only president who was unanimously elected. He ran unopposed for both terms. He declined to run for a third term, setting a precedent which held until 1940. (61). (The number in parentheses indicates what page the quotation is on. You don’t need the author’s name if you introduce him/her in the beginning of the sentence.)
“Rule #3: Proper Punctuation” Introductory phrases with punctuation is a way to signal to readers that you are presenting an author's ideas. For instance, instead of offering two separate sentences: Lincoln always refers to the nation as a whole. "Let us strive on to finish the work we are in“ (Smith 23). it would be better to connect them: “Lincoln always refers to the nation as a whole: "Let us strive on to finish the work we are in“ (Smith 23).
“Rule #4: Brackets and Ellipses” Use brackets ([ ]) and ellipses (. . .) to change verbs or other parts of The original quotes when necessary. This technique is especially useful for maintaining present tense in your paper. P.S. Know the difference between using (. . .) and [. . .]. • NO: Dwight is a bully who takes out his anger and insecurity on those who are weaker than he is. "This made him furious; on the way back to the car he would kill anything he saw. He killed chipmunks, squirrels, blue jays, and robins"(Wolff 171). • YES: Dwight is a bully who takes out his anger and insecurity on those who are weaker than he is. While hunting, he boosts his ego by "kill[ing] anything he [sees]. He kill[s] chipmunks, squirrels, blue jays, and robins" (Wolff 171).
“Rule #5: Self Integration” Integrating quotes into your own writing is often best because then the quoted material does not interrupt the flow of your sentences and argument: Lincoln stated that his main goal was "to bind up the nation's wounds“ (Rogers 2). This type of quote lets you introduce quotes instead of just randomly plopping a quote in the middle of a paragraph.
“Rule #6: QUOPARPUNC” • At the end of the quote, use the QUO-PAR-PUNC Rule: Quotation marks-Parentheses-Punctuation • NO: When Waverly accuses her mother of showing off, Lindo's eyes turn "into dangerous black slits. She ha[s] no words for [Waverly], just sharp silence. (Tan 102)“ • YES: When Waverly accuses her mother of showing off, Lindo's eyes turn "into dangerous black slits. She ha[s] no words for [Waverly], just sharp silence" (Tan 102). Note: If a quote ends with a question mark or exclamation point, then put that punctuation before the quotation marks and a period after the parenthesis.
“Rule #7: Quote within a Quote • If there is a quote within the quote you are using, then use single quotation marks to set off the inner quote. • Ex.: When Lena shows Ying-Ying around her new house, Ying-Ying complains that "the slant of the floor makes her feel as if she is 'running down'" (Tan 163).
Rule#8: Loooong Quotes • When your quote is longer than four lines, "block it off" from the rest of your paragraph. In this case, you don't use quotation marks (except for lines of dialogue), and the QUO-PAR-PUNC rule does not apply. (Note: Avoid using very long quotes--they sometimes bog the paper down.) • Ex.: Lady Macbeth calls on supernatural powers so that she can assist in Duncan's murder: . . . Come you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood.Stop up th'access and passage to remorse,That no compunctious visitings of natureShake my fell purpose . . . . (Macbeth 1.5.47-53) Lady Macbeth thus reveals the all-consuming nature of her ambition: she is even willing to give up her identity as a woman to get what she wants. (And the paper goes on from there.)
Just a Few Things to Remember… • Use quotes sparingly, you don’t want more than two quotes/paraphrases in paragraph. Otherwise the paragraphs look too crowded!
