Using Quotations

1. Using Quotations Prepared by William Roth January 2011 Sources: Joseph Gibaldi, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed. (New York: Modern Language Association, 2003); Kate E. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 7th ed. (Chicago: Univ. Chicago Press, 2007); Leonard J. Rosen and Laurence Behrens, The Allyn & Bacon Handbook, 5th ed. (New York: Pearson Longman, 2003); andMark A. Grinker, The Legal Writing Teaching Assistant: The Law Student’s Guide to Good Writing, “Ellipsis” (Chicago: IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, 1994), http://www.kentlaw.edu/academics/lrw/grinker/LwtaEllipses.htm (accessed January 19, 2011).

2. Single Source “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” wrote Charles Dickens in the eighteenth century.1

3. Single Source XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” wrote Charles Dickens in the eighteenth century. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.1

4. Multiple Sources He has been described as “thoughtful and reflective”2 as well as “impulsive and vulgar,”3 a situation that Myers found to be quite curious.4

5. More than 4 lines At the conclusion of Lord of the Flies, Ralph and the other boys realize the horror of their actions: The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too.5

6. More than 4 lines At the conclusion of Lord of the Flies, Ralph and the other boys realize the horror of their actions: The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.5

7. Omitting Text: The Ellipsis: . . . In his inaugural address, John F. Kennedy spoke of a “new frontier.”6

8. Ellipsis: In middle of quoted text ORIGINAL Medical thinking, trapped in the theory of astral influences, stressed air as the communicator of disease, ignoring sanitation or visible carriers. (Barbara W. Tuchman, A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century [New York: Ballantine, 1979], 101–02) In surveying various responses to plagues in the Middle Ages, Barbara W. Tuchman writes, “Medical thinking . . . stressed air as the communicator of disease, ignoring sanitation or visible carriers.”7

9. Ellipsis: At end of sentence ORIGINAL Medical thinking, trapped in the theory of astral influences, stressed air as the communicator of disease, ignoring sanitation or visible carriers. (Barbara W. Tuchman, A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century [New York: Ballantine, 1979], 101–02) In surveying various responses to plagues in the Middle Ages, Barbara W. Tuchman writes, “Medical thinking, trapped in the theory of astral influences, stressed air as the communicator of disease.”8

10. Ellipsis: At end of complete sentence In a unanimous decision, Justice Holmes wrote, "The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent. . . . When a nation is at war many things that might be said in time of peace are such a hindrance to its effort that their utterance will not be endured so long as men fight and that no Court could regard them as protected by any constitutional right."9

11. Ellipsis: Other internal punctuation “How cold was it? . . . No one could function in that climate.”10 “The merchant’s stock included dry goods and various other items . . . , all for purchase by the women of the town.”11

12. Ellipsis: “Floating” points Incorrect: “His refusal to cooperate with the court and . . . name the source resulted in a contempt citation.”12 Also incorrect: “His refusal to cooperate with the court and . .. name the source resulted in a contempt citation.”12 Correct: “His refusal to cooperate with the court and . . .name the source resulted in a contempt citation.”12

13. Ellipsis: “Floating” points “XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. The period may properly be placed at the end of a sentence. . . . The ellipsis may then be placed on the following line, indicating the omission of an intervening sentence.”13

14. Ellipsis: Entire paragraphs XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. . . . . XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.14

15. Other Alteration of Sources He claimed he could provide “hundreds of examples [of court decisions] to illustrate the historical tension between church and state.”15 Shaw admitted, “Nothing can extinguish my interest in Shakespear” (sic).16 Lincoln specifically advocated a government “for the people” (emphasis added).17 Milton”s Satan speaks of his “study [pursuit] of revenge.”18

16. Using Attributive Phrases to Introduce Quotations

17. E-mail has succeeded brilliantly for the same reason that the video­phone failed miserably: what we actually want from our exchanges is the minimum human contact commensurate with the need to connect with other people. • According to one commentator, “E-mail has succeeded brilliantly for the same reason that the videophone failed miserably: what we actually want from our exchanges is the minimum human contact commensurate with the need to connect with other people.”19 • “E-mail has succeeded brilliantly for the same reason that the videophone failed miserably,” according to Adam Gopnik.19 • “[W]hat we actually want from our exchanges,” says Adam Gopnik, “is the minimum human contact commensurate with the need to connect with other people.”19

18. E-mail has succeeded brilliantly for the same reason that the video­phone failed miserably: what we actually want from our exchanges is the minimum human contact commensurate with the need to connect with other people. • Writing an ironic and well-researched commentary in The New Yorker, Adam Gopnik suggests that we generally don’t desire human connection as much as we’ve been led to believe: “what we actually want from our exchanges is the minimum human contact commen­surate with the need to connect with other people.”19

19. E-mail has succeeded brilliantly for the same reason that the video­phone failed miserably: what we actually want from our exchanges is the minimum human contact commensurate with the need to connect with other people. • “E-mail has succeeded brilliantly for the same reason that the videophone failed miserably,” writes Adam Gopnik. “[W]hat we actually want from our exchanges is the minimum human contact commensurate with the need to connect with other people.”19 • Adam Gopnik argues that people want the “minimum human contact commensurate with the need to connect with other people.”19

20. Verbs That Help Attribute Quotations

21. Weaving Quotations Into Paragraphs Sources and Cycles of Development • Introduce your idea into a paragraph before you introduce a source. Working with your paragraph’s idea, create a context into which you can fit the source. • Having created the context, steer the reader directly to your source using an attributive phrase or a sentence, with a present-tense verb. • Quote, summarize, or paraphrase the source—i.e., use it. • Further use the source by commenting on it, responding to it, or explaining its significance.

22. Example: Cycle of Development Proponents of CMC confidently point to examples in which the new technologies of communication bring people together in meaningful, healthy ways.In a study of first-year college students, researcher Richard Holeton of Stanford University found that students who were ordinarily reserved were able to come out of their shells and participate in Internet debates.20 Similarly, the Internet can serve as a way for people who are having trouble dating to find partners. For instance, Tom Buckley of Portland, Oregon, met his wife after signing up with Match.com. Buckley noted that the Internet helped him to meet his wife because “neither one of us was the type to walk up to someone in the gym or a bar and say, ‘You’re the fuel to my fire.’”21Holeton’s research and Buckley’s experience suggest that the Internet may provide a way for otherwise timid individuals to express themselves. The writer introduces an idea and sets a context. The writer steers the reader to a summary that supports and develops the paragraph’s main idea. The writer steers the reader to a second summary and to a quotation that supports and develops the paragraph’s main idea. Comment