Quoting Made Easy

A well-integrated quote is a lot like a hamburger: On top you have a sentence or two of your own thought and summary, setting the context for the quote that you intend to use to illustrate the point. Then you have the quote to back up your thought (with author tag/signal phrase). Then on the bottom you have a sentence or two of your own that reflects back on the quote.

Example Midway into his famous “I have a Dream” speech, King answered critics, who asked why he was not satisfied with the civil rights gains at the time, by detailing a litany of unjust public behavior towards African-Americans, ranging from police brutality to disenfranchisement at the voting both. “We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream,” he sang out in his preacher’s voice (King 304). This stunning metaphor of running water, and others like it, helped make his speech memorable to the thousands listening.

Indirect Quote In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. sat in a jail in Alabama while eight clergymen from that state issued a public statement in the newspaper calling the civil rights demonstrations that had landed him there “unwise and untimely” (qtd. in King 627).

Long Quote Example During Snowman’s arduous trip to the Compound, he hums “Winter Wonderland,” showing Atwood’s almost effortless use of foreshadowing. As he hums, Snowman ponders the meaning of his self-given name: Perhaps he’s not the Abominable Snowman after all... [but] the other kind of snowman, the grinning dope... a white illusion of a man, here today, gone tomorrow, so easily shoved over, left to melt in the sun, getting thinner and thinner until he liquefies and trickles away altogether. (224) Here Snowman feels like a universal joke; he is afraid that soon all that is left of him and what seemed important about mankind will fade away like a mirage into mere nothingness.

Summary Keep quotes short (in general) Use author tags and signal phrases with ALL quotes Use block quote for quotes 4 lines + Don’t start paragraphs with quotes (in general) Don’t end paragraphs with quotes (in general) Provide sources and page numbers for all quotes and paraphrase Use ‘qtd. in’ for an indirect quote

Some examples of signal phrases with author tags According to Jane Doe, "..." As Jane Doe goes on to explain, "..." As one critic points out, "...“ John Doe believes that "...“ Jane Doe claims that "...“ John Smith points out the symbolism in the novel:

List of Signal Phrases acknowledges, adds, admits, affirms, agrees, argues, asserts, believes, claims, comments, compares, confirms, contends, declares, demonstrates, denies, describes, disputes, emphasizes, endorses, grants, illustrates, implies, insists, notes, observes, points out, reasons, refutes, rejects, reports, responds, states, suggests, thinks, underlines, writes...

Get Help Now Please see me if you need help with this, as points will be deducted for each mishandled or incorrectly cited quote in the research paper. Also see MLA booklets or sites such as Also for AP students, you will need to integrate quotation and paraphrase into your AP essays, so practice now!