Integrated Quotations What’s the big deal?

An integrated quotation is a combination between your own words and text directly from the story. Example:  As an adult, Lizabeth clearly recognizes that the day she decides to destroy Miss Lottie’s marigolds “marked the end of innocence” (Collier 245).

How do you set up an integrated quotation? 1. Write a sentence introducing your idea first. 2. Then, write your integrated quotation. (your words + quotation) 3. Write a sentence that wraps-up the integrated quotation. Millicent knows Beverly bullies her. This causes her to ponder “... [h]ow absurdly funny,... taking orders from this girl like a servant” (Plath 261). Even though Millicent realizes the bullying, she still has not come of age.

Parenthetical Citations should appear at the end of your sentence where you used a quotation. They must also include the author’s name and page number in parentheses when it appears first. Example:  First time it appears: (Collier 24)  Second time it appears: (26)

Brackets [ ] are used when you change any of the words (even if you are taking a word out and replacing it with a different one) in the quotation. Example:  Lizabeth recalls vividly the day she matures, because she remembers “... loafing under the great oak in [her] yard...” (238).

Original sentence in the text: One day comes back to me most clearly. My loss of innocence began that day. I was daydreaming under our great oak tree. Joey was with his friends. He yelled, “Hey, Lizabeth. Let’s go somewhere.” Sentence where the quotation is changed:  Lizabeth remembers that “[o]ne day returns to [her] most clearly... “ marking the beginning of her coming of age experience (238).

Ellipses:... are used when you omit (take out completely) any words in the direct quotation....

Example: Original sentence in the text:  I had indeed lost my mind. My emotions swelled up in me and burst—the need for my mother who was never there, the hopelessness of our poverty, the confusion of being neither child nor woman, the fear caused by my father’s tears. Sentence where the quotation is changed:  Lizabeth confesses that “... the need for my mother who was never there, the hopelessness of our poverty, the confusion of being neither child nor woman, [and] the fear... by my father’s tears” leads to the irrational demise of Miss Lottie’s marigolds (244).

More example integrated quotations: Start with your own words and end with the quotation: Lizabeth doesn’t know how to handle her fear and anger, which causes her to “... los[e] [her] mind, for all the smoldering emotions of that summer swell[s] in [her] and burst[s]” (Collier 244).

Start with the quotation and end with your own words: “‘If [Jing-mei] ha[s] as much talent as she has temper, she w[ill] be famous now,’” declares Jing-mei’s mother who only wants the best for her daughter even though her daughter doesn’t appreciate this until later (Tan 35).

Start and end with your own words and put the quotation in the middle: Jing-mei confesses that “[they don’t] pick the right kind of prodigy,” but soon becoming a prodigy is only Jing- mei’s mom’s desire (Tan 32).

Why are there three quotation marks (“‘) sometimes?  Jing-mei’s mom says this in the story.  You are using it in your essay. “‘If [Jing-mei] ha[s] as much talent as she has temper, she w[ill] be famous now,’” declares Jing-mei’s mother (Tan 35).

What are speaker tags and why do they need commas?  Speaker tags tell you who is speaking.  Declares is a speaker tag.  You need a comma to separate what the character says from the speaker tag.  “‘If [Jing-mei] ha[s] as much talent as she has temper, she w[ill] be famous now,’” declares Jing-mei’s mother (Tan 35).

Do you need a comma to separate all quotes from your own words?  No, commas are only used when someone is speaking and you need a speaker tag.