Guidelines to remember

“Using Quoted Material” The Basics

1. Quotes prove nothing by themselves! They should be used to support your own clear and intelligent ideas. You should write at least one or two sentences of your own ideas before each quote.

 Lone Ranger Quote: Doodle and the ibis were similar. “He collapsed onto the grass like a half- empty flour sack” (157). Student Idea with Quote to Support: Doodle also had clumsy ways of doing things. For one, when he stood up to walk, “he collapsed onto the grass like a half- empty flour sack” (157).

2. Always strive to make quotes sound like a natural extension of your own writing. Someone hearing your paper read aloud should not be able to tell where your writing ends and the author’s quote begins. NEVER END A PARAGRAPH ON A QUOTE.

 Awkward Quote: Both the scarlet ibis and Doodle struggled when dying. Doodle was trying to catch up to his brother. “Brother, Brother don’t leave me” (162).  Standard: At the end of the story, the author says, “His little legs, bent sharply at the knees, had never before seemed so fragile, so thin” (163). When the ibis died, the author says, “its legs were crossed and its claw like feet were delicately curved at rest” (161). More Fluid Quote: At the time of their deaths, both were very tired. The ibis had out-flown a storm from South America, according to Doodle’s dad, so clearly he was exhausted. Instead of flying to the ground, “it tumbled down, bumping through the limbs,” too tired to flap its wings (159).

3. Therefore, keep quotes short. Use only the parts needed to prove your point. Summarize or paraphrase other sections of the text IN YOUR OWN WORDS.

 Too Long Quote: Doodle also gives in to exhaustion. After running in the storm, his brother places his “hand on his forehead and lifted his head. Limply, he fell backwards onto the earth. He had been bleeding from the mouth, and his neck and the front of his shirt were stained a brilliant red” ( ). Succinct Quote with Student Explanation: Doodle also gives in to exhaustion. After a long day of physical activity, sprinting through the storm proves to be too much. He cannot keep up with his brother, and when his brother comes back, Doodle “fell backwards onto the earth... bleeding from the mouth” (163). His body is broken from so much strain.

4. Use correct punctuation with quoted material. Place the page number within parentheses at the end of the sentence, followed by a period. The scarlet ibis “tumbled down, bumping through the limbs” (161). The ibis “tumbled down, bumping through the limbs” as it dies (161).

4. Use correct punctuation with quoted material.  Place a comma before the quote when using a tag line: – “You are worthless, ” said Larry. –OR Regina yelled, “Who do you think you are?”

4. Use correct punctuation with quoted material. Use ellipses (...) when excluding sections in the middle of the quote Example: “it tumbled down... through the limbs”

5. Keep contractions out of your writing......unless you are quoting the text. This makes your writing more formal. For example: “can’t” becomes “cannot,” and “would’ve” becomes “would have”

“Using Quoted Material” The Picky Stuff

6. If you are quoting something a character says, use a single quotation mark to show their words. 6. If you are quoting something a character says, use a single quotation mark to show their words.  Example: The narrator should have known something was wrong when he “heard Doodle... cry out, ‘Brother, Brother, don’t leave me! Don’t leave me!’” (162).  Example: At one point, Doodle asks his brother, “’ Does it make any difference?’”(162).

7. If you have two quotes in a sentence, list BOTH PAGE NUMBERS at the end. Example: The scarlet ibis lands “beneath the bleeding tree,” and Doodle dies under “the red nightshade bush” (161; 162).

8. Write ENTIRELY in the third person. None of the following words should appear except when quoting the text:  I, you, your, me, my, mine, etc. You are not a part of the story, nor am I. Keep us out of it!

9. You are allowed to alter quotes a bit in order to preserve this third person perspective. For example, if a quote had the word “I” in it, and “I” referred to the character of Roger, you could substitute “Roger” for “I” in the quote to make it fit more smoothly into your own writing. Mark the altered word with brackets [ ].  “I couldn’t believe she had left me” could change to “[Roger] couldn’t believe she had left [him]”

10. Stay in the present tense except when quoting the text. When we read literature, we are living in the time and space of the characters. Therefore, when writing about literature, speak as if the action is happening now.  Instead of Past Tense: Doodle looked tired before he died. Write in Present Tense: Doodle looks tired before he dies.