Basics of Quoting
A guideline for good quoting is to integrate the quote into your own writing. Be sure to set up a quote with proper context, such as who said the quote, and any background information required to understand what that person is talking about. This quote set-up should go before the quote, so the reader isn't wondering who's talking when you start a quote. Ideally, you should be able to put the quote inside your own sentence, rather than having the quote stand alone.
Level One: Summarize, then Quote
If you can't include the quote in your own sentence, at the very least you should prepare the reader for a quote by giving a brief summary before the quote. For instance:
Mr. Fleharty argues that quotes should fit smoothly in your own sentences. "The more you can integrate a quote in your own writing, the better."
Level Two: Using Set-up Phrases
This can get a little trickier with punctuation and proper verb tense, but you should be able to attribute a quote to somebody with a short phrase provided before the quote, in the same sentence. In MLA format, these signal phrases should use present tense verbs.
According to Mr. Fleharty, "The more you can integrate a quote...the better."
In "Basics of Quoting," Mr. Fleharty says, "--------------------------."
Be careful to avoid the common mistakes that come up when using these phrases. For instance, if you use "According to X," you don't need to add "X states/believes/says _____." They mean the same thing. Also, avoid "According to the article, it says _________." This shouldn't happen- name the author instead, or at the very least the website or magazine the article is from.
Level Three: Mid-Sentence Quotes
The best way to integrate quotes into your own essay is to quote small phrases from the source as parts of your own sentence. Essentially, you are summarizing or analyzing what the author is saying WHILE using some of their own words. Be absolutely sure the sentence still flows grammatically. Picture the sentence without the quote marks. If necessary, you can change parts of the quote by using [brackets] to let readers know you've changed it.
Mr. Fleharty argues that you should "integrate a quote in your own writing" to ensure that quotes aren't just standing around adding nothing to your essay.
One common mistake when starting to use this method is quoting too little to be worthwhile. For instance, don't just quote one word unless it's crucial that the author is using that specific word. Try to take whole phrases at a time to make it worth quoting, otherwise just stick to summarizing the source instead.
Ultimately, quoting successfully comes down to providing context and integrating the quotes into your own writing. In other words, remember to set up your quotes.
Assignment
Read an article with a clearly named author and write a response to it that uses five quotes from the original. Use a different form of quote set-up for each quote- don't repeat the same one for all five quotes. Try as much as possible to integrate these quotes into your own sentences, and use the higher level quote set-ups wherever possible. Be sure you're balancing the quotes with analysis/points of your own.
Write a response to it that uses five quotes from the original.
Try as much as possible to integrate these quotes into your own sentences, and use the higher level quote set-ups wherever possible. Be sure you're balancing the quotes with analysis/points of your own.
This should be two paragraphs, or one very long paragraph. You need 5 quotes, and you need to balance those quotes with some response of your own, so the minimum should be around 10 sentences.
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