Direct Quote vs. Paraphrase

1. Direct Quote vs. Paraphrase Direct Quote Paraphrase • Exact words lifted from a text • Uses quotation marks to indicate the words that are copied exactly • Example: “It was all pretty confusing. We had been attacked” (Myers 76). • Taking the ideas from an author and putting them into your own words. For a novel, you may be referencing some action that occurs in the book • No quotation marks • Example: Jonesy’s death shakes up his entire unit (Myers 273-275).

2. Direct Quotes with Dialogue • Punctuation is different for a direct quote that contains dialogue: • “’Treat our lives as if they are as precious as your own,’ Halima said. ‘That’s all we ask’” (Myers 148). • Quotation marks around the entire direct quote • Quotation marks that appear in the direct quote become apostrophes • Period still goes after the parenthetical citation

3. A note about Quotes as Attention-getters • If you are using a quote from a famous person, to avoid a parenthetical citation and a citation on your Works Cited, you may use their name to give them credit. These quotes are common enough and can be found in so many places you don’t need to cite them if you give credit. It might look something like – • Philosopher Hannah Arendt states that, “Something profound….” • Or, you might give credit after the quote. Put the quote first (in quotation marks), and then in the next sentence have something like: • The quote from philosopher Hannah Arendt shows… • Either way, after the quote, have an explanation of what you see the quote saying. This is also true if you use a quote from the book.

4. Things to consider as you write • After each piece of evidence you need your reasoning. Remember that this is the explanation of how your evidence shows the personality trait. Also, you need to explain how you see the author using indirect or direct characterization to create that personality trait.