60 likes | 225 Views
Using Quotations Effectively. Why use Quotations?. In literary essays you use quotations to introduce and/or support your ideas. Sometimes these quotes are dialogue and sometimes they are a piece that is significant in terms of revealing theme, plot, character or just simply powerful writing. .
E N D
Why use Quotations? • In literary essays you use quotations to introduce and/or support your ideas. • Sometimes these quotes are dialogue and sometimes they are a piece that is significant in terms of revealing theme, plot, character or just simply powerful writing.
How to Use Quotations in Your Essay Quotations of four lines or less are included in the body of your essay using quotation marks. Example: “You know I blamed Craig for not letting me do things? Maybe he didn’t really encourage me to do things, but he didn’t prevent me from doing them either”(Chbosky 63). author’s last name and page number
Introduce your quotation • A quotation should never suddenly appear out of nowhere. Some kind of information about the quotation is needed. For example: The Perks of Being a Wallflower engages the reader by exploring many tough choices faced by teenagers. Some choices Charlie and his friends face include those relating to drugs, drinking and sex and as a result this book offers a safe exploration of the consequences of choosing to engage in these behaviors. However, even though the characters in this book oftentimes choose to drink, have sex, and do drugs, by the end of the story they are able to reflect that these were often times self-destructive choices. Patrick decides to get sober, and Charlie decides to stop smoking so much pot and instead of using these behaviors to escape their lives, they instead decide to “participate” in their own lives. Charlie makes this clear when he writes, “I’m not sure if I will have time to write anymore letters because I might be too busy trying to “participate”. (Chbosky 213)
Discuss your quotation • When Sam tells Charlie, “You know I blamed Craig for not letting me do things? Maybe he didn’t really encourage me to do things, but he didn’t prevent me from doing them either”(Chbosky63)she is explaining that our behavior is a result of our own choices – not other peoples. We all have the choice to be the person we want to be and blaming other people for our decisions is simply denying that we are the only ones accountable for our own behavior.
Use Some Variety!Instead of always relying on the neutral, Charliesays, “…”, try something stronger: • Writes • Remarks • Adds • Declares • Informs • Alleges • Claims • States • Confirms • Comments • Thinks • Affirms • Asserts • Explains • Argues • Notes • Observes