Quotable

1. Quotable How to effectively use quotations in your writing.

2. Three things you need to do when using a quote: • Do not leave your quote “alone.” Do not make the quote its own sentence. Make sure the quote is clearly connected to the argument you are trying to make. • No: After Elie’s mother and younger sister are separated from him, he focuses on his father. “All I could think of was not to lose him. Not to remain alone” (30). • Yes: After Elie’s mother and younger sister are separated from him, he focuses on his father saying, “All I could think of was not to lose him. Not to remain alone” (30). 

3. Three things you need to do when using a quote: • At the end of the quote, use the QUO-PAR-PUNC Rule: Quotation marks-Parentheses-Punctuation. Within the parentheses, you will usually write the author’s last name and page number on which you found the quotation. If you are quoting from one book throughout your paper, then you only have to put the page number. • Note: If a quote ends with a question mark or exclamation point, then put that punctuation before the quotation marks, to make sure the intended emotion is retained. • No: When Elie’s father was slapped by the Gypsy, Elie is shocked by his own indifference. He explains that hadn’t done anything to stop the man when “only yesterday [he] would have dug [his] fingers into the criminal’s flesh. (39)”. • Yes: When Elie’s father was slapped by the Gypsy, Elie is shocked by his own indifference. He explains that hadn’t done anything to stop the man when “only yesterday [he] would have dug [his] fingers into the criminal’s flesh” (39).

4. Parenthetical Citations BASICS: • Parenthetical cite goes at the end of the sentence. • The period goes after the parentheses. • The only thing inside the parentheses is whatever the first thing listed in the Works Cited entry is and the page number. Usually this is the author’s last name. If no author is given, it is whatever comes next in the Works Cited entry. • Do not put a comma or pg. or p. inside the parenthesis. • For Night, your parenthetical cite looks like this: (Wiesel 3). • For a quote from the movie, your parenthetical cite looks like: “…suffering doesn’t give any privilege” (Auschwitz Death Camp).

5. How to Cite A Movie: • Parenthetical cite for a movie goes at end of sentence: • “…suffering doesn’t give any privilege” (Auschwitz Death Camp). • The Works Cited entry for a movie looks like this: Title of the Movie. Director’s Name. Main Performers Names. Original Release Date. Type of Recording. Distributor, Date Particular Recording was Released. Publication Type. Auschwitz Death Camp. Oprah Winfrey. Oprah Winfrey and Elie Wiesel. 2006. DVD. Harpo, Inc., 2006. Documentary Film.

6. Three things you need to do when using a quote: • After the quote, make sure you clearly explain how the quote supports your thesis. Your explanation should be longer than the quote itself. The more you explain your reasoning for choosing the quote, the more clearly your reader will understand the point you are trying to make. • Time to look at an example: STUDENT ESSAY