Integrating Quotes and Evidence

1. Integrating Quotes and Evidence

2. Why Use Quotes in Your Essay? 1. To prove your ideas 2. To illustrate your point of view 3. To be convincing

3. Common Problems when Using Quotes: • Drop and run: Using a quotation without introduction or context causes confusion. • Leaving the quotation to explain itself. • Quoting information that could be summarized or left out (over-quoting).

4. When to Use Quotes in Your Essay • After you have given the topic sentence and explained what you will be writing about in your paragraph • demonstrate the connection between your idea and the quote you’ve used. • the quote does not make your point for you; Do not end a paragraph with a quote.

5. Framing the Quote • Introduce the quote for relevance and context. • Lead-in to identify its source (e.g. "according to" or "Kincaid writes," etc.). • Quotation should be written accurately. Omission of a word or phrase should be indicated by ellipses. • Comment on or explain the significance of the quote. • Cite the source.

6. Weaving-in Quotes Rather than use an entire passage, weave-in the essential phrase into your own sentence. I find it striking that though "women novelists have probably dominated American literature since the middle of the nineteenth century," our literary tradition is still incredibly gender specific (Schweickart 201). Steve Jobs likes to describe the difference between television and the Web as the difference between “lean-back” and “sit-forward” media. The networked computer makes you lean in, focus, engage, while television encourages you to zone out.

7. Lead-in and Signal Phrase • Writing can be very rewarding. As Ellen Goodman, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and social commentator, has remarked,“It’s like cleaning house, getting rid of all the junk.”

8. Signal phrase with “that” • Writing a statement that ends in that or a signal phrase and then the quote • Example: Demeter’s passive responsibility in the plants’ growth is clear when the author states that “When Demeter felt especially fine, tiny shoots of barley or oats would spring up in the footprints She left” (110).

9. Adding Text to Quotes The quote you use should make grammatical sense with the rest of your sentence. Enclose changes to a quote in square brackets (like this: [ ] ). • Example: The narrator is grateful for the separation that nature gives him from the battle, and “conceived Nature to be a woman with a deep aversion to tragedy” (100) (Original Text) • The narrator is grateful for the separation that nature gives him from the battle, and “conceive[s] Nature to be a woman with a deep aversion to tragedy” (100).

10. Paraphrasing • We know that the human brain is highly plastic; neurons and synapses change as circumstances change. When we adapt to a new cultural phenomenon, including the use of a new medium, we end up with a different brain, says Michael Merzenich, a pioneer of the field of neuroplasticity. That means our online habits continue to reverberate in the workings of our brain cells even when we’re not at a computer. Although the writer has rephrased the quote instead of using the author’s exact words, he or she used the same parts - introduction, lead in, and comments – to integrate the paraphrase.

11. Quote vs. Paraphrase Use a direct quote for • Defining specialized terms • Word choice is critical to the evidence Paraphrase for • Giving factual information/plot • Keeping the focus on the idea

12. Balanced Use of Quotes Quote only when necessary and effective: • Establish expert authority • Showcase powerful word choice Overquoting can weaken your essay: • Loss of focus; choppiness of style • Loss of voice and lack of comprehension Most of the essay should be your own words and explanations. Show your grasp of the concepts.

13. When to use Attributive Tags Attributing information or quotes to specialists or respected institution directly in the text can enhance credibility of your essay. According the Dr. Nathaniel West of Harvard School of Medicine, there is significant reduction of… However, if the source lacks any clear expert background, cite parenthetically. There has been significant increase in the number of immigrants seeking asylum since the separation of families began (“Crisis at the Border”).

14. Adapted from the following resources: UCLA Undergraduate Writing Center. UCLA. 22 July 2019. https://wp.ucla.edu/wpcontent/uploads/2016/01/UWC_handouts_integratingquotes.pdf Integrating Quotes. Vanier College. 16 August 2018 http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/tlc/files/2016/08/Integrating-Quotes.pdf Eaker, Mia. Integrating Outside Material. https://www.slideshare.net/miatheresa/integrating-outside-material1104