Transcript Integrating and Analyzing Quotes

Why use quotes in an essay?
Whom do you trust?
Why use quotes in an essay?
Whom do you trust?
When faced with the question, most people choose the doctor as opposed to the clown
as someone they trust. Doctors are required to complete years of schooling/training and
are required to take an oath.
The white lab coat, the stethoscope, and the posture are symbols that we associate with
credibility.
Why use quotes in an essay?
Whom do you trust?
Just as the doctor’s attire of a stethoscope and lab coat symbolizes credibility, a writer
can use tools such as specific quotes from a text, the format of the paper, and correct
punctuation/grammar to help convince the audience (the readers) that he is a credible
writer.
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
The rhetorical triangle represents
three important elements of effective
argument and communication.
1.Ethos: Is the person making the
argument credible?
2.Logos: Is the argument logical? Does
it makes sense?
3.Pathos: Is the writer/speaker
appealing to the emotions of the
audience?
Why use quotes in an essay?
Ethos: The credibility of the argument
 A writer should use specific quotes from the text to support her
point. It’s not enough to just explain an idea. Instead, use the
actual words—a quote—from the book to help establish an
argument.
 When doing research, writers should bring in the work of other
experts in the field to help establish credibility.
 The writer should document the sources appropriately
depending on the preferred style guide for the paper such as
MLA or APA.
How should I format the quotes?
Think of the Quote Sandwich
 First, you have to introduce the quote. This is your top
piece of bread.
 Second, use the quote. This is the “good stuff” in the
middle of your sandwich.
 Third, analyze the quote. This is your bottom piece of
bread.
How do you use quotes an essay?
Think of the parts of the sandwich!
Bread on top
Good stuff
in the middle
Bread on
bottom
Introduce
quote
Quote
Commentary on
quote
Structure for Analysis Paragraph
 The first sentence should introduce the title and author.
 The next few sentences should provide some general information
leading up to the quote.
 Right before the quote, use a signal phrase: The author explains, shows,
states, argues, illustrates…
 Chose and insert a meaningful quote.
 After the quote, provide a few sentences of commentary. Refer back to
the reading log. The student may be able to use something she’s already
written—something that was in the right column.
Step 1: Introduce the author, book, and
general overview of work
Title of Book: To Kill a Mockingbird
Author: Harper Lee
__________________________________________
In her classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, explores
the complexities of race relations and family values in a
small southern town.
Step 1: Introduce the author and book
Never assume that your audience already knows the work that you
referring to even if the audience is your professor. Instead, imagine your
audience is anyone on campus who may come across your work.
Dr. Torres explains in his article “Bad Dude Syndrome” that
______________.
Writing in the journal Ethics & Society, Dr. Torres argues that
_____
In his book _______, X explores ____________.
Adapted from:
Graff, Gerald And Cathy Birkenstein. They Say, I Say. New York: Norton and Company. 2006. Print.
Step 2: Provide a few sentences of
background/context leading up to the
quote
________ tend to believe that____________
Conventional wisdom has it that___________
Society often thinks that ______________
__________ celebrates the fact that
___________emphasizes that
Step 2: Provide a few sentences of
background/context leading up to the
quote
In her classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper
Lee explores the complexities of race relations and
family values in a small southern town. She
emphasizes that often, what we teach our children
at home can conflict with the world around us and
that a man is only as good as his integrity. Through
the eyes of young Scout, we see how even race
relations are not just “black and white”.
Step Three: Chose a meaningful quote and
introduce it by using a signal phrase
A signal phrase is group of words that signals that a quote will be introduced
According to Dr. Torres, “____________________” (50).
Dr. Torres states, “__________________________” (35).
Dr. Torres complicates matters further when he writes that
“__________” (56).
The author demonstrates this concept “________” (4).
Notice that the page number goes in parentheses followed by punctuation.
Adapted from:
Graff, Gerald And Cathy Birkenstein. They Say, I Say. New York: Norton and Company. 2006. Print.
Choose different signal phrases to add variety
Step Three: Introduce a quote by using a
signal phrase
In his book The Compadre, Dr. Torres explores the
complexities of relationships. He emphasizes that
friendships can be very difficult to keep up. Although
intentions may be sincere, life can get in the way. One of the
challenges can be communication. The author demonstrates
this when the character “Joe, in a fit of rage, screams at his
friend Sue” (Torres 4).
Step 4:
Provide commentary/analysis after the
quote
In other words, __________________
To put it another way,_________________
____________ is important because_____________
Although ______________ may seem trivial, it is in fact crucial in terms of
today’s concern over____________.
Ultimately, what is at stake here is___________________
Adapted from:
Graff, Gerald And Cathy Birkenstein. They Say, I Say. New York: Norton and Company. 2006. Print.
Step 4:
Provide commentary/analysis after the
quote
In his book The Compadre, Dr. Torres emphasizes the complexities of
relationships. He suggests that friendships can be very difficult to keep up.
Although intentions may be sincere, life can get in the way. One of the
challenges can be communication. The author shows this when the
character “Joe, in a fit of rage, screams at his friend Sue” (Torres 4).
Ultimately what is at stake here is the relationship. When arguments turn
into screaming matches, friendships can be damaged. Rather than
screaming, friends should calmly explain their problems, which can
perhaps preserve a friendship.
Avoid the following mistakes
 Failing to introduce the title of the work and the
author.
 Starting a sentence or (paragraph) with a quote.
Remember, you need to introduce the quote using a
signal phrase.
 Ending a paragraph with a quote. Remember, you need
to follow every quote with some of your own
commentary or analysis. (This is the bottom piece of
bread to your sandwich!)
Common Pitfalls
The “loose balloon” (dropped quotes)
Quotes need to be “held down” with your own writing.
If not, they are disconnected from your other ideas.
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Examples of Loose Balloons
T.S. Eliot, in his "Talent and the Individual," uses gender-specific
language. "No poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning
alone. His significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his
relation to the dead poets and artists" (Eliot 29).
Holden gets frustrated and decides to leave."People are always
ruining things for you" (Salinger 88).
The narrator feels powerless against the Burmese. For example,
“I knew they would laugh at me if I backed down. And that would
never do” (Orwell).
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Method #1:
Use an introductory or explanatory phrase
separated from the quotation with a comma:
Thoreau suggests the consequences of making ourselves
slaves to progress when he says, "We do not ride on the
railroad; it rides upon us.“
In his examination of the values and rhythm of
American life, Thoreau asks, "Why should we live with such
hurry and waste of life?"
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Your Turn
Practice Method #1 by integrating the sample quote with a
signal phrase and a comma
After June's humiliating piano recital, Waverly
adds insult to injury.
"You aren't a genius like me" (Tan 151).
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After June's humiliating piano recital, Waverly adds insult to
injury by declaring, "You aren't a genius like me" (Tan 151).
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Method #2:
Make the quotation a part of your own sentence without
any punctuation between your own words and the words
you are quoting.
Thoreau argues that "shams and delusions are esteemed for
soundest truths, while reality is fabulous”(98).
Holden gets frustrated and decides to leave, claiming that
"people are always ruining things for you" (Salinger 88).
According to Thoreau, people are too often "thrown off the track
by every nutshell and mosquito's wing that falls on the rails” (108).
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Method #2: Using ‘That’
In "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For," Thoreau states directly
his purpose for going into the woods when he says that "I went to
the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the
essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to
teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
**Notice that the word “that" is used in the examples above. “That"
replaces the comma which would be necessary without "that" in
the sentence
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Your Turn
Practice Method #2 by integrating the sample quote into your
own sentence using “that” and no comma.
Macbeth is worried before he murders Duncan.
"Bloody instructions, which being taught, return To plague
th'inventor."
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Before he murders Duncan, Macbeth is worried that "Bloody
instructions, which being taught, return To plague th'inventor.”
**NOTE: It is not enough to leave the quotation here: you still
need a follow-up with analysis of why you decided to quote
this. EX:
Macbeth is already showing the audience that his conscience
is guilty and that he knows following through with this plan will
most likely lead to his own downfall; yet, he goes through with
it anyway.
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Method #3: Introduce the quotation with a
complete sentence and a colon.
In "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For," Thoreau states
directly his purpose for going into the woods: "I went to the
woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the
essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to
teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not
lived.”
Thoreau ends his essay with a metaphor: "Time is but the
stream I go a-fishing in."
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Method #3: Using a colon
Thoreau summarizes how he thinks we can improve our
lives: "Simplify, simplify.“
This is an easy rule to remember: if you use a complete
sentence to introduce a quotation, you need a colon
after the sentence. Be careful not to confuse a colon (:)
with a semicolon (;)
.
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Your Turn
Practice Method #3 by integrating the sample quote into
your own sentence using a complete sentence and a
Colon
Scout is constantly complaining about being left behind by
Jem and Dill.
“You never let me go anywhere. If you don’t let me go this
time I’m gonna tell Atticus on the both of you” (77).
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Scout is constantly complaining about being left behind by
Jem and Dill: “You never let me go anywhere. If you don’t let
me go this time I’m gonna tell Atticus on the both of you.”
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Method #4:
Use short quotations--only a few words—as part
of your own sentence.
In "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For," Thoreau states
that his retreat to the woods around Walden Pond was
motivated by his desire "to live deliberately” and to face only
"the essential facts of life.”
Thoreau argues that people blindly accept "shams and
delusions” as the "soundest ruths,” while regarding reality as
"fabulous.”
Although Thoreau "drink[s] at“ the stream of Time, he can
"detect how shallow it is."
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Method 4: Tips
Weave the author’s words into your ideas.
Use the words as if they were your own.
How is Method #4 different from the other methods?
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Your Turn
Practice Method #4 by integrating the author’s words into your
own sentence. (Hint: you may have to change or eliminate a
phrase in the first sentence in order to incorporate the quote)
Jem constantly tells Scout that she needs to leave him alone
because she pesters him with concerns about his safety.
“Stop acting like a girl”
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Jem constantly tells Scout that she needs to “stop acting like a
girl” because she pesters him with concerns about his safety.
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Review: Which Method Is It?
A. Atticus metaphorically explains why a man like Boo Radley
should be left alone: “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 86).
B.Atticus metaphorically explains the reason people should
leave Boo Radley alone when he says, “remember it’s a sin to
kill a mockingbird” (Lee 86).
C.While bothering Boo Radley and “kill[ing] a mockingbird” are
not entirely the same, Atticus was still able to get the children to
understand that harming a defenseless person is “a sin” (Lee
86).
D. The children learn to leave Boo Radley alone after their
father told them that “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 86)
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Review: The Proper Punctuation
■ Method 1: Someone says, “quotation.”
■ Method 2: Someone says that “quotation.”
■ Method 3: Complete sentence: “quotation.”
■ Method 4: Explanation of author’s “big ideas”
and “important quotes.”
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A Final Thought
All of these methods are meant to guide you to correctly format
and smoothly integrate your quotes.
When done properly, it shows control and sophistication in your
writing
Don’t rely on just one method. Bring variety into your writing by
using different methods at different times.
Practice makes perfect. It might take you weeks or years before
you feel comfortable!
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