Helpful Tips and Suggestions for Integrating Quotes

It is wise to avoid placing direct quotes in the parts of your paper where you state and restate your thesis--the introduction, topic sentences, and conclusion. Even though it may seem like the perfect place to put that "cool" quote, think twice about it, because quotes are best used to support your own analysis. You will not wish to begin or end your paper with someone else's words, or make it appear as if all the major points in your essay came from someone else.

It is best to try to use short quotes in your essay, rather than simply filling space with many long quotes. It is also essential to spend time analyzing the quotes you put into your paper.

Meticulous accuracy is also essential when using quotations. Change nothing from your source without indicating that you've done so -- not spelling, not capitalization, not paragraph structure. (Exceptions are below.)

Like the rest of your paper, your quotations and how you use them should make sense. If you quote part of another work, it needs to make sense within the body of your paper. The quotation also needs to make sense in terms of syntax (with complete sentences, grammar, mechanics, and so forth). In other words, the quotation--as with the rest of your text--must be clear in terms of both content and form.

Methods of Integrating Quotes

You may choose to integrate short phrases from the work into your sentence.

Example: The ritualistic and primitive nature of the event is suggested in Old Man Warner's repetition of the saying "Lottery in June, corn be here soon" (705).

Integrate quotes into your sentence by using a colon. Remember, a colon introduces a complete sentence.

Example: Paul confuses luck with money: "I thought when Uncle Oscar said filthy lucker, it meant money" (874).

Allow the quote to flow naturally after an introductory sentence, and then further explain its significance.

Example: Santiago realizes he could put himself at risk if he doesn’t get enough rest. “I could go without sleeping, he told himself. But it would be too dangerous” (77). Despite his fatigued condition, he still has the presence of mind to understand the importance of getting some shut-eye.

Changing or Adding Words

When you're quoting a line as part of your own sentence, you may alter or omit the closing punctuation of that line to make it compatible with your own sentence's punctuation. For instance, you may insert a period where there was none if your sentence should end, or omit a period from the original if your sentence continues.

Original: "They look like white elephants," she said.

Example: The unspoken subject of their conversation is implied in Jig's line, "They look like white elephants" (653).

Use brackets to indicate any changes you make to quotations in order to integrate them with the style or clarity of your sentences (for reasons of pronouns, verb tense, capitalization, or comprehension).

Original: Her knees were tumors on sticks, her elbows chicken bones.

Example: The horror and seriousness of the situation is quickly detailed by vivid imagery: "[Stella's] knees were tumors on sticks, her elbows chicken bones" (1137).

Be careful of changing too much within such a short quotation. This tends to make the quotation awkward. In general, if you have to change more than two items in a short quotation, it's better to find another way to write it.

Discuss the effectiveness of the following writing samples:

Serious room for improvement:

William Golding's book Lord of the Flies is about kids stranded on an island.  Some of the kids are good and some are bad. "Roger, with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever" (Golding 180).  So I ask you, what causes irresponsible behavior?  Ralph is good, but Jack is bad.

Room for improvement:

There are bad kids on the island. One of them is Roger. He drops a boulder on Piggy and kills him. "Roger, with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever" (Golding 180). This caused Piggy's death.

A possible revision:

The truest form of wickedness on the island is evident in Roger. He demonstrates his true depravity when, "with a sense of delirious abandonment, [he] leaned all his weight on the lever" (Golding 180). Well aware of Piggy's place beneath him, Roger willingly takes Piggy's life.

Another possible revision:

Roger's murder of Piggy clearly illustrates the depths children can sink to without appropriate supervision. As he stood high above Piggy on the mountain, "Roger, with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever" (Golding 180). His willingness to welcome the moment with "delirious abandonment" clearly demonstrates the level of pleasure that Roger received by committing this horrific act.

Sources: D.K. Peterson’s Literature Resources, Purdue University; Ken Rodoff, Springfield Township High School, Erdenheim, PA. Accessed 2.26.07