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Introducing Quotes
How To | Examples
Consider the following sentences from a student's rough draft.
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Gimpel knew everyone
including himself was imperfect and that mistakes
would be made, but because of that trust he kept in people and his wife
and most importantly God, he could get through it. “Singer creates a
deeply religious story about a man of simple faith who, because of his
faith, has a godlike capacity for love, the ideal Jew, if you will.”
(Judy Sobeloff)
It all comes back to love, anyone can love
their family if it is all rainbows and lollipops but when the going gets tough
many fail to show that same love. “Then I went home,
took my hoard from its hiding place, and divided it among the
children.” (286)
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How do the quotes work? Do they seem integrated into the
writer's own thoughts/prose? Do they seem dropped in?
While it's great when friends drop in unannounced, it's considered rude if quotes don't give you a call before they knock on your door.
Since they can't dial a number, you'll have to help the quotes by supplying a context for them. This serves two
purposes: 1) it sets up your point/argument by telling the reader why
you're bringing up a particular source or quote, and 2) it gives the
reader information to help identify the speaker or place the speaker or
example in the given work.
Let's take another look at the quotes above
Gimpel knew everyone
including himself was imperfect and that mistakes
would be made, but because of that trust he kept in people and his wife
and most importantly God, he could get through it. Literary critic Judy Sobeloff notes Gimpel's devotion, writing that this is “a
deeply religious story about a man of simple faith who, because of his
faith, has a godlike capacity for love.”
It all comes back to love: anyone can love
their family if it is all rainbows and lollipops, but when the going gets tough
many fail to show that same love. Gimpel is tough. Before leaving Frampol he“took [his] hoard from its hiding place, and divided it among the
children” (286). |
Another example? Okay, how about a quote from "A&P."
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Sammy knew that he was not going to be like a
typical hero and "get the girl" at the end of the story. As he walks
out into the parking lot, he looks for "my girls," but resignedly notes
that "they're gone, of course" (17).
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Notice that the "Sammy knew that" sentence prepares
readers for the quote itself. This context helps readers by letting
readers better understand (and thus agree with) your argument by
framing it in a manner so they can understand it. By setting up your
example so clearly, your argument flows logically from your example and
explanation leaving the reader with a satisfied "Ahhh" as opposed to a
befuddled "huh?"
The set-up noted above could result in an
explanation/argument sentence like this:
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The "of course," with its knowing air, suggests
that Sammy, even before he stepped outside, realized that his heroic
deed would go unnoticed by the girls.
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Remember: set up quotes so readers do not get whiplash
by jerking their heads and asking "Huh? What's this doing here?" as
they read your essay. . . . Lawsuits are expensive.
How
To
Try the following three steps to ease readers into
the quote.
- Introduce Quote/set up
- Let reader know who is speaking (even if it's just the narrator) and where we are at in the literary work.
- Give reader an idea of what you want them to focus on in the quote -- foreshadow your argument
- If a secondary source, establish the credentials of the writer "Professor of psychology" etc.
- Try using a verb from list below to set up a quote.
- Insert Quote
Use quotation marks and include page number if a print source: no page
number if source does not include them.
- Comment on Quote
Avoid “this quote is saying . . .;” instead, connect with another idea
or explain its relevance to your paragraph. In particular,
work on linking it to your topic sentence and thus thesis and division.
add
agree analyze answer argue |
believe charge
claim comment conclude consider |
criticize declare describe define discover emphasize |
explain
feels illustrate imply indicate
list |
maintain mention |note observe object
offer |
point out reinforce report
reply respond reveal |
show
stress suggest support think
write |
Examples
When Gimpel first finds Elka has been cheating he thinks "_______"
(631).
Early in the story the narrator believes that
"______"
(81).
When Sammy first sees the girls he thinks "______"
(23).
At the end of the story, Norma suddenly tells Leroy
that
"_____" (231).
Supporting the aristocracy, old Judge Stevens
implies to
a member of the "rising generation" that it would be rude to "________"
(324),
To deal with his friend's death, the narrator notes that Rat Kiley
"____" (32)
After watching Rat torture and kill the baby water buffalo, Mitchell
Sanders laconically says "Well, that's Nam [ . . . . ] Garden of Evil.
Over here, man, every sin's real fresh and original" (120).
As O'Brien notes in an interview, the characters Tim and Timmy provide
a way to "_______" (Hicks and O'Brien).
The critic Catherine Calloway believes that O'Brien's fiction
"___________" (250).
See also list of examples on Verb List and Introducing Quotes Examples and Punctuation When Citing Sources.
© David Bordelon
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