Consider the following sentences from a student's rough draft.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) | 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 aboveGimpel
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."
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). |
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:
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. |
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). The critic Catherine Calloway believes that Mason's fiction "___________" (250). |