Using Quotes in a Paragraph

When you quote, you copy an authors statements exactly as they appear in a source, word for
word and punctuation mark for punctuation mark, enclosing the borrowed material in quotation
marks. As a rule, you should not quote extensively in a research paper. Numerous quotations
interrupt the flow of your discussion and give readers the impression that your paper is just a
collection of other peoples ideas.1

Deciding when to quote:

1. Quote when a sources wording or phrasing is so distinctive that a summary or
paraphrase would diminish its impact.
2. Quote when a sources wordsparticularly those of a recognized expert on your
subjectwill lend authority to your presentation.
3. Quote when an authors words are so concise that paraphrasing would create a long,
clumsy, or incoherent phrase or would change the meaning of the original.
4. Quote when you plan to disagree with a source. Using a sources exact words helps
convince readers you are being fair.

Integrating Source Material into your Writing2:

Weave paraphrases, summaries, and quotations smoothly into your discussion, adding
your own analysis or explanation to increase coherence and to show the relevance of your source
material to the points you are making.

An UNACCEPTABLE integration of a quote:

For the Amish, the public school system represents a problem. A serious problem confronting
Amish society from the viewpoint of the Amish themselves is the threat of absorption into mass
society through the values promoted in the public school system (193).

11

Kirszner, Laurie G. and Stephen R. Mandell. The Wadsworth Handbook. 7th ed. United States: Thomson
Wadsworth, 2005.
2
Kirszner, Laurie G. and Stephen R. Mandell. The Wadsworth Handbook. 7th ed. United States: Thomson
Wadsworth, 2005.

ACCEPTABLE integration of quote:

1. Quotation with Identifying Tag in the Beginning:
a. As John Hostetler points out, the Amish see the public school system as a
problem because it represents the threat of absorption into mass society
(193).

2. Quotation with Identifying Tag in Middle:

a. A serious problem confronting Amish society from the viewpoint of the
Amish themselves, observes Hostetler, is the threat of absorption into mass
society through the values promoted in the public school system (193).

3. Paraphrase with Identifying Tag at End:

a. The Amish are also concerned about their childrens exposure to the public
school systems values, notes Hostetler (193).

Use such words to integrate quotes:

Acknowledges
Suggests
Concludes
Insists
Predicts
Reports
Warns
Admits

Discloses
Observes
Believes
Explains
Summarizes
Finds
Concurs
Affirms

Implies
Notes
Comments
Claims
Illustrates
Proposes
Speculates
Indicates

Purpose of Citing Sources

There are multiple reasons for citing sources. One purpose is to acknowledge the author of the
work and give credit where it is due. This acknowledgment demonstrates ethical responsibility
and academic consistency within a discipline. Moreover, citing sources provides readers with a
quick and easy way to search for evidence on a related topic. Interested readers may want to read
the work in its entirety or discover subtopics within the work.

What needs to be cited?1

When you write a paper in the humanities, you often use and build on the work other people
have researched and compiled. Whether you are writing an expository report or adding your own
insights and opinions to existing research, it's important to give credit where credit is due. If you
incorporate or refer to other people's work in your paper, you must give credit to those authors
using parenthetical citation and a Works Cited list. In addition to facts and statistics, you must
also acknowledge other people's ideas or theories.
1

MLA Citation. What needs to be cited?. 1998. U of NC at Chapel Hill. 4 Feb. 2009
<http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/mla.html>.

You need to document:

1. Direct quotes, both entire sentences
and phrases
2. Paraphrases (rephrased or
summarized material)
3. Words specific or unique to the
author's research, theories, or ideas
4. Use of an author's argument or line
of thinking
5. Historical, statistical, or scientific
facts
6. Articles or studies you refer to within
your text
You do not need to document:
1. Proverbs, axioms, and sayings ("A
stitch in time saves nine.")
2. Well-known quotations ("The
personal is political.")
3. Common knowledge (Thomas
Edison invented the phonograph, or
oxygen has an atomic number of 8,
or "The Starry Night" was painted by
Vincent Van Gogh.)

Sometimes it's difficult to be sure what counts as common knowledge, especially when writing
in an academic discipline that's new to you. Perhaps you aren't familiar with Van Gogh or an
atomic number. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself if a knowledgeable reader would be
familiar with the information. You may, in fact, need to consult with a reader within the
discipline. If she'd have to look it up, you usually should document it. If you aren't sure if
something counts as common knowledge, document it to be safe.

Exercise: Identifying When and What to Quote

Directions: Find the sentences within the paragraph that need citation. Decide whether the
sentence(s) need(s) quotations, parenthetical references, or both.
1. Erwin Schrdinger, born 1887 in Vienna Austria and also a professor of physics,
worked in multiple fields including radioactivity, general relativity,
thermodynamics, and gas theory. As a child, Schrdinger spent much of his time
with his father and developed a love for physics through their interactions (Scott
1). However, Schrdingers intelligence and passion grew through his schooling
at the University of Vienna where he learned theoretical physics, Hamiltonian
mechanics, and eigenvalue problems. He also took interest in philosophy, drama,

and poetry. He was fluent in German, English, French and Spanish, and could
give lectures in each. Throughout Schrdingers life, he wrote many books on
physics and philosophy. Also, he wrote poetry and over 150 papers (Scott 9).4

2. The personification of human qualities in the poem demonstrates Margarets

change from the innocence of death. The speaker of the poem tells Margaret that
now her mouth had, no nor mind, expressed/ what heart heard of, ghost
guessed. The mouth and mind cannot express what the heart knows and the spirit
speculates. In other words, Margaret comprehends mortality with the dropping of
the leaves but cannot put it into words. It is only an understanding that she
develops from weeping over the leaves. This personification exhibits human
characteristics, showing that sometimes the mind and mouth cannot communicate
what the spirit and heart understand. Here, Margaret cries for two reasons. Firstly,
she cannot communicate mortality. Secondly, she understands the inevitability of
death and becomes emotional. She will weep and know why. Although
Margaret cannot yet articulate mortality, she senses it since Srrows springs are
the same (11). Margarets sorrow is knowing her inescapable end, death.
Therefore, the speaker tells her it is Margaret you mourn for. He informs her
that she mourns for her self more then the leaves falling. 5

Analyzing Quotes and Relevance of Quotes

When writing academically, you are expected to use evidence, or quotes, to support your ideas
on a specific topic. In order to avoid plagiarism in your paper, you must directly quote the work
you are using and you must integrate your own interpretation of the quote into the paragraph.
Remember, a quote is used to support your idea; your idea is not used to support a quote.
Useful Strategies to Use when Analyzing a Quote:
1. Write a paraphrase of what the quote says. Look up words that you do not understand and change
these words to a more applicable understanding of the word. Remember that a paraphrase is a
very close variation of the authors words. It only changes a few words.
2. Rewrite the paraphrase to add your own opinion, without using first person, to avoid plagiarism.
This rewrite will make sure that your quote supports your idea and not the other way around.
4

Arnoldussen, Amie. Schrodingers Equation. Unpublished work, 2008.

Arnoldussen, Amie. The End of Innocence in Gerard Manley Hopkins Spring and Fall: to a Young Child.
Unpublished work, 2008.

3. Pick out the main ideas of the quote and create a sentence about each of these ideas while adding
your own opinion to it. These sentences should support your overall topic while explaining your
quote.
4. Then, write a summary, conclusion, about the quotes meaning and directly relate it to your topic.
5. Note: you will put the sentences from points 2-4 in your paper. These sentences are not
plagiarized. If you wish to put the sentence from point 1 in your paper you will need parenthetical
references.

Example:
Quote: we [the slaves] had no more voice in that decision [of value] than the brutes
among whom we were ranked (2091).
Source: Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave.
The Norton Anthology: American Literature. Vol. B. Ed. Nina Baym. 7th ed. New York:
W. W. Norton and Company, 2007. 2064-2129.
1. Paraphrase: The slaves have no voice in the decision that is being made about their value
anymore than the animals they are ranked among.
2. Rewrite: Slaves have no statues and cannot speak out against the value of their lives. They are
perceived as animals and are placed among them to determine their money value.
3. Main Ideas: Slaves have no voice and their money value is seen as equal to animals money
value.
a. Because of the system of slavery, slaves did not have the option to vocalize their
opinions. They could not refute their status as equal to animals.
4. Therefore, slaves are seen as nonhuman objects and are placed among animals when a monetary
value is placed upon them.

Exercise: Identifying the Relevance and Positioning of Quotes

Directions: The following excerpt from an essay written for a media studies course does not
use sources. After reading the excerpt below and the six quotations that follow it, decide
which quotations would be useful in supporting the writers points. Then, insert the letter
that corresponds to each quotation you select where you think it best fits. You may discard
any material that does not provide useful support.6

Gender and Sexuality in the Media

Kirszner, Laurie G. and Stephen R. Mandell. The Wadsworth Handbook. 7th ed. United States: Thomson
Wadsworth, 2005.

Gender and sexuality expectations and norms in our society are portrayed weekly
through the characters on the television show Dawsons Creek, a program about a group of
young adults who struggle to find their way through life. Gender and sexuality are very
important in this series, yet the series does not (with one notable exception) challenge
societys assumptions about what normal male and female behavior is and what it is not.
The men in Dawsons Creek seem predominantly concerned with masculine
issues, such as high social status and professional success. For example, one of the main
characters, Pacey, changes his job in an attempt to become more masculine. Pacey works as
a cook until his older brother and a few male friends encourage him to find a more
masculine profession. After following their advice, Pacey lands a job as a salesman for a
local corporation. When he and his friends plan to attend a social function with Paceys
colleagues, they make a bet to see who will bring the most attractive female date. Paceys
participation in this bet (along with his new job, which he considers manlier than his
previous job), reinforces his masculinity. Excessive competitivenessespecially when it
involves showing off a female at a social functionis a stereotypical norm of males. The
woman is treated as a possession, as something the man has won through battle.
The women in Dawsons Creek seem to be concerned largely with feminine
issues, such as dress, appearance, and men. For example, the women dress in revealing
clothing and spend a lot of time on their appearance to attract men. Their dating patterns do
not challenge societys norms. On one occasion, a man in her class asks Jen out on a date.
The date picks her up at home, opens the doors for her, pays for everything, and is generally
very attentive. In this example, it is the female as much as the male who upholds traditional
patriarchal expectations since Jen seems to expect this kind of treatment, perhaps accepting
it as her due simply because she is a woman. In this case, the male is expected to take
charge and the female to go along with his direction: as long as the woman looks good,
nobody is supposed to complain.
This kind of adherence to gender role expectations is, however, violated by the
character of Jack, a homosexual male, who challenges societal assumptions about gender
and sexuality. First, Jack joins a fraternity on his college campus, subverting he stereotype
that fraternity men are straight and proud of it. While fraternity men are often labeled as
rough and tough, acting in very masculine ways, Jack does not conform to this stereotype
and is not concerned with partying or with having sex with women. Moreover, Jack talks
about his feelings with his friends, violating the usual preconception that only women, not
men, talk about their feelings.
Source 1
Cancian, Francesca M. The Feminization of Love. Gendered Intimacies. Chicago: U of
Chicago P, 1986. 29-42.
Quotation A: Women are more open to sharing their feelings than men are.
Quotation B: Men seem to separate sex and love while women connect them, but
paradoxically, sexual intercourse seems to be the most meaningful way of
giving and receiving love for many men.

Source 2
Laner, Mary Riege, and Nicole A. Ventrone. Dating Scripts Revised. Journal of Family
Issues 21.4 (May 2000): 76-91.
Quotation C: Culturally scripted notions about dating behaviors have remained the
same over the past few decades.
Quotation D: Men and women appear to know these dating scripts for themselves
and for their partners, making first dates highly predictable.
Source 3
Lorver, Judith. Believing is Seeing. Paradoxes of Gender. New Haven, CT: Yale UP,
1994. 16-29.
Quotation E: The differences between men and women are meaningless until social
practices transform them.
Quotation F: Bodies differ in many ways physiologically, but they are completely
transformed by social practices to fit into the salient categories of a society,
the most pervasive of which are female and male and women and
men.