Practice: Imbedding Quotes
Notes:
Quotes are any information taken directly from another person; they are not your original thoughts.
When you put a direct quote in your paper it must be inside quotation marks.
Quotes must not be alone in your paragraphs; they must be embedded into sentences.
Examples:
INCORRECT: On Johnny’s first night away from his home, he is
frightened. “He had to survive, had to be hard, had to watch, had to plot
and plan, had to study each person he met…”(Meyers 57).
CORRECT: On Johnny’s first night away from his home, he realizes “to
survive [he] had to be hard, had to watch, had to plot and plan, had to
study each person he met…”(Meyers 57).
Guidelines:
There are different ways to imbed quotes into sentences.
Follow the rules below for each type of embedded quote.
I. Eliminating Words
- Use ellipsesto show you have eliminated information in a direct quotation. Ellipses are three dots {. . .} to indicate you have eliminated some words from the quotation. Note that there is a space between each dot.
Example: M. Loisel's life also changes because of this need to keep her secret: "He compromised all the rest of his life...to get the new necklace" (980).
II. Using Short Phrases
- 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).
III. Adding Words to Quotes
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).
IV. Making Your Imbedded Quotes Even Better!
Instead of: To describe Arnold Friend, Oates says, "He spoke in a simple lilting voice, exactly as if he were reciting the words to a song" (1057).
Example: Oates describes Arnold Friend's voice as "lilting...as if he were reciting the words to a song" (1057).