Integrating Quotations

Two of the most common problems involving integration of quotations are:

Problem 1: Dropped Quotations

Dropped quotations are those which appear without warning or are found standing all on their own--plop! right in the middle of your text.

Examples

The following examples show dropped quotations:

Since a percentage of any college's enrollment will be made up of commuting students, overlooking the needs of these students could cause friction within the college community. "Commuting students account for thirty-five percent of UK's total enrollment" (Smith 19). The needs of these students cannot continue to be dismissed.

While the bald eagle is still an endangered species, its increasing population is encouraging. "The bald eagle seems to have stabilized its population, at the very least, almost everywhere" (Sheppard 96).

Note:
These quotations are correctly cited,
but
they are not correctly integrated.

How To Fix Dropped Quotations

When you insert a quotation into your text, you should introduce it by using a signal phrase.

A signal phrase usually includes the author's name and attributes the quotation to him/her.

Since a percentage of any college's enrollment will be made up of commuting students, overlooking the needs of these students could cause friction within community. According to Dean of Students Jane Smith, because " [c]ommuting students account for thirty-five percent of UK's total enrollment," the needs of these students cannot continued to be dismissed (19).

While the bald eagle is still an endangered species, its increasing population is encouraging. Writes ornithologist Jay Sheppard, "[t]he bald eagle seems to have stabilized its population, at the very least, almost everywhere" (96).

Sample Signal Phrases
·  in the words of
·  as [blank] has pointed out
·  [blank] points out
·  claims [blank]
·  [blank] answers these claims
·  [blank] argues

| Index | Problem 2: Nongrammatical

Problem 2: Nongrammatical Integration

;’’

Nongrammatical integration of quotations occurs when you simply insert a quotation into your own writing or sentence without making the changes necessary to ensure that it matches grammatically.

Often, for example, you might have to change something like a verb tense in the original quotation to make it "fit" grammatically into your sentence.

Examples Using Specific Quotation

Suppose we have this original quotation, borrowed from a text (with the part to be quoted in red):

"In all of her works, but especially in Mary Barton, Elizabeth Gaskell expends great energy showing the hazards of society's failure to attend to the needs of all classes" (28).

We have two choices about how to integrate it:

1. We can integrate it poorly, causing the verb tense to be off:

Mary Barton is Gaskell's first novel, and as such it bears special consideration. According to Jane Smith, especially in this work Gaskell "showing the hazards of society's failure to attend to the needs of all classes" (28).

2. We can integrate it correctly, making the verb tense meld:

Mary Barton is Gaskell's first novel, and as such it bears special consideration. According to Jane Smith, especially in this work Gaskell "show[s] the hazards of society's failure to attend to the needs of all classes" (28).