Integrating Quotes February 20, 2008
Posted by arussell in : CORE paper#2, Style, CORE , trackback-So, my professor says that I should quote more, but I just don’t know how.
-I use quotes in every paper. I quote all the time. Practically every sentence has a quote or a paraphrase. Why doesn’t my professor like it?
-I quote well, but my professor thinks I should ‘integrate’ them more. What does she mean?
All of these concerns and questions are good ones to have because they give us a place to begin. The answer for each is surprisingly similar because it involves how we think about quotes.
So here are some questions to get you thinking.
1. Why would someone use a quote?
2. If you want to use a quote, why use it? Does it illustrate better than you are able? Will it promote your argument? Show a hole in it with which you can wrestle?
3. Why quote right there?
4. Have you summarized, analyzed, and synthesized it into your paragraph?
“BUT that’s just how to think about it! How do I actually go about it?”
That’s also a good question because that depends on context. I like to introduce the author of the quote earlier in my summary of what the quote says and use the name in a phrase just prior to the quote. That looks a bit like:
In his text concerning the great influence the water bottle has had on the college campus, author J. Doe promotes investigating the contents of water bottles in every classroom. Doe writes, “Water bottles are certainly important for hydration, but they are also locations of contamination! Therefore, students who not properly trained in sanitation techniques will become ill or make others ill unless administrations crack down on water bottle use” (45). Concerned with the…
There are other ways of incorporating quotes that can also be very effective. This is just a starting point. When your own paper still stumps you, bring it in and we’ll take a look at it together. That is the best kind of help for me!
Two pairs of eyes is better than one.
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