Quotes Should be Working for You August 26, 2009
Posted by jhicks in : CORE, Citation & bibliography, Education Unit, Love Unit, Quoting , trackbackA quote is a powerful enforcer in your writing. The direct quote should underscore and clarify a point you have written about; it should not be doing the explaining for you. So, always summarize a quote before or after you use it. (Otherwise, you readers may think you don’t understand the quote or how it applies.)
Secondly, impress the reader with the authority of the quote. In your sentences tell something about the source–maybe the source is a well-known person like former president Jimmy Carter, or has an impressive title like Surgeon General, or perhaps the name of the article is the most impressive like “Annual Energy Outlook 2007″ from the US government Energy Information Administration. No one cares about the actual author, in this case. The title is the convincing part.
You’re probably thinking, what about the citation and bibliography? Isn’t all that information there? Yes, but your text is convincing if you show that you were able to interpret the significance of the sources, not just stick a few ideas together with some quotes. Your role as writer is to digest and interpret for the reader, not just find. And, anything you put in the text, you can omit from the parenthetical citation–in MLA or APA.
For examples, see this short how-to from us: How to Use Quotes, Paraphrases, and Summaries Effectively
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