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MLA Workshop
Selecting, Editing, and Integrating Quotations
Selecting Quotations
The purpose of integrating quotations into a paper is to offer the support that you will analyze and explain in relationship to your topic sentences, which, of course, ultimately support your thesis; therefore, you must carefully select your quotations so that they directly relate to your argument.
A quotation may be used to define an idea presented in the topic sentence, to illustrate the idea, to argue in support of your idea, to show opposition to your argument, to refute opposition to your argument, etc But remember that you must explain how the quotation relates to your ideas. Also, as you will see below, depth is preferred to breadth, meaning carefully edit your quotation so that it will contain only the necessary information that you need. This will allow you to develop the information you are offering completely.
Integrating Quotations
Use these four steps as a guide while developing your quotations. This can also be used as a proofreading guide to double check that you have followed the format:
Introduce the quotation: This step can be done by giving a signal phrase such asJohn Doe explains, I am not a happy man.or with more complicated quotations you may need to give a bit of background information in order for the reader to understand the context: for exampleAs John Doe was reaching for the knife, he muttered, Ill never see another tax day again.
Give the quotation: Use the correct MLA format to cite the quotation. Use full (double) quotation marks.
Analyze the language (the actual words) of the quotation: Explain the significance of the quotation by interpreting the language and/or tone of the author; for example, what might be understood if a writer describes something as chimney red and Halloween orange? Ask yourself this kind of question and then answer it as completely as possible.
Explain how the quotation relates to the topic sentence: Explain to the reader how this authors ideas support, develop or relate to your own ideas.
Note: Steps 3 & 4 are the most difficult for most writers, so these steps often cause the most difficulty for students. These steps articulate the critical thinking that has been done. Never assume that the quotations you offer are obvious so, therefore, do not need explanations.
Integrating Quotations:
Students usually fall into the trap of quoting too little or too much because they believe the quotation speaks for itself. Students assume that if they use a quotation of one word or a longer quotation of several sentences the meaning will be clear to the reader. All quotations need an explanation. You must think about what you are quoting in relationship to how you will use the quotation to support your topic sentence. This relationship will determine whether your quotation is a term, phrase, sentence, or multiple sentences.
The following are some ways to integrate quotations effectively:
The quotations will be taken from the following paragraph:
One July, while killing ants on the kitchen sink with a rolled newspaper, I had a nine-year-olds vision of wealth that would save us from ourselves. For weeks I had drunk Kool-Aid and watched Father Knows Best, whose family was so uncomplicated in its routine that I very much wanted to imitate it. The first step was to get my brother and sister to wear shoes at dinner.
Excerpted from Looking for Work by Gary Soto
When you refer to a term or concept that is unique to the author or created by the author, place the term in quotation marks and cite the source as a whole work (refer to the author and/or the title of the work).
Young Garys nine-year-olds vision of wealth causes him to incorrectly judge his own family (Soto 145).
When quoting an entire sentence use a variety of structures, put the quotation at the beginning, middle, or end of your sentence. Vary your approach among these options.
At the beginningSoto explains, For weeks I had drunk Kool-Aid and watched Father Knows Best (145).
In the middleFor weeks, Soto explains, I had drunk Kool-Aid and watched Father Knows Best (145).
At the endFor weeks I had drunk Kool-Aid and watched Father Knows Best, explains Soto (145).
If you have already made reference to the author and use a second quotation in the paragraph, cite the source as follows:
For weeks I had drunk Kool-Aid and watched Father Knows Best (Soto 145).
Incorporating a quotation into your ideas:
Soto reveals his early influences when he explains that [f]or weeks [he] had drunk Kool-Aid and watched Father Knows Best (145).
Note: The brackets around he tell the reader that you have changed the word (or words) so that the sentence will make sense. Also, notice how much more this sentence offers the reader compared to the first three sentences; always try to integrate and subordinate the quotations to your ideas.
Editing Quotations:
As above, the quotations will be taken from the following paragraph:
One July, while killing ants on the kitchen sink with a rolled newspaper, I had a nine-year-olds vision of wealth that would save us from ourselves. For weeks I had drunk Kool-Aid and watched Father Knows Best, whose family was so uncomplicated in its routine that I very much wanted to imitate it. The first step was to get my brother and sister to wear shoes at dinner.
Excerpted from Looking for Work by Gary Soto
Omit any unnecessary information from a quotation by using an ellipsis (three periods).
When he explains that [f]or weeks [he] had [] watched Father Knows Best, Soto reveals his early influence.
As young Gary is killing ants [] with a rolled newspaper, we understand that something is troubling him.
If pronouns are used in the original quotation, you may have to clarify the meaning by replacing the pronoun with a bracketed antecedent.
Because he watched the family on Father Knows Best, [Soto] very much wanted to imitate it (145).
Block Quotations: Quotations that are four (4) typed lines or longer must be set off from the text by beginning a new line, indenting one inch (ten spaces) on the left margin and double spacing. Do not use quotation marks.
In the first paragraph of his short story Looking for Work, Gary Soto reveals the problem that complicated his childhood:
I had a nine-year-olds vision of wealth that would save us from ourselves. For weeks I had drunk Kool-Aid and watched Father Knows Best, whose family was so uncomplicated in its routine that I very much wanted to imitate it. The first step was to get my brother and sister to wear shoes at dinner. (145)
Note: Block quotations often introduce a great deal of information, so you must be extremely careful using them: Remember, you are responsible for explaining all of the ideas and concepts and language that is introduced by a quotation. Do not relinquish your control of your text to another author. Furthermore, use a colon after the introductory phrase. Type the quotation out to the right margin and indent only on the left margin.
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