Using Quotes To Support Your Work
What NOT To Do / What To Do· Do NOT let your quote stand alone. Rule of thumb – don’t begin a sentence with a quote. / · Properly introduce or end your quote with a signal phrase or reference.
· E.g. As Benvolio insists in Act I, “Break it up, you fools. Put your swords away.”
· Do NOT forget to explain or expand on your quote / · Your quote should add to what you’re trying to convey to the reader. Follow up your quote by linking it to your current point or argument.
· In Act I, scene i of Romeo and Juliet Benvolio urges his friends to “break it up” and to “put [their] swords away.” This scene is the perfect example of Benvolio’s peace-making character that further develops as the play unfolds.
· Do NOT forget to give credit to the person you are quoting. / · Cite your source! Unless you have the first folio, chances are you’re reading the play from a book someone edited or a website put together by an organization. Follow proper MLA formatting as you would a book with an editor. See below for examples.
· Do NOT use a quote that is unrelated to what you are talking about. / · Use a quote that proves what you are trying to say or adds to your point.
Things To Remember
· Underline or italicize play titles, as in Romeo and Juliet.
· When you quote from a play, divide lines of verse with slashes the way you would if quoting poetry. You can tell a passage is in verse by examining it to see if every line starts with a capital letter, regardless of whether the line starts a sentence.
- Example: At the end of the play, Richard tries to regain his kingdom by imagining his thoughts as his subjects, "And these same thoughts people this little world,/ In humours like the people of this world" (V.i.9-10).
· Please note that your references at the end of your quotations should refer to Act, scene and line numbers (as in the example above), not to page numbers. You may either use Roman numerals or Arabic ones as you prefer. Example: (1.1.12-23) or (I.i.12-23) -- In this reference, the quotation would come from Act I, scene i, lines 12-23. The period should always appear at the end of your sentence, that is, after the parenthetical reference.
· To cite the book we have been using in class, use the following format:
Last Name, First Name. Title of play. Ed. Dom Saliani and Chris Ferguson. Place of publication: Publisher, copyright date.
Signal Phrase Verbs
Person is neutral / Person implies or suggests / Person argues / Person is uneasy or disagrees / Person agreescomments / analyzes / contends / disparages / admits
describes / asks / defends / belittles / agrees
explains / assesses / disagrees / bemoans / concedes
illustrates / concludes / holds / complains / concurs
notes / finds / insists / condemns / grants
observes / predicts / maintains / deplores
points out / proposes / deprecates
records / reveals / derides
relates / shows / laments
reports / speculates
says / suggests
sees / proposes
thinks
writes