The Research Paper – Integrating Quotations

If you choose to integrate quotes into your paper, remember that you should plan to introduce each quote and then properly discuss it after. DO NOT INCLUDE BACK-TO-BACK QUOTES!
I. Introducing Quotes:

The tension builds when Brutus accuses Cassius of accepting bribes. He states, "Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself are much condemned to have an itching palm, to sell and mart your offices for gold . . ." (Shakespeare). / The tension builds when Brutus accuses Cassius of accepting bribes: "Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself are much condemned to have an itching palm, to sell and mart your offices for gold . . ." (Shakespeare).

Quotations need to be worked into texts, but some efforts to do this actually stop essays dead in their tracks. Here a student thinks she must officially begin the quotation with a clause like He states:
OriginalRevised

Cutting He states allows a stronger, livelier bridge to the quotation.
- In general, introduce a quotation with a colon if the quotation consists of one or more complete sentences and the introductory sentence also stands as a complete sentence.

- If the quotation is not a complete sentence, then you need to weave it into your own sentence as you would any other word, phrase, or clause. Generally this needs a comma before the quote.

The Research Paper – Integrating Quotations

If you choose to integrate quotes into your paper, remember that you should plan to introduce each quote and then properly discuss it after. DO NOT INCLUDE BACK-TO-BACK QUOTES!
I. Introducing Quotes:

The tension builds when Brutus accuses Cassius of accepting bribes. He states, "Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself are much condemned to have an itching palm, to sell and mart your offices for gold . . ." (Shakespeare). / The tension builds when Brutus accuses Cassius of accepting bribes: "Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself are much condemned to have an itching palm, to sell and mart your offices for gold . . ." (Shakespeare).

Quotations need to be worked into texts, but some efforts to do this actually stop essays dead in their tracks. Here a student thinks she must officially begin the quotation with a clause like He states:
OriginalRevised

Cutting He states allows a stronger, livelier bridge to the quotation.
- In general, introduce a quotation with a colon if the quotation consists of one or more complete sentences and the introductory sentence also stands as a complete sentence.

- If the quotation is not a complete sentence, then you need to weave it into your own sentence as you would any other word, phrase, or clause. Generally this needs a comma before the quote.

Discussing Quotes:

Remember that quotations rarely "prove" anything. Rather, good quotations usually support a particular interpretation. Yet one of the most frequent mistakes writers make is to say that a particular quotation "proves" some claim. Here are some verbs that work better than prove:

suggests
implies
testifies to / indicates
argues (that, for)
shows / demonstrates
supports
underscores

Suppose for instance you're writing an essay on women in the workplace, and you find a negative quotation from some CEO: "Women just don't make good bosses, and I don't want them messing up my company." Below are two ways of discussing this quotation.

ORIGINAL / REVISION
This quotation proves that women encounter rampant discrimination in the workplace. / Smith's comment suggests how much resistance women still face in the workplace.

The original tries to get too much from the quotation. It's just one comment, after all, not data on the workplace at large. Stylistically, notice the change in attribution, from This quotation to Smith's comment.

Discussing Quotes:

Remember that quotations rarely "prove" anything. Rather, good quotations usually support a particular interpretation. Yet one of the most frequent mistakes writers make is to say that a particular quotation "proves" some claim. Here are some verbs that work better than prove:

suggests
implies
testifies to / indicates
argues (that, for)
shows / demonstrates
supports
underscores

Suppose for instance you're writing an essay on women in the workplace, and you find a negative quotation from some CEO: "Women just don't make good bosses, and I don't want them messing up my company." Below are two ways of discussing this quotation.

ORIGINAL / REVISION
This quotation proves that women encounter rampant discrimination in the workplace. / Smith's comment suggests how much resistance women still face in the workplace.

The original tries to get too much from the quotation. It's just one comment, after all, not data on the workplace at large. Stylistically, notice the change in attribution, from This quotation to Smith's comment.