Integrating Quotes using MLA format

Structure for Analysis Paragraph The first sentence should introduce the title and author.   

• The next few sentences should provide some general information leading up to the quote.

• Right before the quote, use a signal phrase: The author explains, shows, states, argues, illustrates…

•  Chose and insert a meaningful quote.

• After the quote, provide a few sentences of commentary.

Step 1: Introduce the author, book, and general overview of work

Never assume that your audience already knows the work that you referring to even if the audience is your professor. Instead, imagine your audience is anyone on campus who may come across your work.

Title of Book: The CompadreAuthor: Dr. Jose Torres

__________________________________________

In his book The Compadre, Dr. Torres explores the complexities of relationships.

Step 1: Introduce the author and book

Dr. Torres explains in his article “Bad Dude Syndrome” that ______________.

Adapted from:Graff, Gerald And Cathy Birkenstein. They Say, I Say. New York: Norton and Company. 2006. Print.

Add some variety to how you introduce the quotes!

Writing in the journal Ethics & Society, Dr. Torres argues that _____

In his book _______, X explores ____________.

Step 2: Provide a few sentences of background/context leading up to

the quote

________ tend to believe that____________

Society often thinks that ______________

Conventional wisdom has it that___________

__________ celebrates the fact that

___________emphasizes that

Step 2: Provide a few sentences of background/context leading up to

the quote

In his book The Compadre, Dr. Torres explores the complexities of relationships. Conventional wisdom has it that friends are easy to maintain. However, Dr. Torres emphasizes that friendships can be very difficult to keep up, and one of the challenges can be communication.

Step Three: Chose a meaningful quote and introduce it by using a

signal phraseA signal phrase is group of words that signals that a quote will be introduced

Adapted from:Graff, Gerald And Cathy Birkenstein. They Say, I Say. New York: Norton and Company. 2006. Print.

According to Dr. Torres, “____________________” (50).

Dr. Torres states, “__________________________” (35).

Dr. Torres complicates matters further when he writes that “__________” (56).

The author demonstrates this concept “________” (4).

Notice the format of the page number in parentheses following the quote with the period at the end.

Step Three: Introduce a quote by using a signal phrase

In his book The Compadre, Dr. Torres explores the complexities of relationships. Conventional wisdom has it that friends are easy to maintain. However, Dr. Torres emphasizes that friendships can be very difficult to keep up, and one of the challenges can be communication. The author demonstrates this when the character “Joe, in a fit of rage, screams at his friend Sue” (Torres 4).

Introducing the Author for MLA

This is demonstrated when the character “Joe, in a fit of rage, screams at his friend Sue” (Torres 4).

Dr. Torres demonstrates this when the character “Joe, in a fit of rage, screams at his friend Sue” (4).

Either introduce the author’s last name in the sentence leading up to the quote or in the parentheses following the quote.

Choose different signal phrases to add variety

Step 4: Provide commentary/analysis after

the quote

Adapted from:Graff, Gerald And Cathy Birkenstein. They Say, I Say. New York: Norton and Company. 2006. Print.

In other words, __________________

To put it another way,_________________

____________ is important because_____________

Although ______________ may seem trivial, it is in fact crucial in terms of today’s concern over____________.

Ultimately, what is at stake here is___________________

Step 4: Provide commentary/analysis after

the quote

In his book The Compadre, Dr. Torres emphasizes the complexities of relationships. Conventional wisdom has it that friends are easy to maintain. However, Dr. Torres emphasizes that friendships can be very difficult to keep up, and one of the challenges can be communication. The author shows this when the character “Joe, in a fit of rage, screams at his friend Sue” (Torres 4). Ultimately what is at stake here is the relationship. When arguments turn into screaming matches, friendships can be damaged. Rather than screaming, friends should calmly explain their problems, which can perhaps preserve a friendship.

Block QuotesIf you choose a quote that is longer than four sentences, use the following format:

Dr. Torres provides a keen observation about friendship:

The best friends are the ones who can teach you and who you can teach them. This type of

friendship has balance. The best friendships continually push one another to grow, to change, to evolve, learn, and to love. (112)

Notice that the first sentence is a complete sentence that ends with a colon. The quote is indented 1 inch. There are no quotation marks. The quote ends with a period. The page number in parentheses follows next.

Ellipses: indicate that something has been omitted in the original quoteUse a set of three periods with a space before and after each (. . .)If the material you are omitting occurs between sentences, add a fourth period to mark the end of the first sentence.

In an essay on urban legends, Jan Harold Brunvand notes that "some individuals make a point of learning every recent rumor or tale . . . and in a short time a lively exchange of details occurs" (78).

Brackets: indicate a small changes has been made so the quote fits grammatically with your sentence.[ ] found around changed part can change pronouns (he to him); tenses, pluralities; change capitalization also enable you to add clarifying information

Jan Harold Brunvand, in an essay on urban legends, states, "some individuals [who retell urban legends] make a point of learning every rumor or tale" (78).

Adapted from “MLA Formatting Quotations.” Purdue Online Writing Lab. October 25 2012. Web.

Special Considerations

Paraphrase vs. Direct Quote

When we paraphrase we use an idea from an outside source but put the idea into our own words. We still have to give credit to the author and identify the page number.

The character in Dr. Torre’s essay is full of anger and yells at his friend (4).When we use a direct quote, we copy word for from the source and use quotation marks.

Dr. Torres demonstrates this when the character “Joe, in a fit of rage, screams at his friend Sue” (4).

Think of the parts of the sandwich!

Bread on top Introduce quote

Good stuff Quote in the middle

Bread on Commentary onbottom quote

An “open-face” sandwich would be like starting a sentence with a quote or ending a quote without providing follow-up commentary. Neither is appropriate for academic writing.

The conventions of academic writing can be confusing. “Students should avoidstarting sentences with quotes” (Weigand 4).

The conventions of academic writing can be confusing. The MLA guideas well as most composition instructors argue that “students should avoidstarting sentences with quotes” (Weigand 4).

Avoid the following mistakesFailing to introduce the title of the work and

the author.

Starting a sentence or (paragraph) with a quote. Remember, you need to introduce the quote using a signal phrase.

Ending a paragraph with a quote. Remember, you need to follow every quote with some of your own commentary or analysis. (This is the bottom piece of bread to your sandwich!)