How to Quote a Book
Be clear why you are using a quotation., Work them into your text so they read like normal sentences., Use brackets and ellipses to add or subtract words.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Be clear why you are using a quotation.
A quotation should provide a new point of view, or bolster a point you are trying to make.
Elaborate on the quoted text, provide context, and explain why it supports your argument.Quotations are often used to support ideas that might be disputed or are not common knowledge.
An idea like, “Most people never live to see 100,” doesn’t need to be backed up by a quotation, but something like, “Many writers have described the power of fiction,” should probably be supported with quotations.
One can sometimes emphasize a particular point by backing it up with a quotation from a particularly impressive author.
Quotations can also add stylistic flare to your prose.
For example, a sentence like, “When Shakespeare “shuffled off this mortal coil,” he likely had no idea the impact his work would make on Western culture” is a bit more interesting than if the same sentence started simply, “When Shakespeare died…” -
Step 2: Work them into your text so they read like normal sentences.
To do this, you will usually use a signal phrase like, “According to the author,” or something to that effect.
Thus, “Nick Caraway describes humans as, “boats against the current,”” works, while “Nick Caraway has a sad view of people, “boats against the current,”” does not.If you are having trouble deciding if you’ve incorporated a quotation correctly, try reading it aloud to yourself.
It can be easier to tell if a sentence works when you speak it.
Some examples of verbs used in signal phrases are claims, adds, writes, argues, asserts, confirms, points out, admits, concludes, observes, and implies., Sometimes a quotation will support your argument perfectly, but be impossible to work into your text without making changes.
In such cases, you will need to use brackets or ellipses.Insert new words into quotations by putting them inside brackets.
Remove existing words by replacing them with an ellipsis.
Note that this is only appropriate if you maintain the basic meaning of the quotation.
It should not be used to twist an author’s words into something other than what she intended.
As an example, one could change the Nabokov quotation, “…art--not an "escape" (which is only a cleaner cell on a quieter floor), but relief from the itch of being,” into the sentence, “…art not an “escape”…but relief from the itch of being.” -
Step 3: Use brackets and ellipses to add or subtract words.
Detailed Guide
A quotation should provide a new point of view, or bolster a point you are trying to make.
Elaborate on the quoted text, provide context, and explain why it supports your argument.Quotations are often used to support ideas that might be disputed or are not common knowledge.
An idea like, “Most people never live to see 100,” doesn’t need to be backed up by a quotation, but something like, “Many writers have described the power of fiction,” should probably be supported with quotations.
One can sometimes emphasize a particular point by backing it up with a quotation from a particularly impressive author.
Quotations can also add stylistic flare to your prose.
For example, a sentence like, “When Shakespeare “shuffled off this mortal coil,” he likely had no idea the impact his work would make on Western culture” is a bit more interesting than if the same sentence started simply, “When Shakespeare died…”
To do this, you will usually use a signal phrase like, “According to the author,” or something to that effect.
Thus, “Nick Caraway describes humans as, “boats against the current,”” works, while “Nick Caraway has a sad view of people, “boats against the current,”” does not.If you are having trouble deciding if you’ve incorporated a quotation correctly, try reading it aloud to yourself.
It can be easier to tell if a sentence works when you speak it.
Some examples of verbs used in signal phrases are claims, adds, writes, argues, asserts, confirms, points out, admits, concludes, observes, and implies., Sometimes a quotation will support your argument perfectly, but be impossible to work into your text without making changes.
In such cases, you will need to use brackets or ellipses.Insert new words into quotations by putting them inside brackets.
Remove existing words by replacing them with an ellipsis.
Note that this is only appropriate if you maintain the basic meaning of the quotation.
It should not be used to twist an author’s words into something other than what she intended.
As an example, one could change the Nabokov quotation, “…art--not an "escape" (which is only a cleaner cell on a quieter floor), but relief from the itch of being,” into the sentence, “…art not an “escape”…but relief from the itch of being.”
About the Author
Sharon Chavez
Enthusiastic about teaching creative arts techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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