Integrating Quotations

A Handy Guide

Citing Novels•When citing novels, there are a few important pieces of information you must keep in mind.•First, you must ALWAYS introduce your quotations with your own words.

Incorrect Way Correct Way

“Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes” (Orwell 1).

When describing the lackadaisical attitude of Mr. Jones, Orwell writes, “Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes” (Orwell 1).

Citing Novels•A quotation cannot stand on its own. It is a sentence in your essay which means you can also manipulate it to have it make more sense. •You can add words by using [square] brackets if need be.•Remember to take out the words you are replacing, otherwise you will be saying the same idea twice.

Incorrect Way Correct Way

“Mr. Jones (the farm owner) had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes” (Orwell 1).

“Mr. Jones [the farm owner] had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes” (Orwell 1).

Citing Novels•In order to further manipulate a quotation, you can use ellipses points to take parts of the quotation out . . . but remember, ellipses points can only be used in the middle of a quotation; they are not to be used at the beginning or end.

Incorrect Way Correct Way

“. . .Mr. Jones . . . had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes. . .” (Orwell 1).

“Mr. Jones . . . had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes” (Orwell 1).

Citing Novels•Also, remember that the author’s last name must appear in brackets at the end of the quotation.•You must also put in a page number, and NOT have a comma separating the two.•This only appears after the first quotation in your essay.

Incorrect Way Correct Way

“Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes” (Orwell, 1).

“Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes” (Orwell 1).

Citing Novels•You must also pay close attention to the punctuation used at the end of a quotation.•If the sentence ends in a period, comma, semicolon, or colon, you only put a period after the brackets that contain the author’s name and page number

Incorrect Way Correct Way

“Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes.” (Orwell 1).

“Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes” (Orwell 1).

Citing Novels•The only exception to this rule is if the quotation you use ends in a question mark or an exclamation point.•In this case, you put BOTH punctuation marks in the quotation.

Incorrect Way Correct Way

“The very first question she asked Snowball was: ‘Will there still be sugar after the Rebellion’” (Orwell 10)?

“The very first question she asked Snowball was: ‘Will there still be sugar after the Rebellion?’” (Orwell 10).

Citing Novels•Also, if you are using a quotation where a character is speaking and there is narration as well, you must use the single quotation mark within the greater quotation.•If not, simply use the double quotation marks.

Incorrect Way Correct Way

“The very first question she asked Snowball was: “Will there still be sugar after the Rebellion?”” (Orwell 10).

“The very first question she asked Snowball was: ‘Will there still be sugar after the Rebellion?’” (Orwell 10).

Citing Novels•If you are using a quotation that is longer than three lines in YOUR essay, you must use a block quotation.•For this, you single-space your quotation, change the margins, and eliminate the quotation marks around the quotation.

Incorrect Way

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blabby blah. Moreover,

blah blah blah blabby blabby blah. Blah blah blah blah blah blah

blabby blah. Blah blab, “Now, as it turned out, the Rebellion was

Achieved much earlier and more easily than anyone had expected. In

past years Mr. Jones, although a hard master, had been a capable

Farmer, but of late he had fallen on evil days” (Orwell 11). Blah blah

blah blah.

Correct Way

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blabby blah. Moreover,

blah blah blah blabby blabby blah. Blah blah blah blah blah blah

blabby blah. Blah blab,

Now, as it turned out, the Rebellion was achieved much earlier and more easily than anyone had expected. In past years, Mr. Jones, although a hard master, had been a capable farmer, but of late he had fallen on evil days. (Orwell 11)

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blabby blah. Moreover,

blah blah blah blabby blabby blah. Blah blah blah blah blah blah

blabby blah.

Citing Novels•Notice also that the period goes before the brackets that contain the author’s name and/or page number the quotation is found on.•Also note, there are no quotation marks. The only exception to this is if there is narration and dialogue in the quotation.

Citing Shakespeare•When citing Shakespeare, there are a few minor, but important, differences to be aware of.•First, ensure that you have all of the information needed in your embedded citation (i.e. Act, Scene, Line Number)

Incorrect Way Correct Way

“Come not between the dragon and his wrath” (Shakespeare Act 1. Scene 1. Line 136).

“Come not between the dragon and his wrath” (Shakespeare 1.1.136).

Citing Shakespeare•If you are using a quotation that is longer than one line, but shorter than 4 lines, you must incorporate slashes that indicate the end of the line.

Incorrect Way Correct Way

“Come not between the dragon and his wrath. I loved her most and thought to set my rest On her kind nursery” (Shakespeare 1.1.136-138).

“Come not between the dragon and his wrath. / I loved her most and thought to set my rest / On her kind nursery” (Shakespeare 1.1.136-138).

Citing Shakespeare•If the quotation is longer than 3 lines in Shakespeare’s work, you must cite it as a block quotation.•In this case, you do not need to use slashes to indicate the end of the line, as you will simply move to the next line in your essay when the line in Shakespeare’s play ends.

Incorrect Way

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blabby blah. Moreover,

blah blah blah blabby blabby blah. Blah blah blah blah blah blah

blabby blah. Blah blab, “Come not between the dragon and his wrath. /

I loved her most and thought to set my rest / On her kind nursery.

Hence and avoid / my sight!” (Shakespeare 1.1.136-139). Blah blah

blah blah.

Correct Way

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blabby blah. Moreover,

blah blah blah blabby blabby blah. Blah blah blah blah blah blah

blabby blah. Blah blab,

Come not between the dragon and his wrath. I loved her most and thought to set my rest On her kind nursery. Hence and avoid My sight! (Shakespeare 1.1.136-139)

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blabby blah. Moreover,

blah blah blah blabby blabby blah. Blah blah blah blah blah blah

blabby blah.

Fin•By following these simple rules for quotation integration, you will be able to avoid the little mistakes that cause you to lose marks in your essays.