Direct Quotations

1
Direct Quotations

• How to properly use direct quotes
• in your writing.

2
When should you use them?

• You will use a direct quotation when exact
  wording is essential to convey the meaning of the
  speaker.

3
General Rules

• Copy the authors exact words and enclose them in
  quotation marks ( )
• Follow the rules for punctuation and
  capitalization
• Place commas and periods inside the quotation
  marks
• Place colons ( ), semi-colons ( ), and dashes
  outside quotation marks
• Place question marks or exclamation points inside
  quotation marks when they punctuate the
  quotation, place them outside when they punctuate
  the sentence.
• Use single quotation marks ( ...) for a
  quotation within a quotation.
• Alter initial capitals when a quotation forms a
  grammatical part of a sentence.

4
Each time you use a quote you must provide

• A lead-in, that is, introductory words or phrases
• Could often be the credentials of the speaker
• English professor at Yale University, Dr. Brown,
  states, Shakespeare is perhaps the best literary
  figure of all time.
• A follow-up, that is, an explanation of its
  meaning, relevance, or significance.
• You must explain the quote and connect it to your
  text. If you fail to do so, the quote will
  appear as a filler, rather than meaningful to
  your paper.
• A parenthetical citation to give credit
  (discussed later)

5
When using direct quotes

• Avoid using the word said over and over again.
  Try replacing it with one of the following where
  appropriate
• Stacey maintains.
• According to Stacey.
• Stacey presents..
• Stacey argues..
• Stacey claims.

6
What if I just want to use a portion of the quote?

• If you do not want to use the ENTIRE quote,
• follow these rules
• Use ellipses . . . enclosed in brackets to
  indicate that you have omitted something. For
  example, if the quote was It was the best of
  times, it was the worst of times, it was the age
  of beauty, and you didnt want to use the whole
  thing, you could do one of the following
• . . . it was the worst of times, it was the
  age of beauty.
• It was the best of times, . . ., it was the
  age of beauty
• It was the best of times, it was the worst of
  times, . . .

7
Paraphrasing Quotes

• Keep in mind that just because you find a great
  quote, does not mean that you have to put it in
  your paper as a direct quotation. It is possible
  to paraphrase quotes
• Quotation
• Fred Hein explains, Except for identical twins,
  each persons heredity is unique.
• Paraphrase
• Fred Hein explains that heredity is special and
  distinct for each of us, unless a person is one
  of identical twins (294).

8
Homework

• Go online tonight, and find 5 quotes that you
  find inspiring, or ones that you particularly
  like.
• An easy way to do this is to type into Google
  quotes about _______.
• Write or type 5 quotes that you like, and provide
  the URL for each as well as the name of the
  person given credit for coining the phrase.