New Hartford Online Writing Lab

Integrating and Punctuating Quotations

Three methods  In supporting evidence-based claims and arguments, direct quotations are key to your success. Use one of these three grammatically sound methods of quotation integration: 1. 2. 3.

Introduce the quotation with a complete sentence and a colon Use a signal phrase followed by a comma to introduce a complete sentence Integrate the language of the quotation with the language of your own writing

A closer look at the three methods 1. Introduce the quotation with a complete sentence and a colon: According to Nussbaum, fiction provides an opportunity for self-discovery: "The reader becomes a reader of his or her own heart." The chilling metamorphosis is described through Lanyon’s external point of view: “A cry followed; he reeled, staggered, clutched at the table and held on, staring with injected eyes, gasping with open mouth; and as I looked, there came, I thought, a change--he seemed to swell--his face became suddenly black and the features seemed to melt and alter.” In quoting more than four lines, format the passage as a block quotation. The MLA asks you to indent it twice and remove the quotation marks: The idea is suggested by the narrator Mr. Utterson in his description of Mr. Hyde, a portrayal full of paradox: Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation, he had a displeasing smile, he had borne himself to the lawyer with a sort of murderous mixture of timidity and boldness, and he spoke with a husky, whispering and somewhat broken voice; all these points were against him, but not all these together could explain the hitherto unknown disgust, loathing and fear with which Mr. Utterson regarded him. 2. Use a signal phrase followed by a comma to introduce a complete sentence:

3) Integrate the language of the quotation with the language of your own writing.

Nussbaum explains, "The reader becomes a reader of his or her own heart."

Through meaningful engagement with literature, the "reader becomes a reader of his or her own heart."

Nussbaum asserts, "The reader becomes a reader of his or her own heart."

Stevenson dehumanizes him by calling him “hardly human,” “apelike,” and a “disgustful curiosity.”

"The reader becomes a reader of his or her own heart," Nussbaum adds.

Rushdie characterizes this monster as the “arch enemy of all stories, even of language itself.”

Related Mechanics An ellipsis may be used at the end of an incomplete quotation but should not be used at the beginning of your quotation. Always place a comma or period inside quotation marks whether it is yours or the author’s. (Exceptions: British mechanics, formatting in-text citations Place question marks, exclamation points, semicolons, and colons inside the quotation marks when they are the author’s and outside when they are your own.