This document provides guidance on effectively incorporating direct quotes into arguments and writing. It explains that quotes should be used to support and reinforce your own ideas, not overwhelm them. The source and speaker of any quotes should be clearly indicated. Examples are provided for integrating quotes from books in a clear manner. Readers are instructed to mix up their introductory phrases when incorporating quotes and to use single quotation marks for quotes within quotes.

1. Direct Quotes
Supporting your arguments with the ideas of
others.

2. Directions
 As I give this presentation, take notes on the
handout provided.

3. Why is this necessary?
 To reinforce your ideas
 Back up information in an argument with expert
information
 According to the Surgeon General, “…”
 To confirm arguments (eg. Texting while driving is
dangerous.)
 Statistics from a reputable source make your
argument stronger
 To demonstrate how well informed you are
 Look at all the research I‟ve done
 To give authority to your voice

4. The Rules
 It is important to move smoothly from your words
to the quoted information
 The source and speaker of the quote should be
clearly indicated, or the reader will be confused
 The quoted information should support your
ideas, not overwhelm them
 Cite your sources!
 Indicate where you found this information
 80/20 rule
 80% of the paper is written in your words
 No more than 20% is direct quotes

5. Beyond Parentheses
Tips to take your writing to the next level.

6. Why is this confusing?
 The men in Stephen Crane's short story, "The
Open Boat," are courageous; they want to live.
"The idealistic virtues of bravery, fortitude, and
integrity possess no meaning in a universe that
denies the importance of man" (Stein 151). The
ideals of their native environment, then, mean
little when confronted with the harshness of the
open ocean. These men finally realize that it is
possible they will die.

7. How is this more clear?
 The men in Stephen Crane's short story, "The
Open Boat," are courageous; they want to live. As
critic William Bysshe Stein points out, however,
"the idealistic virtues of bravery, fortitude, and
integrity possess no meaning in a universe that
denies the importance of man" (151). The ideals
of their native environment, then, mean little when
confronted with the harshness of the open ocean.
These men finally realize that it is possible they
will die.

8. Mix it up!
 Jane Doe states, “…”
 According to Jane Doe, “…”
 As Jane Doe goes on to explain, “…”
 Characterized by Jane Doe, the society is “…”
 As one critic points out, “…” (Doe).
 Jane Doe believes that “…”
 Jane Doe claims that “…”
 In the words of Jane Doe, “…”

9. Quotes within quotes
 Example: According to Tom Smith who said, “It is
a great thing when children cry, „I want my
mommy!‟”
 Single quotation marks around the internal
quotation.
 Double about the outer.
 You may have three together at the end.

10. Book example
 In Mariane Pearl‟s autobiographical story, A
Mighty Heart, she works to understand and
explain the violence that has been directed
against her husband, Wall Street Journal reporter,
Daniel Pearl. She writes, “[Journalists] believe we
can change the world by changing the way
people think about one another. We can create
links, frail as they may be, between people. Thus,
for those who promote hatred, we are the most
hateable of all” (124).

11. Another book example
 In Slavenka Drakulic‟s novel, S., Bosnian women are
taken captive and held in a prison camp where they
were repeatedly raped by Serbian soldiers. The main
character, S., describes how she loses track of
herself. Drakulic explains, “One evening, while there
is still daylight in the warehouse, she takes her things
out of her backpack. She has to exist she still exists
as a person, if only through her belongings” (45). To
her captors, S. is not an individual, she‟s just another
war trophy, something to defile and throw away.
Drakulic further reinforces this idea throughout the
novel by assigning the women initials as names. The
reader never learns S.‟s name, a reminder that while
in the book she is no one, in reality she represents

12. Your turn
 Read Charles Blow‟s opinion piece, “The Gun
Frenzy.”
 Write a brief response to his piece in which you
include a direct quote from his piece.
 You may use the direct quote to do the following:
 Support a point you are making about gun control
 OR
 Use the direct quote as a starting point for your
argument in favor of gun ownership.
 Either way, be sure to explain how the quote
supports your argument.

13. Peer review
 Trade papers with the person next to you
 Has the writer
 Incorporated the direct quote smoothly?
 Is the quote incorporated in the writers own sentence?
 Identified the source of the direct quote?
 According to…
 Explained the significance of the quoted material?
 Does the quote clearly support a point the author makes
because he or she has explained it?
 Put your name at the top of the paper only after
all of the above is correct.

14. Works Cited
 "How Do You Type a Quote within a Quote?" Yahoo!
Answers. Yahoo!, 2006. Web. 29 Nov. 2012.
<http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061
119073029AAJojQL>.
 Pearl, Mariane, and Sarah Crichton. A Mighty Heart:
The Brave Life and Death of My Husband, Danny
Pearl. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.
 Drakulić, Slavenka, and Marko Ivić. S.: A Novel about
the Balkans. New York: Viking, 2000. Print.
 "Writer's Web: Effectively Incorporating
Quotations." Writer's Web: Effectively Incorporating
Quotations. University of Richmond, 2010. Web. 29
Nov. 2012.
<http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/introquo.ht
ml>.