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Integrating
Quotations Into Your Paragraphs
You have learned how to present the words of others with.accuracy and
appropriate acknowledgment; now, you must learn to make the quotation serve
the larger purpose of your paragraph or essay. Here are some suggestions
for integrating quotations into your writing:
Use quotation sparingly.
Quote only when
you have a clear reason for doing so: when you are intending to analyze
a quote, when you are sure that the wording of the quote is essential to
your argument, or when you simply cannot say it in your own words.
Otherwise, paraphrase or summarize the point in your own words (but still
give credit to the original author if it is an idea or opinion).
Quotations generally belong
in the body of a paragraph rather than the
first sentence of a body paragraph, the topic sentence.
The topic sentence
should establish--in your own words--what you are about to explain or prove.
The quotation should appear later in the paragraph as supporting evidence.
Let the quotation make its point; your
job is to explain or interpret its meaning,
not translate it word for word.
Once you've presented
a quotation, it is usually not necessary to provide an exact repetition
of the same idea in your own words. Instead, follow up a quotation
with an explanation of its relevance to your paragraph
or an interpretation of its meaning; but make
sure that your commentary does more than echo the quotation.
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