If the quotation itself is a complete sentence and is preceded
by words such as "she says," "he observes,"
"he replies," "Holmes argues," or "by
observing," etc., you should place a comma after the final
lead-in word just prior to the quotation.
EXAMPLES:
He makes clear his determination to live alone when he says,
"I will never leave this house again." (p. 36)
The man reveals his blind patriotism when he declares to everyone
on the train, "If country exists . . . somebody must go
and defend it." (p. 388)
The man reveals his blind patriotism to everyone on the train
by declaring, "If country exists . . . somebody must go
and defend it." (p. 388)
If the quotation itself, or the quotation plus a couple of assist
- words of your own, can stand as a complete sentence, it can
be introduced by phrases such as the following: "according
to Considine," "in Considine's view," "in
Considine's words," etc. These phrases should then be followed
by a comma just prior to the quotation. EXAMPLES:
According to Considine, "While schools continue to operate
as though print were the main means of communication in our
culture, an increasingly high-tech society requires a new definition
of literacy that encompasses visual, computer, and media literacy"
(p. 639).
In Nick's words, Gatsby had "a heightened sensitivity
to the promises of life . . . ." (p. 2) or, Gatsby had,
in Nick's words, "a heightened sensitivity to the promises
of life . . ." (p. 2).
If the lead-in words are themselves a complete sentence and
if they introduce a complete sentence, you should place a colon
just prior to the quotation. The quotation is seen as a confirmation
or illustration of the assertion you have just made in your lead-in
sentence. EXAMPLES:
The man reveals his blind patriotism to everyone on the train:
"If country exists... somebody must go and defend it."
(p. 388)
She entered the relationship expecting a life of troublefree
love: "She had thought the studio would keep itself;/ No
dust upon the furniture of love."
David Considine is convinced that schools are lagging far behind
in the way they teach students about the mass media: "While
schools continue to operate as though . . . . and media literacy."
(p. 639)
Whenever the quotation consists of words or phrases that are
excerpted from an original sentence and are unable to stand alone
as a complete sentence, these words are usually not preceded by
punctuation. They are instead just worded into your own sentence
in a grammatically correct way and enclosed in quotations marks.
EXAMPLES:
Nick describes Tom Buchanan as having a "hard mouth and
a supercilious manner" and as appearing to be "always
leaning aggressively forward." (p.7)
The speaker in the poem knows he has a "woman/ Whose loves
grow thick as weeds."
David Considine calls for "a new definition of literacy
that encompasses visual, computer, and media literacy."
(p. 639)
In most cases, you do not use any punctuation prior to the quotation
whenever the final lead-in word is "that" or when "that"
comes just prior to the final lead-in word or words. EXAMPLES:
Speaking of his conversation with Daisy, Nick tells us that
"a stirring warmth flowed from her, as if her heart was
trying to come out to you concealed in one of those words."
Nick declares that Gatsby "revalued everything in his
house according to the measure of response it drew from [Daisy's]
well-loved eyes." (p. 92) [Note here the use of brackets:
[ ]. Brackets are used whenever you are adding or changing a
word in the original for the sake of clarity or smoothness of
flow. In this case "Daisy's" is inserted for clarity's
sake in place of "her."
David Considine has argued that in educating for media literacy
"our schools have failed . . ." (p. 369) [Note the
ellipsis mark, three spaced dots, after "failed."
They are used here because Considine's sentence continued beyond
what I have quoted and the reader would have no way of knowing
that by looking just at the quotation itself.
Here are two other general pieces of advice about handling quoted
material:
Whenever you quote, be sure that your entire sentence (i.e.,
your own words plus the quoted material) flows just as smoothly
and clearly as a sentence written entirely in your own words.
In other words, do not think that just because you are quoting
it is permissible to write agreement errors, comma splices,
fragments, or other notorious errors. Your own words combined
with the quoted words must function together as a complete and
grammatically correct unit.
Whenever your quoted material is several sentences longs and
you indent to set it off on the page, you do not need to enclose
it in quotation marks, unless the original quote itself was
enclosed in quotation marks.
The Writing Center at USM's Lewiston-Auburn College is located
in room 187, the buiding's South wing. Its phone number is 753-6513.
