4 Ways to Blend a Quote Into a Sentence

In general, avoid leaving quotes as sentences unto themselves. Even if you have provided some context for the quote, a quote standing alone can disrupt your flow.  Take a look at this example:

Hamlet denies Rosencrantz’s claim that thwarted ambition caused his depression. “I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space” (Hamlet 2.2).

Standing by itself, the quote’s connection to the preceding sentence is unclear. There are several ways to incorporate a quote more smoothly:

1. Lead into the quote with a colon.

Hamlet denies Rosencrantz’s claim that thwarted ambition caused his depression: “I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space” (Hamlet 2.2).

The colon announces that a quote will follow to provide evidence for the sentence’s claim.

2. Introduce or conclude the quote by attributing it to the speaker. If your attribution precedes the quote, you will need to use a comma after the verb.

Hamlet denies Rosencrantz’s claim that thwarted ambition caused his depression. He states, “I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space” (Hamlet 2.2).

When faced with a twelve-foot mountain troll, Ron gathers his courage, shouting, “Wingardium Leviosa!” (Rowling, p. 176).

The Pirate King sees an element of regality in their impoverished and dishonest life. “It is, it is a glorious thing/To be a pirate king,” he declares (Pirates of Penzance, 1983).

3. Interrupt the quote with an attribution to the speaker. Again, you will need to use a comma after the verb, as well as a comma leading into the attribution. 

“There is nothing either good or bad,” Hamlet argues, “but thinking makes it so” (Hamlet 2.2).

“And death shall be no more,” Donne writes, “Death thou shalt die” (“Death, Be Not Proud,” l. 14).

Dividing the quote may highlight a particular nuance of the quote’s meaning. In the first example, the division calls attention to the two parts of Hamlet’s claim. The first phrase states that nothing is inherently good or bad; the second phrase suggests that our perspective causes things to become good or bad. In the second example, the isolation of “Death thou shalt die” at the end of the sentence draws a reader’s attention to that phrase in particular. As you decide whether or not you want to break up a quote, you should consider the shift in emphasis that the division might create.

4. Use the words of the quote grammatically within your own sentence.

When Hamlet tells Rosencrantz that he “could be bounded in a nutshell and count [him]self a king of infinite space” (Hamlet2.2), he implies that thwarted ambition did not cause his depression.

Ultimately, death holds no power over Donne since in the afterlife, “death shall be no more” (“Death, Be Not Proud,” l. 14).

Note that when you use “that” after the verb that introduces the quote, you no longer need a comma.

The Pirate King argues that “it is, it is a glorious thing/to be a pirate king” (Pirates of Penzance, 1983).

3 Different Kinds of Quotes

1. DROPPED QUOTES

      Dropped quotes are partial phrases taken from the middle of a piece of text. Dropped quotes are comprised of only a few words and give no direction as to who the speaker is or the content it’s referring to. These must always be introduced within a sentence, and cannot comprise a complete sentence on their own.

Example: As Rembrandt’s skill developed, he began painting landscapes that are “romantic and visionary” (Wallace 96).

2. FULL SENTENCE QUOTES

     As the name implies, full sentence quotes are created by quoting complete sentences that take up less than 4 lines. Although these are complete sentences, they cannot be used as stand-alone sentences in your paper. Introduce them with an additional complete sentence or a signal phrase.

Example: Over the course of time Rembrandt’s work began to change and focus on different themes, but as Wallace points out: "Rembrandt’s great gift as an etcher lay in preserving a sense of spontaneity while scrupulously attending to close detail” (142).

Example: As Wallace states, “Rembrandt’s great gift as an etcher lay in preserving a sense of spontaneity while scrupulously attending to close detail” (142).

3. INDIRECT QUOTES

Indirect quotes, or paraphrasing, is when you use a sentence from a source but change the wording slightly into your own words. This is useful if you’ve too many direct quotes, or full sentence quotes, in your paper. Be careful to avoid plagiarism though by changing at least 50% of the sentence.

• Change the structure of the sentence by moving parts around. You can use a thesaurus to exchange words with synonyms.
• Paraphrasing should only be done if you are certain that you understand the content you are copying. If you are unclear as to the meaning of the quote, you won’t be able to put it adequately into your own words.
• When you write your paraphrase, don’t look at the quote. Keep the meaning in your head and create a new sentence to match.

Formatting Quotations Using MLA Format

Short quotations

To indicate short quotations (fewer than four typed lines) in your text, enclose the quotation within double quotation marks. Provide the author and specific page citation in the text, and include a complete reference on the Works Cited page. Punctuation marks such as periods, commas, and semicolons should appear after the parenthetical citation. Question marks and exclamation points should appear within the quotation marks if they are a part of the quoted passage but after the parenthetical citation if they are a part of your text.

For example:

According to some, dreams express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184), though others disagree.

According to Foulkes's study, dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (184).

Is it possible that dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184)?

Adding or omitting words in quotations

If you add a word or words in a quotation, you should put brackets around the words to indicate that they are not part of the original text.

Jan Harold Brunvand, in an essay on urban legends, states, "some individuals [who retell urban legends] make a point of learning every rumor or tale" (78).

If you omit a word or words from a quotation, you should indicate the deleted word or words by using ellipsis marks, which are three periods ( . . . ) preceded and followed by a space. For example:

In an essay on urban legends, Jan Harold Brunvand notes that "some individuals make a point of learning every recent rumor or tale . . . and in a short time a lively exchange of details occurs" (78).

INTRODUCTION AND CONCLUSION: Due Wednesday, April 22

I. Introduction
             A.  Attention-Getter: The attention-getter is designed to intrigue the audience members
                   and to motivate them to listen attentively for the next several minutes. There are infinite
                   possibilities for attention-getting devices. Some of the more common devices include
                   using a story, a rhetorical question, or a quotation. While any of these devices can be
                   effective, it is important for you to spend time strategizing, creating, and practicing the
                   attention-getter. Most importantly, an attention-getter should create curiosity in the minds
                   of your listeners and convince them that the speech will be interesting and useful.

             B.  Audience Adaptation: To keep audience members interested, tell them why your topic is
                   important to them. 

             C.  Thesis Statement: The thesis statement is crucial for clearly communicating your topic  

                   and purpose to the audience. Be sure to make the statement clear, concise, and easy to

                   remember. Deliver it to the audience and use verbal and nonverbal illustrations to make
                   it stand out.

              D.  Credibility Statement: The credibility statement establishes your qualifications as a

                    speaker. You should come up with reasons why you are someone to listen to on this
                    topic. Why do you have special knowledge or understanding of this topic? What can the
                    audience learn from you that they couldn't learn from someone else? Credibility
                    statements can refer to your extensive research on a topic, your life-long interest in an
                    issue, your personal experience with a thing, or your desire to better the lives of your
                    listeners by sifting through the topic and providing the crucial information.

              E.  Preview of Main Points: The preview informs the audience about the speech's main

                    points. You should preview every main body point and identify each as a separate piece
                    of the body. The purpose of this preview is to let the audience members prepare
                    themselves for the flow of the speech; therefore, you should word the preview clearly
                    and concisely.

II. Body

III. Conclusion

             A. Review of Main Points: Within the conclusion, re-state the main points of the

                  speech. Since you have used parallel wording for your main points in the introduction

                  and body, don't break that consistency in the conclusion. Frame the review so the

                  audience will be reminded of the preview and the developed discussion of each main

                  point. After the review, you may want to create a statement about why those main

                  points fulfilled the goals of the speech.

             B. Restate/Reinforce Thesis: When making the transition to the conclusion, attempt to

                  make clear distinctions (verbally and nonverbally) that you are now wrapping up the

                  information and providing final comments about the topic. Refer back to the thesis

                  from the introduction with wording that calls the original thesis into memory. Assert

                  that you have accomplished the goals of your thesis statement and create the feeling

                  that audience members who actively considered your information are now equipped

                  with an understanding of your topic. Reinforce whatever mood/tone you chose for

                  the speech and attempt to create a big picture of the speech.

            C. Closure: Finish strongly. When you close your speech, craft statements that reinforce

                 the message and leave the audience with a clear feeling about what was accomplished

                 with your speech. You might finalize the adaptation by discussing the benefits of

                 listening to the speech and explaining what you think audience members can do with

                 the information.

Warm-Up 2/10/15

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/efkk45elkij/dont-read-your-speech-3/

How to Improve Your Clarity of Speech

The following article is a quick, easy read regarding improving your speech clarity. I highly recommend doing one or more of the exercises listed before giving a speech!

http://www.wikihow.com/Improve-Your-Clarity-of-Speech

Works Cited Checklist (READ! READ! READ!)

Your Works Cited page, due with your speech, should meet all of the following criteria:

- Four or more reputable sources  (book, journal, periodical, interview, e.g.; these can be accessed
   electronically)
- 12 point Times New Roman font
- Double spaced throughout entire document (Do not press the "Enter" key more than once on the
   page.)
- Title: "Works Cited" (center on page)
- One inch margins
- The first line of each entry should start at the left margin. If an entry is longer than one line, which
    many will be, the second and subsequent lines should begin 1/2 inch to the right of the left margin
    (or one "Tab" over).
- Entries should be listed in alphabetical order (based on the first letter of each entry).
- Your Works Cited should be on its own page, not at the end of your outline. You will hand it in with
   your outline.
- See the "Sample Works Cited Page" post from 10/7/14 to view an example Works Cited.

VISUAL AID TIPS

•Prepare

     –Make sure your visual aid does not look sloppy or rushed.

•Relevance

     –Make sure your visual aid enhances the speech and doesn't distract from it.

•Practice

     –Make sure you know when to use your visual aids in your speech.

•Simplicity/ Clarity

     –Make your visual aids simple, clear, and to-the-point.

•Size

     –Make sure your visual aids are large enough for the audience to see.

•Font/Type

     –Select a font that’s easy to read. (Don’t get fancy; it’s distracting.)

      –Use as few words as possible; you don’t want your audience reading a paragraph!

Sign-Up Sheet for Informative Speech Meetings

In order to view the following link, you must be signed in to Google with your school username (e.g., nkleinecke@sjdcsh.org). Let me know if you have trouble accessing the document and we'll sign up together:

https://docs.google.com/a/sjdchs.org/document/d/13MKsQ9hR54FBU_CN-f7eIPwOlJbdl-EcWUGx50ScgF4/edit?usp=sharing

Sample Informative Speech Outline (The Titanic) With Commentary

Click on the following link to view an example informative speech outline on The Titanic. Read my comments along the sidebar! You can use this outline as a guide when writing your own:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/128IQxtHfZ5lSc8toKhz7zCMreYlBkmnOqiJ8tbYajW8/edit