How to Use Quotations
in Your Writing
“” quotation
marks
“” 3 purposes”
1. reported
speech She said, “Pick up the present.”
2. title “Boys
and Girls”
College
Writing Skills College
Writing Skills italics
“College
Writing Skills” Don’t
do that
The Whale Rider The Whale Rider
“I Can’t
Feel My Face”
2. use
evidence in an answer
“XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.”
quote whole sentence
keep them
short , 2,3,4 words
INCORPORATE
quotations into your sentences
e.g. The
silver foxes that the narrator’s father raised were “small, mean, and rat-like”
when they were skinned.
LESS IS
MORE- salt in food- a little bit
MOST
IMPORTANT- You are writing your own sentences. The “” is just a little bit of
proof, evidence.
***
The narrator
is surrounded by people and social forces that are trying to harm her. For
example, this is symbolized by the foxes who look at her with “malevolent faces”(3).
The narrator
is surrounded by people and social forces that are trying to harm her. For
example, this is symbolized by the foxes who look at her with “pure hostility”(4)
when she goes into their pen to feed them.
Incorporating
quotations into your writing.
... ellipsis-
show that words have been omitted
The foxes
had “aristocratic tails and the
bright fur sprinkled on dark down their back- which gave them their name- but
especially for their faces, drawn exquisitely in pure hostility, and their golden eyes.”
The foxes
had “aristocratic tails and the bright fur sprinkled on dark down their back-
which gave them their name- but especially for their faces, drawn exquisitely in
pure hostility, and their golden eyes.”
The foxes
had “aristocratic tails ... and golden eyes.” WORDS HAVE BEEN OMITTED, still
has to be grammatical
The foxes
had “aristocratic ... eyes.”(3-4) NOT A SENTENCE
PROOF HAD TO
STAND-ONLY, SELF-CONTAINED
...... NOT
ENGLISH
“I like
dogs, cats, fish, ......” NOT ENGLISH
“I like
dogs, cats, fish, etc.” et cetera (Latin) “and others”
e.g. for
example (Latin) examplia gratis free example
i.e. that is
(Latin) id est
[] square
brackets- make small changes, stylistic or grammatical
The narrator
doesn’t like to work in the kitchen with her mother; rather, she prefers “working
with my father”(5) doing farm chores.
The narrator
doesn’t like to work in the kitchen with her mother; rather, she prefers “working
with [her] father”(5) doing farm chores.
The narrator
doesn’t like to work in the kitchen with her mother; rather, she prefers “working
with [Santa Claus]”(5) doing farm chores. NO GOOD, BE HONEST
TOOLBOX
“”
...
[]
PROOF that your ideas are good ideas.
The narrator was wary of spending time
with her mother because she felt that she was “not to be trusted”(5). This
shows the narrator’s unease with her role as a girl in the family.
EVIDENCE,
PROOF
WHEN
READING- MAKE NOTES
