There are many ways to include ideas from outside sources. In this section of the textbook, we will focus on quoting.

Sources are used to add credibility and emphasis to your essay. When you read about your topic to prepare to write, you will want to make notes of specific sources that influenced your position on the topic and the supporting details you chose for support. After you have decided that information from the original source would be best to include word-for-word, you will follow these steps.

Choosing a quote

The first step is to read about your topic in reputable sources. If you are unsure if a source is trustworthy, talk with either your writing or reading teacher.

While you are reading, create a system for saving the information that is helpful for creating your essay structure and developing your ideas. You may choose to do this with sticky notes, the copy/paste function in a word document, or highlighting. At this stage, you will find larger sections of text that you won't actually use directly in your writing. 

Once you have created your essay outline, you can begin to connect these sources you identified as helpful to specific paragraphs. 

For quoting, you will need to focus in a small section of the source (up to 40 words, but typically shorter) that will strengthen your main idea and supporting details. Quotes are best used when the original words from a source are:

• already fairly concise and does not need to be condensed
• best supports your topic sentence when preserving the author's original wording and authority
• not easily said in another way
• powerfully stated (highly persuasive or emotional)

Below is an example of an original paragraph-length source which was narrowed down to a relevant and precise quotation that could be added to a paragraph.

Introducing a quote

Even though the quotation uses someone else's words, this is still your writing. This means a quote should not just be dropped into the middle of a paragraph. There need to be transitions in and out of a quote to show that it is there for a specific purpose other than to meet the assignment rubric expectation of a certain number of sources. Good writing requires you to show that the source is used strategically to enhance your writing.

The introduction you decide to use for the quote will vary depending on your purpose in using those words. Here are some possible reasons why an author may choose to include a direct quote for support:

• The original author is well-known and respected, so using exact words inspires confidence. Additionally, the author's perspective on the matter is considered to be unique and relevant.
• The source emphasizes information in terms of chronology, meaning that the quote connects a supporting idea to a specific point in time.
• The location of the source adds depth to the position because of the narrow focus of the thesis or to show the scale of the topic.
• The information itself is clearly stated, concise, and strong (or uses very specialized terminology) and says something that needs to be said exactly that way.
• The idea is new, unexpected, or contrary to the common belief that it is necessary to show how it was originally said.

The reason for including the quote can often decide how it would be best introduced. Here are some examples of how each of the above purposes could be introduced based on purpose:

• Author:
  • Latin American liberator Jose de San Martin once said...
  • A close friend of Patch Adams described him as... 
• Time:
  • In 2018, the The Sun stated...
  • Just after the incident, an employee of CDC said that...
• Place:
  • Speaking of the Pre-Colonial Philippines, Virgilio S. Almario said...
  • Beijing officials describe the negative impacts of holding the Olympics as...
• Precision:
  • In fact, this idea is described through the words of the Guatemalan national anthem...
  • She explained her own writing best when she said...
• Uniqueness:
  • Surprisingly, some faculty opposed renaming the university building in tribute to him because...
  • Her unpublished stories that were recently discovered provided the following insight...

When you quote information, you copy the information exactly as you found it. You need to put the source material in quotation marks and include the in-text citation in parentheses. See the example below.

These introductions preceed the quote to create a bridge between your own supporting ideas and the additional perspective of your source. By smoothy incorporating someone else's words into your own, you remain in control of the essay.

Commenting on the quote

Just as you needed to create a bridge from your original thought into the direct quote using an introduction, you will need to transition back to your own words. The most effective way to do this is to elaborate on why this quote is relevant. Even if the reasons for including the source feel obvious to you as an author, the cohesion of the paragraph will be much stronger when you include a commentary or reaction to the source before moving into your next supporting thought.

Take a look at the the example quote in a complete context.

Notice that the author does not simply summarize the quote or give an overly general "this is important" response. This quote is contextualized by showing that this fact focused on time and place fits into a larger discussion about causes. Even without seeing the topic sentence, this quote in context signals that the main idea of the pargraph (topic sentence) has to do with learning more about the causes of landslides. 

At the beginning of this chapter about descriptive writing, you learned that academic descriptive writing is typically situated within a larger purpose. The use of descriptive supporting ideas and details is to add strength and interest to the thesis. This contextualized quote is an excellent example of how this can be done.

Exercises