William Greenway
Youngstown State University
The goal of introducing direct quotations into your paper is to support the points you are trying to make. If the quotations are carefully introduced, the reader knows at all times who is speaking, and the reader will not be jarred by awkward shifts in sentence style or syntax. Thus, the test of good incorporation of quoted material into your text is to read your text aloud, including the quoted material, neither pausing nor making reference to quotation marks. The text should read as smoothly as though it were all in your own words. Work the quotations into your own sentences. To do this, try the following strategies:
Use a variety of words or phrases to introduce the quoted material, not only to prevent monotony, but also (1) to add to the authority, and (2) to indicate why you are quoting. Many terms may be used to introduce quoted material: asserts, believes, claims, comments, confirms, declares, defines, describes, explains, indicates, makes clear, proposes, etc. However, these terms are not interchangeable. Make your choice based on your meaning.
Example: All of us know the grammar of our own language because, as Robert C. Pooley writes, "grammar is the srtucture: the observation of what people do when they use English words in discourse. Grammar, as here defined," he continues, "makes no choices, expresses no preferences, takes no sides, creates no standards" (95).
Maintain continuity between the direct quotation, the summary, the paraphrase, and the comment that surrounds it. When direct quotations are used effectively, they are usually introduced purposefully, set in an appropriate context through summary, adjusted to the syntax of the paper by paraphrase, and commented upon by the author of the paper.
Example: Edward P. J. Corbett, one of America's most distinguished rhetoricians, defines grammar clearly "as the study of how a language 'works'--a study of how the structural system of a language combines with a vocabulary to convey meaning" (111).
The following passage is from a paper on brainwashing:
In March, 1979, J. Thomas Underleider and David K. Wellisch reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry that they had taken up the issue of "coercive persuasion (brainwashing)" and "deprogramming" in the religious cults because deprogramming had raised "intriguing and disturbing questions for the medical, and legal and mental health professions." They again cite the eight elements of brainwashing, summarizing Lifton's earlier description.
Deprogramming, according to Underleider and Wellisch, uses methods ranging from "gentle rap" sessions to sleep deprivation and sensory overload, with marathon-type encounters that feature shouting, repetitious derogation of the cult, isolation of the person from his associates . . . and, occasionally, use of physical force" (279). The methods seem to be strikingly like brainwashing.
Note that the author has introduced the quotation by establishing the authority of Underleider and Wellisch, established the context by summarizing the reasons they were studying the phenomenon called "brainwashing," adjusted the syntax of the quoted material to the syntax of the paper by paraphrasing a few words just before entering into the quotation, and commented on the material in the conclusion of the paragraph.
The sequence, then, is as follows:
DO NOT LET THE QUOTATIONS TAKE CONTROL.
Remember that your ideas are primary and that you are only using quotations to add support to your points. Therefore, they must always be integrated into your writing.
Using Sources Fairly & Accurately
E-mail your comments and suggestions to the YSU Grant Team (cardcat@bgnet.bgsu.edu).
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