In all of the essays you write this semester, you will support your claims by presenting quotations. Probably all of your body paragraphs will rely on them to support the points they advance. To ensure that they serve your argument well, you have to think carefully about which words you choose to quote and how to work them into your sentences.

Problematic Quotations

Writers sometimes "drop" quotations into their paragraphs without bothering to prepare readers for another writer's words. Make no mistake: this is not cool. Readers do not respond well when they are surprised with a quotation and asked to figure out how it supports the assertion:

Many of the speakers in Songs of Experience show a cynical and questioning attitude. "Is that trembling cry a song? Can it be a song of joy?" (5-6).

In general, try not to isolate quoted words from the grammar of a sentence. This can be confusing, especially when the quoted passage is long.

The quotation, "Is this a holy thing to see, / In a rich and fruitful land, / Babes reduced to misery, / Fed with a cold and usurous hand?" shows the speaker's cynical and questioning attitude (1-4).

Sometimes, it is OK to introduce quotations using phrases such as "he says" or "he states":

The speaker says, "Is that trembling cry a song?" (5).

But essays that rely on this technique have a formulaic ring. You can also almost always find a more precise verb to introduce a quotation. The sentence above, for example, might have used a verb like "asks" or "wonders" to capture more accurately the speaker's attitude.

Smooth Transitions

The best technique for literary essays is to integrate short quotations into the grammatical structure of your sentences, crafting smooth transitions between your words and the quoted words.

When the speaker describes the song as a "trembling cry," his choice of words suggests sympathy for the orphans (5).

Significantly, the speaker assumes that the children have been "reduced to misery" (3).