Antaues Quotationd

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Quotation Integration With "Antaeus" Integrating quotations is a challenging, yet absolutely necessary, task. The secret is to blend the quotations from the text seamlessly into your own formal writing, offering the required proof to the points that you are making. Quotations, as a rule, should be brief--if you are quoting an entire paragraph or passage, chances are that you are doing it wrong. Use only the key words and phrases necessary to your point, and abandon the rest.

There are primarily three methods of basic quotation integration: 1. The embedded quotation is a brief word or phrase seamlessly inserted into the text of your writing. If you were to extract the quotation, your sentence would no longer make sense. Embedded quotations are used to quickly make a point, or to call attention to a key word or phrase that has significance to your essay.

e.g. T.J. gains respect immediately from the boys, as it is clear he is "not scared" (119) of the intimidating group of boys and "look[s] directly" (119) at them.

The fact that T.J. is "strange and different" (120) is part of his appeal; his strange notions help the boys' imaginations "catch fire" (121), perhaps for the first time.

Despite the "delicate growth" (124) of the boys' innocence, the anonymous "authority" (126) of the men in "plump business suits" (126) destroys their hopeful optimism.

NOTE: if you change the original words in any way, you must use square brackets, as above. If you eliminate words, you must signify the deletion with an ellipsis (...).

2. Often times you will make your point in the form of a complete sentence, and will want to insert a quotation that backs it up. Quite often students make their point and follow it with a sentence beginning with "The following quotation demonstrates this fact" or "This is proven by...." This is unnecessary! After a complete phrase, use a colon (:) to introduce the evidence from the text--this is a cue to the reader of the essay that the quotation to follow is directly related to the point that precedes it.

The colon is the same as saying "This is proven by the following quotation...." Note that the quotation that follows must be a COMPLETE SENTENCE!!! e.g. The gang of youths realize immediately that the intrusion of the adult world destroys all hope for a paradise of green: "[t]he adult world had descended on us even in our richest dream, and we knew there was no calculating the adult world, no fighting it, no winning against it" (127).

T.J.'s knowledge of soil and ideal growing conditions is impressive: "[h]e'd pick it up and feel it and smell it" (122). Indeed, it seems as though he has a true affinity with the land, from which he derives a monstrous resolve and sense of purpose: "[h]e was a new Antaeus, preparing his own bed of strength" (123).

3. One type of quotation that should be used sparingly (no more than once or twice an essay, if at all) is the quotation that is longer than three typed lines. Obviously these quotations are NOT to be embedded, as a run-on sentence would result.

Therefore, these quotations are to be integrated in the same manner as #2 (i.e. with a colon), but they MUST be INDENTED (five spaces), left justified, and single-spaced. Note that there are NO quotation marks required.

e.g. The boys attempt to emulate T.J.'s remarkable affinity with nature in a desperate attempt to recapture their lost innocence: We were all sniffing at the air, too, trying to smell it the way that T.J. did, and I can still remember the sweet odor of the earth under our feet. It was the first time in my life that spring and spring earth had meant anything to me. (123) The green "fire" (121) burns brightly within the boys, a purging and redeeming force.

Again, this method should not be used repeatedly--it is often the sign that a student is having difficulty extrapolating the "essence" of a quotation.