Short Quotations:

1) use quotation marks.

2) make sentences smoothly flow from your words to those quoted, as in these examples:

As Coach Clark explained, "We lost the game because we were overconfident and failed to take the other team's defense seriously enough."

The coach notes that "most of the guys on State's team have much less experience than our players, but they certainly have talent and a desire to win."

Note how the writer sets up the quotes with "explained" and "notes that."

How to Alter Quotations or Use Parts of Quotations:

1) Indicate alterations with paranthees. For example, if you need to supply a character's name where a quote has a personal pronoun, or a pronoun for a noun. Here's an example:

"Rome had several 'mad emperors.' (Nero) was the maddest of them all."

The original might have read, "He was the maddest of them all," but you need to specify Nero since you're not using more lines from your source. Also note that for quotes within quotes, we go from double to single quotation marks ('mad emperors' above).

2) Indicate breaks in quoting with ellipsis points. Use three points when you're omitting material in the middle of a sentence, and four when skipping between sentences.:

"Rome had several mad emperors. [Nero] was the maddest of them all. . . . Legend has it. . . he played his harp while the city went up in flames."

Note that the four ellipsis points after the second sentence show that we've skipped to a different part of the same passage, whereas the three ellipsis points show that the sentence beginning "Legend" has been abbreviated.

Notes on Fairness:

1) You should not abbreviate quotes so they misrepresent their author's original meaning. For example, if you cited the quote above as a fact rather than a legend about Nero, you'd be misrepresenting the original author's intention. Check the context!

2) Double-check the original. A direct quote must exactly follow the wording of the original, except where you use ellipsis points or parantheses (see above).

Let's recap a few pointers about using quotes:

Don't overuse quotes; use them to emphasize a point or support your argument. Avoid long quotes when a short one will suffice. Don't take quotes out of context to misrepresent the original author's opinion. Read the entire source carefully if possible. Be certain you understand any technical terms the author uses. Always introduce your quotes. Avoid boring introductions. Use a variety of sources. All of the sources used here came from one magazine; that magazine might have an editorial policy that limits its range of opinions on an issue!

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