Transcript Textual Evidence

Textual Evidence
Integrating Quotations into
Paragraphs
What is textual evidence?
• Evidence from any textual source you
use to support your thesis
• In terms of literary analysis: examples
from the text you are working with
and/or other texts that you need to
support your thesis
Why use textual evidence?
• Add ethos to your argument
• Specific examples make your argument
clear
• To bring in an outside opinion or idea
that supports your argument
Ways to integrate evidence
• Paraphrase
• Parenthetical within the text
– Short quotes
– Blocked quotes
Deciding What & When to
Quote
Ask yourself:
• Which point of mine does the quote illustrate?
• Why am I considering quoting this particular
passage?
• Why should this particular passage be quoted
rather than paraphrased?
• What do I need to tell my readers about the
author of the quotation?
How much should I quote?
•
Consider quoting a passage from one of
your sources if any of the following
conditions holds:
1. The language of the passage is particularly
elegant or powerful or memorable.
2. You wish to confirm the credibility of your
argument by enlisting the support of an authority
on your topic.
3. The passage is worthy of further analysis.
4. You wish to argue with someone else's position
in considerable detail.
Condition 3
• useful in essays for literature
• If an argument or a factual account from one
of your sources is particularly relevant to your
paper but does not deserve to be quoted
verbatim, consider
– paraphrasing the passage if you wish to convey
the points in the passage at roughly the same
level of detail as in the original
– summarizing the relevant passage if you wish to
sketch only the most essential points in the
passage
Quoting the Exact Words of
the Original
• If you omit words or passages from the
original use an ellipsis (three dots separated
by spaces)
• If you omit words at the end of the source’s
sentence at the end of your own sentence,
use the sentence period followed by three
ellipsis dots-- four dots in total
• If you add your own words or change a
word(s) in the original do so in brackets [ ]
Example
What we learn in the family structure and in school
determines what type of place in society and in
the career we will be prepared to fill.
Author
named Educational researcher Marge Blanstone points
out how social stratification results when “some
individuals must be socialized to occupy highstatus positions, while others [usually form
minority groups] must be socialized…to fill lowstatus positions” (134). Page
number for
quotation
Explanation added
by student
Introducing a Quotation
• You must provide an introductory phrase
before you:
– Quote a complete sentence
– Paraphrase a piece of another work
– Summarize a piece of another work
• Include the first time referenced:
– Full name
– Brief explanation of credentials or expertise
• Use only last name in subsequent referencing
• Include the page number in parenthesis at
the end of the quotation followed by a period
Verbs and Phrases to
Introduce Quotations
•
Familiarize yourself with the various verbs commonly used to introduce
quotations. Here is a partial list:
argues
writes
points out
concludes
Comments
notes
maintains
suggests
insists
observes
counters
implies
states
claims
demonstrates
says
explains
reveals
illustrates
• Each verb has its own nuance. Make sure that the nuance matches
your specific aims in introducing the quotation.
• There are other ways to begin quotations. Here are three common
phrasings:
– In the words of X, . . .
– According to X, . . .
– In X's view, . . .
Example (Good)
The ancient Greeks never saw a need to justify
wars that were waged outside the walls of the
city state. As Hannah Arendt points out in On
Revolution, "we must turn to Roman antiquity
to find the first justification of war, together
with the first notion that there are just and
unjust wars" (12). Yet the Roman conception
of a just war differs sharply from more
modern conceptions.
Example (Better)
The ancient Greeks never saw a need to justify
wars that were waged outside the walls of the
city state. In On Revolution, Hannah Arendt
points to the role the Romans played in laying
the foundation for later thinking about the
ethics of waging war: "we must turn to Roman
antiquity to find the first justification of war,
together with the first notion that there are just
and unjust wars" (12). Yet the Roman
conception of a just war differs sharply from
more modern conceptions.
Block Quotes
• If your quotation is longer than 4 lines
do integrate it into your paragraph, but
offset it and get rid of the quotation
marks
Example
Although Dickens never shied away from the political controversies of
his time, he never, in Orwell's view, identified himself with any political
program:
The truth is that Dickens' criticism of society is almost exclusively
moral. Hence his lack of any constructive suggestion anywhere in
his work. He attacks the law, parliamentary government, the
educational system and so forth, without ever clearly suggesting
what he would put in their places. Of course it is not necessarily the
business of a novelist, or a satirist, to make constructive
suggestions, but the point is that Dickens' attitude is at bottom not
even destructive. . . . For in reality his target is not so much society
as human nature. (416)