Transcript Lead-ins for Quotations in a Paragraph.

Embedding
Quotations in a
Sentence
Each piece of quoted
material in a paragraph
must have a transition
that gives the context
and background for that
quote.
Embedding quotations
using transition helps
quoted material flow
naturally and coherently
into your paragraph.
Example (transition is in
bold):
While traveling on a bus, the
author is “Heart-filled, headfilled with glee” (2).
When written properly,
the reader should not
be able to hear where
the quotation marks
are when the sentence
is read aloud.
A properly embedded
quotation creates a
seamless transition
from the background
information to the
quoted material.
When done poorly, the
transition is choppy,
incomplete, and
predictable.
Poor example: This is
shown by “And he was no
whit bigger” (6).
The prior example does not
make sense when read aloud.
Every sentence in a paragraph
must make sense, regardless
of whether or not it contains
quoted material.
You may need to change
words within your quote
so that the sentence is
grammatically correct
and is coherent.
When changing words in
a sentence indicate the
change by placing
brackets [ ] around the
change in the word or the
changed word.
To omit words in the
middle of a long quote,
use ellipses (…)
Example: The other boy
“called me ‘brat.’ / […]
That’s all that I
remember” (8-12).
Notice, anytime you change
or add something in a quote,
you must use a bracket to
indicate your change. In this
case, the original lines were
omitted and were represented
by […].
Those lines were omitted
because the purpose was to
show the event and the
consequence.
How to create a good
transition into a
quotation:
1) give background
and context for all
quoted material -what is happening,
who is speaking
2) only use the most
important part of the
quote (for a short
paper, ideally less
than 10 words)
3) read your
sentence aloud--can
you “hear” the
quotation marks?
You shouldn’t.
4) change word tense
if necessary, and omit
unnecessary words
and phrases; use
ellipses and brackets
to indicate your
changes