Download Blending Quotes and Body Paragraphs

Blending Quotations
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I. The Basics
A. Always integrate quotations into your
text.
B. NEVER just “drop” a quotation in your
writing!
C. Use your own words to introduce a
quotation.
II. How To Improve Blending Quotes
A. Use only the most effective part of the
quotation. For example:
Indirect Quotation: Although some viewers
might find Forrest “compellingly innocent” and
kind, others believe he has character flaws
(Ebert).
B. Remember to use brackets [ ] if you add or
change a word. For example:
In Star Wars, “[he] lunges backwards as if
suspended in mid air” due to the visual
graphics which make it appear that he flies
(James).
III. Bad Example with Revision
A. Bad example:
Mr. Radley is an unattractive man. “He was a
thin leathery man with colorless eyes, so
colorless they did not reflect light” (Lee 32).
i. Why? The quote is dropped into the paper
as if pretending to stand alone.
ii. Do not allow a quote to stand alone!
• B. Great example:
Harper Lee describes Mr. Radley as “a thin leathery
man with colorless eyes…[that] did not reflect light”
(32).
IV. Using Signal Phrases
A. Use signal phrases to blend the quote
into the sentence, making it read smoothly
Direct Quote: T.S. Eliot, in his “Talent and
the Individual,” uses gender-specific
language. He argues, for instance, that
“no poet, no artist of any art, has his
complete meaning alone. [Indeed,] his
significance, his appreciation is the
appreciation of his relation to the dead poets
and artists” (Eliot).
ii. Paraphrase: For instance, many consider
Yoda the Buddha of the galaxy (Twine).
i.
More Student Examples
• Original:
– Night also represents the fire that killed so
many people. “And just as the train stopped,
this time we saw flames rising from a chimney
into a dark sky” (Wiesel 28).
• A suggested revision:
– Wiesel suggests night represents death by
fire as he and other passengers witness
“flames rising from a chimney into a dark sky”
which are no doubt burning people alive
(Wiesel 28).
More Student Examples
• Original:
– You start to see this fairly early in the book.
“What had happened to me? My father had
been struck in front of me, and I had not even
blinked” (Wiesel 39).
• A suggested revision:
– Elie is disgusted with himself when his father
is beaten right “in front of [him], and [he] had
not even blinked” (Wiesel 39). He begins to
question his own values as his concern for his
father appears to decrease.
More Student Examples
• Original:
– Through out the book, most of the killings or
horrible events, including Elie, occur during
the night. “They must of taken him away
before daybreak and taken him to the
crematorium” (Wiesel 112).
• A suggested revision:
– Throughout the book, many horrible events
including the killings occur during the night.
Indeed, Wiesel tells of a man “taken…away
before daybreak… to the crematorium”
(Wiesel 112).
The Body Paragraphs
Proving your thesis…
3rd Person Point of View
• When you write any paper that is not a narrative, you
MUST write in the 3rd person point of view.
• Third person pronouns: he, she, it, him, her, himself,
herself, himself, his, her, hers, its, they, them,
themselves, their, and theirs
• Second person pronouns: You, your, yourself, yours
• First person pronouns: I, me, myself, my, mine, we,
us, ourselves, our, and ours
Present Tense
• When referring to events from the movie,
you must also write in present tense.
• EX: Tony and Maria secretly meet in the
shop, much to the dismay of her family.
• Dorothy and her house land in colorful
Munchkinland, sparking much curiosity
from the Munchkins about the new
stranger and her dog.
Three Body Paragraphs
• 1st body paragraph- 1st point that supports
your thesis
• 2nd body paragraph- 2nd point that
supports your thesis
• 3rd body paragraph- 3rd point that supports
you thesis
Topic Sentence
• Topic sentence: a topic sentence has a
topic and a focus.
– Topic: The film’s costumes
– Focus: Make it an enjoyable film
• Sample: The eye capturing, glitter filled,
flirty costumes are one of the many
striking aspects that make Some Like it
Hot such an enjoyable film.
Introducing the quote & Quote with
Citation
• The revealing, scandalous costumes,
mainly worn by Sugar, create pleasure
among the audience along with Joe and
Jerry; these men need to work hard to
resist Sugar’s temptations and keep
their true identities disguised because
“one of the film’s major themes is
disguise and masquerade” (“Some Like
it Hot 1959”).
– Quotes NEVER stand on their own. Follow
the three techniques.
Explain Quote
• Explain to the reader the importance of the quote and
how it supports your topic sentence.
•
Sample: Over-exaggerated hair, makeup, and costumes in the attempt to
make these two men appear as attractive women add to the effect of this
comedy.
Rinse, repeat.
• Introducing the quote & Quote with
Citation
– In one scene, spectators witness Joe and
Jerry as Josephine and Daphne still getting
used to all of the “extra parts” needed for their
disguise. Jerry, or Daphne at the time,
exclaims, “Now you’ve done it! You tore off
one of my chests” (Wilder) to Joe, also known
as Josephine.
Explain Quote
• Explain to the reader the importance of the quote and
how it supports your topic sentence.
•
Sample: The absurdity of men dressed as women only amplifies the
costumes’ importance and cements this film’s place on the list.
Clincher Sentence and
transition
• Sample: These entertaining costumes add
even more amplification to the spirited
actors underneath all of the attire, giving
the movie life and excitement.
The First Body Paragraph
•
The eye capturing, glitter filled, flirty costumes are one of the many
striking aspects that make Some Like it Hot such an enjoyable film. The
revealing, scandalous costumes, mainly worn by Sugar, create pleasure
among the audience along with Joe and Jerry; these men need to work
hard to resist Sugar’s temptations and keep their true identities
disguised because “one of the film’s major themes is disguise and
masquerade” (“Some Like it Hot 1959”). Over-exaggerated hair,
makeup, and costumes in the attempt to make these two men appear as
attractive women add to the effect of this comedy. In one scene,
spectators witness Joe and Jerry as Josephine and Daphne still getting
used to all of the “extra parts” needed for their disguise. Jerry, or
Daphne at the time, exclaims, “Now you’ve done it! You tore off one of
my chests” (Wilder) to Joe, also known as Josephine. These
entertaining costumes add even more amplification to the spirited actors
underneath all of the attire, giving the movie life and excitement.
2nd Body paragraphTopic sentence (TS 2)
• Sample: Without the compassionate acting
contributing to the film, it would just be
another lifeless story of men and their
struggles.
• Transition from previous sentence=
amplification from spirited actors—
connects both sentences together.