Writing Program Citation Guide
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Writing Program Citation Guide
Expository Writing is a course that asks you to enter into a conversation with the
writers you read. The words of others are always yours to use as you build your
responses to the course readings, but the writing you produce must explain why the
quotations you have chosen are important and it must clearly mark (with quotation
marks) the boundaries between your voice and the voices of other writers. This guide
shows how to make a place for the words of others within your essays and how to
make those words consistent with the grammar of your own sentences.
Explanations: Who Are You Quoting, and Why?
Most of the examples in this guide identify the writer or the speaker of each quotation.
In addition to providing this basic information, you should make an effort to embed
your quotations within your own explanation. When you quote another writer, you
create an opportunity to say something about that writer's words. What problem does
the quotation raise for discussion? What idea or issue does it open up, extend,
complicate, or contradict? Your words and the way they surround a quotation will give
that quotation something to do. Your words will tell readers how the quotation fits
into or complicates the line of thought that your paper is exploring. Here are a few
examples of the explanatory atmosphere that your words can create around the act of
quotation.
Sample I:
Events are always interpreted within a context. When Bernard Goetz shot
four black teens on a subway, New York City was “in the grip of one of
the worst crime epidemics in its history” (Gladwell 288). In this context,
Gladwell argues, Goetz’s actions seemed by many New Yorkers to be
heroic, and many residents of his neighborhood joined a “raucous,
impromptu street party” after his acquittal (287). Still, the recognition that
context is important should not become an excuse for behavior.
Sample II:
De Waal is concerned about the metaphors of selfishness, competition,
and survival of the fittest, and argues that altruism is an important
component in any adequate explanation of animal (and human) behavior.
The original function of maternal care is obviously to raise one’s
own offspring, but the motivation to provide such care reaches
beyond that function. The motivation has become strong and
flexible enough to reach out to other young… Motives often
acquire lives of their own. As a result, they do not always neatly fitbiology’s dominant metaphors, which emphasize ruthless
competition. (de Waal 649)
De Waal’s idea that motives can lead dogs (or people) to transcend
selfishness may suggest that the problems Drucker sees between the
sectors of the knowledge society can be overcome.
The first writer has made a significant place for the words of others within his
sentences. He has identified the source of those words (Gladwell), and has tried to
address some problem that those words have opened up. Quotations are not actively
present in an essay if they are only used to "verify" a thought. They are most effective
when they help you create, complicate, and move your thoughts forward or turn them
in a new direction. This role of quotation is clear in the first example; it is even clearer
in the second example.
The second writer has chosen an extended (block) quotation from de Waal’s essay to
begin to establish a position that she will take regarding Drucker’s knowledge society.
She acknowledges de Waal as the source of the extended passage, and sets up the idea
of motives as crucial for her point about the knowledge society. She is engaged in
connective thinking that will bring together de Waal and Drucker. The reader can
anticipate that in paragraphs that follow this example the writer will quote Drucker on
the various sectors of the knowledge society.
Attributions: Who Said It and Where is It From?
You should use MLA-style parenthetical notation in your papers; generally speaking, a
bibliography isn’t needed because everyone is using the same text, The New Humanities
Reader. The goal of citation is to allow your reader to locate the quotation in the
original text—that’s why your notation should include both the author and the page
number. The rules of parenthetical notation can be very complex for special cases;
however, here are the basic guidelines:
1. To form a parenthetical notation, close the quotation marks to signal the end
of the quotation, and then place the author’s last name and the page number in
parentheses, and then end the sentence as a whole with a period. NOTE: do
not place a comma between the author and the page number and do not use
“p.” or any other additions before the page number. Sample I from above
provides an example:
When Bernard Goetz shot four black teens on a subway, New
York City was “in the grip of one of the worst crime epidemics in
its history” (Gladwell 288).2. If you use the name of the author elsewhere in the sentence, thereby
making the source of the quotation clear, you may omit the author’s name
from the parenthetical notation, as in this example from Sample I:
In this context, Gladwell argues, Goetz’s actions seemed by many
New Yorkers to be heroic, and many residents of his
neighborhood joined a “raucous, impromptu street party” after his
acquittal (287).
3. If a quotation is longer than four typed lines, it should be set off from the
paper and indented on both sides to form a block quote. Block quotes reverse
the typical citation pattern—rather than having the parenthetical notation
before the period ending the sentence, it comes after the final period, as
illustrated in Sample II above.
Refer to your handbook for more help with parenthetical notation.
Boundaries: Your Words and the Writer's
Quotation Marks and Page Numbers: The boundary between your words and
another writer's words must always be clear. Quotation marks establish this boundary,
and page numbers (placed in parentheses at the end of your sentence) announce where
the quotation can be found:
One of de Waal’s important insights is that “motives often acquire lives of
their own. As a result, they do not always neatly fit biology’s dominant
metaphors, which emphasize ruthless competition” (649).
Other Marks of Punctuation:
1. If you write a short introductory clause to introduce a quotation, use a comma
after that clause:
○ As de Waal states, “motives often acquire lives of their own. As a
result, they do not always neatly fit biology’s dominant metaphors,
which emphasize ruthless competition” (649).
2. If you compose a longer and complete sentence to introduce the quotation,
then use a colon:
○ De Waal argues that while motives emerge out of the functions that
behaviors serve, motives can come to operate independently of their
original function: “motives often acquire lives of their own” (649).3. If your sentence surrounds the quotation, commas at either end may be
necessary. Read the sentence as if it did not contain quotation marks to
determine if it needs commas at either end:
o De Waal’s claim, "motives often acquire lives of their own," enables him to
support an argument about the role of altruism in animal (and human)
behavior (649).
4. Sometimes no punctuation at all is needed. The words and phrases that you
quote "fit" very easily, without any stop, into the structure of your own
sentences.
o One of de Waal’s important insights is that “motives often acquire
lives of their own. As a result, they do not always neatly fit biology’s
dominant metaphors, which emphasize ruthless competition” (649).
Coherence: Your Grammar and the Writer's
In the last example, the words that are quoted fit into and complete the grammar of the
writer's sentence. In the shift into a quotation, however, writers often create a
confused grammar and syntax. They create errors that they would rarely make in
sentences that are entirely their own. One way to check for this kind of error is to
remove the quotation marks from a sentence while you read it aloud to yourself. If the
sentence reads smoothly, then you have probably embedded the quotation correctly.
Common errors are discussed below.
Pronoun Agreement
The Problem: Disagreement in number. In the following example, the
plural pronoun “We” in the quote refers back to a singular
noun, “Wilmut.”
Wilmut cloned sheep in an effort to advance science in ways
that will eventually help people: “We believe that the science
and technology that will emerge from our method of cloning,
and from the genetic manipulations thus made possible,
should benefit humankind” (693).
The Fix: Change “Wilmut” in a way that makes it clear that the “we” in
the quote refers to a group of researchers.
Wilmut’s research team cloned sheep in an effort to advance
science in ways that will eventually help people: “We believe
that the science and technology that will emerge from our
method of cloning, and from the genetic manipulations thus
made possible, should benefit humankind” (693).The Problem: Disagreement in person. In the example that follows, the
first-person pronoun “I” refers back to a third-person noun,
Goodall.
Goodall, a famous primatologist, had difficulty getting
published early on because “I continued to hold to most of
my convictions – that animals had personalities” (306).
The Fix: Move the quotation, or modify it.
Fix by Moving Quotation: Begin the quotation at a later
point, at "that animals," and substitute more description of
Goodall.
Goodall, a famous primatologist, had difficulty getting
published early on because she held fast to her view “that
animals had personalities” (306).
Fix by Modifying Quotation: Use square brackets to modify
the quotation:
Goodall, a famous primatologist, had difficulty getting
published early on because “[she] continued to hold to most
of [her] convictions – that animals had personalities” (306).
Pronoun Reference
The Problem: If the quotation includes a pronoun (In the example that
follows, “they’re,” a contraction for “they are”), it is necessary
to clarify its referent.
Davies’ essay reveals that the state of American education is in
shambles. “They’re shocking. Appalling, in fact” (Davies
169).
The Fix: Move the quotation, or modify it.
Fix by Moving Quotation: Remove the pronoun from the
quote and add clarity.
Davies’ essay reveals that the state of American education is in
shambles. He thinks his students are “shocking. Appalling, in
fact” (Davies 169).
Fix by Modifying Quotation: Insert square brackets after thepronoun.
Davies’ essay reveals that the state of American education is in
shambles. “They’re [Davies’ students] shocking. Appalling, in
fact” (Davies 169).
Sentence Integrity
The Problem: A quotation must either be a complete sentence or become an
integrated part of your complete sentence. The following
example is not a complete sentence.
At the end, claiming, “in that [the cadets] may be right”
(Faludi 282).
The Fix: Rewrite the sentence with a main verb.
At the end, Faludi claims, “in that [the cadets] may be right”
(282).You can also read
