Embedding
Quotations
Tips on how to embed quotes
smoothly into your own writing
1
What works?
INEFFECTIVE
Rodriguez writes, “My
parents, who are no
longer my parents in a
cultural sense.” He
expresses the
alienation from his
family that has resulted
from his assimilation
into English-speaking
American culture.
EFFECTIVE
Rodriguez describes
his parents as “no
longer [his] parents in a
cultural sense” to
express the alienation
from his family that has
resulted from his
assimilation into
English-speaking
American culture.
2
What Works? 2
INEFFECTIVE
de Crevecoeur argues
that poor Europeans
have no real attachment
to their homelands.
“Can a wretch who
wanders about, who
works and starves,
whose life is a continual
scene of sore affliction
or pinching penury; can
that man call England
or any other kingdom
his country?”
EFFECTIVE
de Crevecoeur criticizes
the lack of social
mobility in Europe
using a biting rhetorical
question: “Can a wretch
who wanders about,
who works and starves,
whose life is a continual
scene of sore affliction
or pinching penury; can
that man call England
or any other kingdom
his country?”
3
Options for Embedding
Quotations: #1 = Incorporate 1

Incorporate the quotation into your sentence,
punctuating it as you would if it were not a
quotation.
Mukherjee argues in favor of an acculturation
model “that differs from both the enforced
assimilation of a ‘melting pot’ and the
Canadian model of a multicultural
‘mosaic’”(4).
4
Options for Embedding
Quotations: #1 = Incorporate 2

If you must change an element within the quote
to make it work grammatically, use brackets to
indicate the change.
Rodriguez describes his parents as “no
longer [his] parents in a cultural sense” to
express the alienation from his family that
has resulted from his assimilation into
English-speaking American culture.
5
Options for Embedding
Quotations: #2 = attribute

Introduce a full-sentence quotation by using an
attributive speech tag like “he writes,” “she claims,”
and so on.
Jacob Needleman claims, “A dream is a vision
or truth, of what can be and ought to be, and a
dream is a deception.”
Elaine Pagels asks, “Whom do we include in
the ‘American Dream’?”
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Options for Embedding
Quotations: a cautionary note

Do NOT use an attributive speech tag like “he writes,”
“she claims,” “she argues,” “he asserts,” etc. to introduce
a quote that is NOT a complete sentence.
INCORRECT: Rodriguez writes, “My parents, who are
no longer my parents in a cultural sense.”
ALSO INEFFECTIVE: Rodriguez writes, “My parents,
who are no longer my parents in a cultural sense” in
order to express the loss of family intimacy.
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Options for Embedding
Quotations: cautionary note 2

What’s the problem with following a speech tag
with a non-sentence quote?

Speech verbs like say, assert, exclaim, ask, etc.
take a full-sentence complement. They “expect”
a full sentence to follow them.
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Options for Embedding
Quotations: cautionary note 3

Notice how ungrammatical and unfinished the
following “sentences” sound:
Mukherjee says.
The girl said, “The grumpy man, who
lives next door.”
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Options for Embedding
Quotations: #3 = Use a sentence.

Use a full sentence of your own to introduce a full
sentence by the quoted author.

You must use a colon to introduce the quotation in
this case.
Jacob Needleman says it best: “A dream is a
vision or truth, of what can be and ought to
be, and a dream is a deception.”
10
Options for Embedding Quotations:
Colon or comma?
Jacob Needleman says it best: “A dream is a
vision or truth, of what can be and ought to be,
and a dream is a deception.”
Underlined portion = a complete sentence; introduce
quote with colon
Jacob Needleman says, “A dream is a vision or
truth, of what can be and ought to be, and a dream
is a deception.”
Underlined portion = a fragment; introduce quote
with comma
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Punctuation Rules: The Basics

Capitalize the first letter of any complete sentence you
quote unless you introduce it with “that.”
In describing the New World, de Crevecoeur claimed,
“The rich and the poor are not so far removed from each
other as they are in Europe” (1).
de Crevecoeur claimed that the “rich and the poor are not
so far removed from each other as they are in Europe”
(1).
de Crevecoeur claimed that “[t]he rich and the poor are
not so far removed from each other as they are in
Europe” (1).
12
Punctuation Rules: The
Basics, 2

If the quotation is broken into two parts, do not
capitalize the first letter of the second part.
“Our team is bound to win," said Coach
Glass, "because UHS students are excellent
Ultimate Frisbee players."
13
Punctuation Rules: Commas
and Periods

Commas and periods go within closing quotation
marks, EXCEPT when a parenthetical reference
follows the quotation.
Jacob Needleman said, “A dream is a vision or
truth, of what can be and ought to be, and a
dream is a deception.”
In her essay, Dr. Linguist notes, "The gestures
used for greeting others differ greatly from one
culture to another” (3).
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Punctuation Rules: Colons
and Semi-Colons

When colons and semi-colons are not part of the
quotation, put them outside of the closing
quotation marks.
At the English Department meeting, Ms.
Balzer voiced her opinion on the rules for
Embedding quotations: “They’re not
intuitive, but they are very important";
several other teachers agreed.
15
Punctuation Rules: Question Marks,
Exclamation Points, and Dashes

If a question mark, exclamation point, or dash is
part of the original quotation, place it within the
closing quotation mark.
Elaine Pagels asks, “Whom do we include in
the ‘American Dream’ ?” (5).
16
Punctuation Rules: Question Marks,
Exclamation Points, and Dashes

If a question mark, exclamation point, or dash is
part of your sentence that includes the quotation,
place it outside of the closing quotation mark.
Do other columnists agree with David
Brooks’ claim that “maximum status goes to
the Gladwellian heroes who occupy the
convergence points of the Internet
ecosystem” (2)?
17
Block Quotes: 4+ Lines

Use block quotes sparingly, if at all.

The more you quote, the more you must
explain!

If you really must use a block quote,
remember these guidelines…
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Block Quotes: Usage Rules

Begin quote as a new line of text.

Indent 1” from left margin.

No quotation marks

Parenthetical citation goes outside final
punctuation within quote.
19
Block Quotes: Example
In his poem “The Problem," Ralph Waldo Emerson
explores the inner philosophical struggle of a religious
yet unorthodox man:
I like a church;I like a cowl;
I love a prophet of the soul;
And on my heart monastic aisles
Fall like sweet strains, or pensive smiles:
Yet not for all his faith can see
Would I that cowlëd churchman be. (1-7)
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