“Using Quoted Material”
Material”
Guidelines to remember
1. Always strive to make
quotes sound like a natural
extension of your own
writing.
• Someone hearing your paper read aloud
should not be able to tell where your
writing ends and the author’s quote
begins. NEVER END A PARAGRAPH
ON A QUOTE.
2. Quotes prove nothing
by themselves!
• They should be used to support your
own clear and intelligent ideas.
• You should write at least one or two
sentences of your own ideas before each
quote.
The Basics
•  Awkward Quote: Both the scarlet ibis and Doodle
struggled when dying. Doodle was trying to catch up to his
brother. “Brother, Brother don’t leave me” (162).
•  Standard: At the end of the story, the author says,
“His little legs, bent sharply at the knees, had never before
seemed so fragile, so thin” (163). When the ibis died, the
author says, “its legs were crossed and its claw like feet
were delicately curved at rest” (161).
•  More Fluid Quote: At the time of their deaths, both
were very tired. The ibis had out-flown a storm from South
America, according to Doodle’s dad, so clearly he was
exhausted. Instead of flying to the ground, “it tumbled
down, bumping through the limbs,” too tired to flap its
wings (159).
•  Lone Ranger Quote: Doodle
was clumsy. “He collapsed onto the
grass like a half-empty flour sack”
(157).
•  Student Idea with Quote to
Support: Doodle also had clumsy
ways of doing things. For one,
when he stood up to walk, “he
collapsed onto the grass like a halfempty flour sack” (157).
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3. Therefore, keep quotes
short.
• Use only the parts needed to prove
your point. Summarize or
paraphrase other sections of the text
IN YOUR OWN WORDS.
4. Use correct punctuation with
quoted material.
• Place a comma before the quote when
using a tag line:
–  “You are worthless,” said Larry.
– OR Regina yelled, “Who do you think you
are?”
4. Use correct punctuation with
quoted material.
•  Too Long Quote: Doodle also gives in to
exhaustion. After running in the storm, his
brother places his “hand on his forehead and lifted
his head. Limply, he fell backwards onto the earth.
He had been bleeding from the mouth, and his
neck and the front of his shirt were stained a
brilliant red” (162-163).
•  Succinct Quote with Student
Explanation: Doodle also gives in to
exhaustion. After a long day of physical activity,
sprinting through the storm proves to be too
much. He cannot keep up with his brother, and
when his brother comes back, Doodle “fell
backwards onto the earth . . . bleeding from the
mouth” (163). His body is broken from so much
strain.
4. Use correct punctuation with
quoted material.
Use ellipses (. . .) when excluding
sections in the middle of the quote
Example:
 “it tumbled down . . . through
the limbs”
5. Keep contractions out
of your writing . . .
Place the page number within
parentheses at the end of the
sentence, followed by a period.
• . . .unless you are quoting the
text. This makes your writing
more formal.
•  The scarlet ibis “tumbled down,
bumping through the limbs” (161).
•  The ibis “tumbled down,
bumping through the limbs” as it
dies (161).
•  For example: “can’t”
becomes “cannot,” and
“would’ve” becomes “would
have”
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6. If you are quoting something
a character says, use a single
quotation mark to show their
words.
 Example:
“Using Quoted Material”
The Picky Stuff
7. If you have two quotes in a
sentence, list BOTH PAGE
NUMBERS at the end.
• Example: The scarlet ibis lands
“beneath the bleeding tree,” and
Doodle dies under “the red
nightshade bush” (161; 162).
9. You are allowed to alter
quotes a bit in order to preserve
this third person perspective.
• For example, if a quote had the word “I” in it, and
“I” referred to the character of Roger, you could
substitute “Roger” for “I” in the quote to make it fit
more smoothly into your own writing. Mark the
altered word with brackets [ ].
• “I couldn’t believe she had left me” could change
to
• “[Roger] couldn’t believe she had left [him]”
The narrator should have
known something was wrong when he
“heard Doodle . . . cry out, ‘Brother,
Brother, don’
don’t leave me! Don’
Don’t leave me!’”
me!’”
(162).
 Example: At one point, Doodle asks his
brother, “’ Does it make any
difference?’”
(162).
difference?’”(162).
8. Write ENTIRELY in the
third person.
• None of the following words
should appear except when
quoting the text:
•  I, you, your, me, my, mine,
etc. You are not a part of the
story, nor am I. Keep us out of
it!
10. Stay in the present tense
except when quoting the text.
• When we read literature, we are living in
the time and space of the characters.
Therefore, when writing about literature,
speak as if the action is happening now.
•  Instead of Past Tense: Doodle looked tired
before he died.
•  Write in Present Tense: Doodle looks tired
before he dies.
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