When and How to Use Quotations in Writing About Literature

Quotations should serve specific purposes for the writer's argument:

• quotations clarify and enrich the writer's paper
• quotations serve as evidence for the writer's points in the paper
• quotations should not simply take up space in the paper
• quotations need to be discussed in the paper, so only quote as much as you are willing to discuss

Note: explain to the reader how you are interpreting the quoted material and frame the quoted material with a signal phrase introducing the it, a discussion of it and a parenthetical reference to the page number where the quotation can be found in the source listed on the works cited page.

The Golden Rule of Quotations

Do an exercise