Quotes About Writing Essays

Sometimes, in order to have a clear, accurate discussion of the ideas of others, you need to quote those ideas word for word. involvement, the wives and mothers of soldiers often noted in their diaries their fear that the war would drag on for years.Suppose you want to challenge the following statement made by John Doe, a well-known historian: If it is especially important that you formulate a counterargument to this claim, then you might wish to quote the part of the statement that you find questionable and establish a dialogue between yourself and John Doe: Historian John Doe has argued that in 1941 “almost all Americans assumed the war would end quickly” (Doe 223). There will be times when you want to highlight the words of a particularly important and authoritative source on your topic. One of your most provocative sources is a narrative written by a former slave, Harriet Jacobs.

Sometimes, in order to have a clear, accurate discussion of the ideas of others, you need to quote those ideas word for word. involvement, the wives and mothers of soldiers often noted in their diaries their fear that the war would drag on for years.Suppose you want to challenge the following statement made by John Doe, a well-known historian: If it is especially important that you formulate a counterargument to this claim, then you might wish to quote the part of the statement that you find questionable and establish a dialogue between yourself and John Doe: Historian John Doe has argued that in 1941 “almost all Americans assumed the war would end quickly” (Doe 223). There will be times when you want to highlight the words of a particularly important and authoritative source on your topic. One of your most provocative sources is a narrative written by a former slave, Harriet Jacobs.

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All quotations, however, must closely relate to your topic and arguments.

Do not insert a quotation solely for its literary merits.

Avoid getting into the “he/she said” attribution rut!

There are many other ways to attribute quotes besides this construction.

Here are a few alternative verbs, usually followed by “that”: Different reporting verbs are preferred by different disciplines, so pay special attention to these in your disciplinary reading.

If you’re unfamiliar with the meanings of any of these words or others you find in your reading, consult a dictionary before using them.

Using our Roosevelt example, if you were writing a paper on the first one-hundred days of FDR’s administration, you might follow the quotation by linking it to that topic: All quotations, just like all paraphrases, require a formal citation.

For more details about particular citation formats, see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial.