Integrating Quotations: Chop, Blend, Digest

The “Chop, Blend, Digest” method outlined below illustrates how to get the most from your evidence by smoothly and thoughtfully blending quotations into the flow of your writing.

Chop

Quote as concisely as possible. Keep only the most important bits—the words, phrases, or clauses that most persuasively and vividly demonstrate what you are trying to prove by quoting.  Cut or paraphrase less important parts of the citation.

Too Much: Early 20^th century environmentalists claimed that business interests were intent on exploiting the newly founded National Parks. As John Muir explained, “Nevertheless, like everything else worth while, however sacred and precious and well-guarded, they have always been subject to attack, mostly by despoiling gainseekers,–mischief-makers of every degree from Satan to supervisors, lumbermen, cattlemen, farmers, etc., eagerly trying to make everything dollarable, often thinly disguised in smiling philanthropy.”

Chopped: Early 20^th century environmentalists claimed that business interests were intent on exploiting the newly founded National Parks. As John Muir explained, public lands “have always been subject to attack, mostly by despoiling gainseekers . . . eagerly trying to make everything dollarable . . . .”

Blend

Introduce the quote with orienting details that help the reader understand its context and credibility. Vital context might include when a document was written, to whom it was addressed, the credentials of the author, etc.

At its origins, the environmentalist movement in the American west fueled criticism of big business with defense of pristine wilderness areas. In his 1908 defense of Yosemite’s Hetch Hetchy Valley, for example, Sierra Club founder John Muir decried the “despoiling gainseekers . . . eagerly trying to make everything dollarable” by exploiting public lands.

At a minimum, always tell us who said it (yes, even when it seems obvious). Use the speaker’s whole name the first time you cite him or her; use the last name after that.

First Time: According to British anthropologist Mary Douglas, “There is no such thing as absolute dirt.”

Subsequent: Douglas goes on to explain that “some pollutions are used as analogies for expressing a general view of the social order.”

Finally, never change the author’s original meaning in the process of editing a quotation.

Deceptive Citation: John Adams has often been quoted as having said, “This would be the best of all possible worlds if there were no religion in it!”

Original Context: “Twenty times, in the course of my late reading, have I been on the point of breaking out, ‘this would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it!!!’ But in this exclamation, I should have been as fanatical as Bryant or Cleverly. Without religion, this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in public company—I mean hell.”

Digest

After you’ve quoted, always explain how the wording in the citation proves your assertion. Here are two handy ways to ensure you are interpreting the quote rather than just repeating the assertion.

• This _____ [What!?] Never write “This proves” or “This quote shows…” to comment on your citation. Instead, follow “this” by paraphrasing or even re-quoting key terms from the citation.

• How . . .  Why . . .? Spell out how and why the evidence proves your assertion by adding “by” and “because” clauses to your explanation.

Poor Explanation: As John Muir explained, public lands “have always been subject to attack, mostly by despoiling gainseekers . . . eagerly trying to make everything dollarable . . . .” This quote clearly illustrates Muir’s case for defending the National Parks.

Good Explanation: As John Muir explained, public lands “have always been subject to attack, mostly by despoiling gainseekers . . . eagerly trying to make everything dollarable . . . .” This criticism of destructive greed strengthened Muir’s case for the National Parks by emphasizing the relentless nature of the businessman’s incentive to make “everything dollarable.”

For more on how to use ellipses ( . . . ) and other punctuation to edit quotes, see “Punctuation with Quotations” handout.