Academic writers are obsessed with reading. People whove written academic papers will tell you that when it comes to making a point, nothing works better than quoting an expert. However, a lot of experience is required to handle quotationsselecting the appropriate ones and using them with the correct punctuations.

So, if youre doubtful about the usage of quotation in your paper, remember that you should always have a compelling reason for including it in your paper, at that particular point. The main purpose of using direct quotations is to support the writers point.

So, they should be smoothly introduced, to avoid any jarring or awkward shifts in sentence style or syntax. The text should read as smoothly as though it were all in your own words. The best way to know whether the quotation has been used appropriately is to read the text loudly, without referring to quotation marks at all.

Quotations are commonly used to give weightage to an argument. In such a case, its better to quote than to write long paragraphs revolving around what someone else said, before going on to analyze the statement. And especially, when youre referring to a writers style of writing, direct quotations are imperative.

Another strategy is to work quotations into your own sentences. And to do this, you can try the following strategies:

Use the quoted material with phrases to avoid monotony, and also to add to the authority, and indicate the reason why youve included the quotations. Terms like, asserts, believes, claims, comments, confirms, declares, defines, describes, explains, indicates, makes clear and proposes, can be used to introduce the quotations. However, these terms dont hold the same meaning, hence, use them carefully.

However, if you want to use a direct quotation with your introductory phrase or sentence, you should use a comma or colon between them. For a short and grammatically incomplete introductory phrase, a comma is usually used (For Hamlet, "to be or not to be, that is the question."), while a phrase having a complete meaning in itself is preceded by a colon (Hamlet has to question everything, starting with death: "to be or not to be, that is the question.")

But, if the quote mingles with the sentence effectively, then punctuation is not required at the beginning of it. For example, Though "the world was all before them," Adam and Eve seem unfulfilled. The phrase in quotations is a direct quote from the bible, but used without any introduction.

Some other things to remember are: How to use Periods and commas inside the terminal quotation (Though "the World was all before them," Adam and Eve seem unfulfilled. Adam and Eve seem unfulfilled, although "the World was all before them.") how to use semi-colons, colons, and dashes outside the final quotation marks (The World was all before them"; yet Adam and Eve seem unfulfilled. "The World was all before them": God has not deserted them entirely).and, if there are any question marks and exclamation points in the quotation theyre considered part of the quoted material and go inside the quotation marks. But, if the question marks or exclamation points are your own they should be outside the quotation marks (What are the political implications of "have you seen the ghost of John?"; Why do we obsess over Hamlet's question whether "to be or not to be"?)

However, you should keep in mind that your ideas hold the most important position in your writing and the quotations should only be used as a backing for them. Therefore, they must always coordinate your writing and never contradict the point that youre trying to make.

Brenda Wilson
http://www.QuoteDB.com