ENG 123 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Bump, Bump, Bump, Semicolon
Let’s Back Up
Quotations: Italics, Ellipses, Changes
-If you are using a quotation, you should duplicate the source exactly. Anything inside of quotation marks
should be exactly what the source said and how he or she said it. IF the source has a selling error, KEEP the
spelling error IN the quote, but add the notation "sic" inside the brackets immediately after the error to indicate
that it's not your error.
Example: In his 2009 memoir To Fall Again, Alan Birdneck says, "I have fallen down the stairs more times then
[sic] any other person who has ever lived" (66).
This is the Part About Using Italics
-You may italicize words in the quotation that you want to emphasize. Add a semicolon and the words
"Emphasis added" to the parenthetical citation.
Example: In her book Falling Down Stairs Isn't So Bad, Alice Yellowcar says, "The average person falls down
the stairs Six times a day, but most don't feel the need to brag about it" (23; emphasis added).
This is the part about Ellipses
-You may decide to omit words from a quotation because they aren't relevant to the point you're making. When
you omit words from a quotation, use ellipses - " …" -in place of the missing words.
Example:
"I once fell down thirteen stairs - bump, bump, bump, bump, bum, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump
-and the only I bones I broke were my pelvis and collarbone."
TURNS INTO
In his book A Chronicle of Stairs I have Fallen Down, scientist Titus Ancient snake Jr. says, "I once fell down
thirteen stairs … and the only bones I broke were my pelvis and collarbone" (90).
Using Brackets for Insertions or Changes
-Use brackets around an insertion or a change needed to make a quotation conform grammatically to your
sentence, such as a change in the form of a verb or pronoun or in the capitalization of the first word of the
quotation.
Example:
"When I was a kid, I used to try to get my mother's attention by falling down the grand staircase headfirst."
TURNS INTO
In her book A life Spent Falling Down Stairs, Deidre Poisonsale explains how when she was a child, "[she] used
to try to get [her] mother's attention by falling down the grand staircase headfirst" (2,303).
More About Brackets
-You may also use brackets to add or substitute explanatory material in a quotation
Example: "IN all the times I saw him fall down the stairs, I never once heard him complain about how slipper
that top step was."
TURNS INTO
Alfred Totalloss, in his book Why I fall (Down Flights of Stairs), says, "In all the times I saw him [his father]
fall down the stairs, I never once heard him complain about how slippery that top step was " (4,556,212).
Adjusting the Grammar of Quotations
-A period at the end of a quotation may be changed to a comma if you are using the quotation within your own
sentence.
-Double quotation marks enclosing a quotation may be changed to single quotation marks when the quotation is
enclosed within a longer quotation.
-If the original quotation has an exclamation point or a question mark, retain the original punctuation.
Block Quotations
-MLA: Four or more typed lines
-APA: 40 words or more.
Example: According to Ruth Earring finder in her book I will Never Fall Down the Stairs: The solution is
simple: I avoid stairs entirely. I've never gone up a flight of stairs. I will occasionally go up or down one or two
steps, but never three. This way, if and when I do fall, no one can say that I fell down the stairs. They'll have to
say that I fell down the steps. Being strict about the difference between stairs and steps is a crucial element of
my perfect record. And it's a big reason that that record will stay perfect.
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