This presentation was created for my 8th grade Language Arts students as they work to write their first literary analysis essays. Subsequently, I've use the same presentation for my high schoolers in World Lit and Senior Comp. I created this in the hopes of addressing a growing phenomenon I've noted where students cut and paste quotes into their works without considering how to make those quotes improve the impact of their own work.

First, let's consider what quotes to include and when to use them.

Be sure you understand the reading. Choosing to include Stephen Hawking feels like a great choice, right? But because one might need an engineering degree to understand what he says, you run the chance of including something that doesn't support your thesis... or worse, something that doesn't even relate.

Before you get out your hunting hat and Elmer Fudd gun, try outlining your essay without sources. Use your own mighty brain first. You can insert notes like INSERT QUOTE HERE if you come to a point in your writing where you feel like you'll need the support. Just start with your own ideas first.

Quote should be treated like those super-hot peppers that make szeshuan food so great. A little goes a long way. You don't want your essay to be a collection of other people's words with your own words thrown in merely as connective tissue. The quotes you use should be there to highlight and intensify what *you* are trying to say.

That being said, you will want to run the quotes you pick through a little test.

Use quotes ONLY if the wording is so perfect, so poetic, so graceful that paraphrasing would rob that quote of its power.

For instance, you don't want to say:
Students grow bored in classes where the teacher stands and lectures the whole time. According to Dr. Smartguy, "Students get bored when the teacher talks all the time."

But you wouldn't want to paraphrase MLK's "I have a dream" nor would you want to reword something as eloquent as "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind" or "ask not what your country can do for you..."
Those words deserve a direct quote, while paraphrasing Dr. Smartguy would be just fine.

Another good reason to use a quote is when you are saying something that you feel would be strengthened by showing that some authoritative figure agrees with it.

That's why people quote Stephen Hawking a lot.

That's also why people don't quote my Uncle Joe all that often.

Also, if you are quoting statistics, it's important to cite the source you're using.

When writing a literary analysis essay, you want to avoid quotes that are only vaguely related to your thesis. Instead, you want to pick quotes that perfectly illustrate your central idea.

For instance, I wouldn't want to use Scout saying, "Pass the damn ham," in an essay about Scout's battle with formal education. That quote, while funny and impactful, is said at her dinner table and has nothing to do with school.

I, however, might do well to use that quote if I am writing an essay about Scout as a rebel, as a tomboy, or as an example of the questionable parenting of Atticus.

So, now you might have a handful of quotes that made it through your gauntlet of tests. (Does the quote contain striking language, does it add authority, does it stand as a witness for your thesis.)

So how do you use these quotes in your essay?

A big problem I see in student papers (and writing by so-called adults) is what I call the drop and run. People just pop in the quote and then move on.

Instead, you need to use some transitions to let your reader know that the quote is coming. Introduce the context of the quote if necessary; introduce the author and his/her relationship to your subject.

Turn on your signal. Let your reader know, "Hey, we're about to hear from someone new."

Use verbs that help identify the relationship of your source material to what you are saying. Does the author agree with and support what you're trying to prove? Or does your quoted source disagree and claim something else?

Paint a clear picture for your reader using indicator verbs.

Does this quote serve as your counterargument? Introduce your source with verbs that show the contrast.

Now that you have an idea of which quotes to include and how to include them, it's time to think about where in your sentence/paragraph/essay you want the quotes to appear.

You can use the quote to help summarize what you're trying to say. Here's an example of how that might look:

In "To Kill a Mockingbird", Harper Lee explains, "INSERT QUOTE HERE."

You can set up your essay with a little argument. Here's what this author says. In contrast, here's what I say.

You can use quotes as an amen chorus that back up your main idea. Use another author's words to highlight the validity of your claims, to show your ideas in action, or to show why your words matter outside the world of the specific piece of literature you're analyzing.