Reminders on How to Write "Commentary" and Integrate Direct Quotations for Reposnses

Citing evidence is an essential skill for successful writing. There are three types of citations including summary and paraphrasing but the most effective the ability to integrate direct quotations as evidence for a claim.  There are many steps for effectively integrating quotations. In general the quotation should be introduced, stated and explained. Here is a sheet with some reminders and examples for the commentary portion of a paragraph.

A good template for a paragraph would be:

Thesis (topic sentence) - remember there is only a thesis in the intro, otherwise it is a topic sentence

Context

Transition (introduce your quotation)

Quotation

The sentence after the quotation usually directly refers to a key phrase from the quotation for further clarification

Commentary

HOW do your examples prove your point?

WHY are they important examples?

(Usually evidence consists of three examples, you may need extra commentary)

Conclusion               

The following suggestions are key pointers to help you transform your ideas from opinion to claim. Reminder: a claim is well supported opinion.

1. Introduce your quotations. A quotation should never suddenly appear out of nowhere. Some kind of information about the quotation is needed. Name the author, give his or her credentials, identify the source, and give a summary.

In the article titled “Why students don’t do their homework” by Robert Celli, the educator claims that Students are not lazy, but are simply often confused about what is the purpose of their assignment, which corresponds with my findings as well.

2. Sate your quotation (or citation).

As Celli asserts, “Explanations of homework assignments are important if anything other than a mechanical or begrudging response is expected” (11).

3. Discuss your quotations by amplifying the key phrase. When possible, use the key words or phrases from the quotation to explain what you mean. The sentence after the quotations should use the key phrase(s) in your sentence to amplify the meaning.

Celli  seems to be saying that if a “clear explanation of homework” is not given then students will think the assignment is busy work, or meaningless and they will not give full effort, rather they will “begrudgingly” just do work. If a teacher wants the students to give their best effort, than the purpose of the assignment, the discreet skill being practiced, should be explicitly clear so the student is aware of what they are learning and how it will help them.

4. Explain HOW the quotation supports your claim, and WHY that evidence is important. This is the key to your analysis (commentary). How clearly and concisely can you articulate meaning is the key to your response.

Clearly, if the purpose of the assignment is not clear, students are not likely to give best effort and will simply do the assignment as fast as they can to get it done. Somehow students need to know that it is most important to learn the skill, rather than simply do the work.

It is often useful to apply some interpretive academic phrasing after a quotation, to show the reader that you are explaining the quotation and that it supports your argument:

• Here we see that
• This statement shows
• Clearly
• The assertion
• We can conclude from this that
• This tells us that
• From this we can understand that
• If we are to understand from this comment that
• This seems to show
• The suggestion is

5. Other Reminders:

Use some variety in introducing quotations.

Remember to think about what the author is doing and use verbs to explain their purpose as an alternative to using “says” all the time.

• says
• writes
• observes
• notes
• remarks
• adds
• declares
• informs us
• alleges
• claims
• states
• comments
• thinks
• affirms
• asserts
• explains
• argues
• suggests

Sometimes leave out some words to condense the quotation. Mid-sentence ellipses use three spaced dots. 

Example text:
The surf on the beach at Mazatlan beat against the shore.

Your quotation:
Smith says of his wave watching, "The surf . . . beat against the shore" (Jones 788).

Transition words help clue the reader that new points are being made.

·         in addition

·         of course

·         meanwhile

·         hence

·         in contrast

·         for instance

·         for example

·         in other words

·         as a result

·         otherwise

·         similarly

·         certainly

·         indeed

·         consequently

·         therefore

Long Quotations

Quotations that are longer than 3 lines get a different format.  Here is the citation from the OWL:

For quotations that extend to more than four lines of verse or three lines of prose, place quotations in a free-standing block of text and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented one inch from the left margin; maintain double-spacing. Only indent the first line of the quotation by an additional quarter inch if you are citing multiple paragraphs. Your parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.

For example, when citing more than four lines of prose, use the following examples:

Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration:

They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house. (Bronte 78)

A long quotation like this would need long commentary. Generally, do not leave a long quotation to stand on its own.