Guidelines for Using TEXTUAL EVIDENCE in a Literary Argument

Quote from the text

w when the author’s word choice is important.

w when you are making a very specific point about the text.

Use paraphrase or summary

w when you are referring to a general fact about the novel.

w when you simply need to refer to the plotline.

Quote extensively (a block quotation—more than three lines) ONLY

w when the quotation is crucial, perhaps central, to your argument and will lose its effect if paraphrased.

w when you have a great deal to analyze in the quotation.

w when you are writing a relatively long paper (perhaps over six pages).


Introducing Quoted Material into Your Prose

Always remember to

w transition smoothly and grammatically from your prose to the quotation;

w connect the quotation to your prose using a colon or comma, not a semicolon or period;

w punctuate correctly: place periods and commas inside quotation marks, semicolons, colons, question marks, exclamation points, and page numbers outside:

Even after she finally finds her true love, she defines herself by the actions of a man: “Once upon a time, Ah never ‘spected nothin’ . . . But you come ‘long and made somethin’ outa me” (167).