Embedding+quotations

Quoting is a vital part of any response to a text. No essay based on a text can be regarded as complete without at least one quotation per paragraph in the body of the essay.

When quoting from a text it is not always necessary to put in a whole sentence.. A good quotation might be a single word, or a a short phrase. If a quotation becomes too long the arguments of the student may become lost.

A quotation can be a separated quotation or an embedded quotation. A separated quotation is held apart in the sentence for us to examine. An embedded quotation becomes part of the student's sentence.

The following example is used for another purpose on the "Writing more succintly page" but it also shows how quotations can be used more effectively. In the first example the quotations are not only separated, they are translated for the reader in a manner which simply repeats the idea from the quotation rather than adding extra detail or understanding.

It comes from a film review of the film "Spanish for White"

//"It is an important time in the film when Maria finally makes it clear she is not happy with her relationship with Jose. 'Jose, it is just not good enough. We are not suited. It's over.' She clearly explains that this relationship has not been enough for her needs as she discovers her new talent as a singer. 'I see my future as a star on Broadway and you are not there.' "// 72 words.

The altered example embeds the quotations

//"L'Orange's technique of limiting direct speech of her characters to the most pithy, reaches real poignancy in Maria's delusions of theatrical stardom. 'I see my future as a star on Broadway, and you are not there.' reduces her fifteen year marriage to Jose to a simple, 'It's over'. His fidelity to her, despite her scandalous affair with the dubious Manuel O'Flaherty and the birth of the blonde, Bianca, was 'not good enough' "// 72 words

In this second example, consider how much more is said about the film, its creation and the impact on the viewer than in the first. The quotations are used far more effectively.

Here is another example from an essay on three of John Donne's poems. This passage is part of a discussion on 'A Valediction Forbidding Mourning". It has been annotated for you to show how the writer has been able to use quotations in different ways. They have been used as separated statements and as embedded quotations. Embedded quotations are words or phrases 'borrowed' from the text and are placed "within" the writer's own argument. This is considerably more efficient and shows that the poet and the student are quite literally speaking the same language. An assessor will read such writing with favour because it shows a close connection to the work of the poet and an ease of style of the student. A blend of these two approaches to quoting shows confidence and flair.


 * < //The longer quotation provides evidence of the point made by the writer and therefore is a vital requirement of an essay. The significance of the quotation is explained, then the quotation is presented. A further statement or translation is not required.//

//The short "to airy thinness" is embedded in the writer's sentence forming part of the argument. The sentence explains the significance of the quotation. It is concise, clear and coherent. It doesn't need any more.

"Firmness" is an embedded quotation and it is followed up by the second longer phrase, "And makes me end where I begun" to complete the student's argument at the same time as providing evidence.

In this final paragraph the separated quotation provides the focus of the paragraph. The student adds some discussion but lets the poet finish the thought. The writer has wisely assumed that the examiner can understand the poem by quoting from it without too much labelling, translating and pointing.// ||< The three poems, consistent with his style, all speak directly and with confidence to the individual as if in intimate conversation**.** In "Valediction", Donne recommends to his wife that she not speak of their love to those who could never comprehend it**.** **"Twere profanation of our joys To tell the laity our love."**

He then goes on to compare their love to a compass and beaten gold. Gold, the most precious of metals, can be beaten **"to airy thinness"** and therefore spread further, ensuring that distance will not debase their relationship. The compass too, with his wife as the stable central point, stretches itself to form the complete circle, alluding here to the shape of the world, but always makes its way back with **"firmness",** **"And makes me end where I begun"**

Equally powerful in this poem are lines such as **"dull sublunary lovers love"** with its lilting alliteration, stressing that their love cannot be understood in the normal way which fades when apart but they **"by a love so much refined"... "Care less, eyes, lips and hands to miss.**" ||