Integrating Quotes

Albert EinsteinIf you’re using quotes in your academic writing, integrating them smoothly will improve the flow of your work (and your grade!). Too often, beginning writers will simply “plop” a quote into a paragraph without any set up or context. This is incredibly confusing for your readers, so it’s important to make sure you integrate your quotes into the paragraphs around them.

Aunque no hay "reglas" para este tipo de cosas, siempre es una buena idea proporcionar una frase de algún tipo para establecer su cita y algún comentario después de la misma para asegurarse de que sus lectores entienden la relevancia de la cita. De lo contrario, usted puede acabar con una cita como ésta:

Albert Einstein fue un gran hombre y un gran científico. Fue uno de los pensadores más avanzados de nuestra época. "Lo importante es no dejar de cuestionar. La curiosidad tiene su propia razón de ser" (Citas de Einstein, 2012).

Here, it feels like the quote is just dropped in without clear context. How we would fix this error depends on the topic of your essay, but here’s one example of how to set-up a quote and then unpack it.

Although he was hailed as one of the most advanced thinkers of our age, Albert Einstein never rested on his laurels. “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing” (Einstein Quotes, 2012). The pursuit of new knowledge and the understanding that even he still had things to learn were key factors in Einstein’s development as a critical thinker.

If you struggle with quote integration, you’ll want to check out the excellent lessons on effective source integration in Research. You can learn more about signal phrases and even complete a short activity!

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