Avoiding Dropped Quotations
Bergen Community College
L. Jonaitis
Dropped quotations are those quotations that appear in the middle of your paper without being introduced. In order to transition into your quotation smoothly, avoid dropped quotations in your writing. If you start your sentence without explaining who's speaking, then the effect on the reader can be jarring. You want to eliminate that kind of confusion as much as possible.
Here is an example of a dropped quotation, as well as how you might fix it.
EXAMPLE OF A DROPPED QUOTATION:
Holden gets frustrated and decides to leave. "People are always ruining things for you" (Salinger 88).
See how that quotation is simply "dropped" in the middle of the writing there? (There's no introduction to the quoted passage.) Avoid this by introducing the quote--explain who is speaking, what's happening, etc.
Below is a way to remedy this:
EXAMPLE OF AN INTEGRATED QUOTATION:
Holden gets frustrated and decides to leave, claiming that "people are always ruining things for you" (Salinger 88).
Another way to eliminate the dropped quotation would be simply to add the words "she says," or "the author claims," etc.
Holden gets frustrated and decides to leave. He claims that "people are always ruining things for you" (Salinger 88).
Here are some signal words you can use to eliminate dropped quotations: Acknowledges | Comments | Describes | Insists | Responds | Adds | Compares | Disputes | Maintains | Reveals | Admits | Concludes | Emphasizes | Notes | Says | Agrees | Concedes | Endorses | Observes | Shows | Argues | Confirms | Finds | Points out | Suggests | Asserts | Considers | Endorses | Predicts | Thinks | Believes | Contends | Grants | Refutes | Warns | Claims | Declares | Illustrates | Reports | Writes | | Denies | Implies | | |
EXAMPLES OF HOW TO USE THESE SIGNAL WORDS:
The narrator concludes that the teacher has given everyone permission to go to the bathroom.
The narrator describes the outside of the school vividly.
The narrator states that it “…
A child in the classroom warns her to be careful…
The narrator argues that “television violence. . .
Eva points out that “ . . .
The widow emphasizes that " . . .
Elena’s mother interprets ___ as “ . . .
Eugene’s mother describes ___ as “ . . .
According to the old man, “ . . .
In the narrator's words, " . . .
In the father's view, " . . .