Quoting and Internal Documentation

Rule 1: Anytime you copy something from another text word for word, it must be put in quotes. If it is already in quotes, use 3 quotes marks; if not, use 2.

Rule 2: All quotes MUST have a lead in. YOU MAY NOT just drop a quote into your paper without your words linking it to the text as well. The following illustrate the 3 types of lead-ins.

1. Somebody says: Benton says, ‘“This is unbelievable’” (Cornwell 100). Notice there are 3 quote marks because this was already in quotes.

2. Blended: The novel begins ”inside the virtual-reality theater [where] there are twelve of Italy’s most powerful law enforcers and politicians, whose names, in the main, forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta can’t keep straight” (Cornwell 9). Notice there are only 2 quote marks used because this passage was not already in quotes. Brackets are used to show a word is inserted that was not in the original.

3. Sentence: The first murder is described: “Nine days ago, American tennis star Drew Martin was murdered while on vacation, her . . . body found near Piazza Navona, in the heart of Rome’s historic district” (Cornwell 9). THREE ELLEPSIS ARE USED TO SHOW WORDS ARE OMITTED; 4 SHOW SENTENCES OR PARAGRAHS ARE OMITTED.

Rule 3: Always use internal documentation to show where the passage originated; use the author’s last name and the page number in parenthesis. (Cornwell 9).

Other rules when writing about literature:  Use present tense verbs (He screams; she cries.)  The quote marks go BEFORE the parenthesis and the period goes AFTER. (See above.)  Do not use contractions, first person I or We, or second person You unless they are in the quote. BLOCK QUOTES:

Finally, if you use a quote that takes up 4 lines or more in YOUR PAPER, you must block it. Indent 10 spaces from the left (tab twice). DO NOT use quote marks unless they are in the original text, and place the period BEFORE the internal documentation (author’s last name and page number).

The lab is described in detail: Inside her lab of old brick walls and fir-wood flooring is her computer domain, which is secured from outside world by bullet-and and hurricane-proof windows, the shades always drawn. Lucy sits before a work station that is connected to a sixty-four-gigabite server with a chassis built of 6 U unmountable racks. (Cornwell 93)

Notice the period comes BEFORE the internal documentation, and no quote marks are used because the passage is not in quotes in the original.

QUOTING POETRY

According to the research guide, lines of should be quoted as follows:

 Incorporate one to three consecutive lines of poetry or dramatic verse into the text.  Use a slash / with a space before and after the slash to indicate a line change.  Retain the original capitalization and punctuation.  Give the line number(s) for poetry. The first parenthetical reference should use the word line or lines, but subsequent references require only line numbers.

Example: According to Robert Frost, “Nature's first green is gold, / Her hardest hue to hold” (lines 1-2).

Note: If the individual poem is not identified within the text, it is necessary to include the poem title in the parenthetical reference.