Quote Sandwiches and the Art of Quote Blends

“QUOTE” SANDWICHES (Yum) AND THE ART OF “QUOTE” BLENDS From They Say I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein

What is a quote? Record your ideas below.

“To adequately frame a quotation, you need to insert it into what we like to call a ‘quotation sandwich,’ with the statement introducing it serving as the top slice of bread and the explanation following it serving as the bottom slice. The introduction to the quote should explain who is speaking and set up what the quote says (telling what research source it comes from); the follow-up statement should explain why you consider the quote to be important and what you take it to say” (42-43).

Draw a quote sandwich. Make sure each of the three parts is represented.

1. INTRODUCING QUOTES (TOP SLICE) a. X states/ mentions/ argues/ writes, “______”. b. According to X, “ ______”. c. In her article/ book/ interview/ poem/ essay, ______, X maintains that “ ______”. d. The website ______asserts that “ ______”. e. In X’s view, “______”.

2. NOW INSERT THE QUOTE (“THE MEAT OR VEGGIES”)

3. EXPLAINING QUOTES (BOTTOM SLICE) The importance of the bottom slice explains what the chosen quote/evidence means in the writer’s (your) own words. It shows that the quote was selected with a purpose to support your thesis statement. a. Basically, X is saying ______. b. In other words, X believes ______. c. X’s point is that ______. d. This shows ______.

1 PRACTICE YOUR QUOTE BLENDS Use a quote from your evidence squares to write a quote sandwich.

TWO SAMPLE MLA IN-TEXT CITATIONS

1. Introduce the author and source

Todd McCormack mentions in “An Interview With Roahl Dahl,”“ I have worked all my life in a small hut up in our orchard where no one bothers me” (C 6).

2. Put whole citation after the quote (author and page number or the website domain name without the http or www)

In the book Matilda Dahl uses humorous situations to show the difficulties his protagonist encounters with her parents, “We’ve got a lovely telly with a twelve-inch screen and now you come asking for a book! You’re getting spoiled, my girl!” (Dahl 12).

According to an online Roald Dahl biography, he started writing in a secret diary when he was eight, “To make sure none of my sisters got a hold of it and read it, I put it in a waterproof tin box tied to a branch at the top of an enormous tree... I knew they couldn’t climb up there” (Roalddahl.com). 2