How to Integrate Quotations in Your Essays (and How Many?)

You must integrate (work in) quotations from your story/novel grammatically in standard punctuation and syntax.

How does one do this?

K.I.S.S.

Keep in simple, Sam.

Here are three simple, full-proof methods.

1. Work in impartial quotations

Holden Caulfield exclaims that if there is ever another war he’s “going to sit right the hell on top of it [the bomb]” (141).

No comma needed before the quotation if it is worked in without signal phrase like "he said."

Note: brackets are used to clarify “it" to aid in understanding the quote.

2. Quotations introduced with a signal phrase

Holden then exclaims, “If there’s ever another war, I’m going to sit right the hell top of it [the bomb]” (141).

There is a comma before the quotation because of the signal phrase "exclaims" introduces the quotation.

3. Set off a full quotation with explanatory information first.

Make a declarative statement that explains the importance of the quotation. Then introduce the quotation with a colon. Begin the quotation with an upper case letter.

Holden even jokes of his willingness to die: “If there’s ever another war, I’m going to sit right the hell top of it [the bomb]” (141).

Other hints and reminders

For extended prose quotations of more than four lines

Set off more than four typed lines of prose. Indent one inch or ten spaces from the left margin. Use the normal right margin and do NOT single space. Do not put quotation marks around the quotation. Put the page number after the final punctuation mark.

Use ellipsis ( a series of three spaced periods) to indicate left out words

"The ceremony honored twelve brilliant athletes … visiting the U.S."

Use brackets to indicate words you put in to clarify or make grammatical

The fruit that is picked and not sold is then treated by “men with hoses [who] squirt kerosene on the oranges" and “dump potatoes in the rivers and place guards along the bank to keep the hungry people from fishing them out."

Use the term “sic” to indicate an error in the original quotation (so that your reader doesn’t think that you’ve made the error)

Joe Taylor said that “he was the bestest [sic] friend he ever had.”

Now how many quotations should one have in each paragraph?

There is no hard and fast rule.

Maintain a balance between your general observations and your specific references to the text (your quotations).

Each body paragraph must begin with a topic sentence (your general observation/statement). From there, supply specific references to the text, using direct quotations when the exact words seem to be necessary to get across your point.

I know, you still want a number per paragraph.

Let's say between 3 to 6.

Sophomore Essay Assignment

Assignment: Write a three to four page, five-paragraph analytical essay on The Catcher in the Rye.

Format: MLA style (heading, title, double-spaced, numbered pages)

Special instructions: Circle your central idea.

Underline your thesis statement in your first paragraph.

Underline your topic sentences in your body paragraphs.

Due date: February 16

What is an analytical essay?

An analytical essay "analyzes" some method, writing technique, or motif of the author that YOU have noticed or that WE have discussed in class. That method might be some motif (like materialism) or theme (like Holden's desire to save childhood innocence). That method might be the use of characters to reveal some theme (like the use of Ackley, Stradlater, and Sally Hayes to show "phony" adolescents). That method might analyze settings, objects, symbols, etc.

Here is a review of the many motifs and themes from Catcher that we have covered from which you might come up with a central idea: religious hypocrisy, corruptive nature of money, phoniness of the adult world, phoniness of the adolescent world, falling imagery, catching imagery, Catcher in the Rye symbols, etc.

The manner in which you present your analysis might be through analyzing characters, their actions, their descriptions, or their dialogue. You might want to analyze by looking at objects, specific scenes, or settings in the book. This is up to you. This decision becomes your thesis statement.

You are pointing out what you've noticed through your analysis. After I read your analytical paper, theoretically, when I re-read the novel, I will do so with an understanding that I did not have before.

You are NOT to use any outside sources at all! Doing so will result in a grade of zero for plagiarism.

Here are examples of a central idea and a thesis statement for your essay. In your essay, I'd like you to circle your central idea and underline your thesis statement.

Central idea (this is a clear statement of the point that you wish to make by

your analysis of the novel)

e.g. Holden's heroes are idealized innocent children, a notion that contributes to

his problem of not wanting to grow up.

Thesis statement (this is a sentence or sentences that include how you wish

to prove the central idea)

e.g. Without an adult role model, Holden looks to three inspirations to remain in his state of arrested development: his deceased brother Allie, his childhood friend Jane Gallagher, and his beloved younger sister Phoebe.

Jumping Through Hoops--Senior Essay Assignment

OK, you've performed this "trick" before, and it's time to prove to me and the world that you haven't lost your touch. Jump through the multi-paragraph hoop one more time for your English teacher, so that we can move on to bigger and better things--like your research papers.




That's it. Good dog . . . er. . . good student.

Before you read your assignment, check out these Stupid Pet Tricks from the David Letterman Show (click on the link) if you have some time to kill.

Assignment: Write a 3-4 page multi-paragraph analytical essay on any one of the short stories that we've read this year.

Format: MLA style (heading, title, double-spaced, numbered pages)

Special instructions: Circle your central idea. Underline your thesis statement in your first paragraph. Underline your topic sentences in your body paragraphs.

Due date: February 10

Suggestions: read the sample essays and the hints that proceed them in your Big White Book
Research and outside resources are forbidden. Plagiarism of any type will be penalized severely.

R.I.P., J.D.

J.D. Salinger, the author of The Catcher in the Rye, passed away on Wednesday.

Can't say that we'll miss him because we never knew him, as he lived the last 44 years of his life as a recluse in Cornish, N.H. The great irony of his death is that he'll probably become better "known" than in his life.

Expect to read unpublished Salinger stories and previously unauthorized Salinger biographies in the near future.

A Catcher movie, you ask? I can't believe that Salinger didn't go to his grave with an iron clad legal document in place to prevent such a project.

Seniors Yellow #1 journal--From a Different Point of View

In the movie, The Dead Poets Society, English teacher John Keating (played by Robin Williams) stands on his desk, and invites his students to do the same, in order to see the world from a different point of view. Looking down at things sure does wonders for those with inferiority complexes, doesn't it?

When Keating is fired at the end of film, his students stand on their desks in tribute to their "captain." You'll just have to watch the film to understand ALL of this, but you don't need to in order to complete this journal assignment.

For this first exercise of the third marking period, you'll learn how point of view effects a story.

Here's the scene that you will write about:

It's lunchtime on a Monday afternoon at a large diocesan Catholic school in Delaware with these three characters: Joe, Tom, and Susan. Tom and Susan are high school seniors and have been dating for a while. Joe is Tom's best friend, but he and Susan have never gotten along too well. Tomorrow all three have a big Calculus test, but tonight, the football team is playing in the state finals (OK, it's a Monday night football game--it "could" happen). Win or lose, a big victory party is planned afterwards, and "everyone" is invited.

Tom is torn—to study or not to study, that is the question.

Susan is very certain of where she stands. Knowing that Tom needs a good Calc grade this semester to get into Virginia Tech (the school to which she has already been accepted), Susan feels the need to get together with him to study; to her, the football game is not an option.

Joe, on the other hand, will definitely attend the game and the party, and hopefully with his friend, Tom. Whether Susan joins them is up to her.

The three are eating lunch. After this thirty-minute period, each person wants to be sure to have his or her fate for the night decided. So, using one of the three first person points of view below, tell the story.

FOR EXTRA CREDIT---Working with a partner in your class, tell the same story from TWO different points of view. Post together at Schoolsville.

Choose from the following points of view to tell your story of what takes place:

Interior monologue or stream of consciousness—the reader gets to tune in to somebody's train of thought or stream of consciousness. Choose either Tom, Susan, or Joe. See "A Telephone Call" in Points of View and "But the One on the Right" for examples. I think this point of view could work for any of the characters.

Dramatic monologue--another first person point of view. The reader gets to overhear someone speaking aloud to and interacting with another person. The "other person" does not respond. See "Straight Pool" in Points of View for an example. This point of view could work if ONE of the characters is a "big talker." Have him or her dominate the conversation, reacting perhaps to "unheard" dialogue by the others.

Seniors Red #1 journal--From a Different Point of View

In the movie, The Dead Poets Society, English teacher John Keating (played by Robin Williams) stands on his desk, and invites his students to do the same, in order to see the world from a different point of view. Looking down at things sure does wonders for those with inferiority complexes, doesn't it?

When Keating is fired at the end of film, his students stand on their desks in tribute to their "captain." You'll just have to watch the film to understand ALL of this, but you don't need to in order to complete this journal assignment.

For this first exercise of the third marking period, you'll learn how point of view effects a story.

Here's the scene that you will write about:

It's lunchtime on a Monday afternoon at a large diocesan Catholic school in Delaware with these three characters: Joe, Tom, and Susan. Tom and Susan are high school seniors and have been dating for a while. Joe is Tom's best friend, but he and Susan have never gotten along too well. Tomorrow all three have a big Calculus test, but tonight, the football team is playing in the state finals (OK, it's a Monday night football game--it "could" happen). Win or lose, a big victory party is planned afterwards, and "everyone" is invited.

Tom is torn—to study or not to study, that is the question.

Susan is very certain of where she stands. Knowing that Tom needs a good Calc grade this semester to get into Virginia Tech (the school to which she has already been accepted), Susan feels the need to get together with him to study; to her, the football game is not an option.

Joe, on the other hand, will definitely attend the game and the party, and hopefully with his friend, Tom. Whether Susan joins them is up to her.

The three are eating lunch. After this thirty-minute period, each person wants to be sure to have his or her fate for the night decided. So, using one of the three first person points of view below, tell the story.

FOR EXTRA CREDIT---Working with a partner in your class, tell the same story from TWO different points of view. Post together at Schoolsville.

Choose from the following points of view to tell your story of what takes place:

Interior monologue or stream of consciousness—the reader gets to tune in to somebody's train of thought or stream of consciousness. Choose either Tom, Susan, or Joe. See "A Telephone Call" in Points of View and "But the One on the Right" for examples. I think this point of view could work for any of the characters.

Dramatic monologue--another first person point of view. The reader gets to overhear someone speaking aloud to and interacting with another person. The "other person" does not respond. See "Straight Pool" in Points of View for an example. This point of view could work if ONE of the characters is a "big talker." Have him or her dominate the conversation, reacting perhaps to "unheard" dialogue by the others.

Seniors Purple #1 journal--from a Personal Point of View

In the movie, The Dead Poets Society, English teacher John Keating (played by Robin Williams) stands on his desk, and invites his students to do the same, in order to see the world from a different point of view. Looking down at things sure does wonders for those with inferiority complexes, doesn't it?

When Keating is fired at the end of film, his students stand on their desks in tribute to their "captain." You'll just have to watch the film to understand ALL of this, but you don't need to in order to complete this journal assignment.

For this first exercise of the third marking period, you'll learn how point of view effects a story.

Here's the scene that you will write about:

It's lunchtime on a Monday afternoon at a large diocesan Catholic school in Delaware with these three characters: Joe, Tom, and Susan. Tom and Susan are high school seniors and have been dating for a while. Joe is Tom's best friend, but he and Susan have never gotten along too well. Tomorrow all three have a big Calculus test, but tonight, the football team is playing in the state finals (OK, it's a Monday night football game--it "could" happen). Win or lose, a big victory party is planned afterwards, and "everyone" is invited.

Tom is torn—to study or not to study, that is the question.

Susan is very certain of where she stands. Knowing that Tom needs a good Calc grade this semester to get into Virginia Tech (the school to which she has already been accepted), Susan feels the need to get together with him to study; to her, the football game is not an option.

Joe, on the other hand, will definitely attend the game and the party, and hopefully with his friend, Tom. Whether Susan joins them is up to her.

The three are eating lunch. After this thirty-minute period, each person wants to be sure to have his or her fate for the night decided. So, using one of the three first person points of view below, tell the story.

FOR EXTRA CREDIT---Working with a partner in your class, tell the same story from TWO different points of view. Post together at Schoolsville.

Choose from the following points of view to tell your story of what takes place:

Interior monologue or stream of consciousness—the reader gets to tune in to somebody's train of thought or stream of consciousness. Choose either Tom, Susan, or Joe. See "A Telephone Call" in Points of View and "But the One on the Right" for examples. I think this point of view could work for any of the characters.

Dramatic monologue--another first person point of view. The reader gets to overhear someone speaking aloud to and interacting with another person. The "other person" does not respond. See "Straight Pool" in Points of View for an example. This point of view could work if ONE of the characters is a "big talker." Have him or her dominate the conversation, reacting perhaps to "unheard" dialogue by the others.

Sophs Exam Review

Go to Studywiz to find a file that contains the first two tests that you took this year along with a test on The Catcher in the Rye and a test on The Growing Years, a unit that we began but did NOT finish.

Look over these tests to review for the exam. You'll have to match up authors and their works, accomplishments, and quotations.

You'll have to answer specific questions on The Catcher in the Rye.

You'll have to recall important literary terms, devices, ideas, definitions, etc. from the first semester.

You'll have to answer various "short answer" and "short paragraph" questions on these works, too.

A good portion of the exam will cover The Catcher in the Rye.

In regard to the unit that we did NOT finish, please know introductory historical notes that I gave you in addition to notes on Romanticism. You must know about The Devil and Tom Walker, To a Waterfowl, and The Raven. We did not read The Fall of the House of Usher or The Cask of Amontillado.

Senior Semester Exam--Concepts of Fiction and their application to Johnny Bear, Granny Weatherall, and The Gift of the Magi

Yes, that's officially the longest title of all my blog entries. According to the Guiness Book of World Records, the song with the longest title is "I'm a Cranky Old Yank in a Clanky Old Tank on the Streets of Yokohama with my Honolulu Mama Doin’ Those Beat-o, Beat-o Flat-On-My-Seat-o, Hirohito Blues" written by Hoagy Carmichael in 1945 (Hoagy is the guy banging on the 88's in the photo. The woman is Lauren Bacall. The movie is To Have and To Have Not, based on an Ernest Hemingway novel). Carmichael later claimed the song title ended with "Yank" and the rest was a joke.

You've been warned. This exam is no joke.

Here's what you should review.

All notes, definitions, ideas, concepts--about art, fiction, dialogue, setting, narrative techniques, points of view, description, characterization, theme, etc.

I have posted the copies of your first two tests on Study Wiz for review. I have also posted a list of literary terms and elements of fiction that you need to know.

Make sure that you also study the notes on characterization (they were given when we studied Maria Concepcion) that you've been given but not been tested on.

Do you have to know about each individual story or portion of a story that we studied?

Yes, and no.

Yes. You should be able to recall basic important information for each story. Know the authors (who wrote what) and perhaps a little bit about them. Know the chief reason(s) we studied each story. For instance, for An Old-Fashioned Story, know that we focused on the author's marvelous story telling techniques (like metaphors, power of the list, similes, etc.) , along with the "old-fashioned" plot outcome.

No. I won't ask you to recall detailed specific examples from the stories, with the exception of Johnny Bear, Granny Weatherall, Cut, and The Gift of the Magi. For these stories, any question is fair game, like something as seemingly unimportant as "what does the word fumadiddle mean?"

For the four aforementioned stories, be able to both identify and analyze the setting, narration, dialogue, and plot. Know the characters and methods of characterization. Know the points of view and be able to express how they are important. Be able to recall specific lines, names of characters, bits of dialogue, and narration. Of course, be able to discuss the themes in these stories.

Stories (and portions of stories) we've read and studied include:The Lucid Eye in Silver Town, Fish Cheeks, Pigeon Feathers, Old Man at the Bridge, The Sun Also Rises, Neckie By a Waterfall, Notes of a Native Son, An Old-Fashioned Story, The Necklace, from On Writing (King), The Cask of Amontillado, The Portable Phonograph, The Stone Boy, The Shawl, The Grapes of Wrath, Maria Concepcion, Johnny Bear, The Jilting of Granny Weatherall, Cut, and The Gift of the Magi.

Specifically, recall these directions from last Thursday's class about "Cut" and "Magi":

Students should read in class the essay entitled “Cut.” For the semester exam, students should be able to note specific details and quotations from the experiences of any two of the people referenced in the article.

Students may begin reading “The Gift of the Magi.” This story must be read before the semester exam. Students may bring a copy of the story to the exam without notes. However, in reading the story, students should focus (and perhaps take notes) on storytelling methods like dialogue, narration, description, point of view, and elements of fiction like characterization, setting, and theme.

#4 Journal Sophs--From a Different Point of View

If you don't trust Holden as a reliable narrator, how about if you tell your version of the story? YOU, of course, are NOT you. You will now retell some part of the Holden chronicles from the point of view of any one of the characters in the book, like Mr. Spencer, Phoebe, Stradlater, Ackley, Jane Gallagher, Sally Hayes, Mr. Antolini, etc. If you don't want to retell any one incident, then just tell me what you think of this Holden character.

In completing this assignment, try to imagine how your character would "talk" to the reader. In other words, don't make your character sound like Holden.

This is your last journal assignment of the quarter. Print out all four responses and turn in on Friday, January 15.

Any worthwhile and creative assignment of this type is going to be at least a FULL page long.

Seniors Homework due Tuesday--The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

To be "jilted" means to be "dumped" by your intended husband or wife. Granny Weatherall, the titular character of story, was literally "left at the altar" waiting for her fiance, George, to arrive.

That jilting stuck with Granny for her entire life, even though she marries someone else and raises a family.

Instead of taking home your "big white book," read the story online at this link: The Jilting of Granny Weatherall. Prepare at least ten analytical questions and comments on the story for class discussion on Tuesday.

The story is often narrated from Granny's point of view (called stream of consciousness) as she is dying and remembering different parts of her life, so it gets a little confusing. But we'll figure it out.

Sophs journal # 3--The Gift of the Magi

Sophs journal # 3--The Gift of the Magi

If we didn't have time to read The Gift of the Magi in class on Friday, then please read it now. Click the link to the story.

The last paragraph of O. Henry's classic Christmas tale says it all. Hopefully, you realize the author's irony. O. Henry's story is NOT uneventful, and certainly not LAMELY related. Most importantly, Jim and Della were NOT two foolish children. Here's the ending for you to read again.:

"The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi. "

How about if you take some time to lamely relate the greatest gift that you ever gave, or the most special one that you ever received? If you do, you'll be spreading the Gift of the Magi, and one of the true joys of the Christmas season?

Check out this classic video and commercial to see how happy these children were to receive a Nintendo N64.

Tech Lab Journal Work for Seniors 1-7-2010

I've posted two journals within the last two days for you to complete and post before next Tuesday. Work on finishing at least one in class today.

Of course, you will print out all five journal assignments that have been posted this quarter to hand in by Thursday, January 14.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT FOR MONDAY JANUARY 11-Read The Jilting of Granny Weatherall found in your big white book. Prepare at least 10 questions and/or comments for class discussion.

Seniors #5 journal---Modern Buffalo Bars

Since Thanksgiving, we have heard the latest updates and numerical counts of the transgressions of Tiger Woods, unarguably the best golfer in the world, and up until Thanksgiving, owner of a squeaky-clean image that helped him shill for ATT, Buick, Accenture, Nike, and many, many other major sponsors.

Though no one was ever to tame the Tiger on the course, he now hides wounded in his secret lairs, one such lair being his yacht, aptly named Privacy.

Hide he may, but eventually he'll be spotted, tracked, and shot by the paparazzi hounds with their lenses and videocams. We'll see him on the cover of mags and on TMZ covering his face with a jacket or rushing to his car surrounded by bodyguards to avoid the rabid picture hunters.

Already, Vanity Fair magazine has tried to cash in on Tiger's misfortunes, using photos shot four years ago by famed photog Annie Liebovitch. The magazine's cover shows a scowling bare-chested thug-like Tiger. Before the recent revelations of his misbehaviors, we might have thought this cover a bit out of character for Woods. Today, the irony roars loud and clear.

You might say that you don't give a par or even a birdie about Tiger's problems, but there a lots of other people who do. And there are enough versions of the Buffalo Bar found on TV, the Internet, and the newsstand that pander to their interests.

The tales of Tiger Woods and Johnny Bear beg these questions:

How many of us would be willing to plunk down two bits (25 cents, that is) on the bar to hear Johnny Bear tell us the latest gossip?

How many of us really don't care to get into someone else's bizness?

How many of us think that certain people, such as traditional societal role models such as religious leaders and politicians, should be left alone when it comes to digging up the dirt in their messy lives?

I bet if you're really being honest, then you're struggling with a definite answer. Don't feel bad if you're not quite sure how you stand. The boys at the Buffalo Bar felt shame in feeding Johnny Bear whiskey, but it didn't stop them, either.

For your journal assignment, select one of the prompts below that discuss our society's insatiable "need to know," to pry, to snoop, to secretly or openly videotape, the lives of others, especially enjoying the moments when other humans act in an unsavory manner.

1. Discuss one celebrity or celebrity pair about whom you feel "enough is enough" already. You don't care to hear another single word about him or them. Explain.

2. Discuss one celebrity or celebrity pair about whom you can't get enough juicy gossip and information. Explain why.

3. Discuss one incident in which the news media "went too far" to reveal one person's hidden actions.

4. Discuss one specific person whom you hold as a role model or whom you extremely admire about whom you don't want to hear any negative news. Explain why.

5. Do you watch a reality TV show? What have you enjoyed about the show (be specific)? What about the show has made you cringe?

6. YOU are better than the rest of us in that you don't ever follow the lifestyles of the rich and famous and you don't even want to write about them. Why do YOU think that other people do care about the lifestyles of the rich and famous?

Seniors #4 journal---Your Favorite Character

Think about some of your favorite characters from literature, film, theater, or television. Then choose one to complete ONE of the two prompts (remember--minimum of 25 blog lines or 200 words):

1. Choose one favorite character to write about, expressing how he or she is [one of] your favorite character[s]. In doing so, explain your choice, giving detailed examples of his or her actions, words, and/or thoughts/feelings. Your job is to make me want to read the book or watch the play, film, or show in which your character appears.


2. You've been given permission to "hang out" for a full day with one of your favorite characters. Who is he or she, of course? What would you do during this day? Describe one of your conversations. What questions might you ask him or her?