We may be inclined to think of quotations as belonging primarily to academic writing, particularly literary essays. There is a virtual obligation to quote if you are discussing a play, a novel, or the work of other scholars, but a well-chosen quotation can enhance any type of writing. Words taken directly from a source document can be used to support your own arguments and to give them greater authority by showing that others think the same way that you do (or, alternatively, to give you something to argue against) or to illustrate a point you are making. In the preparatory stages of writing, too, you will frequently find that the easiest way of writing a note is to put down exactly what is said in the source material rather than putting the idea into your own words. There are certain rules for quotation, however, that should be observed even if you are only quickly jotting down something for use primarily as a note:
1. You must quote accurately
2. You should quote a meaningful section of text
3. You should make a note of where your quotation comes from
Those are the essential rules.
There are also additional rules that will mainly apply to people writing academic assignments:
4. You should always quote for a purpose
5. You should not quote too often
6. You should not make your quotations too long
7. You should not always rely on your quotations to speak for themselves
The reason for the first rule is obvious. There is no point in appealing to another writer for assistance in assembling your text—which is essentially what you are doing when you quote—and then carelessly distorting that other author’s meaning. When you jot down a quotation as a note, you may believe at the time that it is unlikely to form part of your final text, but you may very well change your mind later, so always follow the exact wording of the original.
The phrase “a meaningful section of text” in the second rule is deliberately all inclusive. It may often be sufficient for your purposes to quote a single word from a text if you want to call attention to the particular term that an author uses to describe or explain something. When you are taking notes, however, it is usually better to put down a longer piece of text, because you will probably need a certain amount of context to remind yourself of why you selected those words to quote. Alternatively, or in addition, it is often useful to jot down immediately some indication of what you intend to use the quotation for, as in the following example:
“. . . Bring forth men-children only, / For thy undaunted mettle should compose / Nothing but males.” (Macbeth 1.7, 72—74) Shows that Macbeth is thinking in terms of having a family.
“A meaningful section of text” also implies a piece of text that can stand alone and convey meaning. As the above lines from Macbeth indicate, a single line of poetry, while it may look complete in itself, does not always convey any meaning unless it is attached to what comes before or after.
The third rule has been mentioned before. A quotation is like any other note. You may want to check later whether there is more useful material where you found the first piece. And if you use the quotation in the text, you will need to give a reference for it.
It is also worth adding here that if you are taking notes and you jot down a quotation, you should put it in quotation marks. It is unlikely that you will confuse Shakespearean verse with your own comments, but a piece of ordinary prose might be indistinguishable from one of your own paraphrases if you do not mark it at the time.
The first of the additional rules, number 4, stems from the general injunction that all the material you assemble in the preparatory stages of the writing process should be oriented toward the task set by yourself in your original mission statement. Over and above this, however, when you come to write your text, you should avoid quoting simply for the sake of it. The essential element in anything you write is your own input. This applies as much to an essay on an author or a literary topic as to any other piece of work. Do not quote merely to show that you have read the text. You can show your familiarity with it much better by making informed and intelligent comments on it than by reproducing large chunks in every paragraph. Do quote, however, to back up or illustrate a specific point.
It is irritating to find the flow of an argument continually broken up by contributions from other authors, especially when the bibliographical references have to be included: “What Jones terms ‘a complete waste of time’ (1987, 111) and Smith castigates as ‘a willful squandering of public money’ (2002, 67), Robinson applauds as ‘a highly successful experiment in social engineering’ (1999, 533).” We do not necessarily need the exact words of Smith, Jones, and Robinson to get the point. Be selective when quoting. One apposite quotation is better than four or five that do not add anything sub stantial to the text. The familiar adage “Less is more” applies to quotations, as it does to many aspects of the writing process.
A further justification for rule 5 is the limit established by law to the amount that you can quote from a copyrighted work if your own work is published. A few relatively brief quotations will normally count as fair use, meaning that your citations taken from another publication are permitted without obtaining the express permission of the copyright holder (though it may still be courteous to obtain permission). Lengthy and frequent quotation from a particular published work will involve obtaining such permission.
The longer the passage you quote, the greater the justification needed for including it. While it is impossible to prescribe a maximum length for a quotation, the point of rule 6 is that you should think carefully before suspending the flow of your own ideas to interrupt with a lengthy exposition of someone else’s ideas.
Rule 7 is intended as a reminder that you will usually need to show, directly or indirectly, why you have chosen to insert a quotation. A quotation should work for you in the sense that it should advance or strengthen your argument. It is up to you, however, to make sure that it does its job by providing an appropriate context for it, which means indicating how it contributes. The following, for example, is insufficient:
Macbeth has Macduff’s children murdered out of jealousy: “Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown / And put a barren scepter in my grip” (3.1.62–63).
The quotation is not inappropriate, if you are discussing the role of children in the play, but you are expecting the reader to make a mental leap or to fill in the gaps you have left by not explaining that, in your view, the fact that Macbeth has given up any hope of passing on his crown to a son of his own sharpens his hatred of any man with children (and, in any event, Macbeth’s immediate target in act 3 scene 1 is Banquo’s son, Fleance).
Taken from “Guide to Good Writing - The Facts on File” by M.H.Manser (2006)
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