If you’ve had any experience of essay writing, which by year 12 you most probably will have, then you’ll know that your use and integration of quotes is vital to expressing meaning, showcasing analysis, and providing evidence of textual knowledge. The effective use of your quotes, and the way in which you integrate them, can make or break your essay, and pave the way for sophisticated analysis and synthesis of ideas. This is an essential aspect of your HSC® Exam preparation, as it obviously translates into much improved essay scores. This blog will help you understand the properties of a well-integrated quote by showing you how to maturely use quotes as an integral part of your writing.
Demarcated quotes
Let’s start with demarcated quotes. Basically, these are when, for lack of a better term, you cut and paste a section of a text into your sentence, so that even without the appropriate punctuation, the difference between analysis and textual evidence is easily distinguishable. For instance, take a look at this quote; “Hamlet’s existential crisis is summed up by his soliloquy, as he famously declaims: “to be or not to be”.” Here the line between analysis and textual evidence is easily identifiable as something which stands apart from the rest of the sentence. Although this is not necessarily a bad way to integrate quotes, you should have a nice mixture of differently integrated quotes, to showcase your ability to be creative and dynamic in your textual analysis. Let’s take a look at another form of integrated quotes before moving on: blended quotes.
Blended quotes
Blended quotes are those in which the quote becomes an intrinsic part of the sentence, rather than standing from it. This is the form of quote integration that generally shows the most sophistication, and is indicative of your ability to use quotes as a more abstract and conceptual device, rather than a solely functional one. Here’s an example of a blended quote; “Whitman takes us on a spiritual journey inspired by the universality of man, seeing himself as “young as (he is) old, and foolish as (he is) wise” to show the commonality of man”. In this instance, if we remove the quotation marks from the quote, we would not be able to distinguish it from the analysis surrounding it. It’s as if the section where we want to insert the quote if left blank, and the quote just happens to fill it; a bit like using the author’s words to replace your own.
The whole point of using quotes it to illustrate evidence of textual knowledge, and to have argumentative analysis to prove your thesis, and essay question. So, in saying this, it’s a great idea to use a dynamic mix of demarcated quotes and blended quotes. When you do this, you ensure that there is contrast in your essay, insofar as the marker will feel the unique ebb and flow of your essay. To effectively use quotes, you must make sure that your quote is holistically relevant to the point you are trying to make, and you are able to integrate the quotes intelligently in your sentence structure so they contribute to the analysis and synthesis of ideas in an essay. By using a mix of demarcated and blended quotes, you can use quotes elegantly to launch your ideas and arguments in a way that transcend your own writing ability. You do, quite simply, stand on the shoulders of giants!
