Essay For Short Story
You just select one of the story and write the essay. Some of these are designed for a “creative” approach. Note that there are two questions for each story. Answer one of the 6 questions. For example, if you want to write on “Aravy,” answer question a) or b), not both. 400 words only
Using and Integrating Quotations Handout
General rules for using quotations in English essays
quotations from the literary text (novel, play, short story, or poem) should be used to support—not replace—your analysis
introduce and provide context for all quotations: as the AWE says, “Don’t quote and run” quote accurately: double-check that you have followed the original text in every way quote selectively and judiciously: use a direct quotation because there is something about the
language in that specific passage that is important and that you are planning to analyze, or because the passage illustrates a claim you have made and need to support with evidence
when you are quoting from secondary sources (usually academic articles or books by other literary critics) you can often paraphrase or summarize the arguments; quote only if there is something especially memorable or noteworthy about the original language in the text, or if the author used a distinctive phrase that is helpful for your analysis
if you are quoting from a secondary source, make sure that you are presenting the author’s words and arguments fairly: be careful that you don’t oversimplify or misrepresent what the literary critic has written
Introducing and integrating short quotations
prose passages that are not longer than four lines can be incorporated into your text short passages need to be integrated into the grammar and syntax of your own sentence or the
surrounding paragraph (make sure that verb tenses are consistent; check that you have supplied enough information about the quotation for it to make sense)
quotations should be placed within double quotation marks; quotation marks within a quotation should be indicated with single quotation marks
indicate any changes you have made to the original text with square brackets indicate any omissions from the original text with an ellipsis ( . . . ) with a space before the first dot
and a space between each pair of dots (and be careful not to omit crucial explanatory details) if you need to use an ellipsis at the very end of your own sentence then use four periods before you
close the quotation if you do not need to include a parenthetical reference if you do need a parenthetical reference at the end of the quotation you should use the standard
three dots, followed by the quotation mark, the parenthetical reference, and the period to end your sentence
pay close attention to punctuation: if an independent clauses introduces your quotation, then you should follow that with a colon
before you open the quotation marks if you are placing the quotation in the middle of your sentence you will often need to use a
comma after the phrase that introduces the quotation
Compare these three examples:
According to literary critic Mark Jerng, “Never Let Me Go . . . calls into question its own generic expectations and thus some of our expectations of the human” (381).
Critic Mark Jerng argues that Ishiguro’s novel “calls into question its own generic expectations and thus some of our expectations of the human” (381), while undermining the stability of the
expectations that readers typically bring to science fiction.
Mark Jerng describes the way in which genre conventions and expectations are challenged by Ishiguro’s novel: “Never Let Me Go . . . calls into question its own generic expectations and thus some of our expectations of the human” (381).
if you are using multiple quotations from the same source in one paragraph you may wish to vary how you introduce the quotations:
Kathy H.’s relatively flat tone and lack of emotional affect have been problematic for some critics, who do not find her failure to resist her own fate believable. Kathy seems, at least initially, preoccupied with her own professional success as a well-respected “carer” whose “donors have always tended to do much better than expected” (Ishiguro 3). Despite her own insistence that “[c]arers aren’t machines” (4), she seems to have undertaken her painful duties with a sense of stoicism. “You don’t have unlimited patience and energy,” she acknowledges. “So when you get a chance to choose, of course, you choose your own kind. That’s natural” (4). Yet, ironically, it is precisely the gap between what is “natural” and what is unnatural that is central to this novel’s moral dilemmas and to Kathy’s own musings about her past.
Introducing and integrating longer quotations
citations of more than four lines of prose should be set off as an indented paragraph: begin a new line, use a one inch indentation from the left margin, and double-space the quotation (MLA style)
if you are quoting only one paragraph (or a portion of a paragraph), do not indent the first line of the block any more than the rest of the block
if you are quoting more than one paragraph you should follow the first line indentation convention in your block quotation for each new paragraph (indent ¼ inch)
use block quotations sparingly, and make sure to provide a sufficient amount of analysis and discussion to warrant the inclusion of a lengthy quotation
do not use quotation marks around the whole passage (the spacing format of a block quotation indicates that this is material that you are quoting)
include any internal punctuation marks used in the quotation introduce the quotation and then use a colon place parenthetical citations outside the last period of the block quotation
ex: Kathy and Tommy’s climactic encounter with Madame forces the couple to confront the lack of
basis for their one hope, of deferring further donations for two years so that they can spend this time together. They explain to Madame their theories about her gallery, and she responds by summarizing their conception of the gallery project with some incredulity:
‘Because of course’ – Madame cut in suddenly – ‘your art will reveal your inner selves! That’s it, isn’t it? Because your art will display your souls!’ Then suddenly she turned to me again and said: “I go too far?’
She’d said this before, and I again had the impression she was staring at a spot on my sleeve. (Ishiguro 232)
As it turns out, however, Kathy is not Madame’s primary interlocutor; Madame is actually addressing Miss Emily. Kathy’s impression that Madame is “staring at a spot on [her] sleeve” also hints at the way in which the clones are repeatedly both seen and not seen by their guardians.
Using quotations from dramatic works
if you are quoting a line or lines spoken in one place in the text by a single character then you can incorporate the quotation into your sentence/paragraph
if you are quoting dialogue between two or more characters then you should follow this convention: indicate the first speaker’s name in capital letters place a period after the name start the quotation; indent subsequent lines in this character’s speech by one quarter inch when the next character starts speaking indicate their name in capital letters, again followed by
a period, and then begin to cite their words include stage directions as they are printed at the end of the last speaker’s words include a parenthetical reference
Ex:
SEPTIMUS. Thank you, Jellaby. I was expecting to be locked out. What time is it?
JELLABY. Half past five.
SEPTIMUS. That is what I have. Well! – what a bracing experience! (Stoppard 67)
Using quotations from poetry
one line of a poem can be placed in quotation marks within your text if you are citing 2-3 lines you can also incorporate these lines into your text, by using a / with space
on each side to indicate line breaks longer verse quotations should be presented in a similar way to block prose quotations: begin on a
new line, indenting each line one inch from the left-margin, and double-space include all of the punctuation in the original text if there are important spatial arrangements of the text on the page, do your best to mimic the
placement of the words
