How to use a quote in writing: learn how and when to use it!

To know use a quote in the essay It is one of the biggest concerns of candidates who want to get good grades at this stage of the process.

Using a quote in your essay enriches your dissertation: does it?

It is very likely that you have already seen countless videos on the internet talking about the importance of using a citation in writing.

Some professionals in the field even claim that this is the real secret to catching the eye of evaluators and thus getting a good grade. But is it true?

In fact, citation is an important element to bring authority to the argument, as it demonstrates that you are basing your dissertation on ideas coming from important personalities.

Furthermore, the quote demonstrates that you have adequate cultural background, since you remember phrases and ideas from people who are important to the context.

But, we must remember that this is only useful when we understand the role of the citation in a text, after all, it cannot serve as a basis for your argument, nor occupy the entire page.

Remember that the evaluator is not interested in Oprah's point in saying that “A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another step towards greatness.”, after all, he probably already knows the context in which she said it. The central idea is to understand how this connects with your argument.

Therefore, the quote should be used with caution, in order to only provide support for the central point of your essay, which should be defended by you, and not by the personalities cited.

When is it appropriate to use a citation in writing?

At this point you already understand that by using a quote in your essay you bring cultural value to your text.

Therefore, it is recommended to use the citation whenever you wish to offer additional elements to the understanding of your argument.

For example, consider the following excerpt:

Gratitude for life allows us to avoid mental challenges due to the lack of acceptance of our own reality, as Zeca Pagodinho would say in his song Deixa a Vida Me Levar “If things don’t go the way I want, I don’t despair either, the best thing is to let things go, and with great difficulty, there I go, and I’m happy and grateful for everything God has given me.”.

Note that in the example, the quote from Zeca Pagodinho's song served only to contextualize and exemplify the idea brought by the dissertation.

This is a good example of how citation should be used in writing, as the focus is not on the idea of the person cited, but rather on the dissertation of the author of the text.

It is worth mentioning that the citation must necessarily be related to the dissertation. Therefore, there is no point in including several catchphrases just to fill the lines of the page.

Tips for using a quote in your essay

At this point you already understand that you can use a quote in the essay to bring value to the idea you intend to defend with your text.

But, if you want to apply this strategy more assertively, check out the following important tips:

1. Avoid exaggeration

Many take literally the idea that use a quote in the essay is essential, and they end up creating a text full of quotes.

Note that this type of text is actually uncomfortable to read, as you have to search through the mentions to find the idea the author intends to convey.

Therefore, avoid using one quote per paragraph, and evaluate whether this mention really adds value to your text, or whether it could be dispensed with.

In general, the recommendation is that a 30-line text have up to 2 quotes, as this makes it easier to contextualize the central idea of the essay.

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2. Use the quote to support your ideas, not the other way around

We've already talked about this, but it's worth remembering: it's very important that you understand the role of citations in an essay.

Many dissertators end up taking on the role of commentators, and simply make comments about the cited sentences.

This is not recommended and may impoverish your essay, as the evaluator will consider the argumentation weak.

3. Remember to indicate that this is a quote in the essay.

We must remember that a citation is a type of mention of another person's idea, so including it in a text without the correct indication can constitute plagiarism.

The person who said the phrase “but it is clear that the Sun will return tomorrow” was Renato Russo, in the song Mais Uma Vez, and not you, so including it in your essay without the correct mention may give the impression that you tried to argue using someone else's idea.

So, always use quotation marks before and after the quoted phrase, and remember to mention the author, and if possible, the work or occasion in which the phrase was said.

4. Avoid generic quotes

There are quotes that are already well-worn, so that evaluators are already tired of reading them, or they even do not serve the central purpose, which is to contextualize your idea.

For example:

Every day human relationships have become more distant due to the lack of communication, because as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry would say in The Little Prince: “One sees clearly only with the heart, what is essential is invisible to the eyes”.

Note that the sentence, although classic, does not serve to contextualize the argument presented at the beginning of the paragraph.

So, for the evaluator, it appears that you just took a famous phrase and tried to use it in your text, without applying it correctly, since it has no function.

Therefore, when using a citation in your essay, make sure it has a function and serves your dissertation well.

This may interest you: What is cultural fit and what should be assessed in this test? – The Administrator.

Roberta July 1, 2024