12. Some advice on quoting

You probably know that quoting is part of the essay writing shebang. An essay's gotta have quotes, right, to show that you've read things - hasn't it?

But quotations can get way out of hand. They can be over-complicated, over-long and poorly chosen. Or, there can be just too many of them - so you can't see the argument for the quotes. As my supervisor once said,

I don't like there to be too many quotes.

Wise words.

There are three reasons that you should permit yourself the indulgence of a quotation.

1) The other author completely nailed it. That is, they have put something SO beautifully that you couldn't possibly put it that way yourself. You just have to put it in. Example "As Karl Barth put it: This man is man." Notice that it is short, and pithy. No pith, no quote.

Don't put in a quote that is full of jargon that you don't understand. That use does NOT fulfil this rule! As a general rule, write something around the quote that shows you DO understand it.

2) Yes, my opponent actually does say that. If your opponent has an outrageous point of view and you are trying to engage it, use quotation to illustrate and exemplify - just so we can see that you aren't misrepresenting her or him.

3) I am expounding this point of view to learn from it. If you are trying to explain what Luther's view on justification was, so that you can learn from it, throw in a couple of short quotes to pick up his voice, his language.

The golden rule is - KEEP IT SHORT. Quotes that take up 10 or more lines are just padding. Summarise the idea and put in a footnote.

And, as I said above: introduce and follow the quote with enough explanatory words to show that you know what it means. What work is the quote doing for you? What was I supposed to get from it as a reader? Just because a well known author said it doesn't mean it is a) right b) intelligible c) what you want to say.

Also: watch that your quote doesn't introduce new material into your essay that is just confusing. Clip the quote so it is PRECISELY relevant to your case and so that there is no extra material.

BUT: do read carefully. Sometimes an author is recounting someone else's argument. If you pull out a quote from the middle of such a passage, you will badly distort the views of the author. Take care!