The following articulates what you need to do to include your supporting quotes in the text of an essay.

For a look at the power point we used to introduce the material, click here.
 

Three ways to write a quote into your text:

1. Set up the quote and then present it as proof of what you have just said. That is, say something about the quote and then present it like it’s a video or an object you’re putting on display.
    
1. Type of punctuation: In this case, you’ll use a colon to introduce the quote.
    
2. Example: The crew feasted on Helios’ cattle with relish: “Now six full days my gallant crew could feast / upon the prime beef they had marked for slaughter” (929-930). 

                                                               i.      Note that the phrase before the quote could stand on its own as a sentence.

                                                             ii.      We’ll discuss the punctuation later.

2. You can mold the author’s words in as if they are your own. In this case, you’ll probably be summarizing or paraphrasing the story and at some point decide that the writer’s words are better than yours.
    
1. Type of punctuation: When you do this, you will not use any punctuation before the quote.
    
2. Example: After Odysseus’ men were killed, he was left alone on the sea and began floating “north again, / straight for Charybdis” (965-966).

                                                               i.      Note that if I took away the quotation marks, the sentence would flow just like I had written it. That’s when you know you don’t need punctuation.

                                                             ii.      Your quotes can be little like this too, as long as they have the information you need.

3. You can introduce the quote with an introductory phrase that leads into the author’s phrasing. This will feel like you are writing a piece of dialog for a story.
    
1. Type of punctuation: You will use a comma after your introductory phrase or at the end of the quotation if it leads into another phrase within the sentence.
    
2. Example:

                                                               i.      When Odysseus killed Antinous, the suitors cried out, “Foul! to shoot at a man! That was your last shot!” (1432).

                                                             ii.      “Let me bring you a shield and spear,” offers Telemachos to his battling father (1506).

Punctuating a quotation from poetry:

1. Reference lines in parentheses, but do not write down “p.” or any other abbreviation.
2. Periods: Periods go OUTSIDE the quotation marks, “after the line reference” (32).
3. We won’t worry about the line breaks during this unit – we’ll do that during Romeo and Juliet, but you can see what I’ve done in the examples above.