Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary defines quotes as

The act of repeating erroneously the words of another.

There is of course humor in defining a quotation as an error, as any student can attest. Quotations are necessary in the course of many writing modes, including expository, research, and argument. They provide that much needed ethos, a credibility that you are someone who is well informed and could be trusted to ethically deliver information without bias.

There is truth in Bierce's definition, however. Most English teachers would note that there is actually quite a bit of truth, in fact. Students have a tendency to over-quote, to rely on the words of someone else because that speaker is perceived to know better than the student. The student then spends the rest of the writing supporting what the source says or means, but this vastly overestimates the value of a quotation. The quoted words of another person - even an expert - are to be used to support the statement or argument you are trying to make. A quoted author is helping you; he or she needs no help making a point, as - clearly - that has already been done.

Scenario: Trying to argue that cities should create more public transportation

Supporting the quote:

The argument should be clear that "As more people collect in a city center, more jobs cluster there too, boosting both wages and economic productivity over time," according to Daniel Chatman, planning scholar at UC Berkeley, as quoted by City Lab. To encourage this kind of clustering, cities need to develop more public transit. "They report that this hidden economic value of transit could be worth anywhere from $1.5 million to $1.8 billion a year."

Comments: While this does not sound bad, it doesn't really add anything new to the discussion. Primarily the author focuses on what others have said and depends solely on their statements and credibility. Note that entire sentences are quoted.

Supported by the quote:

The argument should be clear that cities need to develop a variety of public transit options. Developing rail or bus systems can encourage people to "collect in a city center... boosting both wages and economic productivity" as jobs become available in those same areas, according to Daniel Chatman, planning scholar at UC Berkeley, as quoted by City Lab. This kind of clustering can save a considerable amout of money for the city and its residents, with Chatman's research suggesting a possible savings of up to $1.8 billion per year. These savings are significant, and could allow additional development of the city, thereby encouraging more population growth and more economic benefit.

Comments: This is a similar argument, but note that this writer's commentary vastly outnumbers the use of quotes. These extra sentences are used to make reasoned connections to the argument and evidence, while also expanding on what is stated at the source. Finally, there are no complete sentences quoted, and the one long quote is shorted with the use of ellipses (...).

Basic take-away:

1. Limit the number of quotes used.

2. Quote only what is necessary.

3. Include sentences before and after the quote that show how it is related to the topic and why it is necessary to prove a point.

(Originally Posted Sep 24, 2016)