How do I incorporate quotations into the text of my essay?
Incorporate quotations into your paragraphs with introductions or explanations, rather than simply dropping them into your prose unannounced. Here is an example of how not to do it:
The narrator seems troubled by the impending visit of his wife's old friend, and defines him primarily in terms of his blindness. "Now this same blind man was coming to sleep in my house" (478).
The above example creates a situation that's confusing for the reader because you switch from one voice (yours) to another (the reader doesn't know whose) for no apparent reason. The reader might be able to guess that you are quoting from the story and may even be able to guess why you're quoting from the story, but there are much better methods to indicate to your reader what purpose the quotation serves within your own explanation.
One method is to use a colon to introduce the quotation (this tells your reader that the quotation is a further explanation or clarification of your statement):
The narrator seems troubled by the impending visit of his wife's old friend, and defines him primarily in terms of his blindness: "Now this same blind man was coming to sleep in my house" (478).
Another way to introduce the quotation is to use a transitional word or phrase such as for example, as an illustration, for instance (this makes an obvious connection between your statement and the quotation):
The narrator seems troubled by the impending visit of his wife's old friend, and defines him primarily in terms of his blindness. For instance, the narrator relates, "Now this same blind man was coming to sleep in my house" (478).
You can also explain the quotation's presence following the quotation itself (this explains what you are using the quotation to demonstrate):
The narrator seems troubled by the impending visit of his wife's old friend, and defines him primarily in terms of his blindness. The statement "Now this same blind man was coming to sleep in my house" (478) is one example among many of the narrator's unwelcoming dismissal of Robert.