Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Embedding Evidence Smoothly

Blend evidence into your own sentences so it reads smoothly and accurately.

Dropping a quotation into an answer as its own sentence makes writing choppy. Instead, embed it: blend the author's words into your own sentence. Compare. Dropped: 'The storm was dangerous. 'Trees bent nearly to the ground. '' Embedded: 'The storm was dangerous enough that trees 'bent nearly to the ground'. ' The second version reads smoothly and shows you understand how the evidence fits. Three embedding methods work well. Use a lead-in phrase: 'The narrator recalls that... '.

Blend a short phrase into your grammar: 'The guide calls the cave 'a cathedral of stone'. ' Or paraphrase and name the source: 'The author explains that the cave formed over thousands of years. ' When you paraphrase, keep the author's meaning exactly; changing a 'may' to a 'will' changes the evidence. Embedded evidence is a sign of a confident reader, one who uses the text as support rather than letting it take over the answer.

• 1Embed quotations inside your own sentences.
• 2Use lead-ins, blended phrases, or accurate paraphrase.
• 3Paraphrase must keep the author's exact meaning.