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10.0 Punctuating Quotations

Review carefully the conventions for dealing with direct quotations, including opening and closing punctuation, gaps, ellipsis dots, insertion brackets, and references.

References: GMWA: Sections 3.33 to 3.59 (p. 36 to 42); TEW: Section 33 (p. 213 to p. 217; 34b (p. 220), 34e, 34f (p. 223); RRH: Chapter 40 (p. 269 to 275)

For dealing with titles, you will need to review the following sections: GMWA: Sections 2.53 to 2.58; TEW: 33c (p. 215), 37a (p. 234); RRH: Chapter 43 (p. 290 to 292).

Remember that short quotations (three lines or less) stay in the main paragraph. If the quotation is from a poem, then you indicate the line endings with a solidus (/).

Passage A

Shakespeare's play, The Tempest, reminds me a lot of an episode of Star Trek, in fact, 

the story is quite similar to many science fiction episodes, which accounts for its 

continuing popularity. In the play magic is used by Prospero a elderly nobleman to end 

all his families quarrels and so that his daughter Miranda can be married off to the 

handsome young prince Ferdinand. Reading the text of the play, it is clear that no one 

has much hope of standing up to Prosperos magic but a certain amount of tension is 

created by the story in the fact that Prospero might lose his temper. Prospero has two

servants Ariel and Caliban who are used to carry out various tasks. Anyone reading 

the play carefully will find themselves wondering about Caliban. How are they 

supposed to interpret his character. He seems brutish stupid and as a creature 

uneducable. But every now that then a speech is uttered by him which makes him 

sound quite poetic. For example, a speech is given by him in 3.2 in which he says, 

the isle is full of noises, Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. 

Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments Will hum about mine ears; and 

sometime voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, Will make me sleep 

again: and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open, and show riches 

Ready to drop upon me; that, when I wak'd, I cried to cream again. This reveals 

a poetic nature and how he has the sensitivity to respond to some things. And when 

he says This island's mine,

by Sycorax my mother, Which thou tak'st from me (1.2.333-4) it is difficult for the 

reader not to feel some twinge in their sympathies for this monster. So it is 

something of a puzzle. But in the end Caliban's plots are forestalled by Prospero 

and all the people are reconciled by Prospero, the families unity is restored.

Passage B

Rewrite the following passage, improving the grammar, punctuation, parallelism, and format for titles (treat the names of newspapers or journals like book titles and the names of articles in newspapers or magazines like short story, essay, or poem titles). Review the use of the ellipsis dots to indicate a gap in a quotation.

The referendum which was carried out by the people of Quebec last week narrowly 

endorsed Canadian federalism which was greeted with relief by most of the rest of 

Canada. Looking over the results, it is clear that the question has not been resolved 

decisively this time, no one can declare that their questions about the future of Quebec 

has permanently been answered by the exercise.  According to the article Canada at the

Crossroads, in the Globe and Mail for Saturday November 5 1995, we can expect 

uncertainty in the immediate future. As the writer states What will happen next

is unclear. The government faces a number of difficult options, none of which 

looks very promising. (page A5). What can be done by those who want to keep 

Canada together. Anyone who considers this question will realize that their choices 

are limited and how divided the electorate in the country is. Meanwhile, unhappy with 

the result of the referendum, the resignation of Jacques Parizeau the leader of the 

Parti Quebecois in Quebec took place which surprised everyone. On the whole, 

the news of this was greeted with relief by the national press. One article in the 

Ottawa Citizen on Thursday, November 3 1995 remarked as follows: After his slur 

against minorities......Mr Parizeau is no longer welcome as a leader of Quebec. 

(p. B10) Anyone concerned about the position of a minority in Quebec will feel 

happy at Mr. Parizeau's departure, no one expects that the vacant Premiership will 

be refused by Lucien Bouchard, which would be something really unexpected.

Passage C

Rewrite the following passage improving the style and dealing with quotations properly.

The short story, An Outpost of Progress was written by Joseph Conrad who was not 

a native speaker of English. Reading the story these days, it is evident that it will be 

found objectionable by some people, Conrad in places appears to talk of Africa and 

Africans in a way which seems outdated superior oppressive and which dehumanizes 

them, however his real purpose so far as I can tell has nothing to do with such 

intentions. Rather it can be seen that Conrads major purpose is to expose his own 

societies hypocrisy greed moral emptiness and stupidity especially in its dealings

with the unknown. The two chief characters in the story Kayerts and Carlier two 

poor but typical specimens of European civilization are placed by an important 

trading company which Conrad near the end with great sarcasm calls the Great 

Civilizing Company in the remote African wilderness far from what they are used 

to. This creates unusual tensions for them, as is said in the story "They

were two perfectly insignificant and incapable individuals, whose existence is only 

rendered possible through the high organization of civilized crowds.(1467)" Left 

alone with only themselves for normal company, the process of degeneration begins 

in the men, which leads them to condone slavery and murder. A person reading 

this story is forced to consider how their sense of themselves may be just the

product of their societies habits rather than a natural characteristic which has been 

imprinted permanently on them by their moral beliefs. This is an uncomfortable 

thought, for if Conrad is to be believed no one can be sure exactly what their moral 

system is.

 

 


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