The Most Important Quoting Guidelines
It would be nice to have the punctuation correct, but if these guidelines are not followed, the quote is probably worthless. 

Quotes MUST be introduced,
especially the first time a source is used. 

Note that all the examples below refer EXPLICITLY to the source of the material. 

Dr. Fetherhed, who is an expert in seagull behavior, states clearly in The Journal of Dumpster Feeders that "The seagull is continually attracted to garbage."

An excellent example of this is recounted by Dr. Thenks vor Nauthen on the website Dirty Diapers and You. There, she says that "Once the parent has understood the job needs to be done, it generally gets done." 

The origins of mud wrestling are unknown.  Dr. Slipskin, however, believes he has a clue.  In his book Sports of the Trailer Park, he states that "in Philadelphia, mud wrestling occurred as early as 1890." 

Dr. Sokunshu believes that there is an excellent reason that Eskimos do not wear socks.  She states in The Journal of Polar Undergarments that "Early explorers often had frozen feet, and this was the first time natives of those regions had seen stockings." 


See also this site. 

Quotes MUST be discussed.

Robert Harris, a teacher with over twenty-five years of experience, advises students with the following: 
     Do not quote someone and then leave the words hanging as if
     they were self explanatory. What does the quotation mean and
     how does it help establish the point you are making? What is
     your interpretation or opinion of it?
To assist students in starting a discussion of their quote, he gives four phrases that provide easy starting points.
       Here we see that….
       This statement shows….
       Clearly, then, ….
       We can conclude from this that…
The writer could also begin with many other phrases, such as: 
   This example is important because...
   This statement is difficult to accept,
       however, because…


Harris, Robert.  "Using Quotations Effectively."  Virtual
     Salt.  Version Date: February 13, 2001.  http://www.salt.com/
      virtualquotehlp.htm

1

All material that comes from your sources must be clearly identified as not your own writing.

2

All material from your sources must use the EXACT wording your sources uses.  You can add or delete words, but you can NEVER CHANGE THEM  (See the "Problems" tab above to see how to add or delete). 

3

Language that is identified as your own must be COMPLETELY ORIGINAL.  You can never rewrite material. 


Benchmark from Michigan Standards and Benchmarks for this skill:

8-1 Technical Aspects
Identify and use selectively mechanics that facilitate understanding.
Examples include organizational patterns, documentation of sources, appropriate punctuation, grammatical constructions, conventional spelling, and the use of connective devices, such as transitions and paraphrasing an oral message completely and accurately.