Identifying Dropped Quotes and How to Avoid Them

Dropped quotes are something students really struggle with when learning how to integrate quotes. A dropped quote happens when an author uses a quote as the entirely of the sentence. A quote must always be associated with the author's original words. There has to be some explanation as to why the quote is being used. Please look at the following paragraph and see if you can identify the dropped quotes.

Dropped quotes are a real problem for new writers. "Never use dropped quotes" (Roberts 2013). It is important to always associate your own words with the quote so that people know why the quote is being included. "Quotes are important, but dropped quotes interrupt the flow of the paper" (Roberts 2013). When a quote is simply dropped into a paragraph, readers are left wondering why the quote was included in the first place.

Do you see how the quotes (while relevant and cited correctly) disrupt the flow of the paper and are not given any explanation? Now look at the same paragraph where the quotes are inserted into the text correctly.

Dropped quotes are a real problem for new writers. The only rule about dropped quotes in writing is to "never use dropped quotes" (Roberts 2013). It is important to always associate your own words with the quote so that people know why the quote is being included. "Quotes are important, but dropped quotes interrupt the flow of the paper" and, thus, defeat the purpose of being included in the first place (Roberts 2013). When a quote is simply dropped into a paragraph, readers are left wondering why the quote was included in the first place.

See how in the second example the quotes smoothly flow from thought to thought? This is your paper, so you need to associate your own words with the quotes to give them a reason for existing.

There are several ways to avoid dropped quotes.

1. Use a signal phrase before the quote.

According to Ms. Roberts, writers should "never use dropped quotes" (2013).

2. Use an explanatory phrase after the quote.

"Never use dropped quotes" are words to live by (Roberts 2013).

3. Integrate the quote into an original sentence.

In academic writing, one should "never use dropped quotes" in order to be taken seriously (Roberts 2013). 

What do you think? Is this explanation helpful? What questions do you still have about dropped quotes?