Quotes add other voices to your essay that can round-out and
lend weight to your argument.
Gather quotations that are relevant to your topic and support your
side. Choose sources who know what they're talking about, and have
credentials to back them up.
Pick out the quotes and facts that deepen and enhance your essay.
Leave out quotes that are bland or obvious.
Outline your paper and make sure you provide a structure
upon which your quotes can stand. That means:
a) a sense of the quote's context and the source's authority
b) an analysis of the quote and how it serves your argument
Example from Brian White's award-winning essay, "The Answer to Stress":
Brian effectively quotes credible sources to support his claim that food can help relieve stress:
"As Dr. Brunilda Nazzario wrote,
'Reaching for the cookie jar at the first sign of bad news
may actually be healthy.' You see, eating calorie-rich food
seems to calm our nerves."
