What does the quotation mean and how does it help establish the point you are making?

This is an essay exam and should not be organized like an academic paper. I suggest answering each question with your word processor then carefully proofreading before copy/pasting into the boxes provided. Quote correctly from the texts when necessary to back up your assertions and show your understanding.

Part of what I�m doing here is checking to see if you know how to introduce and comment on quotations, and if you know how to select appropriate quotations that support the point you�re trying to make. Here is a copy/paste from the Virtual Salt website.

1. Introduce your quotations. A quotation should never suddenly appear out of nowhere. Some kind of information about the quotation is needed. Name the author, give his or her credentials, name the source, give a summary. You won’t do all of these each time, but you should usually name the author. For example:

a. But John Jones disagrees with this point, saying, “Such a product would not sell.”

b. In an article in Time Fred Jackson writes that frogs vary in the degree of shyness they exhibit: “The arboreal tree frogs seem to be especially. . . .”

2. Discuss your quotations. Do not quote someone and then leave the words hanging as if they were self-explanatory.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? Quotations are like examples: discuss them to show how they fit in with your thesis and with the ideas you are presenting. Remember: quotations support or illustrate your own points. They are not substitutes for your ideas and they do not stand by themselves.