Graff Birkenstein, “Chapter 3 : As he himself puts it – The Art Of Quoting”

When reading books you always try to interpret certain themes and ideas in a deeper meaning . We try to underline things that Stand out or try to come up with concept ideas to better understand what were reading. Chapter 3 of “They say, I say” illustrates the best way to take word for word quotes and plug them in your own text. Graff and Birkenstein point out common errors made in quoting : not finding a balance in the amount of quotes used, not placing quotes In relevant places within their writing, and letting the quote do its job by speaking alone.  Quoting Griff and Birkenstein “Finding relevant quotations is only one task of the many you need to complete, you also need to present them in a way that makes the relevance and meaning clear to your readers. “. The idea they are trying to get out their is In order to be a successful writer you do not want your readers questioning why they bothered reading your writing. This also applies to the quotes you choose and the way you interrogate them. In chapter 3 they also suggest that by adding a quote by a source that’s reliable and scholarly, it adds value to what point you are trying to say. In the chapter, the authors maintain that “Quoting someone else’s words give a tremendous amount of credibility to your summary and helps ensure that it is fair and accurate”. In simple terms the point they are giving is that by quoting the work of others you are In turn backing up your own . They also suggest using an introduction before the quote and a follow up statement afterwards to explain why you are using a particular quote.