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Keep your quotations short and to the point. Using just a few words is more powerful than copying out chunks of text: it shows you are being selective in what you say. You should also be careful to copy accurately. Put the quotation inside your own sentence, rather than sticking it in the middle of a page and then commenting on it. This is called embedding a quotation.

So rather than:

‘He flew like a butterfly.’ This is an example of a simile, which shows that he was light and graceful.

Or:

The author uses similes, e.g. ‘he flew like a butterfly’.

You would write:

The author uses the simile of the boy flying ‘like a butterfly’ to convey the impression that he is light and graceful.

The words from the text are embedded as part of your sentence – the quotation fits into the sentence to form part of it.

Making the most of quotations

You should make a close analysis of the language in the quotation and use that to support your point.

There are several ways you can do this:

• Pick out a word from the quotation and think about what the choice of that word means. The connotations of a word are the things or ideas it reminds you of, rather than its meaning. Some words might have connotations which are important to the point you are making, eg the word ‘scythe’ has connotations of death and it might be being used to create an ominous atmosphere.
• The quotation may have a metaphor, simile, or other devices in it – what is the effect of that technique? Make sure that if you use a quotation with a literary technique in it, you name the technique in whatever comment you make about it.
• Link the quotation to another example in the extract, if there is one. Or show how it is similar to another point you’ve made. This shows an overview of the text, rather than being focused on individual examples.