Finding Quotes
DescriptionSome quick tips and tricks on how to quickly find quotes in text.
MessageYour mileage may vary. This is just general help, not a fix for everything.
ImageWRTN
When it comes to quotes, whether they're from a book, on a website, or elsewhere, there are many great tricks on how to find them. These can help speed up the process and make life easier for writers on a deadline.
When it comes to books, what I would recommend is finding a free PDF version of your story, so that you can search the file using CTRL F/CMND F on your keyboard. This will allow you to find specific sentences in the text that can relate to the topic in your body paragraph. These quotes should be as specific as possible, and should assist the reader when looking through your essay. For text coming from websites, you can do these exact same steps.
But what if you can't find a free PDF version of your book? Then I would recommend glancing through the story quickly, reminding yourself of specific events related to what you are writing about, and then looking into more details from those sections. And if it helps you, take notes while reading of major events in the story, in case it may be useful later on.
Citing a source properly is also an important ability to have when quoting text. My personal standard is the MLA format, and most schools typically use it, so that's what I will use as an example. So, when citing a quote from a book, you do this: (Authors Last Name + Page Number). The author's name is the first thing in the parentheses, and then with a space after, the page number (the plus sign is just to signify that the two go in the parentheses, and are not needed). If you would like real-world examples, go to WRTN Essays.
When it comes to books, what I would recommend is finding a free PDF version of your story, so that you can search the file using CTRL F/CMND F on your keyboard. This will allow you to find specific sentences in the text that can relate to the topic in your body paragraph. These quotes should be as specific as possible, and should assist the reader when looking through your essay. For text coming from websites, you can do these exact same steps.
But what if you can't find a free PDF version of your book? Then I would recommend glancing through the story quickly, reminding yourself of specific events related to what you are writing about, and then looking into more details from those sections. And if it helps you, take notes while reading of major events in the story, in case it may be useful later on.
Citing a source properly is also an important ability to have when quoting text. My personal standard is the MLA format, and most schools typically use it, so that's what I will use as an example. So, when citing a quote from a book, you do this: (Authors Last Name + Page Number). The author's name is the first thing in the parentheses, and then with a space after, the page number (the plus sign is just to signify that the two go in the parentheses, and are not needed). If you would like real-world examples, go to WRTN Essays.