Analyzing Two Quotations from an Essay

January 24, 2012

Analyzing Two Quotations from an Essay

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Analyzing Two Quotations from an Essay

One of the most important steps to take when writing a formal essay is using citation of your sources properly. Whether it's for a college assignment, a publication for a research paper, or an article for an academic journal, the formation of solid citation should be set in place to avoid plagiarism and to give credit to the author of the source.

For a recent essay of mine I wrote while in college, I was asked to share a fair amount of sources. The essay was assigned as an informational paper based around the true events of Napoleon Bonaparte's coronation as Emperor in the French republic.

For one of my quotes, I wanted to use a first hand account of what a fellow commander in the military thought of Bonaparte's skill as an officer before his coronation. I introduced the quote first by discussing Bonaparte's military success thus far; then, after I quoted the commander's opinion, I ended the paragraph by concluding with other information relating to Bonaparte's success in war, to solidify and tie together the truth of the commander's statement. I cited the quote from a book about Bonaparte's life.

For another one of my quotes, I directly quoted Bonaparte himself from another book about his life. I opened the paragraph with a passage talking about how the French people were not quite ready for Bonaparte to be Emperor (several years before his official coronation), and through that passage, quoted Bonaparte agreeing with the people that they were not prepared for his leadership. I used this quote from Bonaparte as a springboard for my following paragraph as I introduced at what time the people were ready.

Through this paper, I learned a significant amount about citation. I look forward to using the skills I was able to foster in future essays as well.