HOW TO INTRODUCE TEXTUAL EVIDENCE IN YOUR WRITING
1. You may incorporate textual evidence right into the sentence with the use of quotation marks, but your quote from the text must make sense in the context of the sentence.
For example:
April is so wildly confused that she actually “…hated Caroline because it was all her fault” (page 118).
2. Another way to introduce textual evidence is to tell the reader you are doing so.
For example:
According to the author, “Reading and writing are two skills every person will need in the workplace” (page 42).
Additional examples of this style are listed:
As noted on page 79, For example,
When the author states,”….”
As stated in the text,
For instance, In the words of …
An example of this occurs when the main character says, “…”
The author illustrates this point when she states,
Toward the end of the story, Ken says, “…”
As Zilpha Keatley Snyder points out,
3. Here is a list of common verbs used to introduce textual evidence:
| argues | writes | concludes |
| reveals | observes | notes |
| comments | maintains | suggests |
| insists | explains | implies |
| counters | states | claims |
| demonstrates |
Sites for help using MLA Formatting and Citation:
The Modern Language Association – The MLA Style Center
Purdue OWL – Purdue University Online Writing Lab
Tools for Citation (Citation Generators)-
These tools can help, but you are still responsible for the accuracy of your in-text citations and works cited page: