1. Frame & Explain
Using Quotations in Your Writing

2. Let’s Operate Under this Claim
• In Night, Wiesel goes to great lengths to show
how faith is tested in difficult times using
allusions, inner conflict, and characterization.

3. Select the quotes to use.

4. Selecting Quotes
• Choose the best examples to support your ideas.
• Weak quotes lead to weak writing, so make sure
your examples are strong!

5. For example
• “I did not fast. First of all, to please my father
who had forbidden me to do so. And then, there
was no longer any reason for me to fast. I no
longer accepted Gods‟ silence. As I swallowed
my ration of soup, I turned that act into a
symbol of rebellion, of protest against Him. And
I nibbled on my crust of bread. Deep inside me, I
felt a great void opening” (69).
• This quote is essential to my argument.

6. Frame your quote.

7. Framing
• You can‟t just plot a quote in your paper. It must
be “framed”.

8. Provide Context
One way Wiesel proved his faith was tested
throughout the Holocaust was through the inner
conflict he shared with us during his journey. When
Yom Kippur came around, Elie struggled to decided
whether or not to uphold the tradition of fasting. In
the end, Wiesel decided, He writes, “I did not fast.
First of all, to please my father who had forbidden
me to do so. And then, there was no longer any
reason for me to fast. I no longer accepted Gods‟
silence. As I swallowed my ration of soup, I turned
that act into a symbol of rebellion, of protest against
Him. And I nibbled on my crust of bread. Deep
inside me, I felt a great void opening” (Wiesel 69).

9. Give Credit to the Source
• Make sure your reader knows who created the quote (in
speech or writing).
• Avoid using “said.” It‟s old & tired. There are hundreds of
other verbs that are more accurate.
One way Wiesel proved his faith was tested throughout
the Holocaust was through the inner conflict he shared with
us during his journey. When Yom Kippur came around, Elie
struggled to decided whether or not to uphold the tradition of
fasting. In the end, Wiesel decided. He writes, “I did not
fast. First of all, to please my father who had forbidden me to
do so. And then, there was no longer any reason for me to fast.
I no longer accepted Gods‟ silence. As I swallowed my ration
of soup, I turned that act into a symbol of rebellion, of protest
against Him. And I nibbled on my crust of bread. Deep inside
me, I felt a great void opening” (Wiesel 69).

10. Explain the significance of the quote!
He writes, “I did not fast. First of all, to please my father
who had forbidden me to do so. And then, there was no
longer any reason for me to fast. I no longer accepted
Gods‟ silence. As I swallowed my ration of soup, I turned
that act into a symbol of rebellion, of protest against
Him. And I nibbled on my crust of bread. Deep inside
me, I felt a great void opening” (Wiesel 69). The
presence of the inner conflict within Elie about whether
or not to eat shows how his faith in God is changing.
Ultimately, eating on Yom Kippur is a symbol of the
blame he assigns to God, turning his back on Him in an
act of revenge for his abandonment. The void he
mentions is a symbol for the absence of God in his heart.

11. Connect back to thesis statement
• “… Deep inside me, I felt a great void opening”
(Wiesel 69). The presence of the inner conflict
within Elie about whether or not to eat shows
how his faith in God is changing.
Ultimately, eating on Yom Kippur is a symbol of
the blame he assigns to God, turning his back on
Him in an act of revenge for his abandonment.
The void he mentions is a symbol for the absence
of God in his heart. This absence points to the
fact that his faith is being tested, he‟s lost his
trust in God, so his faith is on shaky ground.

12. Provide an in-text citation.
• Belongs directly after a quotation, at the end of a sentence.
He writes, “I did not fast. First of all, to please my father who
had forbidden me to do so. And then, there was no longer any
reason for me to fast. I no longer accepted Gods‟ silence. As I
swallowed my ration of soup, I turned that act into a symbol
of rebellion, of protest against Him. And I nibbled on my crust
of bread. Deep inside me, I felt a great void opening” (Wiesel
69). The presence of the inner conflict within Elie about
whether or not to eat shows how his faith in God is changing.
Ultimately, eating on Yom Kippur is a symbol of the blame he
assigns to God, turning his back on Him in an act of revenge
for his abandonment. The void he mentions is a symbol for
the absence of God in his heart.

13. A Sample Paragraph
One way Wiesel proved his faith was tested throughout the
Holocaust was through the inner conflict he shared with us during his
journey. When Yom Kippur came around, Elie struggled to decided
whether or not to uphold the tradition of fasting. In the end, Wiesel
decided, He writes, “I did not fast. First of all, to please my father who
had forbidden me to do so. And then, there was no longer any reason
for me to fast. I no longer accepted Gods‟ silence. As I swallowed my
ration of soup, I turned that act into a symbol of rebellion, of protest
against Him. And I nibbled on my crust of bread. Deep inside me, I
felt a great void opening” (Wiesel 69). The presence of the inner
conflict within Elie about whether or not to eat shows how his faith in
God is changing. Ultimately, eating on Yom Kippur is a symbol of the
blame he assigns to God, turning his back on Him in an act of revenge
for his abandonment. The void he mentions is a symbol for the
absence of God in his heart. This absence points to the fact that his
faith is being tested, he‟s lost his trust in God, so his faith is on shaky
ground.

14. There are rules, so get it right…

15. If you introduce your quote with a
compete sentence,
• Use a colon before the quote.
• Wiesel admitted the strength of his faith in the
early pages of the memoir: “I was almost
thirteen and deeply observant” (Wiesel 3).

16. If you introduce your quote with an
incomplete sentence,
• Use a comma before the quote.
• Early on, Wiesel admits, “I was almost thirteen
and deeply observant” (Wiesel 3).

17. If you’re quoting a quote,
• Use single quotation marks within double
quotation marks.
• To suggest that God is dead, Wiesel
comments, “„Where He is? This is where—
hanging here from this gallows…‟”
‟”

18. Ellipses
•…
• If you want to leave out material from within a
quote, use ellipses.
• Be certain you‟re not “cutting” essential parts of the
quote.
• Supporting Passages
• “I did not fast.…I no longer accepted Gods‟ silence.
As I swallowed my ration of soup, I turned that act
into a symbol of rebellion, of protest against Him.
And I nibbled on my crust of bread. Deep inside
me, I felt a great void opening” (Wiesel 69).