Embed textual evidence using the "quote sandwich" -- context, quotation, explanation -- with correct punctuation for full and partial quotations.
A quote sandwich has three parts: a sentence of context or setup, the quotation itself woven grammatically into the sentence rather than dropped in, and a sentence of explanation connecting the quote to the essay's point. A quotation with no setup or follow-up explanation is "quote dumping," and it leaves the reader to guess why the quote matters.
Mechanics matter here too: a partial quotation blends directly into the writer's own sentence grammar, with no capital letter appearing mid-sentence; a full-sentence quotation is introduced with a comma or colon and keeps its own capital letter. Ellipses mark cut material within a quote, and brackets mark a word changed for clarity.
Mastery looks like: They embed quotations using the full quote-sandwich structure, correctly punctuated, with an explanation connecting each quote to the thesis.
Common stumbles: "Quote dumping" -- inserting a quotation with no setup or explanation connecting it to the point being made.
See it visually
Interactive, spoken-aloud tools that show this idea in motion.