Step 1) Full name of author and full name of text, but only the first time.

After that they go by their LAST

NAME.

Step 2) Pick a quote.

 Main points
 Supporting Evidence
 Counter Evidence
 Theories
 Something particularly elegant or well said
 Flashpoints
 Terminology/unique vocab etc.

Put the quote in quotation marks.

Follow quote with the page number in parenthesis. IMPORTANT DO NOT FORGET only the page number,
no other information ex: (22), (17) etc.

End with a period

No more than 2-3 lines as a general rule

Examples from Wallace:

a) David Foster Wallace states in “This is Water” that “everything in my own immediate
experience supports my deep belief that I am the absolute center of the universe” (53).
b) Wallace states in “This is Water” that “it is extremely difficult to stay alert and attentive,
instead of getting hypnotized by the constant monologue inside your own head” (54).
c) Wallace hits the nail on the head when he states in “This is Water” how it is that” most of
these suicides are actually dead long before they pull the trigger” (54).
d) David Foster Wallace in his commencement speech “This is Water” says that “The capital-T
Truth is about life BEFORE death” (59).

Step 3) We translate the quote. Put the quote into your own worlds.

Examples:

a) There is nothing that has ever happened, that I have ever experienced, that is not filtered
through the way I see the world. It is always shown to me, felt by me, read to me. This
makes each and every one of us the center of our own universe.
b) We get so caught up in our own thoughts, beliefs and ideas that it is increasingly difficult to
see and validate to ourselves the thoughts and ideas of others.
 c) This death, while not a physical ending, is one of the mind, the soul if you will. When all
there is to your life is the routine, without thought or reaction, then there is no real life.
When every action you do is based solely on the hardwiring of your mind, you are not
actually making any choices, but having them made for you.
d) This Truth is about learning to see the decisions that you make, and actually, actively making
them, not just letting your inner wiring make them without any input from your conscious
mind.

Choose one of the quotes from the examples and come up with three questions.

I chose quote a).

1) What does this realization make you feel?

2) How did this statement make you look at your own thoughts?
3) Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?