Possible Steps to Follow When Citing Text in an Analytical Paragraph

1. Topic sentence of your paragraph (what your paragraph will be about)

2. Context of the quotation (where in the story it is written, what the situation is in which it is
said, etc.)

3. Introduction to the quotation (who says this? the author? the narrator? another character? )
Use a comma to introduce the quotation; Use a colon if the quotation is introduced by a complete
thought. *

4. The quotation itself (include page number in parentheses)

5. Explanation of the quotation in your own words or your summary of the meaning of it. You
may also need to give more background information.

6. Analysis of the quotation (why is this important? How does this quotation relate to your
thesis? How does this piece of evidence support the point you wish to convey? It is your job to
make the connection explicit.)

MOST OF YOUR PARAGRAPH SHOULD BE SPENT ANALYZING - USING YOUR OWN

WORDS TO EXPLAIN HOW AND WHY THE QUOTATION SUPPORTS YOUR OVERALL
POINT.

(Step 1) Utterson tries hard to repress his shadow side like a good Victorian gentleman,
but he knows on a subconscious level that this repression is unhealthy and unnatural. (Step 2)
For example, after he decides that Hyde must be blackmailing Jekyll for some past reckless
behavior, Utterson (Step 3 and 4) "brooded awhile on his own past, groping in all the corners of
memory, lest by chance some Jack-in-the-Box of an old iniquity should leap to light there"(54).
(Step 5) Here Utterson forces himself to access his memories of possible shameful behavior in
order to protect himself from being in a situation like he thinks Jekyll is in. It as if he is shoring
himself against a surprise attack from his past deeds so he will not find himself as vulnerable as
Jekyll. (Step 6) "Corners of memory" implies that Utterson has put all his shameful behavior in
the most inaccessible place in a box or trunk, echoing the theory of many late 19th century
psychologists who believed that humans assign to a shadow or dark side of their psyche all of
their bad qualities and deeds. "Groping" suggests that he is reaching out in confusion, in the
dark for these long repressed memories that may be so shameful that he as shoved them into the
most inaccessible places of his mind. It is as if he has realized that by dealing with these
memories, he can prevent the surprise should "an old iniquity leap to light" like a "Jack-in-the-
Box." He seems to understand that the more one is aware of his/her entire being and history,
even the bad side, the less one will be surprised by it. And in this subtle action, Utterson
distinguishes himself from the typical Victorian who refused to acknowledge the possibility of
evil within, the possibility of the animal within defying the staid rules of propriety.

* If you wanted to use a colon to introduce the quotation in the above passage you could write it
as follows:
(Step 2) Utterson takes stock of his own mistakes in the past when he decides that Hyde must be
blackmailing Jekyll for some past reckless behavior: "And the lawyer, scared by the thought,
brooded awhile on his own past, groping in all the corners of memory, lest by chance some Jack-
in-the-Box of an old iniquity should leap to light there "(54).