Posted: April 16th, 2015

How to “Sandwich” a Quote

Samples – How to “Sandwich” a Quote

Here is the “sandwich” for the Appiah quote that we drafted in class:

Kwame Appiah is a professor of philosophy at Princeton University. (CONTEXT) He believes that people should accept one another and reach around the boundaries that separate them. (EXACT QUOTE AND CITATION) With his theory of cosmopolitanism, he states…. P. 69

(RESTATE THE IDEA SO YOU INCREASE THE READER’S UNDERSTANDING.) Appiah suggests that our care for one another is not optional and that we are obligated to each person who lives in this world.   (ANALYSIS) This is important because when we place a value on every life we develop a system of morals that will guide our actions and help us to accept one another to live peaceably. (REFLECTION/CONNECT TO CLAIM) Regardless of where we live and what we believe, cosmopolitans equally value the life of each individual.

Here is the entire quote from the handout on “The 5-Step Approach to Incorporating Quoted Material Into an Essay”. On the handout, the quote is in segments with an explanation for each segment.

Wilbur Smith, in his essay, “The Enduring Tradition,” writes, “in those days education was primarily religious” (196). (CONTEXT) Smith is talking about Europe in the Middle Ages, when all formal schooling was sponsored by the Catholic Church. (RESTATE THE IDEA SO YOU INCREASE THE READER’S UNDERSTANDING.)What he means here is that the information students were given was filtered through their teachers’ religious outlook on the world. (ANALYSIS) Smith’s use of the word, “primarily,” is interesting because it shows that he recognizes that even an organization as powerful and dedicated as the Church was at that time could not completely control education. (REFLECTION TO CONNECT THE QUOTE TO YOUR ARGUMENT/CLAIM.) Regardless of whether it is sponsored by religious or secular institutions, true education resists conformity to a specific set of cultural values.