Rocks Are Records Of Events That Took Place At The Time They Formed. They Are Books. They Have A Different Vocabulary, A Different Alphabet, But You Learn How To Read Them.

-John McPhee

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Rocks Are Records Of

John McPhee

Rocks Are Records Of Events That Took Place At The Time They Formed. They Are Books. They Have A Different Vocabulary, A Different Alphabet, But You Learn How To Read Them.

Topic

Book

Vocabulary

Rocks

More From John McPhee

On The Geological Time Scale, A Human Lifetime Is Reduced To A Brevity That Is Too Inhibiting To Think About Deep Time. ... Geologists ... See The Unbelievable Swiftness With Which One Evolving Species On The Earth Has Learned To Reach Into The Dirt Of Some Tropical Island And Fling 747s Across The Sky ... Seeing A Race Unaware Of Its Own Instantaneousness In Time, They Can Reel Off All The Species That Have Come And Gone, With Emphasis On Those That Have Specialized Themselves To Death.

Thinking

Islands

Race

Catch And Release Fishing May Be Cruelty Masquerading As Political Correctness

Sea

Fishing

Rivers

On A Certain Scale, It Does Look Like I Do A Lot. But That’s My Day, All Day Long, Sitting There Wondering When I’m Going To Be Able To Get Started. And The Routine Of Doing This Six Days A Week Puts A Little Drop In A Bucket Each Day, And That’s The Key. Because If You Put A Drop In A Bucket Every Day, After Three Hundred And Sixty-five Days, The Bucket’s Going To Have Some Water In It.

Keys

Long

Water

A Writer Has To Have Some Kind Of Compulsive Drive To Do His Work. If You Don't Have It, You'd Better Find Another Kind Of Work, Because It's The Only Compulsion That Will Drive You Through The Psychological Nightmares Of Writing.

Writing

Nightmare

Kind

The Summit Of Mount Everest Is Marine Limestone.

Marine

Limestone

Summit

A Quarter-horse Jockey Learns To Think Of A Twenty-second Race As If It Were Occurring Across Twenty Minutes--in Distinct Parts, Spaced In His Consciousness. Each Nuance Of The Ride Comes To Him As He Builds His Race. If You Can Do The Opposite With Deep Time, Living In It And Thinking In It Until The Large Numbers Settle Into Place, You Can Sense How Swiftly The Initial Earth Packed Itself Together, How Swiftly Continents Have Assembled And Come Apart, How Far And Rapidly Continents Travel, How Quickly Mountains Rise And How Quickly They Disintegrate And Disappear.

Horse

Thinking

Opposites

Writing Is A Suspension Of Life In Order To Re-create Life

Writing

Order

Suspension

I Used To Sit In Class And Listen To The Terms Come Floating Down The Room Like Paper Airplanes.

Airplane

Class

Floating

I Can't Stand A Sentence Until It Sounds Right.

Writing

Sound

Sentences

The Enthusiasm Geologists Show For Adding New Words To Their Conversation Is, If Anything, Exceeded By Their Affection For The Old. They Are Not About To Drop 'granite.' They Say 'granodiorite' When They Are In Church And 'granite' The Rest Of The Week.

Church

Enthusiasm

Affection

If By Some Fiat I Had To Restrict All This Writing To One Sentence, This Is The One I Would Choose: The Summit Of Mt. Everest Is Marine Limestone.

Motivational

Writing

Marine

Nonfiction-wha T The Hell, That Just Says, This Is Nongrapefruit We're Having This Morning.

Morning

Nonfiction

Hell

With Their Four-dimensional Minds, And In Their Interdisciplinary Ultra Verbal Way, Geologists Can Wiggle Out Of Almost Anything.

Mind

Four

Way

Taking Things From One Source Is Plagiarism; Taking Things From Several Sources Is Research.

Research

Plagiarism

Source

Rocks Are Records Of Events That Took Place At The Time They Formed. They Are Books. They Have A Different Vocabulary, A Different Alphabet, But You Learn How To Read Them.

Book

Vocabulary

Rocks

He Liked To Go From A To B Without Inventing Letters Between.

Letters

Action

Inventing

In Making War With Nature, There Was Risk Of Loss In Winning.

War

Loss

Winning

If You Free Yourself From The Conventional Reaction To A Quantity Like A Million Years, You Free Yourself A Bit From The Boundaries Of Human Time. And Then In A Way You Do Not Live At All, But In Another Way You Live Forever.

Years

Forever

Way

The Doctor Listens In With A Stethoscope And Hears Sounds Of A Warpath Indian Drum.

Doctors

Sound

Stethoscope

Almost All Americans Would Recognize Anchorage, Because Anchorage Is That Part Of Any City Where The City Has Burst Its Seams And Extruded Colonel Sanders.

Cities

Colonels

He (dave Brower) Is An Emotionalist In An Age Of Dangerous Reason.

Age

Reason

Dave

Travel By Canoe Is Not A Necessity, And Will Nevermore Be The Most Efficient Way To Get From One Region To Another, Or Even From One Lake To Another Anywhere. A Canoe Trip Has Become Simply A Rite Of Oneness With Certain Terrain, A Diversion Off The Field, An Art Performed Not Because It Is A Necessity But Because There Is Value In The Art Itself.

Art

Lakes

Oneness

When The Climbers In 1953 Planted Their Flags On The Highest Mountain, They Set Them In Snow Over The Skeletons Of Creatures That Had Lived In The Warm Clear Ocean That India, Moving North, Blanked Out. Possibly As Much As Twenty Thousand Feet Below The Seafloor, The Skeletal Remains Had Turned Into Rock. This One Fact Is A Treatise In Itself On The Movements Of The Surface Of The Earth. If By Some Fiat I Had To Restrict All This Writing To One Sentence, This Is The One I Would Choose: The Summit Of Mt. Everest Is Marine Limestone.

Ocean

Moving

Writing

Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.

2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.

2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.

2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.

3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.

3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.

3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.

4. Proper Usage of Quotes

4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.

4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.

4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).

5. Common Mistakes to Avoid

5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.

5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.

5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.

6. Quotes in Different Contexts

6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.

6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.

6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.

7. Punctuation and Formatting

Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:

Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.

Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.

Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.

8. Ethical Considerations

Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes

Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.

Conclusion

Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.

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