Diversity Statement / Can I quote a non fiction book in my essay?

ruddenrialey

Hi All, I am currently working on writing my diversity statement. I want to write about my experience living in poverty. I recently read the nonfiction book, "Poverty, by America" by Matthew Desmond and it articulates a lot about poverty that I want to reference in my essay. I am wondering if it is appropriate to use quotes from the book such as, "Poverty reduces people born for better things" or "Poverty is diminished life and personhood. It changes how you think and prevents you from realizing your full potential". I want to use quotes like above to try to define/explain the ways in which poverty has affected my life while also referencing an intellectual source not only to substantiate my experience but also exemplify my academic ability to analyze a piece of work in my own experience. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! TIA

hendricks

Hey, I think it's a great idea. Showing you are curious and thoughtful is a good thing.

I think the only danger is to lean on the quotes too hard while conveying your point. Two, maybe three sentences, max. You want to drop the quote, and then elaborate on the point in your own words, as opposed to having the quote do all of the work, and the reader not getting a sense of what the quote means to you.