introducing a quote in essay

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Words that introduce Quotes or Paraphrases

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Remember that you are required to cite your sources for paraphrases and direct quotes. For more information on MLA Style, APA style, Chicago Style, ASA Style, CSE Style, and I-Search Format, refer to our Gallaudet TIP Citations and References  link.

Words that introduce Quotes or Paraphrases are basically three keys verbs:

• Neutral Verbs( here )
• Stronger Verbs( here )
• Inference Verbs( here )

Neutral Verbs: When used to introduce a quote, the following verbs basically mean “says”

Examples of Neutral Verbs

The author  says. The author  notes. The author  believes. The author  observes. The author  comments. The author  relates. The author  declares. The author  remarks. The author  discusses. The author  reports. The author  explains. The author  reveals. The author  expresses. The author  states. The author  mentions. The author  acknowledges. The author  suggests. The author  thinks. The author  points out. The author  responds. The author  shows. The author  confirms.

Sample Sentences

• Dr. Billow  says  that being exposed to television violence at a young age desensitizes children to violence in real life (author’s last name p.##).
• As the author  notes , “In an ideal classroom, both gifted children and learning disabled children should feel challenged” (p.##).
• Burdow  believes  that being able to write using proper English grammar is an important skill (author’s last name p.##).
• Dr. Patel  observes  that “most people tend to respond well to hypnotherapy” (p. ##).
• We see this self doubt again in the second scene, when Agatha comments , “Oh, times like this I just don’t know whether I am right or wrong, good or bad” (p. ##).
• Goeff then relates  that his childhood was “the time he learned to live on less than bread alone” (p. ##).
• The author declares , “All people, rich or poor, should pay the same taxes to the government” (p. ##).
• Godfried remarks , “Ignorance is a skill learned by many of the greatest fools” (author’s last name p.##).
• The article discusses the qualities of a good American housewife in the 1950s (author’s last name p.##).
• After the war is over, the General reports that “It seemed a useless battle to fight even from the start” (p.##).
• Danelli explains , “All mammals have hair” (p.##).
• The author reveals his true feelings with his ironic remark that we should “just resort to cannibalism to defeat world hunger” (p. ##).
• Forton expresses disapproval of the American welfare system (author’s last name, year, p. ##).
• The author states that “More than fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce” (p. ##).
• He also mentions , “Many children grow up feeling responsible for their parents’ mistakes” (p. ##).
• Jones acknowledges that although the divorce rate is increasing, most young children still dream of getting married (author’s last name, year, p. ##).
• The author suggests that we hone our English skills before venturing into the work force (author’s last name, year, p. ##).
• The author thinks that the recent weather has been too hot (author’s last name, year, p. ##).
• Folsh points out that there were hundreds of people from varying backgrounds at the convention (author’s last name, year, p. ##).
• Julia Hertz responded to allegations that her company was aware of the faulty tires on their cars (author’s last name, year, p. ##).
• His research shows that 7% of Americans suffer from Social Anxiety Disorder (author’s last name, year, p. ##).
• Jostin’s research confirmed his earlier hypothesis: mice really are smarter than rats (author’s last, year, name p. ##).

Stronger Verbs: These verbs indicate that there is some kind of argument, and that the quote shows either support of or disagreement with one side of the argument.

Examples of Stronger Verbs The author agrees . . .The author rejects . The author argues . The author compares . (the two studies) The author asserts . The author admits . The author cautions . The author disputes . The author emphasizes . The author contends . The author insists . The author denies . The author maintains . The author refutes . The author claims . The author endorses .

Sample Sentences MLA Style

• Despite criticism, Johnston agrees that smoking should be banned in all public places (author’s last name p.##).
• The author argues that “subjecting non-smokers to toxic second-hand smoke is not only unfair, but a violation of their right to a safe environment” (p.##).
• Vick asserts that “cigarette smoke is unpleasant, and dangerous” (p.##).
• The author cautions that “people who subject themselves to smoky bars night after night could develop illnesses such as emphysema or lung cancer” (p.##).
• Rosentrhaw emphasizes that “second-hand smoke can kill” (p.##).
• Still, tobacco company executives insist that they “were not fully aware of the long term damages caused by smoking” when they launched their nationwide advertising campaign (author’s last name p.##).
• Though bar owners disagree, Johnston maintains that banning smoking in all public places will not negatively affect bar business (author’s last name p.##).
• Jefferson claims that banning smoking in public places will hurt America’s economy (author’s last name p.##).
• Johnson refutes allegations that his personal finances have been in trouble for the past five years (author’s last name, year, p. ##).
• Whiley rejects the idea that the earth could have been formed by a massive explosion in space (author’s last name, year, p. ##).
• Lucci compares the house prices in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia (author’s last name, year, p. ##).
• Although they have stopped short of admitting that smoking causes cancer in humans, tobacco companies have admitted that “smoking causes cancer in laboratory rats” (p. ##).
• For years, local residents have been disputing the plans to build a new highway right through the center of town (author’s last name, year, p. ##).
• Residents contend that the new highway will lower property values (author’s last name, year, p. ##).
• The Department of Transportation denies claims that the new bridge will damage the fragile ecosystem of the Potomac River (author’s last name, year, p. ##).
• Joley endorses the bridge, saying “our goal is to make this city more accessible to those who live outside of it” (p. ##).

Inference Verbs: These verbs indicate that there is some kind of argument, and that the quote shows either support of or disagreement with one side of the argument. Examples of Inference Verbs The author implies . The author suggests . The author thinks . Sample Sentences MLA Style

• By calling them ignorant, the author implies that they were unschooled and narrow minded (author’s last name p.##).
• Her preoccupation with her looks suggests that she is too superficial to make her a believable character (author’s last name p.##).
• Based on his research, we can assume Hatfield thinks that our treatment of our environment has been careless (author’s last name p.##).

One phrase that is often used to introduce a quotation is: According to the author, . . .

• According to the author, children with ADD have a shorter attention span than children without ADD (author’s last name, year, p. ##).

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Suggested Ways to Introduce Quotations

When you quote another writer's words, it's best to introduce or contextualize the quote. 

How To Quote In An Essay?

To introduce a quote in an essay , don't forget to include author's last name and page number (MLA) or author, date, and page number (APA) in your citation. Shown below are some possible ways to introduce quotations. The examples use MLA format.

Use A Full Sentence Followed by A Colon To Introduce A Quotation

• The setting emphasizes deception: "Nothing is as it appears" (Smith 1).
• Piercy ends the poem on an ironic note: "To every woman a happy ending" (25).

Begin A Sentence with Your Own Words, Then Complete It with Quoted Words

Note that in the second example below, a slash with a space on either side ( / ) marks a line break in the original poem.

• Hamlet's task is to avenge a "foul and most unnatural murder" (Shakespeare 925).
• The speaker is mystified by her sleeping baby, whose "moth-breath / flickers among the flat pink roses" (Plath 17).

Use An Introductory Phrase Naming The Source, Followed By A Comma to Quote A Critic or Researcher

Note that the first letter after the quotation marks should be upper case. According to MLA guidelines, if you change the case of a letter from the original, you must indicate this with brackets. APA format doesn't require brackets.

• According to Smith, "[W]riting is fun" (215).
• In Smith's words, " . . .
• In Smith's view, " . . .

Use A Descriptive Verb, Followed by A Comma To Introduce A Critic's Words

Avoid using says unless the words were originally spoken aloud, for instance, during an interview.

• Smith states, "This book is terrific" (102).
• Smith remarks, " . . .
• Smith writes, " . . .
• Smith notes, " . . .
• Smith comments, " . . .
• Smith observes, " . . .
• Smith concludes, " . . .
• Smith reports, " . . .
• Smith maintains, " . . .
• Smith adds, " . . .

Don't Follow It with A Comma If Your Lead into The Quotation Ends in That or As

The first letter of the quotation should be lower case.

• Smith points out that "millions of students would like to burn this book" (53).
• Smith emphasizes that " . . .
• Smith interprets the hand washing in MacBeth as "an attempt at absolution" (106).
• Smith describes the novel as "a celebration of human experience" (233).

Other Writing Resources

Enhance your academic writing skills by exploring our additional writing resources that will help you craft compelling essays, research papers, and more.

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• Writing Tips

How to Introduce Quotes in Academic Writing

• 3-minute read
• 17th October 2019

It would be hard to write a good essay  without quoting sources. And as well as using quote marks , this means working quotations into your own writing. But how can you do this? In this post, we provide a few helpful tips on how to introduce quotes (short and long) in academic writing.

Introducing Short Quotations

The easiest way to quote a source is to work a short passage (sometimes just a single word) into your own sentence. For example:

The tomb was one of archaeology’s “most intriguing discoveries” (Andronicus, 1978, p. 55) and has fascinated researchers ever since.

Here, the only requirements placing the quoted text within quotation marks and making sure the quote follows grammatically from the surrounding text.

Quoting After a Colon

If you need to quote a source after a full sentence, introduce it with a colon:

On the basis of Philip II’s estimated date of death, Andronicus (1978) draws a conclusion :  “This, in all probability, must be his tomb” (p. 76).

When using a colon to introduce a quotation, the text before the colon must be a full sentence. The text after the colon, however, can be just a few words.

Quoting After a Comma

Alternatively, you can use a comma to introduce a quote. When doing this, the quoted text should follow from the preceding sentence (usually after a word like “says” or “argues”):

Andronicus (1978) says ,  “The weapons bore witness that the tomb could not have belonged to a commoner” (p. 73).

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However, when a quote follows the word “that,” no comma is needed:

Andronicus (1978) says  that “The weapons bore witness that the tomb could not have belonged to a commoner” (p. 73).

Block Quotes

Finally, for longer quotations, use a  block quote . These are also introduced with a colon, but they don’t have to follow a full sentence. Furthermore, quoted text should be indented and the block quote should begin on a new line. For example, we could introduce a block quote as follows:

Andronicus (1978) describes the fresco in the following terms:

The barely visible painting depicts three hunters with spears and five horsemen with dogs pursuing their prey, wild boars and lions. This and three other paintings discovered in the adjacent tomb are among the few extant examples of fourth-century BC Greek frescoes. (p. 72)

This emphasizes how important the discovery was for understanding…

Usually, you’ll only need block quotes for passages with more than 40 words (or four lines). The exact rules depend on the reference system you’re using, though, so be sure to check your style guide. And, when in doubt, you can always submit a document for proofreading . We can help make sure your quotations are fully integrated into the rest of your text.

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Home ➔ Citation Questions ➔ How to Introduce a Quote in an Essay

How to Introduce a Quote in an Essay

This article explains the methods of introducing your quote in an essay. It doesn’t deal with the way you need to cite them, which requires the author’s name, the year of publication, the page number, etc.

In short, to introduce a quote, you can:

• Use a complete sentence
• Integrate the quote in your writing with your own words
• Use an introductory word or phrase

Further in this article, we discuss each of these methods and give a few examples of quote introduction.

Quotations are an excellent way to strengthen your thesis statement or support your argument, given that you provide sufficient analysis afterward. It also shows how well you have done your homework and researched the topic. Normally, the process can be divided into three parts:

• Making a statement
• Introducing a quotation

Note: For an APA and MLA Style guide, read our article — How to Cite Sources in Essays .

As for other types of academic writing, there are exceptions. But, before delving deeper, let’s revise the basics.

How to Use Quotation Marks (Inverted Commas)

If you’re not paraphrasing (which we will also discuss), you must put quotation marks around the quote. They are used to indicate the information taken from a source with no alterations.

There are a few differences between the American and British styles of using inverted commas.

As Freeman reported, “Van Dusen could be heard being outraged, ‘I can’t believe she said, “Can you help me?”!’”

As Freeman reported, ‘Van Dusen could be heard being outraged, “I can’t believe she said, ‘Can you help me?’!”’

Exception: in APA and MLA styles, the last punctuation mark goes after the citation information given in parentheses.

APA example:

Taylor (2016) thinks the response to punishment is anger: “Punishment, especially if its justice is doubtful,…coarsens the human soul and hardens it” (p.72).

MLA example:

Spencer defines social evolution as a “transition from a state of relative uncertainty, incoherence, and homogeneity to a state of relative certainty, connectedness, and versatility” (54).

In terms of punctuation, you can introduce a quote with:

• A comma, if you use signal verbs like “says,” “states,” “explains,” etc. (See the full list in the next chapter)
• A colon, if you use a complete sentence before inserting the quotation.
• No marks, if you use words like “that,” “as,” or if you seamlessly integrate the quotation or its parts in your text.

What introductory words can I use for quotations?

Apart from the standard words like “believes” or “notes,” you can use dozens of synonyms as quote starters. But, be careful as each of those conveys its own connotation, so you might find it tricky to pick the right word. The word examples below are generally placed after the phrase “the author” or the author’s last name. We show the usage after the list.

Another popular way of introducing a quotation in an essay is using the phrase “according to.”

According to Harlow (2006), nominalists “denied the existence of a single Divine entity …, oriented researchers away from theological problems, and considered natural phenomena the subject of scientific knowledge” (p.22).

When to Use Quotes

Obviously, you should not just randomly insert quotations here and there in your essay. That will make no sense and confuse your reader. Keep this in mind when choosing a direct quote:

Pick a quotation that supports your argument and convinces your reader. Usually, it is the results of credible research, an opinion of a subject matter expert, or confirmed statistics. You can also quote from the text you’re reviewing or critiquing to back up your opinion.

Don’t leave a quotation without proper analysis. Your analysis must connect the excerpt you use to your argument or idea. Can’t explain how a quote related to the point you’re making? Then just don’t include it in your essay!

Don’t abuse direct quotations and insert them sparingly. Essays are always about showing your point of view. A maximum of one quote per paragraph is the unspoken rule you must remember here. If you still think you need to include another citation, paraphrase.

Note: Don’t start or end a paragraph with a quote!

You need to be careful when using quotes because your tutor wants to see how you understand the topic , not those ten field experts you have cited.

Introducing a Short Quote

Signal words or phrases:

In his book, Winstanley (2009) says, “With developed eidetic memory, a person can ‘see’ a missing object down to the smallest detail” (p.13).

A full-sentence introduction:

According to Jung (1997), these spheres are essentially opposites: “The unconscious is like a reflection of a mountain in a lake, a mirror image, the back of the conscious … the unconscious is regarded as performing a compensatory function” (p.298).

Seamless quote integration:

The difference between rational and irrational functions is that the former “base their modus operandi on the judgment of the mind,” whereas the latter — “on the sheer perception” (Jung, 1998, p.720).

Introducing a Block Quote

According to the APA Style manual, block (long) quotes are those that take over four lines of printed text in your essay and don’t need quotation marks. But, always check what formatting style you must use as the definition varies.

Such excerpts might help you add more depth to your essay. However, block quotations require you to elaborate more on the post-analysis. Take a look at some examples:

The methods for curing patients in the medieval and early modem time periods would probably be considered torture today: The hospital regime was a mixture of punishment and religious devotion—chains, manacles, locks, and stocks appear in the hospital inventory from this time. The shock of corporal punishment was believed to cure some conditions, while isolation was thought to help a person “come to their senses.” (“From Bethlehem”)

Introducing Paraphrases and Summaries

When you restate the information from a source in your own words instead of citing a quote from an article, you don’t need to put quotation marks. But don’t forget to specify all the necessary details after the passage and to provide the analysis of the paraphrase or summary.

“Every bit of incoming information presents a choice: whether to pay attention, whether to reply, and whether to factor it into an impending decision. But decision science has shown that people faced with a plethora of choices are apt to make no decision at all” (Begley 30).

More options make it harder for people to make a decision, Begley argues (30).

Paraphrase:

We have to process all the data we receive and figure out what to do with it, from ignoring it to using it for a decision (Begley 30). Too much of this can leave us unable to decide, “decision science” says (30).

Can I alter quotes?

Yes, you can shorten the original passage if you think you can omit some information. This practice is highly welcomed because the shorter the quote, the better. To cut out a non-essential part, you can replace it with an ellipsis; however, you must follow several rules:

• Don’t place an ellipsis if you use only a short phrase from the source.
• Don’t omit information if its absence distorts the original meaning of the quote.
• Put a period before the ellipsis if you skip one or more sentences.

Wilde absolutizes art, affirming its dominant position in the world: “A great artist invents a type, and Life tries to copy it … Literature always anticipates life. It does not copy it but molds it to its purpose” (11).

You can also use square brackets to show that you changed or added some words. That is necessary if you need some previous context to understand the meaning of the quote or if you want to make sure that pronouns agree with their antecedents.

Taylor reports, “He [Jonathan] tried to persuade me of his innocence, but all the evidence was against him” (55).

As Robert Ballard recounts, “It [the final resting place of the RMS Titanic] is a quiet and peaceful place—and a fitting place for the remains of this greatest of sea tragedies to rest” (Eckholm).

When you include a poem, show where the line breaks by using a slash (/).

Heaney directly compares poetry writing to the digging his ancestors did: “Between my finger and my thumb / The squat pen rests. /I’ll dig with it” (line 29-31).

The list of references

• Suggested Ways to Introduce Quotations — Columbia College
• Words That Introduce Quotes or Paraphrases — Gallaudet University
• Integrating Quotes — Ashford University

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Writing Resources

Phrases for introducing sources and quotations.

This handout is available for download in DOCX format and PDF format .

Capturing Authorial Action through Summaries or Paraphrasing

These phrases alert your reader that you as a writer are about to summarize or paraphrase another idea established by an authority on a chosen topic. Note that while some of these are quite neutral, others allow you to imply things about the quote’s tone, similarity, contrast, and/or significance in relation to other sources or to your larger argument.

Author X…

• acknowledges that [blank].
• agrees that [blank].
• argues that [blank].
• believes that [blank].
• celebrates the fact that [blank].
• claims that [blank].
• complains that [blank].
• concedes that [blank].
• demonstrates that [blank].
• deplores the tendency to [blank].
• denies/does not deny that [blank].
• emphasizes that [blank].
• insists that [blank].
• maintains that [blank].
• observes that [blank].
• opines that [blank].
• questions whether [blank].
• refutes the claim that [blank].
• reminds us that [blank].
• reports that [blank].
• suggests that [blank].
• urges us to [blank].

Introducing Quotations

These phrases alert your reader that you are about to quote directly from another source. As with the phrases above, some are quite neutral, while others allow you to imply things about the quote’s tone, similarity, contrast, and/or significance in relation to other sources or to your larger argument.

• X states, “ [blank] .”
• As X puts it, “ [blank] .”
• According to X, “ [blank] .”
• X writes, “ [blank] .”
• In her book/essay [blank] , X maintains that “ [blank] .”
• Writing in the journal [blank] , X complains that “ [blank] .”
• In X's view, “ [blank] .”
• X agrees when she writes, “ [blank] .”
• X disagrees when he writes, “ [blank] .”
• X complicates matters further when they write, “ [blank] .”

Explaining Quotations

Remember that every paragraph must provide clarification, interpretation, or necessary analysis of a supplied quotation or paraphrase; this allows you to explain not only the quote itself, but how it fits into your larger argument. The phrases listed here are just some of the ways in which you can alert your reader that you are about to rephrase, clarify, expand, and otherwise analyze the source you have previously introduced.

• Basically/Essentially, X is saying [blank] .
• In other words, X believes [blank] .
• In making this comment, X urges us to [blank] .
• X is corroborating the idea that [blank] .
• X's point is that [blank] .
• The core/gist/meaning/significance of X' s argument is that [blank] .

And of course, remember that all outside sources must be cited correctly! For more information on how to effectively and accurately incorporate outside sources into your writing, please refer to the handout on “Working with Quotations.”

Adapted from Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, They Say/I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing (New York: W.W. Norton, 2014) and David Glen Smith (http://www.davidglensmith.com/Tomball/supplemental/signal-phrases.pdf) by Robert B. Cochran, Brandeis University Writing Program, 2020.

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Writing Studio

Who said what introducing and contextualizing quotations.

In an effort to make our handouts more accessible, we have begun converting our PDF handouts to web pages. Download this page as a PDF: Introducing and Contextualizing Quotations Return to Writing Studio Handouts

Quotations (as well as paraphrases and summaries) play an essential role in academic writing, from literary analyses to scientific research papers; they are part of a writer’s ever-important evidence, or support, for his or her argument.

But oftentimes, writers aren’t sure how to incorporate quotes and thus shove them into paragraphs without much attention to logic or style.

For better quotations (and better writing), try these tips.

Identify Clearly Where the Borrowed Material Begins

The quotation should include a signal phrase, or introductory statement, which tells the reader whom or what you are citing. The phrase may indicate the author’s name or credentials, the title of the source, and/or helpful background information.

Sample signal phrases

• According to (author/article)
• Author + verb

Some key verbs for signal phrases

• says, writes, accepts, criticizes, describes, disagrees, discusses, explains, identifies, insists, offers, points out, suggests, warns

Two Signal Phrase Examples

• According to scholar Mary Poovey, Shelley’s narrative structure, which allows the creature to speak from a first-person point of view, forces the reader “to identify with [the creature’s] anguish and frustration” (259).
• In an introduction to Frankenstein in 1831, the author Mary Shelley describes even her own creative act with a sense of horror: “The idea so possessed my mind, that a thrill of fear ran through me, and I wished to exchange that ghastly image of my fancy for the realities around” (172).

Create Context for the Material

Don’t just plop in quotes and expect the reader to understand. Explain, expand, or refute the quote. Remember, quotations should be used to support your ideas and points.

Here’s one simple, useful pattern: Introduce quote, give quote, explain quote.

“Introduce, Give, Explain” Example 1

[Introduce] Dorianne Laux’s “Girl in the Doorway” uses many metaphors to evoke a sense of change between the mother and daughter: [Give] “I stand at the dryer, listening/through the thin wall between us, her voice/rising and falling as she describes her new life” (3-5). [Explain] The “thin wall” is literal but also references their communication barrier; “rising and falling” is the sound of the girl’s voice but also a reference to her tumultuous preteen emotions.

“Introduce, Give, Explain” Example 2 (longer block quotation)

[Introduce] After watching the cottagers with pleasure, Frankenstein’s creature has a startling moment of revelation and horror when he sees his own reflection for the first time:

[Give] I had admired the perfect forms of my cottagers — their grace, beauty, and delicate complexions: but how was I terrified, when I viewed myself in a transparent pool! At first I started back, unable to believe that it was indeed I who was reflected in the mirror; and when I became fully convinced that I was in reality the monster that I am, I was filled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification. Alas! I did not yet entirely know the fatal effects of this miserable deformity. (76)

[Explain] This literal moment of reflection is key in the creature’s growing reflection of self: In comparing himself with humans, he sees himself not just as different but as “the monster that I am.”

Additional Advice

Pay attention to proper format and grammar (See VU Writing Studio handout Quotation Basics: Grammar, Punctuation, and Style ), and always, always credit your source in order to avoid plagiarism.

Citation styles (e.g. MLA, APA, or Chicago) vary by discipline. Ask your professor if you are uncertain, and then check style guides for formats. (The above examples use MLA format.)

Last revised: 06/2008 | Adapted for web delivery: 06/2021

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Integrating Direct Quotations into Your Writing

by acburton | Mar 21, 2024 | Resources for Students , Writing Resources

If you’ve ever had a professor ask you to “use quotes” or quote other texts in your writing before, you know that it’s no easy task. It can feel awkward sometimes to determine what parts of the text are worth quoting, as well as how to directly quote in your writing without sounding too formulaic or repetitive. Keep reading for some strategies on effectively using direct quotations in your next writing project!

Why do I need to know how to directly quote?

If you’ve seen our blog post on “Quoting Directly,” you know that using direct quotations (or “quotes”) in our writing can be useful for a variety of reasons. By quoting other credible, relevant sources in our own writing projects, we can provide more convincing evidence and reasoning for our own ideas. Direct quotations are a type of support we can provide for our own arguments and claims, as it demonstrates to our readers that other writers agree with what we have to say.

What are different ways to directly quote in my writing so that I don’t sound repetitive?

A common way to integrate “quotes” in our writing is with the use of a signal phrase , which is a short phrase that indicates to readers that the writer is about to introduce another source. For example, we often use the phrase “According to” as a common signal phrase for introducing quotations. However, if we were to use “According to” for every single quotation in our essays, our writing would start to sound awfully repetitive and potentially boring or uninteresting.

So, here are some different approaches you can take for integrating direct quotations to have more variety and style in your writing!

1. Use a signal phrase to introduce the quotation

The two most commonly used signal phrases only require a couple of words, primarily a verb and the author’s name:

• The introductory phrase: “According to (author’s name and/or title of source),”. e.g., “According to Ahmed,” or “According to Ulmer in Internet Invention ,”.

After a signal phrase, you can quote from the text directly. Here are some important reminders to keep in mind whenever you directly quote another source in your own writing:

•  Use quotation marks “ “ and copy the passage exactly as it appears in the original text. If there is a grammatical or spelling error in the original source, you can use [sic] to cue to your reader that you did not make the mistake and are intentionally quoting the source material (for more on using [sic] in direct quotations, see our post on Quoting Directly ).
• Long Quotations in MLA format
• Long Quotations in APA format

Note: You can also use a signal phrase after the direct quotation for more variety in your sentence structure and style. You’d follow the same rules, except the quotation would come first, followed by your ‘says’ verb and the author.

It is usually better to lead with the author’s name and a ‘says’ verb because this introduces where the quotation is coming from (ensuring your reader is not confused) and is written in active voice, which is more direct and concise.

Example According to Melissa Dahl, “[Cringe is] the intense visceral reaction produced by an awkward moment, an unpleasant kind of self-recognition where you suddenly see yourself through someone else’s eyes. It’s a forced moment of self-awareness, and it usually makes you cognizant of the disappointing fact that you aren’t measuring up to your own self-concept” (Wynn).

While this is a direct quotation attributed to author Melissa Dahl, the in-text citation is credited to (Wynn) because the writer found this quotation in an original source published by Natalie Wynn. If you directly quote an author or writer whose work is quoted by another source, you cite the source that “houses” the passage. In other words, you cite the author who introduced you to the work. You can still credit the original author by introducing them in your signal phrase, as shown in the example above, but make sure your in-text citation credits the source you found the passage in.

2. Summarize the main ideas of the quotation to create a framework for the quotation, then use a colon to present the quotation.

For this method, you would provide a concise overview of the main ideas from the passage you wish to quote as a way of contextualizing what the source is about. This provides a helpful framework for the reader to understand the purpose and meaning of your quote better.

Example In Rebecca Solnit’s Wanderlust: A History of Walking, she raises several theoretical and philosophical viewpoints concerning both the act of walking, or flânerie, and the walker, or flâneur. On escapism, Solnit posits: “In the city, one is alone because the world is made up of strangers, and to be a stranger surrounded by strangers, to walk along silently bearing one’s secrets and imagining those of the people one passes, is among the starkest of luxuries” (23).

3. Blend a shorter quotation into your own sentence structure

This is the best method to use if you have only a short passage, some key words, or a specific phrase you want to quote in your writing. For this method, you want to build your own original sentence that leads up to the key ideas in your short quotation to blend it together as one cohesive sentence.

Example Within a participatory culture, individuals are often gathered together as a community due to shared interest networks, like video games, in which “members believe that their contributions matter” and there is “some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices” (Jenkins 7).

Practice in the Writing Center

For more support and guidance on directly quoting, make an appointment with us here at the Writing Center! We can help you integrate “quotes” into your writing projects effectively and with style so that your support is interesting and convincing to readers.

For further reading, check out these resources from the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) International Association:

• Integrate Quotations in Writing, by Carla Mannix (2017)
• List of Reporting Verbs, from University of Technology Sydney

***Adapted from TESOL International Association Handout “Integrate Quotations in Writing” by Carla Mannix, Nov. 2017

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Essay Tips: Introducing Quotations

• 3-minute read
• 18th September 2017

It’d be hard to write a good essay without quoting sources. But if you’re going to use someone else’s words, you need to do it properly.

This includes citing quoted text and using quote marks , as well as making sure that quotations are introduced properly. To help out, we’ve prepared this quick guide to introducing quotations in an essay.

Short Quotations

The easiest way to quote a source is to work a short passage (sometimes just a single word) into your own sentence:

The tomb was one of archaeology’s ‘most intriguing discoveries’ (Andronicus, 1978, p. 55) and has fascinated researchers ever since.

As above, the only requirements here are using quote marks and making sure the quote fits with the surrounding text.

Quoting After a Colon

If quoting a source after a full sentence, you will usually introduce it with a colon:

On the basis of Philip II’s estimated date of death, Andronicus (1978) draws a strong conclusion : ‘This, in all probability, must be his tomb’ (p. 76).

When using a colon to introduce a quotation, the text before the colon must be a full sentence. The text after the colon, however, can be just a few words if required.

Quoting After a Comma

Alternatively, you can use a comma to introduce a quote. When doing this, the quoted text should follow from the preceding sentence (usually after a word like ‘says’ or ‘argues’ ):

Andronicus (1978) says , ‘The weapons bore witness that the tomb could not have belonged to a commoner’ (p. 73).

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However, when a quote follows the word ‘that’, no comma is needed:

Andronicus (1978) says that ‘The weapons bore witness that the tomb could not have belonged to a commoner’ (p. 73).

Keep this punctuation difference in mind when quoting sources in your work.

Block Quotes

Finally, for longer quotations, you can use a block quote . These are also introduced with a colon, but they don’t have to follow from a full sentence in this case. Furthermore, quoted text should be indented and begin on a new line, as shown below:

Andronicus (1978) describes the fresco as follows:

The barely visible painting depicts three hunters with spears and five horsemen with dogs pursuing their prey, wild boars and lions. This and three other paintings discovered in the adjacent tomb are among the few extant examples of fourth-century BC Greek frescoes. (p. 72)

This emphasises how important the discovery was for understanding…

Usually, block quotes are used for passages of more than 40 words or four lines. The exact rules depend on the referencing system you’re using, though, so make sure to check your style guide.

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Put a Quote in an Essay

Home / Blog / How To Put A Quote In An Essay (with Examples)

Introduction

When writing an essay , it is essential to incorporate quotes from reputable sources to support your arguments and ideas. However, knowing how to use quotes effectively is crucial in maintaining the flow and clarity of your essay. This blog will discuss the proper ways to put a quote in an essay with examples.

Why Use Quotes in an Essay?

Quotes are used in an essay to support or reinforce the writer's arguments and ideas. They provide evidence for your claims and demonstrate that your argument is backed up by research and authority. Incorporating quotes also helps to provide context and depth to your writing and can add a unique perspective to your essay.

Types of Quotes

There are two types of quotes you can use in your essay: direct quotes and indirect quotes.

Direct Quotes: Direct quotes are the exact words used by the source that you are quoting. When using direct quotes, you need to use quotation marks and indicate the source.

Example: According to John Smith, "The Earth is round."

Indirect Quotes: Indirect quotes are a paraphrase of the original source. When using indirect quotes, you do not need to use quotation marks.

Example: John Smith claims that the Earth is round.

How to Put a Quote in an Essay

When using quotes in an essay, there are several rules that you need to follow to ensure that your writing is clear, accurate, and appropriate. Here are the steps to follow:

Step 1: Choose a Relevant Quote

Before you start writing your essay, identify the quotes that you want to use to support your arguments. Ensure that the quotes you select are relevant, reliable, and add value to your essay.

Step 2: Introduce the Quote

Introduce the quote by providing context and indicating who the source is. This will help the reader understand the significance of the quote and its relevance to your argument.

Example: According to Jane Doe, a renowned climate scientist, "Climate change is the biggest threat facing humanity."

Step 3: Use Quotation Marks

When using a direct quote, use quotation marks to indicate that you are using the exact words of the source.

Example: According to Jane Doe, "Climate change is the biggest threat facing humanity."

Step 4: Provide the Source

Provide the source of the quote, including the author's name, the title of the book or article, and the page number. This will help the reader find the source if they want to read it.

Example: According to Jane Doe, a renowned climate scientist, "Climate change is the biggest threat facing humanity." (Doe, The State of the Climate, p. 25)

Step 5: Punctuate Correctly

Punctuate the quote correctly by placing the comma or period inside the quotation marks, depending on whether it is a part of the quote or your sentence.

Step 6: Explain the Quote

Explain the significance of the quote in your own words. This will help the reader understand how the quote supports your argument.

Example: Jane Doe's quote highlights the urgency of addressing climate change as it poses a significant threat to human survival.

Step 7: Cite Your Sources

Ensure that you cite your sources correctly using the citation style specified by your instructor or the style guide for your discipline.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Using Quotes in an Essay

Using quotes in an essay can be tricky, and many students make mistakes that can impact the quality of their writing. Here are some common mistakes to avoid when using quotes in an essay:

Failing to provide context: It is essentialto provide context when using a quote in an essay. Failure to do so can confuse the reader and make the quote appear out of place. Always introduce the quote and provide some background information about the source and why you are using the quote.

Overusing quotes: While quotes can add value to your essay, it is essential not to overuse them. Use quotes sparingly and only when necessary. Overusing quotes can make your writing appear lazy, and it may give the impression that you are not confident in your own ideas.

Incorrectly citing sources: Always cite your sources correctly using the citation style specified by your instructor or the style guide for your discipline. Failure to do so can lead to accusations of plagiarism , which can have serious consequences.

Misquoting or altering a quote: When using a direct quote, it is essential to use the exact words of the source. Do not alter the quote or misquote the source as this can distort the meaning and accuracy of the quote.

Failing to explain the quote: When using a quote, it is important to explain its significance and how it supports your argument. Failure to do so can make the quote appear irrelevant and disconnected from your essay.

Examples of Quotes in an Essay

Here are some examples of how to use quotes in an essay:

Example 1: Argumentative Essay

Topic: Should students be required to wear school uniforms?

Quote: "School uniforms promote a sense of unity and equality among students, and they help to reduce instances of bullying based on clothing." (Johnson, School Uniforms, p. 10)

Explanation: The quote supports the argument that school uniforms can have a positive impact on student behavior and reduce instances of bullying. It is introduced with the source and provides context for the argument.

Example 2: Persuasive Essay

Topic: The importance of recycling

Quote: "Every ton of paper that is recycled saves 17 trees, 7,000 gallons of water, and 463 gallons of oil." (Environmental Protection Agency)

Explanation: The quote provides a powerful statistic that supports the importance of recycling. It is introduced with the source, and its significance is explained in the following sentences.

Example 3: Expository Essay

Topic: The history of the American Civil War

Quote: "Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." (Lincoln, Gettysburg Address)

Explanation: The quote is an iconic line from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, which is a significant event in American history. It is introduced with the source, and its significance is explained in the following sentences.

Incorporating quotes in an essay can add depth, context, and authority to your writing. However, it is important to use quotes effectively and appropriately. Always choose relevant and reliable quotes, introduce them with context, use the correct punctuation, explain their significance, and cite your sources correctly. By following these guidelines, you can effectively use quotes in your essay and improve the quality of your writing.

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Mastering the art of including quotes in your essay – a comprehensive guide.

In the realm of academia, the art of seamlessly integrating quotes into your writing often feels like an elusive skill. However, mastering this practice is essential for creating compelling and persuasive essays that showcase your knowledge and analysis. By utilizing a few simple techniques, you can effortlessly incorporate quotes into your work, enhancing the credibility and strength of your arguments.

1. Amplify your point with authoritative quotes

One effective approach to incorporating quotes is to use them as evidence to support your claims or bolster your argument. Including a well-chosen quote from a respected authority in the field can lend credibility to your statements and elevate the overall quality of your essay. By referencing experts, scholars, or renowned authors, you demonstrate a thorough understanding of the subject matter and establish yourself as a well-informed writer.

“As noted by esteemed philosopher John Doe, ‘…'”

2. Add depth and complexity with contrasting quotes

Drawing from a range of perspectives is a powerful way to weave quotes into your essay. By including contrasting quotes that offer differing opinions or interpretations, you showcase your ability to consider multiple viewpoints. This demonstrates your analytical skills and encourages critical thinking among your readers. Plus, incorporating diverse quotes can help you establish a well-rounded argument that takes into account various facets of the topic at hand.

“While some scholars argue that X is true, others contend that Y is a more accurate representation of the situation…”

3. Utilize quotes as literary devices

Using quotes as literary devices can add a layer of sophistication and complexity to your essay. Consider incorporating quotes as metaphors, allusions, or symbols to create a nuanced and thought-provoking narrative. This creative approach not only showcases your mastery of the subject matter but also captivates your readers by infusing the essay with literary flair.

“By likening the situation to ‘a storm brewing on the horizon,’ the author evokes a sense of impending doom and foreshadows the dire consequences that lie ahead.”

By employing these strategies, you can smoothly incorporate quotes into your academic work, elevating the quality and impact of your writing. Remember to be selective with your quotes, choosing only those that best support your arguments or provide unique insights. With practice, you’ll soon master the art of seamlessly integrating quotes, enhancing the strength and persuasiveness of your essays.

Incorporating quotes to support your arguments

Integrating quotes into your essay helps to strengthen your arguments by providing evidence and supporting information from reputable sources. By incorporating quotes from experts in the field or from reliable studies, you can add credibility to your claims and make your essay more persuasive.

When incorporating quotes, it is important to properly introduce and contextualize them within your essay. Start by providing the author’s name and credentials, if available, to establish their expertise in the field. Then, clearly state the quote and explain how it supports your argument.

In order to seamlessly integrate quotes into your essay, you should also consider using signal phrases or transitions to introduce the quote. These phrases can help to smoothly transition between your own ideas and the quote, avoiding any abrupt shifts in tone or style.

Additionally, it is crucial to properly cite your sources when using quotes in your essay. This not only gives credit to the original author but also helps to avoid plagiarism. Different citation styles, such as APA or MLA, have specific rules and formats for citing sources, so make sure to familiarize yourself with the guidelines of the style you are using.

Finally, it is important to use quotes sparingly and only when they add value to your arguments. Overusing quotes can make your essay appear disjointed and may undermine the strength of your own analysis and interpretation of the topic.

Incorporating quotes effectively can greatly enhance the strength and persuasiveness of your arguments. By using credible sources and properly introducing and contextualizing the quotes, you can bolster your essay and make it more compelling to your readers.

Blending quotes seamlessly into your writing

Integrating quotes into your writing can be a daunting task, but it is an essential skill for any successful writer. Striking the right balance between your own voice and the words of others requires careful thought and consideration. In this section, we will explore some strategies to help you blend quotes seamlessly into your writing.

1. Provide context: When introducing a quote, it is important to provide context for your reader. This can be achieved by providing a brief explanation or background information before the quote. By setting the stage and giving your reader some context, you ensure that the quote flows smoothly into the rest of your writing.

Example: According to renowned author Jane Austen, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife” (Pride and Prejudice). Austen’s famous opening line sets the tone for her novel and establishes the central theme of marriage.

2. Use signal phrases: Signal phrases can help to seamlessly introduce quotes and integrate them into your writing. These phrases can be used to attribute the quote to its author and provide a smooth transition between your own thoughts and the quoted material.

Example: As Shakespeare eloquently stated in Hamlet, “To be, or not to be: that is the question.” The famous soliloquy reflects the existential dilemma faced by the play’s protagonist.

3. Blend quotes into your sentence structure: Rather than dropping a quote into your writing without any connection, try to blend it into your sentence structure. This can be done by incorporating the quote into the flow of your sentence or by paraphrasing parts of it and seamlessly integrating it into your writing.

Example: The renowned physicist Albert Einstein once said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” This quote highlights the significance of creativity and innovation in the pursuit of scientific discovery.

By following these strategies, you can effectively incorporate quotes into your writing and maintain a seamless flow of ideas. Remember to always give credit to the original author and to use quotes sparingly, choosing only the most impactful and relevant ones for your essay.

Adding context to your quotes for better understanding

Providing context to the quotes you include in your essay is essential for enhancing the reader’s comprehension of your argument. By offering background information and explanations, you can ensure that your quotes are interpreted accurately and effectively contribute to the overall message of your essay.

Instead of presenting quotes in isolation, it is imperative to introduce them with a brief explanation of their significance. By doing so, you can provide a framework for understanding the quote and establish its relevance to the topic or argument you are exploring.

One effective way to add context to your quotes is by introducing the author or speaker and their credentials or expertise in the field you are discussing. This allows the reader to understand the context from which the quote arises and provides credibility to the source. For example, instead of simply stating, “According to a study,” you can provide more context by saying, “Dr. Jane Smith, a renowned psychologist, conducted a comprehensive study that found….”

In addition to introducing the author, it is also important to provide a brief summary of the source or text from which the quote is taken. This can include the title of the book, article, or research paper, as well as any relevant information about the publication or organization. By offering this information, you allow the reader to gauge the reliability and validity of the source and better understand the context in which the quote was made.

Another way to add context to your quotes is by explaining the specific situation or context in which the quote was originally spoken or written. This can help the reader grasp the intended meaning of the quote and understand the motivations or circumstances that led to its creation. For example, if you are quoting a historical figure, you can provide background information about the time period, political climate, or social issues that influenced their perspective.

By providing context to your quotes, you enhance the reader’s understanding and ensure that your argument is supported by accurate and relevant evidence. Remember to always introduce the author, provide a summary of the source, and explain the context in which the quote was made. This will not only strengthen your essay but also demonstrate your ability to critically analyze and interpret the information you include.

Using quotes as evidence for your claims

Utilizing quotes as substantiation can significantly enhance the credibility and persuasiveness of your arguments. When making claims in your essay, supporting them with evidence in the form of quotes helps to establish a solid foundation for your ideas.

By incorporating quotes from reputable sources, such as experts in the field or well-known authors, you are demonstrating that your claims are not simply based on personal opinions but rather on well-researched information. Including quotes adds weight to your arguments and conveys to your readers that you have done thorough research on the topic.

Quotes serve as concrete evidence that can support your claims by providing direct support from primary or secondary sources. These quotes can be used to back up statements, provide examples, or showcase different perspectives on the subject matter. By including quotes, you are letting other voices speak on behalf of your arguments, adding depth and validity to your own ideas.

However, it is important to use quotes judiciously and effectively. Ideally, quotes should be concise, relevant, and directly related to the point you are making. Avoid using lengthy quotes that detract from your own analysis. Instead, select key excerpts that strengthen your arguments and provide insight.

In conclusion, using quotes as evidence adds credibility and support to your claims in an essay. By incorporating quotes from trusted sources, you can bolster the strength of your arguments and demonstrate your depth of research on the topic. Remember to use quotes selectively and ensure they directly contribute to the points you are making.

Citing quotes properly to avoid plagiarism

Accurate citation of quotes in your essay is crucial for avoiding plagiarism. Plagiarism, the act of using someone else’s work without giving them proper credit, is a serious ethical violation and can result in severe consequences. To ensure that you are citing your quotes properly, it is important to understand the guidelines and conventions of the citation style you are using.

One important aspect of citing quotes properly is to clearly indicate the source of the quote. This can be done by including the author’s name, the title of the work, and the page number where the quote can be found. Depending on the citation style you are using, the format for indicating the source may vary. Some common citation styles include MLA, APA, and Chicago style.

In addition to indicating the source of the quote, it is also important to properly format the quote itself within your essay. This can be done by using quotation marks to enclose the quote and by providing a clear transition between your own words and the quote. It is also important to be mindful of the length of the quote you are using. Long quotes should be indented and formatted differently from shorter quotes.

Another important aspect of citing quotes properly is to include a proper citation in your bibliography or works cited page. This allows your readers to easily locate the original source of the quote if they wish to further explore the topic. The citation in your bibliography should include all the necessary information about the source, such as the author’s name, the title of the work, the publisher, and the year of publication.

Overall, citing quotes properly is not only essential for avoiding plagiarism, but it also demonstrates your respect for the original author’s work and ideas. By following the guidelines and conventions of your chosen citation style, you can ensure that your essay is well-documented and that your ideas are supported by credible sources.

Analyzing quotes to enhance your analysis

Examining and interpreting quotes can greatly enhance the depth and quality of your analysis, bringing a new level of insight to your essay. By carefully analyzing the language and context of a quote, you can uncover deeper meanings, explore different interpretations, and develop a more nuanced understanding of the subject matter.

When analyzing quotes, it is important to look beyond their surface level and delve into their underlying implications. Pay attention to the choice of words, the tone, and the emotions conveyed, as these elements can reveal the author’s intentions and perspective. Consider the context in which the quote is used, including the historical, social, and cultural background, as this can have a significant influence on its meaning.

An effective way to analyze quotes is to examine their relationship to the overall thesis or argument of your essay. Ask yourself how the quote supports or challenges your main ideas and how it contributes to the overall message you are trying to convey. Are there any contradictions or counterarguments present in the quote that can be explored further? By critically engaging with the quote in relation to your argument, you can strengthen your analysis and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the topic.

In addition to considering the author’s perspective, it is also important to analyze the impact of the quote on the reader. How does the quote affect the tone or mood of the essay? Does it evoke any specific emotions or reactions? By examining the rhetorical devices used in the quote, such as metaphors, similes, or imagery, you can gain insights into the intended effect on the audience and further develop your analysis.

Lastly, remember that quotes should not be analyzed in isolation. Instead, they should be integrated seamlessly into your essay and analyzed in relation to the surrounding text. Consider how the quote builds upon or contrasts with the ideas presented before and after it. Does it provide a new perspective or reinforce existing arguments? By analyzing quotes in the broader context of your essay, you can create a more cohesive and cohesive analysis.

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3 Incorporating Quotes

Introducing quotes, punctuating quotes, using a colon, making the quote part of your own sentence, quoting quotes, quoting dialogue, block quotes.

Let’s begin by reviewing the importance of introducing quotations.

When you want to include a quote in your paper, you need to introduce it; you should never have a quote standing alone as a sentence. For example, you don’t want to do this:

As you can see, the quote is floating in the middle of the paragraph and thus appears out of place and disconnected from the surrounding sentences. We can fix this problem by integrating the quote into one of our own sentences. Using the same example, we could say:

The quote is no longer floating in the paragraph, and readers know that Evelyn Hugo is the speaker.

Let’s try an example!

Basic Formatting of Quotes  

The simplest, most basic MLA in-text citation includes the author’s last name as well as the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase was taken.

For example, let’s say we’re writing a paper analyzing the theme of domestic abuse in contemporary literature and want to include a quote from 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺𝘯 𝘏𝘶𝘨𝘰. Using MLA guidelines, we could say:

𝐈𝐧 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙃𝙪𝙨𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮𝙣 𝙃𝙪𝙜𝙤, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲𝐧 𝐇𝐮𝐠𝐨, 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬, “𝐀 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝  𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧” (𝐉𝐞𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐝 𝟖𝟏).

𝐈𝐧 𝐓𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐉𝐞𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐝’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥, 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙃𝙪𝙨𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮𝙣 𝙃𝙪𝙜𝙤, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲𝐧 𝐇𝐮𝐠𝐨, 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬, “𝐀 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧” (𝟖𝟏).

In the first example, you’ll notice the in-text citation includes both the author’s last name and the page number from which the quote was taken. In the second example, the author’s name is included in the sentence itself and thus is not repeated in the parenthetical citation.

Regarding punctuation, remember that the period goes 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 the parenthetical citation, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 inside the quotation marks. When you include a quote that ends in a period, you drop the period. However, when you include a quote that ends in a question mark or exclamation point, retain the punctuation 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 the quotation marks 𝐚𝐧𝐝 include a period 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 the parenthetical citation.

Notice that the question mark remains within the quotation marks, and there is a period behind the parenthetical citation.

Quoting from Scholarly Sources

What do you do when you want to include a quote from a scholarly source in your paper?

Once you identify the quote you want to use, follow the MLA formatting rules we’ve already discussed (i.e., introduce the quote, provide a parenthetical citation, make sure the parenthetical citation is followed by a period). In addition to this, you need to reference the author’s credentials/profession. In other words, what makes the author an expert on the topic? As readers, why should we trust the person being quoted? Let’s look at the following example:

As you can see, the person whom we are quoting is Francesca Sobande, who is a trustworthy source because she teaches Digital Media Studies at Cardiff University.

Note: You only need to reference the author’s credentials once in your paper (i.e., when you first mention their name).

Locating the Author’s Credentials/Profession

So, where can you find the author’s credentials/profession?

Oftentimes, this information is listed as a footnote on the first page of the scholarly article. If this isn’t the case, you’ll need to search the author’s name on Google. The authors of scholarly articles tend to be professors at universities and have faculty pages that list their academic and professional credentials.

Sometimes, students forgo referencing the author’s credentials and, instead, reference the journal in which the article is published. For instance, students may say:

What’s the problem here? Well, Brandale Mills does not belong to, nor work for, the 𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. Rather, a journal is a form of publication in which academics and scholars can publish their research. Most scholars have their work published in several different journals, and anyone can submit an article to a journal (i.e., if their article aligns with the journal’s field of study). Once a scholar submits an article, it’s peer-reviewed by other scholars and either rejected or accepted for publication.

Ultimately, it’s more important to reference the author’s background as opposed to the journal where the article is published. If your reader really wants to know where the article is published, they can find this information on your Works Cited page.

  Let’s look at another formatting option for quotes: the colon.

You can introduce a quote with an independent clause (i.e., a clause that can stand alone as a complete sentence) followed by a colon. Let’s look at some examples:

𝐓𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐉𝐞𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐝’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥, 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙃𝙪𝙨𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮𝙣 𝙃𝙪𝙜𝙤, 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦: “𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝” (𝟖𝟏).

𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐏𝐞ñ𝐚 𝐎𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞, 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐧, 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐭𝐚 𝐇𝐚𝐲𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡’𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬’ 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫: “𝐈𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐝 (𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧-𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 (𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞), 𝐇𝐚𝐲𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡’𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐞𝐝 ‘𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧’ 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬” (𝟕𝟖).

In these examples, a colon is used to separate an independent clause from a related quote. For instance, in the first example, the independent clause, “𝐓𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐉𝐞𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐝’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥, 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙃𝙪𝙨𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮𝙣 𝙃𝙪𝙜𝙤, 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦,” could – grammatically speaking – stand alone as a complete sentence. However, we want to support our claim with direct evidence (i.e., a quote), so we add a colon to separate the independent clause from the quote.

But how can you easily determine when to use a comma or a colon to introduce a quote? The easiest way to do this is by looking at the word that comes directly before the quote. Use a comma after a verb (e.g., says, explains, asks, reflects) and a colon after a noun (e.g., victim, career).

(Without Using a Comma or Colon)

Next, let’s briefly talk about how you can integrate a quote into your own sentence without using a comma or colon. This is pretty easy, so let’s start by looking at some examples:

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐬 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲𝐧 𝐇𝐮𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 “𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝’𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬” (𝐉𝐞𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐝 𝟗𝟗).

𝐈𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟑𝐬, 𝐄𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 “𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐲𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 ‘𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧’𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧’ 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞” (𝟐𝟐).

𝐎𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐨𝐟 “𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐣𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐲” 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 “𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 (𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝟔𝟏𝟒). 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐞. 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐞 𝐄. 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧, 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐣𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐲 “𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬” (𝟔𝟏𝟒).

As you can see from these examples, the quotes are not separated from the rest of the sentence; neither a comma nor a colon is used to introduce the quote. Rather, the sentence is worded in a way that allows it to seamlessly transition into the quote.

What happens when you want to quote something that already contains quotation marks? There are two instances when you may run into this issue.

First, this issue may arise when you’re reading a scholarly article and the author of the article is quoting another scholar. See below for a specific example.

Scholar Quoting Another Scholar

Let’s say we want to quote the exact quote that Lincoln and Allen are quoting in their article, “Double Jeopardy in Hollywood: Age and Gender in the Careers of Film Actors, 1926-1999.” One thing we could do is go to the original source (i.e., Schatz). Although this is the recommended path to take, let’s say our paper is due in a few hours and we don’t have time. If that’s the case, then we need to reference the original source (i.e., Schatz), 𝐚𝐧𝐝 we need to use a parenthetical citation to reference Lincoln and Allen. So, it should look like this:

In the above example, Thomas Schatz, the original source, is directly quoted; however, Lincoln and Allen are referenced in the parenthetical citation using “qtd. in” to signify that their article is the secondary source where we found the quote.

You may also need to quote a quote when you want to include a novel’s dialogue in your paper.

Let’s look at a page from 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺𝘯 𝘏𝘶𝘨𝘰 and practice quoting a line of dialogue.

Page from Evelyn Hugo

Quoting Dialogue from Evelyn Hugo

Suppose we want to include the highlighted quote in our paper. There are two ways we could do this.

2. If we want to include more of the text (i.e., more than the character’s speech), we could say the following:

𝐈𝐧 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙃𝙪𝙨𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮𝙣 𝙃𝙪𝙜𝙤, 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲𝐧 𝐇𝐮𝐠𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞: “‘𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠,’ 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬. ‘𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐨’𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬'” (𝐉𝐞𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐝 𝟑𝟔𝟔).

Since we included more than the character’s speech (in this case, we included “Evelyn says”), we must use single quotation marks around the character’s speech and double quotation marks around the entire portion of text we included.

Let’s briefly go over MLA’s rules regarding long quotations.

So far, we’ve talked about how to format short quotes, which are quotes that do not exceed four lines in a paper. Long quotes, on the other hand, are more than four lines and thus need to be formatted as block quotes. Look at the example below.

How to Format a Block Quote

Regarding the Example

As you can see, the above quote is longer than four lines and thus follows the formatting rules for block quotes. Like short quotes, you still want to provide an introduction and include proper punctuation before the quote. However, unlike short quotes, you want to avoid using quotation marks, indent the entire quote, and place the parenthetical citation after the period.

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Introductory Phrases for Quotations and Citations

What are introductory phrases for quotations and citations.

When using quotations in a paper, you must integrate the quotation as smoothly as possible into the text of your paper. Avoid dropping quotations into the text without warning. Instead, provide clear signal phrases that alert the reader to the quotation.

Common Introductory Phrases:

Below are common introductory phrases that can be used to introduce quotations. If you don't use the word "that" to introduce your quotation, you must follow the introductory phrase with a comma.

• In Amy Cruise's words,
• Johnson's Field Guide to Exotic Animals reports that
• Henry VIII suggested,
• James Harner shows that
• Clinton ventured to say,
• As Elizabeth Montgomery puts it,
• Lisa Stroud insisted that
• Gauguin and Van Gogh agreed,
• Michael Crichton believes that
• Walt Whitman reminds us that
• Nixon went on the record saying,
• Linda Thornton remarked that
• To quote Lyndon B. Johnson,
• Kim's point is that
• Isaac Asimov in Time argues,
• Cicero goes on to explain that
• William Hartford testified,
• Poe observes that
• Gillman leads the reader to the point that
• According to Valerie Furmount,
• Aristotle wrote,

It is important to use introductory phrases to introduce quotations and to place the quotations in their appropriate places within the paper.

Page last updated June 26, 2023.

What this handout is about

Used effectively, quotations can provide important pieces of evidence and lend fresh voices and perspectives to your narrative. Used ineffectively, however, quotations can clutter your text and interrupt the flow of your argument. This handout will help you decide when and how to quote like a pro.

When should I quote?

Use quotations at strategically selected moments. You have probably been told by teachers to provide as much evidence as possible in support of your thesis. But packing your paper with quotations will not necessarily strengthen your argument. The majority of your paper should still be your original ideas in your own words (after all, it’s your paper). And quotations are only one type of evidence: well-balanced papers may also make use of paraphrases, data, and statistics. The types of evidence you use will depend in part on the conventions of the discipline or audience for which you are writing. For example, papers analyzing literature may rely heavily on direct quotations of the text, while papers in the social sciences may have more paraphrasing, data, and statistics than quotations.

Discussing specific arguments or ideas

Sometimes, in order to have a clear, accurate discussion of the ideas of others, you need to quote those ideas word for word. Suppose you want to challenge the following statement made by John Doe, a well-known historian:

“At the beginning of World War Two, almost all Americans assumed the war would end quickly.”

If it is especially important that you formulate a counterargument to this claim, then you might wish to quote the part of the statement that you find questionable and establish a dialogue between yourself and John Doe:

Historian John Doe has argued that in 1941 “almost all Americans assumed the war would end quickly” (Doe 223). Yet during the first six months of U.S. involvement, the wives and mothers of soldiers often noted in their diaries their fear that the war would drag on for years.

Giving added emphasis to a particularly authoritative source on your topic.

There will be times when you want to highlight the words of a particularly important and authoritative source on your topic. For example, suppose you were writing an essay about the differences between the lives of male and female slaves in the U.S. South. One of your most provocative sources is a narrative written by a former slave, Harriet Jacobs. It would then be appropriate to quote some of Jacobs’s words:

Harriet Jacobs, a former slave from North Carolina, published an autobiographical slave narrative in 1861. She exposed the hardships of both male and female slaves but ultimately concluded that “slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women.”

In this particular example, Jacobs is providing a crucial first-hand perspective on slavery. Thus, her words deserve more exposure than a paraphrase could provide.

Jacobs is quoted in Harriet A. Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, ed. Jean Fagan Yellin (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1987).

Analyzing how others use language.

This scenario is probably most common in literature and linguistics courses, but you might also find yourself writing about the use of language in history and social science classes. If the use of language is your primary topic, then you will obviously need to quote users of that language.

Examples of topics that might require the frequent use of quotations include:

Southern colloquial expressions in William Faulkner’s Light in August

Ms. and the creation of a language of female empowerment

A comparison of three British poets and their use of rhyme

Spicing up your prose.

In order to lend variety to your prose, you may wish to quote a source with particularly vivid language. All quotations, however, must closely relate to your topic and arguments. Do not insert a quotation solely for its literary merits.

One example of a quotation that adds flair:

President Calvin Coolidge’s tendency to fall asleep became legendary. As H. L. Mencken commented in the American Mercury in 1933, “Nero fiddled, but Coolidge only snored.”

How do I set up and follow up a quotation?

Once you’ve carefully selected the quotations that you want to use, your next job is to weave those quotations into your text. The words that precede and follow a quotation are just as important as the quotation itself. You can think of each quote as the filling in a sandwich: it may be tasty on its own, but it’s messy to eat without some bread on either side of it. Your words can serve as the “bread” that helps readers digest each quote easily. Below are four guidelines for setting up and following up quotations.

In illustrating these four steps, we’ll use as our example, Franklin Roosevelt’s famous quotation, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

1. Provide context for each quotation.

Do not rely on quotations to tell your story for you. It is your responsibility to provide your reader with context for the quotation. The context should set the basic scene for when, possibly where, and under what circumstances the quotation was spoken or written. So, in providing context for our above example, you might write:

When Franklin Roosevelt gave his inaugural speech on March 4, 1933, he addressed a nation weakened and demoralized by economic depression.

2. Attribute each quotation to its source.

Tell your reader who is speaking. Here is a good test: try reading your text aloud. Could your reader determine without looking at your paper where your quotations begin? If not, you need to attribute the quote more noticeably.

Avoid getting into the “they said” attribution rut! There are many other ways to attribute quotes besides this construction. Here are a few alternative verbs, usually followed by “that”:

Different reporting verbs are preferred by different disciplines, so pay special attention to these in your disciplinary reading. If you’re unfamiliar with the meanings of any of these words or others you find in your reading, consult a dictionary before using them.

3. Explain the significance of the quotation.

Once you’ve inserted your quotation, along with its context and attribution, don’t stop! Your reader still needs your assessment of why the quotation holds significance for your paper. Using our Roosevelt example, if you were writing a paper on the first one-hundred days of FDR’s administration, you might follow the quotation by linking it to that topic:

With that message of hope and confidence, the new president set the stage for his next one-hundred days in office and helped restore the faith of the American people in their government.

4. Provide a citation for the quotation.

All quotations, just like all paraphrases, require a formal citation. For more details about particular citation formats, see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . In general, you should remember one rule of thumb: Place the parenthetical reference or footnote/endnote number after—not within—the closed quotation mark.

Roosevelt declared, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” (Roosevelt, Public Papers, 11).

Roosevelt declared, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”1

How do I embed a quotation into a sentence?

In general, avoid leaving quotes as sentences unto themselves. Even if you have provided some context for the quote, a quote standing alone can disrupt your flow.  Take a look at this example:

Hamlet denies Rosencrantz’s claim that thwarted ambition caused his depression. “I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space” (Hamlet 2.2).

Standing by itself, the quote’s connection to the preceding sentence is unclear. There are several ways to incorporate a quote more smoothly:

Lead into the quote with a colon.

Hamlet denies Rosencrantz’s claim that thwarted ambition caused his depression: “I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space” (Hamlet 2.2).

The colon announces that a quote will follow to provide evidence for the sentence’s claim.

Introduce or conclude the quote by attributing it to the speaker. If your attribution precedes the quote, you will need to use a comma after the verb.

Hamlet denies Rosencrantz’s claim that thwarted ambition caused his depression. He states, “I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space” (Hamlet 2.2).

When faced with a twelve-foot mountain troll, Ron gathers his courage, shouting, “Wingardium Leviosa!” (Rowling, p. 176).

The Pirate King sees an element of regality in their impoverished and dishonest life. “It is, it is a glorious thing/To be a pirate king,” he declares (Pirates of Penzance, 1983).

Interrupt the quote with an attribution to the speaker. Again, you will need to use a comma after the verb, as well as a comma leading into the attribution.

“There is nothing either good or bad,” Hamlet argues, “but thinking makes it so” (Hamlet 2.2).

“And death shall be no more,” Donne writes, “Death thou shalt die” (“Death, Be Not Proud,” l. 14).

Dividing the quote may highlight a particular nuance of the quote’s meaning. In the first example, the division calls attention to the two parts of Hamlet’s claim. The first phrase states that nothing is inherently good or bad; the second phrase suggests that our perspective causes things to become good or bad. In the second example, the isolation of “Death thou shalt die” at the end of the sentence draws a reader’s attention to that phrase in particular. As you decide whether or not you want to break up a quote, you should consider the shift in emphasis that the division might create.

Use the words of the quote grammatically within your own sentence.

When Hamlet tells Rosencrantz that he “could be bounded in a nutshell and count [him]self a king of infinite space” (Hamlet 2.2), he implies that thwarted ambition did not cause his depression.

Ultimately, death holds no power over Donne since in the afterlife, “death shall be no more” (“Death, Be Not Proud,” l. 14).

Note that when you use “that” after the verb that introduces the quote, you no longer need a comma.

The Pirate King argues that “it is, it is a glorious thing/to be a pirate king” (Pirates of Penzance, 1983).

How much should I quote?

As few words as possible. Remember, your paper should primarily contain your own words, so quote only the most pithy and memorable parts of sources. Here are guidelines for selecting quoted material judiciously:

Excerpt fragments.

Sometimes, you should quote short fragments, rather than whole sentences. Suppose you interviewed Jane Doe about her reaction to John F. Kennedy’s assassination. She commented:

“I couldn’t believe it. It was just unreal and so sad. It was just unbelievable. I had never experienced such denial. I don’t know why I felt so strongly. Perhaps it was because JFK was more to me than a president. He represented the hopes of young people everywhere.”

You could quote all of Jane’s comments, but her first three sentences are fairly redundant. You might instead want to quote Jane when she arrives at the ultimate reason for her strong emotions:

Jane Doe grappled with grief and disbelief. She had viewed JFK, not just as a national figurehead, but as someone who “represented the hopes of young people everywhere.”

Excerpt those fragments carefully!

Quoting the words of others carries a big responsibility. Misquoting misrepresents the ideas of others. Here’s a classic example of a misquote:

John Adams has often been quoted as having said: “This would be the best of all possible worlds if there were no religion in it.”

John Adams did, in fact, write the above words. But if you see those words in context, the meaning changes entirely. Here’s the rest of the quotation:

Twenty times, in the course of my late reading, have I been on the point of breaking out, ‘this would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it!!!!’ But in this exclamation, I should have been as fanatical as Bryant or Cleverly. Without religion, this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in public company—I mean hell.

As you can see from this example, context matters!

This example is from Paul F. Boller, Jr. and John George, They Never Said It: A Book of Fake Quotes, Misquotes, and Misleading Attributions (Oxford University Press, 1989).

Use block quotations sparingly.

There may be times when you need to quote long passages. However, you should use block quotations only when you fear that omitting any words will destroy the integrity of the passage. If that passage exceeds four lines (some sources say five), then set it off as a block quotation.

Be sure you are handling block quotes correctly in papers for different academic disciplines–check the index of the citation style guide you are using. Here are a few general tips for setting off your block quotations:

• Set up a block quotation with your own words followed by a colon.
• Indent. You normally indent 4-5 spaces for the start of a paragraph. When setting up a block quotation, indent the entire paragraph once from the left-hand margin.
• Single space or double space within the block quotation, depending on the style guidelines of your discipline (MLA, CSE, APA, Chicago, etc.).
• Do not use quotation marks at the beginning or end of the block quote—the indentation is what indicates that it’s a quote.
• Place parenthetical citation according to your style guide (usually after the period following the last sentence of the quote).
• Follow up a block quotation with your own words.

So, using the above example from John Adams, here’s how you might include a block quotation:

After reading several doctrinally rigid tracts, John Adams recalled the zealous ranting of his former teacher, Joseph Cleverly, and minister, Lemuel Bryant. He expressed his ambivalence toward religion in an 1817 letter to Thomas Jefferson:

Adams clearly appreciated religion, even if he often questioned its promotion.

How do I combine quotation marks with other punctuation marks?

It can be confusing when you start combining quotation marks with other punctuation marks. You should consult a style manual for complicated situations, but the following two rules apply to most cases:

Keep periods and commas within quotation marks.

So, for example:

According to Professor Poe, werewolves “represent anxiety about the separation between human and animal,” and werewolf movies often “interrogate those boundaries.”

In the above example, both the comma and period were enclosed in the quotation marks. The main exception to this rule involves the use of internal citations, which always precede the last period of the sentence. For example:

According to Professor Poe, werewolves “represent anxiety about the separation between human and animal,” and werewolf movies often “interrogate those boundaries” (Poe 167).

Note, however, that the period remains inside the quotation marks when your citation style involves superscript footnotes or endnotes. For example:

According to Professor Poe, werewolves “represent anxiety about the separation between human and animal,” and werewolf movies often “interrogate those boundaries.” 2

Place all other punctuation marks (colons, semicolons, exclamation marks, question marks) outside the quotation marks, except when they were part of the original quotation.

Take a look at the following examples:

I couldn’t believe it when my friend passed me a note in the cafe saying the management “started charging $15 per hour for parking”!

The coach yelled, “Run!”

In the first example, the author placed the exclamation point outside the quotation mark because she added it herself to emphasize the outrageous nature of the parking price change. The original note had not included an exclamation mark. In the second example, the exclamation mark remains within the quotation mark because it is indicating the excited tone in which the coach yelled the command. Thus, the exclamation mark is considered to be part of the original quotation.

How do I indicate quotations within quotations?

If you are quoting a passage that contains a quotation, then you use single quotation marks for the internal quotation. Quite rarely, you quote a passage that has a quotation within a quotation. In that rare instance, you would use double quotation marks for the second internal quotation.

Here’s an example of a quotation within a quotation:

In “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” Hans Christian Andersen wrote, “‘But the Emperor has nothing on at all!’ cried a little child.”

Remember to consult your style guide to determine how to properly cite a quote within a quote.

When do I use those three dots ( . . . )?

Whenever you want to leave out material from within a quotation, you need to use an ellipsis, which is a series of three periods, each of which should be preceded and followed by a space. So, an ellipsis in this sentence would look like . . . this. There are a few rules to follow when using ellipses:

Be sure that you don’t fundamentally change the meaning of the quotation by omitting material.

Take a look at the following example:

“The Writing Center is located on the UNC campus and serves the entire UNC community.”

“The Writing Center . . . serves the entire UNC community.”

The reader’s understanding of the Writing Center’s mission to serve the UNC community is not affected by omitting the information about its location.

Do not use ellipses at the beginning or ending of quotations, unless it’s important for the reader to know that the quotation was truncated.

For example, using the above example, you would NOT need an ellipsis in either of these situations:

“The Writing Center is located on the UNC campus . . .”

The Writing Center ” . . . serves the entire UNC community.”

Use punctuation marks in combination with ellipses when removing material from the end of sentences or clauses.

For example, if you take material from the end of a sentence, keep the period in as usual.

“The boys ran to school, forgetting their lunches and books. Even though they were out of breath, they made it on time.”

“The boys ran to school. . . . Even though they were out of breath, they made it on time.”

Likewise, if you excerpt material at the end of clause that ends in a comma, retain the comma.

“The red car came to a screeching halt that was heard by nearby pedestrians, but no one was hurt.”

“The red car came to a screeching halt . . . , but no one was hurt.”

Is it ever okay to insert my own words or change words in a quotation?

Sometimes it is necessary for clarity and flow to alter a word or words within a quotation. You should make such changes rarely. In order to alert your reader to the changes you’ve made, you should always bracket the altered words. Here are a few examples of situations when you might need brackets:

Changing verb tense or pronouns in order to be consistent with the rest of the sentence.

Suppose you were quoting a woman who, when asked about her experiences immigrating to the United States, commented “nobody understood me.” You might write:

Esther Hansen felt that when she came to the United States “nobody understood [her].”

In the above example, you’ve changed “me” to “her” in order to keep the entire passage in third person. However, you could avoid the need for this change by simply rephrasing:

“Nobody understood me,” recalled Danish immigrant Esther Hansen.

Including supplemental information that your reader needs in order to understand the quotation.

For example, if you were quoting someone’s nickname, you might want to let your reader know the full name of that person in brackets.

“The principal of the school told Billy [William Smith] that his contract would be terminated.”

Similarly, if a quotation referenced an event with which the reader might be unfamiliar, you could identify that event in brackets.

“We completely revised our political strategies after the strike [of 1934].”

Indicating the use of nonstandard grammar or spelling.

In rare situations, you may quote from a text that has nonstandard grammar, spelling, or word choice. In such cases, you may want to insert [sic], which means “thus” or “so” in Latin. Using [sic] alerts your reader to the fact that this nonstandard language is not the result of a typo on your part. Always italicize “sic” and enclose it in brackets. There is no need to put a period at the end. Here’s an example of when you might use [sic]:

Twelve-year-old Betsy Smith wrote in her diary, “Father is afraid that he will be guilty of beach [sic] of contract.”

Here [sic] indicates that the original author wrote “beach of contract,” not breach of contract, which is the accepted terminology.

Do not overuse brackets!

For example, it is not necessary to bracket capitalization changes that you make at the beginning of sentences. For example, suppose you were going to use part of this quotation:

“The colors scintillated curiously over a hard carapace, and the beetle’s tiny antennae made gentle waving motions as though saying hello.”

If you wanted to begin a sentence with an excerpt from the middle of this quotation, there would be no need to bracket your capitalization changes.

“The beetle’s tiny antennae made gentle waving motions as though saying hello,” said Dr. Grace Farley, remembering a defining moment on her journey to becoming an entomologist.

Not: “[T]he beetle’s tiny antennae made gentle waving motions as though saying hello,” said Dr. Grace Farley, remembering a defining moment on her journey to becoming an entomologist.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Barzun, Jacques, and Henry F. Graff. 2012. The Modern Researcher , 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, Joseph Bizup, and William T. FitzGerald. 2016. The Craft of Research , 4th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Gibaldi, Joseph. 2009. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers , 7th ed. New York: The Modern Language Association of America.

Turabian, Kate. 2018. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, Dissertations , 9th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing

• Using someone else's words
• Long (block) quotations
• Is my quotation effective?

Introducing quotations

Verb tense in signal phrases, author credit.

• Punctuating quotations
• Summarizing and paraphrasing
• Academic integrity checklist
• Final suggestions

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Using signal or lead-in phrases is an excellent way to give your reader the necessary context to understand why you think the quotation is important to your discussion: 

A signal phrase usually names the author of the source, gives the publication year in parentheses, and often provides some context. It commonly appears before the source material. To vary your sentence structure, you may decide to interrupt source material with a signal phrase or place the signal phrase after your paraphrase, summary, or direct quotation (A Canadian Writer's Reference (5th ed.), Hacker & Sommers, p. 453)

Example:  Gore (1992) asserted the importance of considering the environmental effects of technological advances and noted that, “the appropriateness of a technology becomes increasingly important as its power grows and its potential for destroying the environment expands” (p. 146).

Verbs in signal phrases

Use active and descriptive verbs in your introduction of a quotation: 

(Source: A Canadian Writer's Reference (5th ed.), Hacker & Sommers, p. 454)

For more information, please visit Verbs for Referring to Sources (University of Toronto). No matter how you choose to incorporate the idea into your text, you want to make it clear that you are referring to someone else’s idea, not claiming it as your own.

Deciding the appropriate  verb tense  usually comes down to using the one that best reflects the time period of the action described in the text.

Present or Past Tense in Signal Phrases

The choice of using present or past tense in signal phrases for paraphrases or quotations largely depends on the discipline in which authors are writing or the style guide they’re following.

• Present tense: Lee (2015) argues that…
• Past tense: Lee (2015) argued that…

According to APA Style, "the past tense is appropriate when expressing an action or a condition that occurred at a specific, definite time in the past, such as when discussing another researcher's work" (American Psychological Association [APA], 2020, p. 118). When expressing "a past action or condition that did not occur at a specific, definite time or to describe an action beginning in the past and continuing to the present", use the present perfect tense (e.g, Lee (2015) has used...).

Using the past tense to refer to other researcher's work reflects that the quotation or paraphrase presents the author’s thinking at the time of writing the text, which happened in the past. The published text may not reflect the author’s current thinking, so putting the signal phrase in present tense makes a claim that can’t be investigated within the source material. If you’re unsure of which tense to use in signal phrases, please check with your instructor, supervisor, or journal editor.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association  (7th ed.).  https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Adapted from "Using someone else's words: Quote, summarize, and paraphrase your way to success" © Center for Teaching and Faculty Development at San Francisco State University. Adapted with permission. 

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How to Lead Into a Quote

Last Updated: January 11, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Lynn Kirkham . Lynn Kirkham is a Professional Public Speaker and Founder of Yes You Can Speak, a San Francisco Bay Area-based public speaking educational business empowering thousands of professionals to take command of whatever stage they've been given - from job interviews, boardroom talks to TEDx and large conference platforms. Lynn was chosen as the official TEDx Berkeley speaker coach for the last four years and has worked with executives at Google, Facebook, Intuit, Genentech, Intel, VMware, and others. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 85,151 times.

Introducing a quote in a paper can be tricky, as you want the quote to feel seamless and relevant to your topic. You may want to use a quote from a literary text to support your ideas in an essay, or as evidence in your research paper. The key to using quotes effectively is to always use a lead-in or introduction to the quote. Try using an introductory phrase or verb to lead into the quote. You can also use your own assertions to introduce the quote in the text.

Leading With an Introductory Phrase or Verb

• According to Smith, “Life is beautiful.”
• In Smith's view, “Life is beautiful.”
• In Smith's words, “Life is beautiful.”

• Do not use “says” as a descriptive verb to introduce a quote, unless you are quoting from an interview.
• Arendt remarks, “Even in the darkest of times, we have the right to expect some illumination.”
• Arendt states, “Even in the darkest of times, we have the right to expect some illumination.”

• Arendt points out that “totalitarianism is to be feared.”
• Arendt emphasizes that “totalitarianism is to be feared.”
• Arendt describes her book as “an exploration of power.”

Leading with Your Own Assertion

• For example, you may write an assertion like, “Arendt does not see totalitarianism as a positive result of war.”
• Or you may write an assertion like, “Hamlet argues against Rosencrantz's claim that he lacks ambition.”

• Arendt does not see totalitarianism as a positive result of war: “Totalitarianism is to be feared and loathed.”
• Hamlet argues against Rosencrantz's claim that he lacks ambition: "I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space.”

• For Arendt, state sanctioned propaganda was essential totalitarian regimes, where “one could make people believe the most fantastic statements,” thereby confirming the state's power over its citizens.
• Hamlet is doubtful of Rosencrantz's view, claiming he could be “bounded in a nutshell” and still feel powerful, “a king of infinite space.”

Polishing the Lead-In

• You can also look at your use of quotes throughout the paper to confirm they flow well. Make sure you are consistent with how you introduce quotes in the paper. Use one to two different ways to introduce quotes and stick to them so the reader can follow your train of thought.

• You should also check that you italicize any titles in the lead-in. Capitalize any author names or titles in the lead-in, as well.

• Place the citation at the end of the quote, if you are using in quote citations.
• Arendt does not see totalitarianism as a positive result of war: “Totalitarianism is to be feared and loathed” ( On Totalitarianism , 54).
• Hamlet is doubtful of Rosencrantz's view, claiming he could be “bounded in a nutshell” and still feel powerful, “a king of infinite space” ( Hamlet , 2.2).

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• ↑ https://www.ccis.edu/offices/academicresources/writingcenter/essaywritingassistance/suggestedwaystointroducequotations.aspx
• ↑ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/quotations/
• ↑ https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/assignments/quoliterature/
• ↑ https://www.albright.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Adding-Lead-Ins-Before-a-Quote.pdf
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/using_research/quoting_paraphrasing_and_summarizing/signal_and_lead_in_phrases.html

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Introducing Quotations and Paraphrases

The work you produce at university usually involves the important ideas, writings and discoveries of experts in your field of study. These contributions are always acknowledged by referencing, and there will be times when you introduce other people's views into your work and want to name them in the text. Naming other authors when you're introducing their views into your work can be done with quotations or paraphrases.

When to introduce quotes or paraphrases

• when you want to use an author as an authoritative voice
• to introduce an author's position you may wish to discuss
• to provide evidence for your own writing
• to make a clear distinction between the views of different authors
• to make a clear distinction between an author's views and your own

Introductory phrases

Use introductory phrases to tell the reader what the author thinks or does in their text. Consider using the following after you have given the author's name (and the year or notation):

• X states that . . .
• X claims that . . .
• X asserts that . . .
• X agrees that . . .
• X strongly argues . . .
• X comments that . . .
• X suggests that . . .
• X says that . . .
• X observes that . . .
• X takes the view that . . .
• X contends that . . .
• X believes that . . .
• X proposes that . . .
• X concludes that . . .
• X maintains that . . .
• X concedes that . . .
• X notes that . . .
• According to X . . .
• As X states . . .

With Different Referencing Styles

Quotation with Harvard referencing:

Braitman (2012, p. 167) argues Freud was very fond of dogs and was "a believer in interspecies friendship".

Quotation with  Footnote referencing:

Braitman asserts that Freud was very fond of dogs and was "a believer in interspecies friendship". 1

Paraphrase with Harvard referencing:

Braitman (2012, p. 167) states that it was Freud's relationship with Jofi and Lun, his pet Chow, that convinced him that relationships between different species could exist.

Paraphrase with Footnote referencing:

As Braitman points out, it was Freud's relationship with Jofi and Lun, his pet Chow, that convinced him that relationships between different species could exist. 1

Agreeing and disagreeing

You can indicate your agreement or disagreement with a statement by the introductory phrase you choose.

When you want to disagree with a statement

Harrison (1992, p. 566) mistakenly argues that Freud disliked animals.

When you want to show agreement with a statement

Greenleaf (2002, p. 146) correctly argues that it was his own pet dogs that stimulated Freud's interest in the human-animal bond.

As Greenleaf (2002, p. 146) points out, Freud developed an interest in "interspecies relationships" through experiences with his family pets.

A Neutral Approach

Harrison (1992) and Greenleaf (2002) both examine the relationship between Freud and his dogs.

Hirsh, EP 1996, Writing About Art , Longman, Melbourne.

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• How to Quote | Citing Quotes in APA, MLA & Chicago

How to Quote | Citing Quotes in APA, MLA & Chicago

Published on April 15, 2022 by Shona McCombes and Jack Caulfield. Revised on May 31, 2023.

Quoting means copying a passage of someone else’s words and crediting the source. To quote a source, you must ensure:

• The quoted text is enclosed in quotation marks or formatted as a block quote
• The original author is correctly cited
• The text is identical to the original

The exact format of a quote depends on its length and on which citation style you are using. Quoting and citing correctly is essential to avoid plagiarism which is easy to detect with a good plagiarism checker .

Table of contents

How to cite a quote in apa, mla and chicago, introducing quotes, quotes within quotes, shortening or altering a quote, block quotes, when should i use quotes, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about quoting sources.

Every time you quote, you must cite the source correctly . This looks slightly different depending on the citation style you’re using. Three of the most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

Citing a quote in APA Style

To cite a direct quote in APA , you must include the author’s last name, the year, and a page number, all separated by commas . If the quote appears on a single page, use “p.”; if it spans a page range, use “pp.”

An APA in-text citation can be parenthetical or narrative. In a parenthetical citation , you place all the information in parentheses after the quote. In a narrative citation , you name the author in your sentence (followed by the year), and place the page number after the quote.

Punctuation marks such as periods and commas are placed after the citation, not within the quotation marks .

• Evolution is a gradual process that “can act only by very short and slow steps” (Darwin, 1859, p. 510) .
• Darwin (1859) explains that evolution “can act only by very short and slow steps” (p. 510) .

Complete guide to APA

Citing a quote in mla style.

An MLA in-text citation includes only the author’s last name and a page number. As in APA, it can be parenthetical or narrative, and a period (or other punctuation mark) appears after the citation.

• Evolution is a gradual process that “can act only by very short and slow steps” (Darwin 510) .
• Darwin explains that evolution “can act only by very short and slow steps” (510) .

Complete guide to MLA

Citing a quote in chicago style.

Chicago style uses Chicago footnotes to cite sources. A note, indicated by a superscript number placed directly after the quote, specifies the author, title, and page number—or sometimes fuller information .

Unlike with parenthetical citations, in this style, the period or other punctuation mark should appear within the quotation marks, followed by the footnote number.

Complete guide to Chicago style

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Make sure you integrate quotes properly into your text by introducing them in your own words, showing the reader why you’re including the quote and providing any context necessary to understand it.  Don’t  present quotations as stand-alone sentences.

There are three main strategies you can use to introduce quotes in a grammatically correct way:

• Add an introductory sentence
• Use an introductory signal phrase
• Integrate the quote into your own sentence

The following examples use APA Style citations, but these strategies can be used in all styles.

Introductory sentence

Introduce the quote with a full sentence ending in a colon . Don’t use a colon if the text before the quote isn’t a full sentence.

If you name the author in your sentence, you may use present-tense verbs , such as “states,” “argues,” “explains,” “writes,” or “reports,” to describe the content of the quote.

• In Denmark, a recent poll shows that: “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• In Denmark, a recent poll shows that support for the EU has grown since the Brexit vote: “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• Levring (2018) reports that support for the EU has grown since the Brexit vote: “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (p. 3).

Introductory signal phrase

You can also use a signal phrase that mentions the author or source, but doesn’t form a full sentence. In this case, you follow the phrase with a comma instead of a colon.

• According to a recent poll, “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• As Levring (2018) explains, “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (p. 3).

Integrated into your own sentence

To quote a phrase that doesn’t form a full sentence, you can also integrate it as part of your sentence, without any extra punctuation .

• A recent poll suggests that EU membership “would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” in a referendum (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• Levring (2018) reports that EU membership “would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” in a referendum (p. 3).

When you quote text that itself contains another quote, this is called a nested quotation or a quote within a quote. It may occur, for example, when quoting dialogue from a novel.

To distinguish this quote from the surrounding quote, you enclose it in single (instead of double) quotation marks (even if this involves changing the punctuation from the original text). Make sure to close both sets of quotation marks at the appropriate moments.

Note that if you only quote the nested quotation itself, and not the surrounding text, you can just use double quotation marks.

• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: “ “ Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, ” he told me, “ just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had ” ” (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: “‘Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had ” (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: “‘Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had’” (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway begins by quoting his father’s invocation to “remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” (Fitzgerald 1).

Note:  When the quoted text in the source comes from another source, it’s best to just find that original source in order to quote it directly. If you can’t find the original source, you can instead cite it indirectly .

Often, incorporating a quote smoothly into your text requires you to make some changes to the original text. It’s fine to do this, as long as you clearly mark the changes you’ve made to the quote.

Shortening a quote

If some parts of a passage are redundant or irrelevant, you can shorten the quote by removing words, phrases, or sentences and replacing them with an ellipsis (…). Put a space before and after the ellipsis.

Be careful that removing the words doesn’t change the meaning. The ellipsis indicates that some text has been removed, but the shortened quote should still accurately represent the author’s point.

Altering a quote

You can add or replace words in a quote when necessary. This might be because the original text doesn’t fit grammatically with your sentence (e.g., it’s in a different verb tense), or because extra information is needed to clarify the quote’s meaning.

Use brackets to distinguish words that you have added from words that were present in the original text.

The Latin term “ sic ” is used to indicate a (factual or grammatical) mistake in a quotation. It shows the reader that the mistake is from the quoted material, not a typo of your own.

In some cases, it can be useful to italicize part of a quotation to add emphasis, showing the reader that this is the key part to pay attention to. Use the phrase “emphasis added” to show that the italics were not part of the original text.

You usually don’t need to use brackets to indicate minor changes to punctuation or capitalization made to ensure the quote fits the style of your text.

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If you quote more than a few lines from a source, you must format it as a block quote . Instead of using quotation marks, you set the quote on a new line and indent it so that it forms a separate block of text.

Block quotes are cited just like regular quotes, except that if the quote ends with a period, the citation appears after the period.

To the end of his days Bilbo could never remember how he found himself outside, without a hat, a walking-stick or any money, or anything that he usually took when he went out; leaving his second breakfast half-finished and quite unwashed-up, pushing his keys into Gandalf’s hands, and running as fast as his furry feet could carry him down the lane, past the great Mill, across The Water, and then on for a mile or more. (16)

Avoid relying too heavily on quotes in academic writing . To integrate a source , it’s often best to paraphrase , which means putting the passage in your own words. This helps you integrate information smoothly and keeps your own voice dominant.

However, there are some situations in which quoting is more appropriate.

When focusing on language

If you want to comment on how the author uses language (for example, in literary analysis ), it’s necessary to quote so that the reader can see the exact passage you are referring to.

When giving evidence

To convince the reader of your argument, interpretation or position on a topic, it’s often helpful to include quotes that support your point. Quotes from primary sources (for example, interview transcripts or historical documents) are especially credible as evidence.

When presenting an author’s position or definition

When you’re referring to secondary sources such as scholarly books and journal articles, try to put others’ ideas in your own words when possible.

But if a passage does a great job at expressing, explaining, or defining something, and it would be very difficult to paraphrase without changing the meaning or losing the weakening the idea’s impact, it’s worth quoting directly.

If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• ChatGPT vs human editor
• ChatGPT citations
• Is ChatGPT trustworthy?
• Using ChatGPT for your studies
• What is ChatGPT?
• Chicago style
• Paraphrasing
• Critical thinking

 Plagiarism

• Types of plagiarism
• Self-plagiarism
• Avoiding plagiarism
• Academic integrity
• Consequences of plagiarism
• Common knowledge

A quote is an exact copy of someone else’s words, usually enclosed in quotation marks and credited to the original author or speaker.

In academic writing , there are three main situations where quoting is the best choice:

• To analyze the author’s language (e.g., in a literary analysis essay )
• To give evidence from primary sources
• To accurately present a precise definition or argument

Don’t overuse quotes; your own voice should be dominant. If you just want to provide information from a source, it’s usually better to paraphrase or summarize .

Every time you quote a source , you must include a correctly formatted in-text citation . This looks slightly different depending on the citation style .

For example, a direct quote in APA is cited like this: “This is a quote” (Streefkerk, 2020, p. 5).

Every in-text citation should also correspond to a full reference at the end of your paper.

A block quote is a long quote formatted as a separate “block” of text. Instead of using quotation marks , you place the quote on a new line, and indent the entire quote to mark it apart from your own words.

The rules for when to apply block quote formatting depend on the citation style:

• APA block quotes are 40 words or longer.
• MLA block quotes are more than 4 lines of prose or 3 lines of poetry.
• Chicago block quotes are longer than 100 words.

If you’re quoting from a text that paraphrases or summarizes other sources and cites them in parentheses , APA and Chicago both recommend retaining the citations as part of the quote. However, MLA recommends omitting citations within a quote:

• APA: Smith states that “the literature on this topic (Jones, 2015; Sill, 2019; Paulson, 2020) shows no clear consensus” (Smith, 2019, p. 4).
• MLA: Smith states that “the literature on this topic shows no clear consensus” (Smith, 2019, p. 4).

Footnote or endnote numbers that appear within quoted text should be omitted in all styles.

If you want to cite an indirect source (one you’ve only seen quoted in another source), either locate the original source or use the phrase “as cited in” in your citation.

In scientific subjects, the information itself is more important than how it was expressed, so quoting should generally be kept to a minimum. In the arts and humanities, however, well-chosen quotes are often essential to a good paper.

In social sciences, it varies. If your research is mainly quantitative , you won’t include many quotes, but if it’s more qualitative , you may need to quote from the data you collected .

As a general guideline, quotes should take up no more than 5–10% of your paper. If in doubt, check with your instructor or supervisor how much quoting is appropriate in your field.

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