A quote for any occasion
Even though you have not read the quoted source you must acknowledge the original source of the information, as well as the work in which it appears, in a parenthetical note. The name, date and page reference of the work in which information originated should appear first, followed by ‘cited’ and then the name etc.
Use ellipses to make a quote say something other than what the author originally intended. Include the sentence’s ending punctuation followed by the ellipsis points when the dots are inserted after a complete sentence. Leave out the spaces before and after the ellipsis points or between them.
Rule: Double quotation marks are used for the first quotation . Single quotation marks are used for a quotation within a quotation . Double marks are used for a further quotation inside that, etc.
MLA format follows the author -page method of in-text citation . This means that the author’s last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page.
Proper Punctuation – Quotes If you start by telling who said it, use a comma and then the first quotation mark. If you put the quote first and then tell who said it, use a comma at the end of the sentence, and then the second quotation mark. Punctuation always goes inside the quotation marks if it is a direct quote .
Long quotations For quotations that are more than four lines of prose or three lines of verse, place quotations in a free-standing block of text and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented ½ inch from the left margin while maintaining double-spacing.
Three Dots for Missing Text To show readers that part of a quotation is missing , a writer can use three dots (like this ) to replace the missing words. (These three dots are called an ellipsis.) An ellipsis is usually written or in square brackets [].
Edited or truncated quotations If the source quotation is truncated , either in the middle or at the end of the quotation , use ellipses to mark the point of the omitted material. Do not use ellipses at the start of the quote , even if material has been omitted there.
‘” When multiple quotation marks are used for quotations within quotations , keep the quotation marks together (put periods and commas inside both; put semi-colons, colons, etc., outside both).
Quoting Someone’s Exact Words “I prefer my cherries chocolate covered,” joked Alyssa. “I have wanted to buy my own truck for a long time,” said Jordan. “I have been saving money for two years. “I guess I should start saving money, then,” replied Jordan, “if I am ever going to buy one.”
If you use a direct quotation from an author, you should: enclose it in quotation marks. give the author, date and page number(s) that the quotation was taken from, in brackets.
In writing, an ” indirect quotation ” is a paraphrase of someone else’s words: It “reports” on what a person said without using the exact words of the speaker. An indirect quotation (unlike a direct quotation ) is not placed in quotation marks. For example : Dr. King said that he had a dream.
What is an indirect citation or secondary source? Include both the original author and the author of the work where quote /idea was found in the in-text reference. Add “as cited in” before the author in the in-text reference.