21.2: Quotations

A quotation reproduces the exact written or spoken words of a person or an author, which may include a group. (See Editing Focus: Quotations for a related discussion of direct quotations and Editing Focus: Integrating Sources and Quotations for help with integrating quotations from sources.)

Quotations from Written or Spoken Sources

Put quotation marks around quotations from a written or spoken source.

Quoting a Source

When quoting the words of a source, introduce quoted material with a signal phrase so that readers know the source and purpose of the quotation. Place the quotation inside double quotation marks. When using parenthetical citations, note that the sentence period comes after the parentheses. If you include the author’s name in your signal phrase, give only the page number in parentheses (first example). If you do not give the author’s name in your signal phrase, give the name in parentheses (second example):

In Walden, Thoreau sets forth one individual’s antidote against the “lives of quiet desperation” led by the working class in mid-nineteenth-century America (5).

Walden sets forth one individual’s antidote against the “lives of quiet desperation” led by the working class in mid-nineteenth-century America (Thoreau 5).

Abraham Lincoln wrote “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth” in his Gettysburg Address.

Quoting or Writing Dialogue

When quoting or writing dialogue between speakers, including characters in a fictional work, place their words in double quotation marks, and start a new paragraph for each speaker:

“It’s good to see you—I guess,” Brayden said, as Christopher walked up to the door. “I thought you were gone for good.”

“I missed you too much,” Christopher said, looking down at his feet.

Single and Double Quotation Marks

Put single quotation marks around a quotation within a quotation, using double quotation marks around the full quotation:

Kennedy writes that after a year of teambuilding work, including improvements in communication, evaluation, and small-group quarterly meetings, morale among staff members “improved from ‘average’ to ‘excellent’” (17).

Long Quotations

Introduce a long quotation (four typed lines in MLA style; 40 or more words in APA style) with a signal phrase that names the author and ends with a colon. Indent this entire block quotation one-half inch. If you quote more than one paragraph, indent the first line of each subsequent paragraph one-half inch. Do not use quotation marks. Note that the sentence period comes before the parenthetical citation:

In her memoir, Twenty Years at Hull-House, reformer Jane Addams recounts vivid stories of child labor:

The visits we made in the neighborhood constantly discovered women sewing upon sweatshop work, and often they were assisted by incredibly small children. I remember a little girl of four who pulled out basting threads hour after hour, sitting on a stool at the feet of her Bohemian mother, a little bunch of human misery. For even for that there was no legal redress, for the only child labor law in Illinois, with any provision for enforcement, had been secured by the coal miners’ unions, and was confined to the children employed in the mines. (199)

Poetry Quotations

When you quote one, two, or three lines from a poem, use the following format, putting quotation marks around the line or group of lines and separating the lines with a slash:

The 17th-century writer Aphra Behn (1640–1689) wrote humorous poems about love and heartbreak, including “Love’s Power,” which opens with “Love when he Shoots abroad his Darts / Regards not where they light” (1-2).

When you quote more than three lines from a poem, set them off from your text. Indent the quotation one-half inch, and do not use quotation marks. Note that the sentence period comes before the parenthetical citation.

In the poem “The Character,” Aphra Behn (1640–1689) uses the familiar alternate rhyme scheme, also known as ABAB:

Such Charms of Youth, such Ravishment

Through all her Form appear’d,

As if in her Creation Nature meant,

She shou’d a-lone be ador’d and fear’d. (1-4)

Altering Quotations

When you alter a quotation to fit into your sentence, you must indicate the change you made.

Ellipses

An ellipsis [. . .] indicates that you have omitted words from a quotation. In the example below, the writer omitted words from the middle of the sentence.

In her memoir, Twenty Years at Hull-House, reformer Jane Addams explains that there were no enforceable laws against small children helping their mothers with sweatshop sewing work, and that “the only child labor law in Illinois . . . had been secured by the coal miners’ unions, and was confined to the children employed in the mines” (199).

If you omit the end of a sentence or a complete sentence, include the sentence period:

The author explains as follows: “Damage to the Broca’s area of the brain can affect a person’s ability to comprehend spoken language. . . . A person may understand speech relatively well when the sentence grammar is simple and the content familiar but may struggle when the grammar and content are more complex” (Hollar-Zwick 45).

Brackets

Use brackets [ ] to indicate a change you have made to a quotation:

Abruzzi cited the study, noting that “[t]he results provide hope to patients [with muscular dystrophy].”

Punctuating Quotations

Periods

Place the period inside quotation marks if no source is cited:

The meteorologist said, “Today’s weather will be sunny and mild.”

If you are citing a source in parentheses, place the quotation marks at the end of the quotation, followed by the citation and the sentence period:

In Twenty Years at Hull-House, Jane Addams recalls vivid images of child labor: “I remember a little girl of four who pulled out basting threads hour after hour, sitting on a stool at the feet of her Bohemian mother, a little bunch of human misery” (199).

(See Long Quotations and Poetry Quotations above for exceptions to this rule.)

Commas

Commas go inside quotation marks:

“Tomorrow’s weather will be cool and rainy,” the meteorologist said.

Colons and Semicolons

Colons and semicolons go outside quotation marks:

The sign read “Closed”: No more films would be shown at the theater. (Note: Use a capital letter if a complete sentence follows the colon.)

Question Marks and Exclamation Points

Question marks and exclamation points go inside quotation marks if they are part of the quotation:

“Would you like a sandwich?” asked Adelaide.

Question marks and exclamation points go outside quotation marks if they are not part of the quotation:

“I can’t believe you haven’t read “The Lottery”!