punctuating quotes in essays

Punctuation of Quotations

Shorthand: “pq”.

In all academic writing, Quotations must have appropriate punctuation. In order to determine how to punctuate the phrase that comes before a quotation, you need to know whether the phase is an independent clause.  Here, you have three options:

1. When the quotation is merged into a clause, no punctuation is necessary to divide them.

Roosevelt spoke of December 7, 1941, as “a day that will live in infamy.”

2. If the quotation is preceded by a form of a word like say, reply, or answer, that word is followed by a comma.

She knows she is no longer safe, saying, “I feared for my Safety in this wicked House” (28).

3. If a complete sentence or independent clause precedes the quotation, a colon is the appropriate mark of punctuation.

She knows she is no longer safe: “I feared for my Safety in this wicked House” (28). Also make sure that you place quotation marks correctly with respect to other punctuation marks and with citations.

1.  The final period or comma goes inside the quotation marks, even if it is not a part of the quoted material, unless the quotation is followed by a citation.  If a citation in parentheses follows the quotation, the period follows the citation.  If a superscript footnote number is used, it follows the period and the quotation marks.  

a) The Portland vase is “blue porcelain,” according to Compson (435).

Comma is within the quotation marks; the period follows the citation.

b) Macbeth says, “Life's but a walking shadow” (5.5.24).

Citation follows the quotation marks; period follows the citation. Note: The MLA Handbook recommends the use of Arabic numerals rather than Roman numerals for designating acts and scenes in plays. However, some instructors still prefer Roman numerals. Check with your instructor if you are uncertain which to use.

c) As E. H. Carr has written, “The serious historian is the one who recognizes the historically conditioned character of all values, not the one who claims for his own values an objectivity beyond history.” 1

2. A colon or semicolon is placed outside the quotation marks (regardless of whether or not it exists in the quoted material).

a) Correct:

Roberts (137) mentions “the divine right of kings”; the phrase did not become current in English until the late seventeenth century.

b) Incorrect:

Mr. B says that Pamela “may be thawed by kindness;” (180).

Even though the semicolon is present in the sentence quoted, it should not be in the quotation.

Correct: Mr. B says that Pamela “may be thawed by kindness” (180).

3. A question mark, exclamation point, or dash is placed within the quotation marks when it is part of the quoted material. Otherwise it is placed outside the quotation marks.

a) “How do I love thee?” asks the sonnet. “Let me count the ways.”

The first quotation is a question; the question mark is part of it.

b) What is the meaning of the expression “eschew obfuscation”?

The quotation is not a question; the question mark goes outside the quotation to indicate that the whole sentence is the question.

c) There is great pathos in King Lear’s cry, “O reason not the need!” (2.4.259).

An exclamation point within the quotation is followed by quotation marks, then by a parenthetical citation. The period after the citation ends the sentence.

4. Do not place any mark of punctuation inside the quotation marks at the beginning of a quoted phrase, and do not use an ellipsis(...) at the beginning of the quotation.

a) Incorrect:

King Lear refers to his daughter Goneril as a “detested kite” and as “...wolvish” (1.4.253, 259).

b) Correct:

King Lear refers to his daughter Goneril as a “detested kite” and as “wolvish” (1.4.253, 259).

For more information on quotations, refer to Using Sources  and Quotations .

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Quotation basics: grammar, punctuation, and style, some general quotation guidelines.

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: Quotation Grammar, Punctuation, and Style Return to Writing Studio Handouts

When writing a formal essay, you will often need to use quotes from a text or texts as evidence to prove your point or to make an argument. Below are grammar and punctuation guidelines to help you integrate those quotes into your essay successfully.

We recommend consulting a style manual or your instructor for specific queries.

Periods and Commas

• You do not need to use any punctuation before a quotation if it forms part of your own sentence.

Example: Dennis cries that he is “being repressed!”

• Use a comma when introducing a quote with a phrase such as ‘he said.’

Example: The old man protests, “I don’t want to go on the cart.”

• Place parenthetical citations outside the end quotation mark, but before the punctuation.

Example: King Arthur declares, “Let’s not go to Camelot. It is a silly place” (13).

Colons and Ellipses

• Use a colon when introducing a quotation with a full independent clause (one that can stand on its own).

Example: Emily feels frustrated by his response: “Is there someone else that we can talk to?”

• Use an ellipsis (three periods, sometimes with spaces between: ‘…’ ) to indicate an omission in a quotation (Exception: it is not necessary to use an ellipsis when omitting words at the beginning of a quote unless you are using a block quote format).

Example: “The kind of intelligence a genius has … leaps with ellipses.”

• When you want to omit one or more full sentences, use a period and a space before the three ellipsis dots.

Example: “Hatred paralyzes life. … Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.”

Slashes and Brackets

• When you are quoting poetry, use a slash ( / ) to mark a line break.

Example: “Let me not to the marriage of true minds / Admit impediments” (1-2).

• Use square brackets to add a word, change a pronoun, or change a verb tense in the quote.

Original quote: “It’s my duty as a knight to sample all the peril I can.”

In your essay: Sir Galahad thinks “it’s [his] duty as a knight to sample all the peril [he] can.”

Question Marks and Exclamation Points

• With a question mark or exclamation point, there is no need to use a comma or a period.

Example: The interested observer wonders, “Are you suggesting that coconuts migrate?”

• If the mark is part of your sentence and not part of the quote, it goes outside the last quotation mark.

Example: I don’t think we can ever understand the “ineluctable modality of the visual”!

Block Quotes

• MLA style calls for use of a block quote (indent 10 spaces, or 2 tabs) when citing five or more lines of typed prose or four or more lines of verse. APA style calls for block quotes when citing forty words or more.

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? / Thou art more lovely and more temperate. / Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, / And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. (1-4)

Quote Within a Quote

• When using a quote within a quote, single quotation marks are used for the inner quote.

Example: Josh laments, “Every time I try to talk to someone it’s ‘sorry this’ and ‘forgive me that.’”

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Punctuation: Quotation Marks

Quotation mark basics.

Quotations marks are used to denote language taken from another author or source .

Quotation Mark Placement

For titles. If referencing the title of a chapter or smaller section of a larger work, set off the title with quotation marks.

Example: The fourth chapter of the APA 7 manual, "Writing Style and Grammar," contains a lot of useful information.

In sentences . When copying language from any other source (including published texts, internet resources, marketing or business materials, test or interview questions, and more) into your paper, you must use quotation marks (and proper citation ) to indicate the source. Direct quotations will never begin a sentence, but you might use them in the middle or at the end:

Middle: Christensen (2010) regarded the "infiltration of only red light" (p. 32) as a success in the experiment.   End: The experiment concluded with an analysis of what Franks et al. (2011) considered "a heightened fright" (para. 43).

Note that quotations longer than 40 words require block quotation formatting , which does not use quotation marks.

For more information about quotation marks, refer to APA 7, Section 6.7.

Quotations and Punctuation

Quotation marks should always face the quoted material. One set of quotation marks will show the beginning of the quote and the other will show when it ends. Leave no space between the quotation marks and the text they surround.

Correct: Samson (2010) stated, “Mirror neurons allow for imitation and empathy” (p. 214).

Incorrect: Samson (2010) stated, ”Mirror neurons allow for imitation and empathy“ (p. 214).   Missing quotation marks: Samson (2010) stated, Mirror neurons allow for imitation and empathy (p. 214).

The sentence period should always go after a parenthetical citation.

Correct: Samson (2010) stated, "Mirror neurons allow for imitation and empathy" (p. 214).

Incorrect: Samson (2010) stated, "Mirror neurons allow for imitation and empathy." (p. 214).   Note: This sentence has double punctuation.

Incorrect: Samson (2010) stated, "Mirror neurons allow for imitation and empathy." (p. 214)    Note: This sentence will need to end with a period after the parentheses so there are no hanging parentheses.

Capitalization in Quotations

Capitalize the first word of the quotation when it is introduced as dialogue.

Example: Smith (2010) stated, “School is difficult” (p. 5).

Note that a comma precedes the quotation.

Example:  Johnson (2017) reported, "Walden students should use APA" (p. 45).

Quotations are introduced as dialogue when writers use the following sentence structure: Author (Year) verb, "Quotations" (p. x). Note that a comma precedes the quotation.

Do not capitalize the first word of the quotation when it is integrated into the sentence.

Example: Smith (2010) reported that “school is difficult” (p. 5).

Note that no comma precedes the quotation.

Example: According to Samson (2010), "mirror neurons allow for imitation and empathy" (p. 214).

Note that the first word in the quotation is not capitalized in this example since the quotation has been integrated into the sentence.

Additional Common Uses of Quotation Marks

Linguistic clarification.

Use quotation marks rather than italics to clarify linguistic examples. This is a new rule in APA 7. (APA 6 recommended using italics instead of quotation marks for linguistic examples.)

Example: The student struggled with the use of "their" "they're," and "there."

Introducing a Word or Phrase Used Ironically

Use quotation marks around words or phrases that are presented ironically. Use quotation marks only the first time the words or phrases are used, not for later uses.

Example: There were many instances of "friendly joking" that created a hostile workplace environment.

Do Not Use Quotation Marks in These Instances

Do not use a quotation mark in the following instances.

Use italics instead of quotation marks around key terms or scale anchors.

Example : The survey required participants to scale their responses from very bad to very good.   Example: For the purposes of this paper, the term participation will be defined as...

Note that after the first time you define a key term, you will format it normally.

Do not use quotation marks to hint at a different meaning. Use more precise language instead.

Incorrect: The "orientation" turned out to be only a 2-hour meeting.

Correct: The orientation meeting lasted only 2 hours, which was not long enough to cover all topics sufficiently.

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• Writing Tips

Punctuation Tips: Using Quotation Marks

3-minute read

• 17th November 2016

Quotation marks play a vital role in many types of writing. This is especially true of academic work , where you’ll often need to quote a source to provide evidence for your arguments.

However, the rules for how quotation marks should be used in formal writing can be complicated. As such, we’ve prepared this quick guide to using these punctuation marks .

Direct Quotation and Dialogue

When quoting a source in a paper, the quoted text should be enclosed within double quotation marks (“ ”):

According to Sartre (1969, p.30), “Every conscious existence exists as consciousness of existing.”

Note that a citation is given here. In an academic context, this is crucial when quoting a source. In other forms of writing, such as fiction, quotation marks can indicate speech:

“What a lovely day,” muttered Sally, her voice dripping sarcasm.

While double quotation marks are the norm in American English, keep in mind that single quotation marks (‘ ’) are more common in British English. If you’re not sure which kind to use, check your school/publisher’s style guide .

Quotations within Quotations

The only time single quotation marks (also known as inverted commas ) are conventionally used in American English is when quoting text that already contains quotation marks:

Sartre (1969, p.504) states that “assertions such as ‘I am ugly,’ ‘I am stupid,’ etc.” are anticipatory by nature.

Here, “I am ugly” and “I am stupid” are placed within single quotation marks because they were within quotation marks in the original source. This helps ensure clarity.

Capitalization and Punctuation

You might have noticed that the quotes above use different styles of capitalization and punctuation. This depends on what you’re quoting and how it’s framed by the sentence.

The rule here is generally to capitalize the first word when quoting a complete sentence, but not when quoting part of a larger sentence:

Full sentence: He told me, “You’re not listening.” Then he left.

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Partial quotation: He said I was “not listening,” and then he left.

The other difference you can see in these examples regards using a comma to introduce a quotation. If a quotation follows naturally from the rest of the sentence, no comma is required:

No comma: He said that “The sky is blue.”

However, if there would usually be a pause in the sentence, a comma might be required. This is common when a quotation follows a phrase like “he said” or “she said”:

Comma required: He said, “The sky is blue.”

More generally, American English places commas and periods inside quotation marks even if they weren’t part of the original quotation. For other punctuation marks, such as question marks, it depends on whether they were part of the original text:

Part of quoted text: She asked, “What color is the sky?”

Not part of quoted text: Did you just say that “the sky is blue”?

Scare Quotes

Finally, sometimes quotation marks are used to indicate use of a non-standard term or to suggest skepticism or irony when we don’t agree with how a term has been used:

He’s not a gangster; if you value your health, he’s a “businessman.”

However, it’s best to use scare quotes sparingly in academic writing, as they’re often misused .

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Quotation marks: rules and usage in sentences

Jessica Malnik

I’d wager you’ve probably seen at least a handful of quotation marks so far today. They’re everywhere. These upside-down commas can be tricky if you don’t understand the rules.

For instance, when should you use a single quote or a double quote? Where does the punctuation go?

In this post, we’ll cover the differences in single and double quotation marks, common quotation mark rules (including the Golden Rule), and when to use quotation marks.

What’s the difference between single and double quotation marks?

Single and double quotes have different uses but are commonly mixed up by writers. It’s hard to tell the purpose of the quotation marks if they’re used incorrectly.

In general, double quotes should be used to indicate direct speech in your writing. Double quotes look like this and are highlighted in the example below:

Single quotes aren’t used in the same way as double quotes, but they’re often used in the same sentence as them. Single quotes are used to indicate a quote within a quote. Single quotations can also be used to show a quote within a headline or a title placed within a quote.

Here’s an example of what that would look like with the single quotation marks highlighted:

It’s important to note that quotation grammar rules vary between American English and British English, which can be a challenge for international students. For this post, we’ll focus on quotation rules that affect American English writing and literature. If you’re writing in British English, be sure to consult your style guide or other relevant writing references.

Before we dive into when you should use quotation marks, we first need to cover some ground rules.

What are common quotation mark rules?

When it comes to quotation mark usage, there is one Golden Rule you need to know:

Once a quote is open, it has to be closed.

Essentially, don’t start what you can’t finish. If you have an opening quotation mark, then you’ll need to close the word, sentence, or phrase with a closing quotation. This means that leaving a quote open like this is  incorrect :

Can you spot where the closing quotation needs to go? The closing quote should be placed directly after the comma beside the word  backpack . Think of quotes as existing in pairs. If you start a quote, it needs to be followed by its buddy.

Aside from the Golden Rule, there are a few additional quotation mark rules.

3 of the most common quotation mark rules you need to know

1. using quotes within quotes.

This was already mentioned above, but it’s an important rule to remember. When you’re quoting something inside of an existing quote, you should use single quotes within the quote.

Here’s an example of what a single quotation mark looks like for a quote within a quote:

As you can see in the example above, the closing quotations almost look like three marks. That’s what it looks like when you have a single quote next to a double quote. It might seem odd, but it’s grammatically correct.

Here’s another example. In this case, the quote within the quote is smack-dab in the middle instead of butting up next to the closing double quote:

2. Capitalization and quoting

Text within quotation marks is sometimes capitalized and other times not. It strictly depends on the quote itself. The first letter of the text should be capitalized if you’re quoting a complete sentence. Here’s what that looks like as an example:

This would be true even if the quoted phrase fell in the middle of a sentence. You would still need to start it with a capital letter in that instance.

But a quote doesn’t always have to start with a capital letter. If you’re simply quoting a piece of the sentence or a phrase, then you can start the quote with a lowercase letter. Here’s an example of that:

3. Using quotes with other punctuation

It can be confusing for writers trying to figure out whether punctuation marks go inside or outside of quotes. For this rule, there are a few tips to keep in mind to help you place punctuation marks in the right spot.

For instance, punctuation marks that introduce the quote shouldn’t be placed within the quotation mark. But sentence-ending punctuation marks follow different guidelines. Sentence-ending periods and commas go within the quotation marks while semicolons, dashes, and colons are placed on the outside of the quote.

Here are two examples to show the difference in sentence-ending punctuation placement:

Exclamation and question marks are another story. They can go either inside or outside of the quote, depending on the context. If the punctuation mark applies to the quoted word or phrase, then they should be placed within the quotes. If they apply to the entire sentence instead, then they go outside of the quotation marks.

Here’s an example to show you the difference:

When to use quotation marks

Here are some examples of when quotation marks should be used and how they can be applied to your writing.

1. Quotes within quotes

As stated above, quotes within quotes are commonly used. These require a single quotation mark inside of double quotation marks.

He said, “I love the theater. I went to see ‘Sample Performance’ last week.”

In this example above, the single quotes are framing the title of a show.

2. Quotes within quotes

Remember that a single quote should still be used when it’s followed directly by a double quote, such as in this example:

She said, “My favorite album is ‘Sample Band Debut.’”

3. Words as words

You can also use quotation marks to refer to a word. Here’s an example:

Effective “copywriting” can persuade people to take a desired action.

The quotation marks in this example show that you’re talking about the word itself, and it’s not a direct quote from someone.

4. Scare quotes

Scare or shudder quotes are used to imply a term is being used in a nontraditional way or the writer is trying to distance themselves or the subject from the word. For example:

She thinks she’s a “talented” artist.

The use of quotation marks here shows that the writer doesn’t necessarily think the person is talented. Keep in mind that scare quotes can easily be overused, and you should try to use them sparingly in your writing.

5. Titles of short works

Titles of short works like poems, articles, blog posts, and chapters should use quotation marks. However, larger pieces of work such as novels and magazines would be italicized, according to many style guides, including Chicago. Here’s an example of a short body of work in quotation marks:

‘How to Write’ was an interesting article.

6. Direct quotes

Direct quotes are possibly the easiest and most straightforward use of quotes. When you’re quoting someone’s direct speech, add quotation marks. Here’s an example:

“I only have two classes left today,” she said.

Quotation marks follow many rules, but they aren’t too complicated. Just keep practicing to get the hang of it. And of course, you can always bookmark this post to use as a reference.

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Practice in Using Quotation Marks Correctly

A Punctuation Exercise

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• Writing Essays
• Writing Research Papers
• English Grammar
• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

Quotation marks—sometimes referred to as "quotes" or "inverted commas"—are  punctuation marks that are most often used in pairs to identify the beginning and ending of a passage attributed to another speaker or writer and repeated word for word. Quotation marks can aid greatly in helping you avoid plagiarism —claiming someone else's work as your own without giving proper attribution or credit.

Therefore, using quotation marks correctly is an essential part of writing correct English. But doing so can be tricky. Practice using the following exercises.

Insert quotation marks wherever they are needed in the sentences below. When you're done, compare your answers with those following the exercises.

• For several weeks in 2009, the Black Eyed Peas held the top two spots on the music charts with their songs I Gotta Feeling and Boom Boom Pow.
• Last week we read A Modest Proposal, an essay by Jonathan Swift.
• Last week we read A Modest Proposal; this week we're reading Shirley Jackson's short story The Lottery.
• In a famous New Yorker essay in October 1998, Toni Morrison referred to Bill Clinton as our first black president.
• Bonnie asked, Are you going to the concert without me?
• Bonnie asked if we were going to the concert without her.
• In the words of comedian Steve Martin, Talking about music is like dancing about architecture.
• The indie folk band Deer Tick sang What Kind of Fool Am I?
• Was it Dylan Thomas who wrote the poem Fern Hill?
• Uncle Gus said, I heard your mother singing Tutti Frutti out behind the barn at three o'clock in the morning.
• I've memorized several poems, Jenny said, including The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost.
• All our failures, wrote Iris Murdoch, are ultimately failures in love.
• For several weeks in 2009, the Black Eyed Peas held the top two spots on the music charts with their songs “I Gotta Feeling” and “Boom Boom Pow.”
• Last week we read "A Modest Proposal," an essay by Jonathan Swift.
• Last week we read "A Modest Proposal"; this week we're reading Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery."
• In a famous New Yorker essay in October 1998, Toni Morrison referred to Bill Clinton as "our first black president."
• Bonnie asked, "Are you going to the concert without me?"
• Bonnie asked if we were going to the concert without her. [no quotation marks]
• In the words of comedian Steve Martin, "Talking about music is like dancing about architecture."
• The indie folk band Deer Tick sang "What Kind of Fool Am I?"
• Was it Dylan Thomas who wrote the poem "Fern Hill"?
• Uncle Gus said, "I heard your mother singing 'Tutti Frutti' out behind the barn at three o'clock in the morning."
• "I've memorized several poems," Jenny said, "including 'The Road Not Taken' by Robert Frost."
• "All our failures," wrote Iris Murdoch, "are ultimately failures in love."
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Microsoft 365 Life Hacks > Writing > How to Use Quotation Marks: Rules with Commas, Periods, and More

How to Use Quotation Marks: Rules with Commas, Periods, and More

As you’ve probably noticed, quotation marks are an extremely common set of punctuation marks. Continue your journey to grammatical excellence , and follow along with this guide to brush up on the rules of using quotation marks.

Rules for Using Quotation Marks

Quotation marks are most often used to mark something that is spoken or, in other words, to designate a direct quote. That is, they display something that’s been said, word for word.

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• Example: He said, “I’m going to be a couple minutes late to class today.”

When a sentence merely summarizes another’s speech, or uses what’s called an indirect quote, quotation marks are not necessary.

• Example: He said that he was going to be a couple minutes late to class today.

Quotation Marks with Commas, Periods, and Other Punctuation

As in the example above, a comma is used before quotation marks to introduce a direct quote. If the description of the quote’s speaker is placed after the quotation, a comma is always placed within the quotation marks.

• Example: “I’m going to be a couple minutes late to class today,” he said.

In American English, commas and periods should be placed within the quotation marks as long as they do not change the meaning of the quotation. In instances where punctuation would change the meaning of the quotation—that is, when the punctuation, such as a question mark or exclamation point, does not belong to the quotation—it should be placed outside of the quotation marks.

• Example: He asked, “Is it okay if I’m a couple of minutes late to class today?”
• Example: Does he always say “I’m going to be late to class today”?

Capitalization

It can sometimes be tricky to remember when to capitalize words within quotation marks. To keep it straight, follow these two simple rules: First, when quoting a full, complete sentence, the first word of that quote should always be capitalized. Alternatively, when a quote only references a fragment of a quote, a phrase, or part of a sentence, the first word of the quote does not need to be capitalized. This includes cases when a quote is interrupted by a description.

• Example: He said, “I’m running behind and I’m going to be late to class.”
• Example: “I’m running behind,” he said, “and I’m going to be late to class.”
• Example: He’s always saying he’s “running behind” and so will be late.

Other Uses for Quotation Marks

Quotation marks aren’t only used to capture spoken words. You might also run into, or want to use, these other uses of quotation marks:

• Example: Calvin thought that Purple Rain was Prince’s best album. However, “1999” was his favorite song.
• Example: Calvin claims that only “real” Prince fans understand the brilliance of his earlier, less acclaimed work.
• Example: “‘1999’ is my favorite song,” Calvin said.

All these uses and rules of quotation marks can be a lot to keep in your head while you’re writing. However, with practice you will be able to master this commonly confused aspect of grammar over time.

As you’re getting up to speed on these and other grammar basics , a virtual writing assistant like Microsoft Editor can help you catch all your mistakes, and help ensure that your writing is clean, clear, and communicates your very best ideas.

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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

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

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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MLA Formatting Quotations

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MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (8 th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

When you directly quote the works of others in your paper, you will format quotations differently depending on their length. Below are some basic guidelines for incorporating quotations into your paper. Please note that all pages in MLA should be double-spaced .

Short quotations

To indicate short quotations (four typed lines or fewer of prose or three lines of verse) in your text, enclose the quotation within double quotation marks. Provide the author and specific page number (in the case of verse, provide line numbers) in the in-text citation, and include a complete reference on the Works Cited page. Punctuation marks such as periods, commas, and semicolons should appear after the parenthetical citation.

Question marks and exclamation points should appear within the quotation marks if they are a part of the quoted passage, but after the parenthetical citation if they are a part of your text.

For example, when quoting short passages of prose, use the following examples:

When using short (fewer than three lines of verse) quotations from poetry, mark breaks in verse with a slash, ( / ), at the end of each line of verse (a space should precede and follow the slash). If a stanza break occurs during the quotation, use a double slash ( // ).

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 1/2   inch  from the left margin while maintaining double-spacing. Your parenthetical citation should come  after the closing punctuation mark . When quoting verse, maintain original line breaks. (You should maintain double-spacing throughout your essay.)

For example, when citing more than four lines of prose, use the following examples :

Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration: They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house. (Bronte 78)

When citing long sections of poetry (four lines of verse or more), keep formatting as close to the original as possible.

In his poem "My Papa's Waltz," Theodore Roethke explores his childhood with his father:

The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy. We Romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother's countenance Could not unfrown itself. (qtd. in Shrodes, Finestone, Shugrue 202)

When citing two or more paragraphs, use block quotation format, even if the passage from the paragraphs is less than four lines. If you cite more than one paragraph, the first line of the second paragraph should be indented an extra 1/4 inch to denote a new paragraph:

In "American Origins of the Writing-across-the-Curriculum Movement," David Russell argues,

Writing has been an issue in American secondary and higher education since papers and examinations came into wide use in the 1870s, eventually driving out formal recitation and oral examination. . . .

From its birth in the late nineteenth century, progressive education has wrestled with the conflict within industrial society between pressure to increase specialization of knowledge and of professional work (upholding disciplinary standards) and pressure to integrate more fully an ever-widening number of citizens into intellectually meaningful activity within mass society (promoting social equity). . . . (3)

Adding or omitting words in quotations

If you add a word or words in a quotation, you should put brackets around the words to indicate that they are not part of the original text:

If you omit a word or words from a quotation, you should indicate the deleted word or words by using ellipses, which are three periods ( . . . ) preceded and followed by a space. For example:

Please note that brackets are not needed around ellipses unless they would add clarity.

When omitting words from poetry quotations, use a standard three-period ellipses; however, when omitting one or more full lines of poetry, space several periods to about the length of a complete line in the poem: