Ms. Walker's Quotation Reference Sheet
Ms. Walker's Quotation Reference Sheet:
Based on the Modern Language Association (MLA) Format
A. BEWARE OF USING TOO MANY QUOTATIONS
A paper that is quotation heavy usually means a writer has not done much independent thinking. Choose quotations carefully, keep them as brief as possible, and use them only when they are interesting, revealing or necessary in the development of your text. Generally, there really should not be more than three quotes per page.
When you use a quotation, you should make sure that the following points are true:
1) the quotation is not something that you could easily have paraphrased
2) the writer states the content in a particular, unique or interesting way
3) the quotation supports the point that you are making
B. IN-TEXT CITATION (or parenthetical reference) FORMAT
MLA format follows the author and page method of citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation is taken must appear in the text, and as a complete reference in your Works Cited page. The author's name may appear in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence. (Underlining was only used for emphasis above and should not be used in your paper.)
C. INTEGRATE QUOTES
in·te·grate (nt-grt) vb. inte·grat·ed, inte·grat·ing, inte·grates: to make into a whole by bringing all parts together; unify.
Quotes should be part of your own sentence.
You should provide introduction before them and explanation after them.
Examples:
Nat Turner and his followers planned a rebellion that would leave no stone unturned. On the night they would begin, Turner told Grey, his interviewer, "it was quickly agreed we should commence at home on that night, and until we had armed and equipped ourselves, and gathered sufficient force, neither age nor sex was to be spared" (Turner 2). They decided to begin the murder of slave owners and their families at Turner's master's house, he explained. Until they had enough support and weapons, they would be sure not to leave anyone alive. Therefore, women and children would also be killed.
Equiano describes the terrible conditions of the slave ship during the middle passage: "With the loathsomeness of the stench and the crying together, I became so sick and low that I was not able to eat…" (4). The smell, along with the noise of others crying from pain, hunger, sickness and grief, was enough to make one wish for death.
q The first example integrates the quote by preceding it with a dependant clause (phrase that cannot stand along as a sentence) and a comma.
q The second example integrates the quote by using a colon. Colons can follow independent clauses (phrases that could stand alone as sentences).
D. NEVER BEGIN NOR END A PARAGRAPH WITH A QUOTE
Quotes are introduced and followed with explanation. (See B for further explanation.)
E. SHORTER QUOTATIONS
If a quotation is four typed lines or fewer, work it into the body of your paper and put quotation marks around it. Your quote cannot be put in without connection to a sentence. You must integrate your quote in a sentence.
INCORRECT: Money is important. "I'd like to live like a poor man with lots of money."
CORRECT: Pablo Picasso said, "I'd like to live like a poor man with lots of money."
F. LONGER QUOTATIONS
Place quotations of more than four typed lines in a freestanding block of typewritten lines, and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented one inch (or 10 spaces) from the left margin. Keep it double-spaced. Generally a colon is used to introduce the quotations set off from the text. Your in-text citation should come after your closing punctuation mark.
At the conclusion of Lord of the Flies, Ralph and the other boys realize the horror of their actions:
The tears began to flow and sobs shock them. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage… and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them… Ralph wept for the end of innocence. (Golding 202)
G. PUT PUNCTUATION OUTSIDE OF THE QUOTE
Make sure that punctuation goes OUTSIDE of the quotation marks. If a quotation mark ends with a period, the period goes AFTER the reference.
Dr. M. Jones recently reported, "The high stress of athletic training and conditioning in youngster can damage their bone structure" (47).
In his book, Robert Hutchings explains, "My idea of education is to unsettle the minds of the young and inflame their intellects" (88).
All other punctuation -- such as semicolons, colons, question marks and exclamation points-- go OUTSIDE the closing quotation mark, except when they are part of the quoted material.
H. NOT PART OF THE QUOTATION
What do you suppose it means when a vampire says, "Well of course, you're welcome to stay the night" (32)?
I. PART OF THE QUOTATION
In Lord of the Flies, Ralph wonders, "Should I sound the conch?" (Golding 43).
Ellen Foster exclaims, "They go to the same church!" (Gibbons 64).
J. USING QUOTES WITHIN QUOTES
Use single quotation marks to show a quote within a quote.
Sara said, "I never read Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven'!"
K. OMITTING WORDS IN A QUOTATION
If you want to leave out part of a quotation, use an ellipsis to signify your omission. An ellipsis
(. . . ) is three periods with a space before and after each one. Anything you take out of a quotation should not change the author's original meaning.
L. ADDING WORDS IN A QUOTATION
If you add a word or words in a quotation, you must put brackets around the words to indicate that they are not part of the original text.
Ellen says, "That dress [showed] my luck was changing" (Gibbons 98).
M. QUOTING VERSE (POETRY)
If you quote a line of verse, or part of a line, that does not require special emphasis, put it in quotation marks within your text. You may also incorporate two or three lines in this way, using a slash with a space on each side ( / ) to separate them.
"Friends, Romans, countrymen," begins Mark Antony's famous speech in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, "lend me your ears; / I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him" (3.2.80-81).
For more specific information buy the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. You can purchase this at Barnes & Noble, Borders, or online at www.amazon.com!