MLA Quotation Style: A Review

MLA Quotation Style: A Review

What are some of the most common errors made when using sources?

Be sure the reader knows who is speaking about whom.
Make sure your quotation "works" grammatically in the sentence. Read very slowly and aloud. Make sure that the use of a quotation does not trick you into making a sentence fragment (i.e., you should have a subject and a verb in your sentence).
The body of a direct quotation is copied verbatim (exactly like the original source, right down to the last comma). Be sure to check your quotation, then refer back to the original. Have you left out any words or punctuation? Have you inserted anything incorrectly?
Do not rely on a quotation to get your point across. Always provide your insight. Quotations provide support and color.
Avoid back-to-back quotations or "strings" of quotations. Try to hit a balance between quotation and your own commentary. A string of quotations is not considered your work.
After mentioning a source's full name, it is then desirable to use the last name only from then on.
Use quotations to liven up your writing. Choose them carefully. Don't for instance:

use them to provide background material,
use them as a thesis statement,
use them to end your paper,
begin them too early.
Examples:

Wrong: "According to researchers, the computer has cut the average cost . . ."

Here it is not necessary to quote "according to researchers," even if it is taken verbatim from your source as this is a generic introduction.

Right: Start the quotation with "the computer. . . ."

Wrong: "In some parts of the world, wearing fur is taboo now, said Mickey Allen of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals at their annual meeting held in England in January" (25).

Right: Instead, write: According to Mickey Allen of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, "In some parts of the world, wearing fur is taboo now" (25). The comment about the annual meeting is background material. If you use it at all, it should be paraphrased.

What's the difference between quotations and paraphrasing? Do I need to use both?

There are several methods used in citing sources, such as partial quotations, indented quotations, short quotations, and paraphrasing. It is desirable that you use all of these to produce a balanced essay which flows well. Otherwise, your essay will be predictable and choppy. An explanation of each type follows.
What are partial quotations and how are they handled?

Use partial quotations to liven up your writing, making it easier for the reader to follow.

Example:

Margaret Reardon points out that today's economy cars are "better equipped" to handle accidents than the smaller cars of the past.

Note: When you use partial quotations (one to three words), a page number is not required. But beware! If you use an entire phrase or sentence, page numbers are needed! This "rule" is interpreted differently by instructors. If you use a page number, you are usually correct.
Further example:

Margaret Reardon mentions that today's cars are "designed with dual airbags" to protect both driver and passenger (346).

****What are indented quotations and how are they handled?
Set off, or indent, prose quotations longer than four lines of your handwriting or of a typewritten paper. When a quotation is indented, the use of quotation marks is not necessary, and the page number is included outside the ending punctuation.****

Example:
Jordan stated:

Like many people who enjoy a leisurely pace of living with such attendant activities as reading, painting, or gardening, I often long for a simpler time, a time when families amused themselves by telling stories after supper, as opposed to watching Baghdad get bombed. (1)
Notice that indented quotations are indented ten spaces.

How do I punctuate short quotations?
For a quotation shorter than four lines, quotation marks are used and the page numbers fall inside the ending punctuation.

Example:
"Many of our student's personal decisions will have the inherent dangers of instant gratification, and so will their political decisions," she said (548).

What is paraphrasing?
Paraphrasing is putting into your own words something another has said. It is not merely changing a word or two from the original or reordering a sentence. And you must still tell your reader where you got the idea. If you fail to cite your source or if you use the words another has written as if they were your own, either deliberately or accidentally, you are guilty of plagiarism, an offense that will damage your credibility as a researcher. If an author puts something in a clever way that you cannot improve upon, use partial quotations.

Do I capitalize the first letter of a quotation when it falls in the middle of my sentence?

Some instructors feel that writers can change beginning capitalization to suit the writer's grammatical purpose, but that the "body" of the quotation should be copied verbatim (exactly like the original, right down to the last comma). Others like the first word capitalized, especially when it is capitalized in the original source. If you are not sure, capitalize.

Example: According to Margo, "The summer was the hottest and driest she could remember" (34).

Do I use a comma or a colon to introduce a quotation?

A quotation is usually introduced by a comma or a colon. A colon precedes when a quotation is formally introduced or when the quotation itself is a complete sentence, but either no punctuation or a comma generally precedes when the quotation serves as an integral part of the sentence. Compare:

Shelley argued thus: "Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world."
but

She thought poets "the unacknowledged legislators of the world."

or

"Poets," according to Shelley, "are the unacknowledged legislators of the world."

or

Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" concludes: "A sadder and a wiser man, / He rose the morrow morn."

If quotations are verbatim, how do I leave something out of a quotation that I do not need?

Use ellipsis marks if you wish to leave something out of the middle of a quotation (perhaps it is not needed or will make your quotation too long).
Original Source:
She states that
many of our students' personal decisions will have the inherent dangers of instant gratification, and so will their political decisions. Virtual reality will make it possible for them to program themselves into scenarios we now merely fantasize about. As a result, imagination itself will require a new definition. (1)
Quoted with ellipses:
She states that
many of our students' personal decisions will have the inherent dangers of instant gratification, and so will their political decisions. . . . As a result, imagination itself will require a new definition. (1)
Note 1: There are only three ellipses marks used in this sentence. A period also appears, indicating that one sentence ended before the word "As." If you had only left out a few words in mid-sentence, then you would not need a period.
Note 2: Do not change the meaning of the quotation when you leave out part of it!

Note 3: Notice that now that information has been removed from the middle of the quotation, it is only three lines long. It should no longer be indented.

Use ellipsis marks ( . . . ) at the beginning and end of quotations only if necessary. It is not always necessary to do so, and too many will damage the flow of your essay. Use them sparingly.
How do I correctly change a quotation to suit my purpose, such as to identify a pronoun?

Often, a quotation you wish to use includes a pronoun instead of a name. Since you must copy the quotation verbatim, you should insert the name after the pronoun to clarify who you are talking about. Use brackets (not parenthesis).

Example: "He [Clapton] got the chills when he listened to that material recently."

(Summary from Roane Stae CC)
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