Introduce Quotes Into Your Essay

If the quote doesn't fit your argument, either find another source or change your argument. Use double quotation marks for the quote itself and, where applicable, single quotation marks for quotes within the quote.

You may include a question mark or exclamation mark within the quotation marks if they are part of the original text.

Introduce the quote according to what purpose it serves in the original text and in your essay.

This process can involve letting the quote flow naturally with the rest of your text, as in this example: Though a reproduction may be meticulously accurate, "the meaning of the original work no longer lies in what it uniquely says but in what it uniquely is" (Berger 21).

If the quote is taken from consecutive pages, include both page numbers within the citation: (Berger 20-21).

If you are quoting from a source other than a book, such as a website, documentary, or interview, you may want to look further into MLA citation convention has a strict protocol for how to cite each type of source.

Robert Harris Version Date: November 27, 2012 Original Date: February 13, 2001 (Reflects MLA Handbook [1999/2003] style) Quoting effectively is important because the right quotation presented properly can add spice, interest, thought, effectivenes, support, and respect to your writing.

Quoting ineffectively makes your writing look like an amateur attempt padded by random comments from strangers. A quotation should never suddenly appear out of nowhere.

"Jones says" is neutral; "Jones informs us" is positive, "Jones alleges" is somewhat negative. At the beginning of "The Five Orange Pips," for example, Watson notes that this adventure is one of the "many which present strange and interesting features," because it is "so remarkable in its details and so startling in its results" (Doyle 100).

Other verbs to choose from include: (Note: for embedded phrases like these, do not use ellipsis dots on either side. "Article Title." Journal Name Volume (Year): Page-Page. There were many adventures in the year 1887, Watson continues, but "none of them present such singular features as the strange train of circumstances which I have now taken up my pen to describe" (101). you have ever listened to a more mysterious and inexplicable chain of events" than the ones he is about to relate (103).