Integrating Quotations Proper Citations in MLA Format

MLA Format In-text citations in that follow MLA format should be compressed. This means that they should flow into your paper. The outside information you are using should not overpower your own ideas, but be used to support it.

Guidelines When using quotes, a general rule of thumb is to follow ICE: I- introduce the quote C- cite the quote E- explain the quote This does not need to be accomplished in 3 separate sentences, but in fact can realistically be accomplished in 1-2.

The standard MLA parenthetical citation uses just the author’s name and page number separated by a space. The period appears AFTER the parenthesis. Example: One engineer who figures prominently in all accounts of the 1996 Challenger accident says NASA was “absolutely following procedures to the letter” (Vaughan 221).

If you state the name of the author in your introduction to a quote, you should NOT include their name in the parenthetical citation, just the page number. Example: Diane Vaughn cites a shuttle engineer who says NASA was “absolutely relentless” about following procedures to the letter” (221).

Whole Quote vs. Part of a Quote In your writing, you can choose to include a whole quote, or an entire sentence(s). However, you should do so sparingly. You don’t want another author’s ideas overpowering what you’re trying to say. Example: Samuel Johnson claims that “Shakespeare is, above all other writers, at least above all modern writers, the poet of nature, the poet that holds up to his readers a faithful mirror of manners and of life” (301).

When using just part of a quote, you can weave it into your writing to make it sound more natural. Example: Samuel Johnson contends that Shakespeare’s writing is superior to other poets’ because he was “the poet of nature, the poet that holds up to his readers a faithful mirror of manners and of life” (301). Note: The quotation is integrated into the syntax of the sentence. Note: In the above example, note the use of the verb “contends,” which helps to clarify the context and quoted material.

Block Quotes Block form is used for long quotations, 4 or more lines. In this case, quotation marks are omitted because the block form substitutes for quotation marks. Block quotations should be double spaced and indented 10 spaces from your left margin. In block quotations, the period at the end of the quotation comes before the parenthetical citation.

Ellipses … If you want to use most of the words of the quotation, but some seem unnecessary or not useful, you may replace them with an ellipsis. Example: Johnson claims that “Shakespeare is, above all other writers…the poet of nature, the poet that holds up to his readers a faithful mirror of manners and of life” (301).

Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing These three ways of incorporating other writers' work into your own writing differ according to the closeness of your writing to the source writing.

Quotations must be identical to the original, using a narrow segment of the source. They must match the source document word for word. Quotes attributed to the original author, i.e. the original author MUST be given credit.

Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from source material into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly.

Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words. Summaries include only the main point(s). Once again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.

Original Passage Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes. Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976): 46-47.

Identify: Summary, Paraphrase, or Plagiarism In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47). Answer: Paraphrase

Students often use too many direct quotations when they take notes, resulting in too many of them in the final research paper. In fact, probably only about 10% of the final copy should consist of directly quoted material. So it is important to limit the amount of source material copied while taking notes. Answer: Plagiarism

Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a research paper (Lester 46-47). Answer: Summary