essay examples

quoting a book in an essay

Banner

  • Otis College of Art and Design
  • Otis College LibGuides
  • Millard Sheets Library

Citation Guide (MLA 9th Edition) UNDER CONSTRUCTION

On This Page

Works with authors/editors, unknown author, no page numbers.

Quoting Directly

Long quotations, paraphrasing, signal phrases.

Where you'd normally put the author's last name, instead use the first one, two, or three words from the title . Don't count initial articles like "A", "An" or "The". You should provide enough words to make it clear which work you're referring to from your Works Cited list.

If the title in the Works Cited list is in italics , italicize the words from the title in the in-text citation.

If the title in the Works Cited list is in quotation marks, put quotation marks around the words from the title in the in-text citation.

( Cell Biology 12)

("Nursing" 12)

For audio-visual sources (such as films and oral interviews), use the timecode for the quote instead of the page number.

When you quote from electronic sources that do not provide page numbers (like Web pages), cite the author name only.

Wong does not consider himself a "terrific artist" (01:00:54).

"Three phases of the separation response: protest, despair, and detachment" (Garelli).

For more info, check out "MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics" by the Purdue Online Writing Lab.

About In-Text Citation

In MLA, in-text citations are inserted in the body of your research paper to briefly document the source of your information. Brief in-text citations point the reader to more complete information in the works cited list at the end of the paper.

  Note: The period goes outside the brackets, at the end of your in-text citation.

When you quote directly from a source, enclose the quoted section in quotation marks. Add an in-text citation at the end of the quote with the author name and page number:

Mother-infant attachment has been a leading topic of developmental research since John Bowlby found that "children raised in institutions were deficient in emotional and personality development" (Hunt 358).

What Is a Long Quotation?

If your quotation extends to more than four lines as you're typing your essay, it is a long quotation.

Rules for Long Quotations

There are 4 rules that apply to long quotations that are different from regular quotations:

Example of a Long Quotation

At the end of Lord of the Flies the boys are struck with the realization of their behaviour:

The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. 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 of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. (Golding 186)

When you write information or ideas from a source in your own words, cite the source by adding an in-text citation at the end of the paraphrased portion.

Paraphrasing from One Page

Include a full in-text citation with the author name and page number (if there is one). For example:

Mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research following the publication of John Bowlby's studies (Hunt 65).

Paraphrasing from Multiple Pages

If the paraphrased information/idea is from several pages, include them. For example:

Mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research following the publication of John Bowlby's studies (Hunt 50, 55, 65-71).

If you refer to the author's name in a sentence you do not have to include the name again as part of your in-text citation, instead include the page number (if there is one) at the end of the quotation or paraphrased section. For example:

Hunt explains that mother-infant attachment has been a leading topic of developmental research since John Bowlby found that "children raised in institutions were deficient in emotional and personality development" (358).

Repeated Use of Sources

If you're using information from a single source more than once in succession (i.e., no other sources referred to in between), you can use a simplified in-text citation.

Cell biology is an area of science that focuses on the structure and function of cells (Smith 15). It revolves around the idea that the cell is a "fundamental unit of life" (17). Many important scientists have contributed to the evolution of cell biology. Mattias Jakob Schleiden and Theodor Schwann, for example, were scientists who formulated cell theory in 1838 (20). 

 Note: If using this simplified in-text citation creates ambiguity regarding the source being referred to, use the full in-text citation format.

In-Text Citation For More Than One Source

If you would like to cite more than one source within the same in-text citation, simply record the in-text citations as normal and separate them with a semi-colon.

(Smith 42; Bennett 71). 

( It Takes Two ; Brock 43).

 Note: The sources within the in-text citation do not need to be in alphabetical order for MLA style.

Otis College of Art and Design | 9045 Lincoln Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90045 | Otis Dashboard

Millard Sheets Library | Library Dashboard Site | 310-665-6930 | Ask a Librarian

How to Quote a Book

Last Updated: February 8, 2023 References Approved

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 19 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 94% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 475,827 times. Learn more...

When you’re writing an essay, using a quote can help validate your argument and make your writing stronger. Whether your paper is required to be in MLA or APA format, it’s easy to quote and cite a book the right way.

Incorporating Quotations into Your Text

Image titled Quote a Book Step 1

Image titled Quote a Book Step 2

Image titled Quote a Book Step 3

Quoting Books in MLA Format

Image titled Quote a Book Step 4

Image titled Quote a Book Step 6

Image titled Quote a Book Step 7

Image titled Quote a Book Step 8

Quoting Books in APA Format

Image titled Quote a Book Step 9

Image titled Quote a Book Step 11

Image titled Quote a Book Step 12

Image titled Quote a Book Step 13

Community Q&A

Community Answer

Video . By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube.

You Might Also Like

Cite a Book

About This Article

If you want to use a quotation from a book when you’re writing an essay, try to work the quotation into the text as naturally as possible so it reads like a normal sentence. Connect the quote to the point you’re making by saying something like “Thoreau summed this up by saying…” or “Mark Twain once argued…” To make the quote as concise and relevant as possible, replace unnecessary passages with ellipses or use brackets to add or change words if necessary. For tips on citing your sources, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

Reader Success Stories

Denis Tarasenko

Denis Tarasenko

Jan 13, 2018

Did this article help you?

Denis Tarasenko

Onyinyechi Onyema

Oct 3, 2020

Am I a Narcissist or an Empath Quiz

Featured Articles

Play FIFA 23 Career Mode

Trending Articles

Talk to a Girl in a Group

Watch Articles

Make Homemade Soup

Get all the best how-tos!

Sign up for wikiHow's weekly email newsletter

How to Write a Book Title And Author in an Essay?

This post may contains affiliate links. If you click and buy we may make a commission, at no additional charge to you. Please see our disclosure policy for more details.

So, you’re writing an essay, and you’re referencing a book. But how on earth do you write and cite the title and the author’s name correctly?

Do you use quotation marks? Italics? Punctuation? And what about capitalization?

The answer is a little more complicated than you might think. It all depends on the style of essay you’re writing, but once you’ve familiarized yourself with the rules for each one, it’s easy to mention and cite any book title and author’s name correctly, so you can get top marks from your instructor, each and every time.

Table of Contents

The Correct Way to Write a Book’s Title And Author in an Essay

In this post, we’ll look at the three most common essay formats used in the US and learn how to properly display book titles and author names in each one.

The Most Popular Essay Formats

The three most commonly used essay formats found in schools, universities, and higher education institutions across America are known as APA, MLA, and Chicago style.

The format your professor assigns will depend on the subject matter, the department, the purpose of the essay, and the instructor’s individual preferences.

APA stands for the American Psychological Association. This is the go-to format for scientific essays, including many social and behavioural sciences.

MLA stands for Modern Language Association and is the most frequently used format in humanities and liberal arts subjects, such as literature and history.

Chicago format, also known as Turabian after its creator, Kate L. Turabian, is commonly used in the publishing world and also in subjects such as anthropology, history, and selected social sciences.

Why is Using The Correct Format so Important?

The short answer is that you’ll receive a lower grade if you don’t.

But of course, there are many good reasons why proper formatting is important when writing papers and essays.

1. Consistency

Formats like APA, MLA, and Chicago provide a strict set of criteria to stick to throughout an essay, ensuring consistency.

Consistency avoids confusion for the reader and helps them to quickly and easily identify what the writer is trying to say.

2. References And Research

Sticking with one style or format makes it easier for readers to check citations and conduct further research into the chosen topic.

3. Demonstrating Understanding

In academic settings, adhering to a particular style guide, such as APA, MLA, or Chicago, demonstrates your understanding of the rules and principles of written material within that field.

This shows that you don’t just understand the subject; you also know how to write about it.

4. Preparation For Future Studies

Suppose you’re a high school student or a college undergrad, familiarizing yourself with the basic principles of essay formatting. In that case, it is a great way to prepare yourself for your future academic pursuits, especially if you plan to progress onto a graduate or postgraduate program.

How to Write a Book’s Title in The Main Body of an APA Style Essay?

Here are the key rules to remember when writing book titles in the main body of an APA-style essay:

For example, “Slaughterhouse-Five”

How to Write a Book’s Title in The Main Body of an MLA or Chicago Style Essay?

MLA and Chicago-style essays use similar rules when it comes to mentioning book titles in the main body of an essay. Here are the key things to remember when using either of these formats:

For example,

O ne Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, or “A Clash of Kings” from A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin

1. Avoid Capitalizing Minor Words

Unless they appear as the first word in a title, the following words should be displayed in lowercase.

This might sound a little complex at first, but it’s pretty simple and intuitive once you get the hang of it.

99% of the time, the book’s title as it is displayed on the front cover is correct for both MLA and Chicago-style essays.

How to Write a Book’s Title in The Main Body of a Handwritten Essay?

Handwritten essays used to be the norm, but these days, they’re most definitely the exception.

Still, there may be some instances where you’re asked to handwrite an essay rather than type it, in which case, you should follow the rules below.

1. Capitalization

The capitalization rules for writing book titles in the main body of a handwritten essay are the same as with typed essays.

So, if you’re handwriting an APA-style essay, make sure to capitalize the first letter of the first word in the title and do the same for every word containing more than four letters.

And when handwriting an MLA or Chicago-style essay, capitalize the first letter of the first word of the title and do the same for every word except for articles, prepositions, or coordinating conjunctions.

2. Underlining

No matter the format, book titles should always be underlined when handwriting an essay

How to Cite a Book And its Author in a References or Works Cited Page?

So, now you know how to write the title of a book mentioned in the body of an essay.

But what do you do when you need to cite a book and its author in your references or works cited page?

To keep it simple, I’ll use Lucy Maud Montgomery’s 1908 classic children’s novel , Anne of Green Gables, as an example for each essay style.

1. Book Citations in APA Style

Here’s the proper format for citing authors and their book titles in APA:

Last Name, First Names. (Year the book was published). Book title .

For example, Montgomery, Lucy Maud. (1908). Anne of Green Gables.

2. Book Citations in MLA Style

Here’s the proper format for citing authors and their book titles in MLA:

Last Name, First Names. Book title . City of Publication, Publisher, Year the book was published.

Note: You only need to include the city of publication if the book was published before 1900 or if the publisher is not based in the US.

For example, Montgomery, Lucy Maud. Anne of Green Gables. L.C. Page & Co., 1908.

3. Book Citations in Chicago Style

Here’s the proper format for citing authors and their book titles in Chicago style:

Last Name, First Names. Book Title: Subtitle . City of publication: Publisher, Year the book was published.

Note: Just like with MLA style, you only need to include the city of publication if the book was published before 1900 or if the publisher is not based in the US.

For example, Montgomery, Lucy Maud. Anne of Green Gables . L.C. Page & Co., 1908.

4. Book Citations in a Hand Written Essay

If you’re handwriting an essay, you’ll no doubt be handwriting your references or works cited page, too.

In this case, you should still follow the appropriate formatting rules above in relation to the chosen essay style.

But where a title appears in italics in a printed essay, in a handwritten essay, it should be neatly underlined instead.

Missing Information

If you’ve searched high and low for a book’s publisher, publication date, or the city in which it was published, but you still can’t find the information, it’s generally acceptable to leave it out.

Essay writing is a skill that takes practice, and at first, the rules and principles of the different formats can seem complex. This is especially true when you’re writing about books and their authors or citing other people’s work.

But hopefully, this post has helped explain the structures used in each of the most commonly used formats so that next time you write an essay, you can be confident that you’re doing it right.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Sharing is caring.

Help spread the word. You're awesome for doing it!

How to Cite Passages From a Book in an Essay

A writer can emphasize and support his ideas in an essay by citing book passages. Generally, writings submitted for scholastic credit must follow a widely acceptable format. The American Psychological Association and Modern Language Association writing styles are commonly used for high school and college works and have specific rules for quoting book passages.

According to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (Sixth Edition), citations include the authors' last names and publication years at the beginning of book quotes. Page numbers, preceded by the letter p, end quotes.

For example, Smith, (2012) states "beta blockers can prevent heart attacks" (p. 246).

Book quotes with 40 or more words are indented 1/2 inch from the left margin without quotation marks. The authors' last names with publication dates in parenthesis begin long quotes. The quotes should end with parenthetical page references.

According to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Paper (Seventh Edition), citations for short book quotes include the author's last name and page number in parenthesis.

For example, "proper use of beta blockers prevents heart attacks" (Smith 244).

Long passages of four or more lines are indented 1 inch from the left margin without quotation marks. The parenthetical author's name and page number are placed at the end of the cite.

Complete References

APA and MLA require full cites in reference or works cited pages of essays. APA cites include the author's name, publication year, book title, and location and name of the publisher. MLA requires the author's last and first name, book title, location and name of the publisher, and year published. MLA also identifies the publication medium at the end of the cite, such as print.

Need help with a citation? Try our citation generator .

Maggie Lourdes is a full-time attorney in southeast Michigan. She teaches law at Cleary University in Ann Arbor and online for National University in San Diego. Her writing has been featured in "Realtor Magazine," the N.Y. State Bar's "Health Law Journal," "Oakland County Legal News," "Michigan Probate & Estate Planning Journal," "Eye Spy Magazine" and "Surplus Today" magazine.

Purdue Online Writing Lab College of Liberal Arts

quoting a book in an essay

In-Text Citations: The Basics

OWL logo

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Note:  This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style  can be found here .

Reference citations in text are covered on pages 261-268 of the Publication Manual. What follows are some general guidelines for referring to the works of others in your essay.

Note:  On pages 117-118, the Publication Manual suggests that authors of research papers should use the past tense or present perfect tense for signal phrases that occur in the literature review and procedure descriptions (for example, Jones (1998)  found  or Jones (1998)  has found ...). Contexts other than traditionally-structured research writing may permit the simple present tense (for example, Jones (1998)  finds ).

APA Citation Basics

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, like, for example, (Jones, 1998). One complete reference for each source should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

If you are referring to an idea from another work but  NOT  directly quoting the material, or making reference to an entire book, article or other work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication and not the page number in your in-text reference.

On the other hand, if you are directly quoting or borrowing from another work, you should include the page number at the end of the parenthetical citation. Use the abbreviation “p.” (for one page) or “pp.” (for multiple pages) before listing the page number(s). Use an en dash for page ranges. For example, you might write (Jones, 1998, p. 199) or (Jones, 1998, pp. 199–201). This information is reiterated below.

Regardless of how they are referenced, all sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

In-text citation capitalization, quotes, and italics/underlining

( Note:  in your References list, only the first word of a title will be capitalized:  Writing new media .)

Short quotations

If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and page number for the reference (preceded by "p." for a single page and “pp.” for a span of multiple pages, with the page numbers separated by an en dash).

You can introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

If you do not include the author’s name in the text of the sentence, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.

Long quotations

Place direct quotations that are 40 words or longer in a free-standing block of typewritten lines and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e., in the same place you would begin a new paragraph. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation 1/2 inch from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout, but do not add an extra blank line before or after it. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.

Because block quotation formatting is difficult for us to replicate in the OWL's content management system, we have simply provided a screenshot of a generic example below.

This image shows how to format a long quotation in an APA seventh edition paper.

Formatting example for block quotations in APA 7 style.

Quotations from sources without pages

Direct quotations from sources that do not contain pages should not reference a page number. Instead, you may reference another logical identifying element: a paragraph, a chapter number, a section number, a table number, or something else. Older works (like religious texts) can also incorporate special location identifiers like verse numbers. In short: pick a substitute for page numbers that makes sense for your source.

Summary or paraphrase

If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference and may omit the page numbers. APA guidelines, however, do encourage including a page range for a summary or paraphrase when it will help the reader find the information in a longer work. 

How to Reference a Book using the Harvard Referencing Style

How to Reference a Book using the Harvard Referencing Style

2-minute read

Print books are perhaps the most used sources in academic essays . Moreover, most UK universities use a version of Harvard referencing . As a result, it’s pretty important you know how to reference print books using the Harvard referencing style.

In-Text Citations for a Book

Harvard citations place basic source details in brackets, with additional detail saved for the reference list (see below). The details you’ll need for a citation are the author’s surname and a year of publication:

A teacher’s attitude can inform her classroom strategy (Mendler, 2012).

If you’ve named the author in the text, though, you only need to give the year of publication in brackets:

Mendler (2012) claims that classroom strategy is vital.

The only other information you might need to include in a citation like this are the relevant page numbers if you’re quoting a source directly:

According to Mendler (2012, p. 45), classroom strategy must ‘take account of teacher attitude’.

This changes slightly when a text has multiple authors (usually more than three or four), as then you only include the first listed author’s surname followed by ‘et al.’ (a Latin phrase meaning ‘and others’).

Find this useful?

Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.

Reference List

All books cited in your essay should also be listed in your reference list, ordered alphabetically by author surname. The general format for this is:

Surname, Initial(s). (Year) Title , Place of publication, Publisher.

If you cite a book written by a single author, the reference would look something like this:

Mendler, A. N. (2012) When Teaching Gets Tough: Smart Ways to Reclaim your Game , Alexandria, ASCD.

If you cite a book written by more than one author, remember to include (and reverse) all names:

Moss, C. M. and Brookhart, S. M. (2012) Learning Targets: Helping Students Aim for Understanding in Today’s Lesson , Alexandria, ASCD.

Of course, if you want to make doubly sure all of your referencing is accurate, you could always submit your work to Proofed .

Share this article:

' src=

Post A New Comment

Instant Quote

Need more help perfecting your writing proofed has the perfect editor.

You can also upload a document to get an instant quote

Drag & drop your file

or browse your computer

Browse from your device

Drop your file here!

Your file is being uploaded!

5-minute read

Study Tips: The Pomodoro Technique

Introduction Do you struggle to stay focused while studying? The Pomodoro (meaning tomato in Italian)...

8-minute read

Punctuation Tips: Parenthesis

Whether you’re writing an essay, email, or cover letter, you’ll likely use parentheses. Maybe you...

Word Choice: May Versus Might

May and might are two modal verbs (a type of auxiliary verb) that often get...

4-minute read

How to Format Fiction Manuscripts

Like non-fiction and screenplays, fiction has unique formatting standards designed to ease the publishing process....

3-minute read

5 Free French-to-English Translation Services

Below is a list of five free translation apps for French speakers seeking French-to-English translation...

An Introduction to Orthography

If you’re looking up the definition of orthography, you’re probably either a language buff like...

Logo Harvard University

Make sure your writing is the best it can be with our expert English proofreading and editing.

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

How to Quote | Citing Quotes in APA, MLA & Chicago

Published on April 15, 2022 by Shona McCombes and Jack Caulfield. Revised on November 10, 2022.

Quoting means copying a passage of someone else’s words and crediting the source. To quote a source, you must ensure:

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 .

How to Quote

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, 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 .

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.

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

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:

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.

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.

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 .

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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:

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:

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.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

McCombes, S. & Caulfield, J. (2022, November 09). How to Quote | Citing Quotes in APA, MLA & Chicago. Scribbr. Retrieved March 6, 2023, from https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/how-to-quote/

Is this article helpful?

Shona McCombes

Shona McCombes

Other students also liked, how to block quote | length, format and examples, how to paraphrase | step-by-step guide & examples, how to avoid plagiarism | tips on citing sources.

Berkeley College: LibAnswers banner

Q. How do I put a quote in my paper?

How do I quote an article in my paper? In a research paper, what do I have to show after a direct quotation?

Answered By: Vicki Sciuk Last Updated: Oct 04, 2021     Views: 98081

Whenever you include someone else's words or ideas in your paper, you must give them credit both on the Works Cited (MLA) or References (APA) page at the end of your paper, and right next to the quote (in-text citation).

An exact quote should be in quotation marks (" "), or if the quotation is 40 words or more, should be formatted as a block quotation. Then you put an In-Text Citation   right after the quotation to show where the quote came from.  It is short, goes in parenthesis, includes the page number, and points to the full citation on your reference page. 

MLA -  an in-text citation is placed after the closing quotation mark, consisting of the author's last name and page number: 

     “MLA is a fabulous style” (Johnson 37)

APA -  an in-text citation is placed after the closing quotation mark ,  but also includes the publication date and is formatted differently, with commas and p. before the page number:  

     “Berkeley College librarians are very helpful with APA style” (Rios, 2015, p. 15)*

* some electronic resources may not have the page #

The author in the parenthesis should match the beginning of your full reference. For sources where there is no author, the title is moved to the first position in your list of citations. Therefore use the title, or a shortened version of it, for your in-text citation, followed by the page # (in MLA), or date, p. [or pp.] # (in APA).

For both, put the title in italics for works that stand alone, like books or movies ( Title of Source ), and in quotation marks for works that are part of a greater whole, like journal articles, book chapters, reports, web pages (“Title of Document").

More on MLA citations from the CAS : http://berkeleycollege.libguides.com/writing/MLA

More on APA citations from the CAS :  http://berkeleycollege.libguides.com/APA  

Links & Files

Related FAQs

Was this helpful? Yes 18 No 57

Contact a Librarian

Related topics.

IMAGES

  1. How to Cite an Article Inside of a Book

    quoting a book in an essay

  2. Mla Format Group Research Paper

    quoting a book in an essay

  3. 3 Ways to Quote a Book

    quoting a book in an essay

  4. Citing Quotes In A Paper. QuotesGram

    quoting a book in an essay

  5. How To Cite A Book Quote In An Essay

    quoting a book in an essay

  6. 013 Essay Example Quoting Book In An Siobhan Paper1 ~ Thatsnotus

    quoting a book in an essay

VIDEO

  1. Essay Types & Online Writing Help

  2. Write an essay on The Value of Books in English || Value of Books essay in English || #extension.com

  3. Illustrated Essay

  4. MUHAMMAD IN THE BIBLE, JEWISH RABBI EXPOUNDED IT

  5. #Grade 3,4,5,6|| Stories or Essay|#Grammer|Pilot A one||#my book/#my best friend/#

  6. When you have to write an essay (Part 1)

COMMENTS

  1. In-Text Citation

    In-text citations include the last name of the author followed by a page number enclosed in parentheses. · If the author's name is not given

  2. 3 Ways to Quote a Book

    Quoting Books in APA Format ... Insert short quotations into the body of the paragraph. A quotation shorter than forty words does not need to be its own

  3. How to Write a Book Title And Author in an Essay? -

    How to Write a Book's Title in The Main Body of an APA Style Essay? · Use quotation marks (not italics) on either side of the book's title (with

  4. How to Cite Passages From a Book in an Essay

    APA and MLA require full cites in reference or works cited pages of essays. APA cites include the author's name, publication year, book title, and location and

  5. MLA Works Cited Page: Books

    Remember that for an in-text (parenthetical) citation of a book with no author, you should provide the name of the work in the signal phrase and the page number

  6. In-Text Citations: The Basics

    APA Citation Basics · Always capitalize proper nouns, including author names and initials: D. Jones. · If you refer to the title of a source within your paper

  7. How to Reference a Book using the Harvard Referencing Style

    All books cited in your essay should also be listed in your reference list, ordered alphabetically by author surname. The general format for

  8. INTEGRATING A QUOTATION INTO AN ESSAY

    in mind that you want it to contribute to your argument, not veer your paper in a different direction. If you want to quote some parts of a longer sentence

  9. How to Quote

    An APA in-text citation can be parenthetical or narrative. In a parenthetical citation, you place all the information in parentheses after the

  10. Q. How do I put a quote in my paper?

    For both, put the title in italics for works that stand alone, like books or movies (Title of Source), and in quotation marks for works that are