1. Using a full sentence to introduce the quotation.
Quotations need to be introduced appropriately using a signal phrase or sentence rather than being "dropped" into the paragraph with no context. A dropped quotation is a quotation inserted into the text without a signal phrase. Note how the quotation in this example is "dropped" into the paragraph so that the reader is unsure who is speaking. Instead, dropped quotations must be integrated grammatically into the text through the use of a signal phrase.
2. Using an explanatory sentence to introduce the quotation.
3. Using a "tag" to introduce the quotation.
Use only as much quotation as you absolutely need. There are three general types of quotations:
1. Block Quotations. Quotations comprising more than four lines of text are usually set off as block quotations. Here are a few hints for using block quotations:
2. Full Sentence Quotation. A quotation that is a full sentence in length is set off either with a signal phrase or with an introductory sentence.
Example: John F. Kennedy inspired a generation with these words: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
Example: As John F. Kennedy once said, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
3. Partial Sentence Quotation. Use only as much of the quotation as you need. Here are some examples based on the following quotation from William Faulkner's short story "A Rose for Emily": "Alive, she was a tradition, a duty, and a care, a sort of hereditary obligation on the town" (Faulkner 237).
Ellipsis. If you need to omit material from the middle of a quotation, use an ellipsis, which is indicated by three spaced dots (. . . ). The plural of “ellipsis” is “ellipses."
Here is an example from William Faulkner's short story "A Rose for Emily": "Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town, dating from that day in 1894 when Colonel Sartoris, the mayor--he who fathered the edict that no Negro woman should appear on the streets without an apron-remitted her taxes, the dispensation dating from the death of her father on into perpetuity."
No. With few exceptions, you should not use ellipses at the beginning and end of a quotation. According to the Chicago Manual of Style , ellipses are typically not used at the beginning or end of a quotation (see 11.57 ff) unless the quotation begins "with a capitalized word (such as a proper name) that did not appear at the beginning of a sentence in the original" (11.65).
If the material you’re omitting includes the end of a sentence, you can include the period along with the ellipsis (four periods instead of three).
There is no set number of quotations. Use as many as you need to support your argument, but be sure that you analyze and explain their significance.
Use the author's (not the editor's) last name and the page number in parentheses.
For your first citation, include a signal phrase (the author's name and the title) when you introduce the quotation, and use the page number in parentheses after the quotation. Put the period after the page number in parentheses.
For subsequent citations, include the author's name and the page number after the quotation but before the period.
The first one is correct. MLA style uses the author's last name and page number with no comma in between for in-text citations. The name can be omitted if it's given in the signal phrase. Do not put a comma between the author's name and the page number or use "p." in the in-text citation.
Put the period after the parenthetical citation, unless you're using a block quotation.
When citing lines of poetry, use line numbers rather than page numbers.
Correct: In "The World is Too Much With Us," Wordsworth contends that industrialization and commerce have resulted in a loss of closeness to nature:
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! (lines 1-4)Use (lines 1-4) for the first reference; after that, just use the line numbers (1-4).
If you are quoting up to three lines of poetry, put them in the text (rather than as a block quotation) and use a slash (/) to separate the lines
It depends on the type of work: is it short (essay, poem, short story) or long, like a book (play, movie, book, novel)?
Titles should be marked with italics (underlining) or quotation marks, depending on the work being discussed.
1. Titles of works that appear within a volume, such as short stories, poems, and essays, should be placed in quotation marks: " Araby," "The Prophecy," "Dulce et Decorum Est."
2. Titles of works that are a volume in themselves, such as books, magazines, newspapers, plays, and movies, should be set off with underlining or italics: Hamlet, Little Women, The Awakening.
3. Your own title should neither be underlined nor placed in quotation marks unless it contains the title of the work you're discussing. In that case, only the title of the work should be punctuated as a title.
Usually no. It depends on whether the title is a restrictive or nonrestrictive element. (Note: For some good examples, go to Ben Yagoda's explanation in the New York Times.)
Nonrestrictive clauses and phrases are "extra information"; if they are removed, the meaning of the sentence remains the same. Memory tip: Try putting your thumb over the information within the commas. If the sentence changes without that information, the information restricts the meaning of the sentence, and you don't need the commas.
Incorrect example: In Louisa May Alcott's novel, Work, Christie Devon declares her independence from convention.
This is incorrect because the commas imply that Alcott wrote only one novel, which isn't true. If you put your thumb over what's between the commas (the "extra information"), the sentence would read like this: In Louisa May Alcott's novel, Christie Devon declares her independence from convention. That doesn't have the same meaning, and anyway, we know that Louisa May Alcott wrote more than one novel.
Correct: In Louisa May Alcott's novel Work, Christie Devon declares her independence from convention.
The comma is there because of the introductory phrase.
- Incorrect: In his story, "Araby," James Joyce writes of a young boy's initiation.
- Correct: In his story "Araby," James Joyce tells the story of a young boy's initiation.
Yes, you do. All papers must have a Works Cited page, even if you're using your textbook as the source for the works you'll be discussing. The Works Cited page is a list of the references you actually discussed in your paper, not a list of all the sources consulted.
The general format for entries is as follows:
Short story, poem, or essay:
Author Last Name, Author First Name. "Title of Poem, Essay, or Story." Title of Volume. Edited by Firstname Lastname, Publisher, Year, pp. Page Numbers.
Novel:
Author Lastname, Author Firstname. Title of Novel. Publisher, Year.
Novel with editors:
Wharton, Edith. The House of Mirth. Edited by Janet Beer and Elizabeth Nolan, Broadview Press, 2005.
Essay:
Fetterley, Judith. "The Resisting Reader." Feminist Literary Theory and Criticism, edited by Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar, Norton, 2007, pp. 443-447.
For other examples, go to The Purdue OWL .
No. Although some scientific citation formats do this, MLA does not.
Here is some information on citing the course pack:
Author. “Title of Part.” Title of Original Book/Periodical. Original Publication Information. Rpt. in Title of Course Reader. Comp. Instructor’s Name. Publication Information of Reader. Pages in Reader. Medium of Publication.
You can find examples of citation formats here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/. Newer versions of Word also have built-in citation managers.
If you're using a reference manager (Zotero, Endnote, Mendeley, etc.), you can automatically generate a Works Cited page and correct in-text citations. Other resources to help you format your references in MLA style include the following: EasyBib, WorksCited4U, and Word 2007 and 2010.
Q. How can I cite an electronic edition, such as a Kindle edition?
The medium is the type of electronic file, such as Kindle file, Nook file, EPUB file, or PDF file. If you cannot identify the file type, use Digital file. For example:
Rowley, Hazel. Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage. New York: Farrar, 2010. Kindle file.
If the work presents electronic and print publication information, the electronic information should usually be cited.
Most electronic readers include a numbering system that tells users their location in the work. Do not cite this numbering, because it may not appear consistently to other users. If the work is divided into stable numbered sections like chapters, the numbers of those sections may be cited, with a label identifying the nature of the number (6.4.2):
According to Hazel Rowley, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt began their honeymoon with a week’s stay at Hyde Park (ch. 2).
Q. How can I cite a PowerPoint or class notes?
Both the print and online versions of the MLA Handbook 7 are silent on the issue of how to cite PowerPoint presentations, a question that several of you asked about today.
In the absence of other information, cite it as you would a lecture or class notes (MLA Handbook 7 5.7.11):
5.7.11.A LECTURE, A SPEECH, AN ADDRESS, OR A READING
In a citation of an oral presentation, give the speaker’s name; the title of the presentation (if known), in quotation marks; the meeting and the sponsoring organization (if applicable); the location; and the date. Use an appropriate descriptive label (Address, Lecture, Keynote speech, Reading), neither italicized nor enclosed in quotation marks, to indicate the form of delivery.
Alter, Robert, and Marilynne Robinson. “The Psalms: A Reading and Conversation.” 92nd Street Y, New York. 17 Dec. 2007. Reading.
Matuozzi, Robert. “Archive Trauma.” Archive Trouble. MLA Annual Convention. Hyatt Regency, Chicago. 29 Dec. 2007. Address.
Your citation for a class PowerPoint would look like this in your Works Cited:
Campbell, Donna. "Romantic and Byronic Heroes." English 372: 19th-Century British and American Global Literature. Washington State University. 16 September 2014. PowerPoint.
For in-text citation, use either the last name, or, if you're using two PowerPoints, the last name and a short title.
The Romantic hero "XXXXX" (Campbell).
Q. How do I cite a blog post, a tweet, a YouTube video, or other online source?
Cite these as you would any web source. The Purdue OWL has a helpful guide to this at https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/
Last updated Tuesday, March 13, 2018 10:06 AM