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Incorporating Quotations

Basic Rules

1.     All material quoted word for word, including brief phrases or unusual terms, must be indicated by using quotation marks.

2.     All quotes from primary source material require some type of transition and documentation.

3.     All quotes from secondary source material require documentation, and most require transitions.

4.     Phrasing, punctuation, and spelling in quoted material must appear exactly as printed in the original version unless otherwise noted. Capital letters may be converted to lower case, but lower case letters may not be converted to capital letters.     

5.     Wording from quotations may be deleted as long as the original meaning of the quotation is not changed and if the deletion is clearly indicated to the reader.  Ellipses (. . .) should be used to indicate that language has been deleted from the middle of a quote. They should also be used to indicate deletions from the beginning or the end of a quote if the remaining section could be mistaken for a complete sentence. Quotes which are obvious fragments should not include ellipses. Brackets ( [] )should be used to enclose any words or phrases that you have inserted into an otherwise word-for-word quotation. The Latin word “sic” (meaning “thus”) in brackets
        ( [sic] )indicates that a grammatical or spelling error in a quoted sentence appears in the original source. (This may be common when citing electronic sources.)

6.     The unclear use of a pronoun in a quotation may be remedied by placing a clarifying term or brief phrase in brackets ( [ ] ) after the pronoun.

7.     For information on paraphrasing and the more complex rules for quotations, consult the MLA Handbook, dianahacker.com, owl.english.purdue.edu, and/or your teacher.

Internal Citation

Basic Rules

1.     An internal citation should be brief, providing sufficient information to indicate clearly the specific source on the Works Cited page. Generally, you need only enclose in parentheses the author’s last name along with the page number where the material can be found.

2.     If citing one of two or more sources by the same author, use a comma after the author’s name, the title (shortened if necessary) and the page.

3.     If the author’s name is clearly indicated in the text of your paper, provide only the page number in the citation.

4.     The internal citation typically appears at the end of the sentence before the concluding punctuation mark.
       
5.     With a display quote, leave one space after the concluding punctuation mark followed by the internal citation.

6.     Consult the MLA Handbook , dianahacker.com, and/or owl.english.purdue.edu for further guidance on using internal citation.

 

 

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