This document provides guidance on using quotations in writing. It discusses direct quotes, which use the exact words from a source and are enclosed in quotation marks. It also covers indirect quotes, which paraphrase a source, and partial quotes. The document explains how to introduce and integrate quotes into sentences and discusses punctuation rules for quotes. It provides examples of direct, indirect, and partial quotes and how to format longer block quotes.

1. Using Quotations

2. You can QUOTE me on that
A quote is the exact wording of a statement from
a source.
Quotes make an essay more believable; they are
evidence that can support your thesis.
Opinions supported by quoted text are evidence
of good reading and thoughtful responses.
There are several types of quotes.

3. Direct Quotes
Quotes printed word for word exactly
as the author wrote them are direct
quotes. These words appear inside
quotation marks. The attribution word
appears outside the quotation marks.
The attribution is the phrase that tells
who said it - where you got the
information.

4. Examples of Direct Quotes
• “I am thrilled to be representing the great State of
Texas at the Free Spirit Conference,” Joe Mama,
newspaper adviser said. “I owe it all to my talented
students.”
• “I’m just glad I didn’t have to spend any more time
with my adviser than I did,” said Casey Deeya, who
added that she enjoyed riding the subways more
than attending the conference.

5. Indirect Quotes
Information from a source which is not made up of the
author’s exact words is not placed inside quotation marks.
This is an indirect quote, which is a paraphrase or a
summary of the meaning of the direct quotation.
Indirect quotes are used to:
• Express a fact stated by the source
• Clarify a quote that is too long, confusing or dull
• Condense the ideas of several direct quotes

6. Never change the meaning
of a quote when you
paraphrase!
(And you will still need to cite
your source.)

7. Partial Quotes
Sometimes it might work better to use a portion
of a quote to convey the information than to use
an entire quote. To do this, put only the quoted
words inside quotation marks.
Use partial quotes when you need to use a
speaker’s exact words but the entire direct
quote might be too long or too confusing for the
reader.

8. Example of a Partial Quote
In his novel, Styles at LCC, author Harry
Skaulp states that spiked hair is a “part of
our cultural heritage, not merely a symbol
of rebellion,” adding that he thinks nose
piercing should be mandatory.

9. Punctuating Quotations
• The author’s exact words go inside the quotation marks:
“I am super, duper cool.”
• The end punctuation (period, question mark, exclamation
point) goes inside the last quotation mark. “Give me the
damn money!”
• When the attribution comes after a direct quote, use a
comma to separate the quote from the attribution. “Here it
is,” replied Bob.
• If a question mark relates to the sentence and not the
quote, place it at the end of the sentence outside the
quotation marks: What kind of moron says, “I am super,
duper cool”?

10. Punctuating Quotations
• Use single quotation marks to indicate a quote
inside a quote. “And so I told her, ‘Fix your own
tire, Grandma!’”
• Leave off the closing quotation marks at the
end of a paragraph if the quote continues in the
next paragraph.
• If a quote is a complete sentence, begin it with
a capital letter. If it’s not, don’t.

11. Punctuating Quotations
• Use quotation marks to indicate the title of a
smaller work, such as an article, essay, short
story, song, poem, or speech.
In his essay, “Potatoes are Yummy,” Joe Smith argues that…
• Use italics (or underline) for larger works such
as a book, magazine, album, play, film, or long
poem.
In her novel, Potatoes are Yucky, Ann Smith argues that…
In her novel, Potatoes are Yucky, Ann Smith argues that…

12. Using Quotes
• If a direct quote is very long or boring, use an
indirect quote or a partial quote instead.
• To clarify or modify a phrase within a quote, insert
brackets. “Slowly, [Bob] reached for the meat cleaver.”
• Add the word “sic” (meaning thus) in italics within
brackets after words that are misspelled or used
incorrectly in a direct quote from a printed source.
This indicates the quote is exactly like the original
source. “Macbeth is a grate [sic] play.”

13. All quotes must be introduced or
integrated.
►Introduced Quote:
Critic Richard Horne asserts,
“The monster created by
Frankenstein is also an
illustration of the embodied
consequences of our actions”
(261).
►Integrated Quote: More than
anything else the novel functions
as “an illustration of the
embodied consequences of our
13

14. Quote That Is Not Introduced or
Integrated (error)
Frankenstein shows what happens when
man forgets his responsibility to his
fellow man. “The monster created by
Frankenstein is also an illustration of
the embodied consequences of our
actions” (Horne 261).
Incorrect use of the quote—not introduced or
integrated.
14

15. Integrating Quotations
Never just drop a quotation into your
paper. Always introduce it and
explain it with your own prose.
There are three main ways to
introduce quotations. These include:

16. 1. Incorporate the quotation into your
sentence, punctuating it just as you would if
it was not a quotation.
As Bob is being beaten, he hopes he “will
become unconscious but [he] can’t.”
Bob appraises Mrs. Harrison derisively, stating
that “she looked so complacent, sitting there in
her two-hundred dollar chair [. . . ] bought with
dough her husband had made overcharging
poor hard-working colored people for his
incompetent services, that I had a crazy impulse
to needle her.”

17. 2. Introduce the quotation by using an
attributive tag like he writes, she claims,
and so on.
To describe his childlike consciousness,
Wright explains, “Each event spoke with a
cryptic tongue. And the moments of living
slowly revealed their coded meanings.”
After going to Memphis and boarding with
Mrs. Moss, Wright wonders, “Was it wise to
remain here with a seventeen-year-old girl
eager for marriage and a mother equally
anxious to have her marry me?”

18. 3. Introduce the quotation by writing a full
sentence and a colon to introduce the
quotation, which should itself be a full
sentence.
Bob’s description of Madge emphasizes her fake
appearance: “She was a peroxide blonde with a
large-featured, overly made-up face, and she had
a large, bright-painted, fleshy mouth.”
Richard Wright explains his reasons for writing: “I
was striving for a level of expression that matched
those of the novels I read.”

19. Block a quotation if it is four lines or longer. Indent
the quotation one half of an inch on both sides, and
punctuate it like the following example.
Wright describes how his mother’s illness
affected him:
My mother’s suffering grew into a
symbol in my mind, gathering to itself
all the poverty, the ignorance, the
helplessness; the painful, baffling,
hunger-ridden days and hours; the
restless moving, the futile seeking, the uncertainty, the
fear, the dread. (Wright 29)

20. Handling Quotes in Your Text
Author’s last name and page
number(s) of quote must appear
in the text
Romantic poetry is characterized by
the “spontaneous overflow of powerful
feelings.” (Wordsworth 263)
Wordsworth stated that Romantic
poetry was marked by a “spontaneous
overflow of powerful feelings.” (263)