How to quote in the middle of a sentence mla

In the opening lines of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen says it is “a truth universally acknowledged” that all single men with money want to find a wife (1).

If your quotation is longer, however, and you leave out pieces of the original source, you must use an ellipsis (three spaced periods with a space on either side) to indicate that your quotation does not completely reproduce the original:

Austen goes on to emphasize the entrenchment of this social norm by observing that, “this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of . . . their daughters” (1).

The same rule applies if the piece you omit is at the end of your sentence:

In discussing I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Manora notes that “during this period, Black women were consigned to a particular place in the social order . . .” (364).

If you omit the end of a sentence and your quotation continues past the omission, however, or if you omit an entire sentence, you must include a fourth period:

Manora goes on to discuss other scholars’ take on Angelou’s novel: “Sondra O’Neale is one early Angelou scholar whose scholarship centered upon the way race and gender intersect . . . . She credits Angelou with . . . combating negative stereotypes that prevail in the cultural imagination” (365).

The punctuation for integrating academic quotes is a little different than dialogue punctuation. When a quotation ends a sentence and the parenthetical citation is at the end, the period should come after the citation. Additionally, there are separate rules for long quotations.

Quotes That End a Sentence

When a quote with citation ends a sentence, the period should go after the citation because the citation belongs to that sentence.

• Example: In “Synthetic Biology–Putting Engineering into Biology,” Heinemann and Panke theorize about the future of synthetic biology, declaring, “Now, synthetic biology is adopting a very ambitious agenda in building novel biological entities” (2797).

Note the order of the punctuation: Quotation mark, citation, and then period.

Use of Ellipses

If only part of a quote is needed, it is possible to omit information and replace it with ellipses. Ellipses (. . .) are used when information is omitted from the middle of a quote.

• Example: Heinemann and Panke theorize about the importance of engineering in the context of biological fabrication when they assert, “Synthetic biology investigates . . . the process of engineering biological systems” (2790).

Using Brackets

Sometimes information is missing or inaccurate in a quote. Words can be added or changed to a quote by using brackets. Changes can be used to correct tense or to add necessary information. Brackets can also be used to make the pronouns in a quote consistent. However, brackets should not be used to change the meaning of the quote.

Brackets for Pronoun Consistency

• Nathan said, “I want people to understand me.”
• Nathan said that he wants people “to understand [him].”
• In this example, the pronoun is changed so it is consistent with the rest of the sentence.

Brackets for Additional Information

• Nathan said, “I need the people to arrive on that day.”
• Nathan said, “I need the people to arrive on [Sunday October 29th ].”
• Information can be added to a sentence with brackets for clarity or understanding.

Quote Introduced with a Colon

If the introduction to a quote is a full sentence, then a colon can be used. Choosing a colon instead of a comma creates a longer pause and puts more emphasis on the quote.

• When alone in a room, Descartes had a thought: “I think, therefore I am” (Descartes).

Block Quotes

When using a long quote (longer than four typed lines) block quotes should be used. Block the quote by one-half inch from the left margin. If the paper is double spaced, then the block quote should be double spaced. There are no quotation marks needed for block quotes, and the citation follows the quote, outside of the period.

• Heinemann and Panke highlight the importance of DNA synthesis and protein engineering in relation to synthetic biology in the following statement:
  • Synthetic biology is interpreted as the engineering-driven building of increasingly complex biological entities for novel applications. Encouraged by progress in the design of artificial gene networks, de novo DNA synthesis and protein engineering, we review the case for this emerging discipline. (2790)

Sources

Heinemann, M., & Panke, S. (2006). Synthetic biology-putting engineering into biology. Bioinformatics, 22(22), 2790-2799. doi:10.1093/bioinformatics/btl469

Russell, T., Brizee, A., Elizabeth, A. Keck, R., Paiz, M., Campbell, M., Fuentes, Owl Purdue Staff. (2012). MLA Formatting Quotations. Retrieved October 26, 2017, from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/03/

UNC College of Arts and Science. (n.d.). Quotations. Retrieved October 29, 2017, from http://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/quotations/

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