Quoting and citing sources accurately is crucial for any research paper or academic writing. It shows you’ve done your due diligence while giving proper credit to other scholars. However, the rules around quoting can be tricky—after all, there are specific ways to format quotes depending on their length and which citation style you’re using.

Let’s cover everything you need to know about quoting sources in the three most common citation styles:

  • APA
  • MLA
  • Chicago

We’ll review how to introduce quotes, handle quotes within quotes, shorten quotes, and format longer block quotes. We’ll also address when (and when not) to use direct quotes.

How to cite a quote in APA, MLA, and Chicago

For short quotations, the citation style differs a bit across APA, MLA, and Chicago:

APA style:

“Here is the quote” (Author Last Name, Year, p. X).

MLA style:

Quote surrounded by “quotation marks” (Author Last Name pg.).

Chicago style:

“Here is the quoted passage,” with the citation at the end.¹

All styles include the author’s last name, the work’s title, and page number (except in APA style, where you only include the page for direct quotes). But the order and formatting differ slightly.

Introducing quotes

You’ll want to smoothly incorporate the quote into your writing for any citation style rather than just dropping it in without context. Use an introductory phrase or sentence to set up the quote:

  • According to Jennifer Wang, “Human behavior cannot be predicted with absolute certainty” (32).
  • Wang argues that “human behavior cannot be predicted with absolute certainty” (32).
  • One way to introduce unpredictability, as Jennifer Wang describes, is: “Human behavior cannot be predicted with absolute certainty” (32).
  • Notice that punctuation like commas or colons can either introduce the quote or appear after your introductory phrase.

Quotes within quotes

For a quote contained within another quote, use single quotation marks around the internal quote. Here’s what that looks like in APA style:

“One subject responded, ‘I am still trying to make sense of the instructions,’ which highlighted the need for greater clarity in the study directions,” (Baker et al., 2019, p. 105).

And in MLA style:

“The author writes, ‘A creative mind must be carefully replenished,’ which suggests that creativity is not purely spontaneous but requires nurturing” (Chavez 156).

Shortening or altering a quote

Sometimes, you may want to shorten a quote by removing non-essential words. To do so, use an ellipsis (…) to indicate any words that were removed from the middle of a quote:

Maria Gonzalez stated that imagination is key for young learners, “The ability to perceive…the not yet visible allows for boundless exploration” (59).

You can also use brackets [ ] to substitute alternate wording into a quote, such as:

“Working in teams allows us to combine various [thought processes] for optimal problem-solving.”

Be mindful that altering quotes too much can inadvertently change the original meaning. Strive to quote verbatim as much as possible.

Block quotes

If you need to incorporate an extended quotation that spans several lines from a source, it should be formatted as a block quote rather than integrated into a paragraph. Instead of enclosing it with quotation marks, the quoted text starts on a new line and is indented about a half inch from the left margin, visually separating it as a distinct text block.

The citation for a block quote follows the same guidelines as regular quotes. However, if the quoted passage ends with a period, the parenthetical citation comes after that final period rather than before it.

To illustrate how a block quote appears in MLA style, consider this example in her memoir, Educated, and Tara Westover vividly describes her childhood experience of being kept out of public school by her survivalist parents:

My father renounced the medical profession after my younger brother, Tyler, was born. I was raised to look askance at an intellectual life from the age of seven. I was taught that public education taught children to be atheists and to look with contempt at patriotism and conservative values. Honest labor and self-reliance were what gave you dignity. The surest way to corrupt a person was to put them through the wasteful rituals of the secular curriculum, with its denial of faith and its emphasis on the demons of selfishness, competition, and rebellion. (Westover 74)

When should I use quotes?

While quotes should be used to support your point or interpretation, be cautious about overquoting. Quotes work best as supporting evidence sprinkled into your original analysis and ideas. You want your voice and critical thinking to come through, not to write an essay comprised mostly of others’ words strung together.

On the flip side, don’t underquote either. Just be selective about the quotes you choose so they enhance your argument. Ask yourself:

Does this quote serve my overall point well?

Is it stated so concisely or eloquently that paraphrasing would reduce its impact?

In the end, strike a balance—use direct quotes sporadically when the original phrasing is essential, but lean on paraphrasing for the bulk of referring to other sources. Your paper should be built on your own original analysis, backed by properly cited evidence.