Quotations

 

Information that is copied exactly from a source is called a quotation. You need to copy the material that you wish to quote exactly as it appears in the source and put quotation marks in front of and behind the quotation.  In addition to recording the source, also write down the page number(s) where you found the information, who made the statement (if listed), and his/her qualifications to speak on the subject.  Avoid quotes longer than one sentence unless they are critical to your point.  Quotations are often used for primary source materials, statistics, or information that presents a unique or controversial point of view or opinion.  You should use the primary source rather than quoting a secondary source whenever possible.  You must include the author's last name and page number after the quotation.

 

 

Some general rules on using quotations:

 

 The capital letter at the beginning of a quotation may be changed to lower-case if you make the quotation a part of your sentence.

 

Original:  He continued to push for changes.

 

Your sentence:  Lincoln must have believed in the cause as "he continued to                                               push for changes" (American 24).

 

 

  Clarifying information may be added to a quotation in square brackets.

 

"After long contemplation, he [Abraham Lincoln] decided to sign the agreement" (American 29).

 

 

  You may omit sections of a quotation by adding ellipsis (. . .)

 

Original quotation:

 

"To the untrained eye, the battle seemed pointless and unrelated to the cause for which it was being fought."

 

Shortened version:

 

"To the untrained eye, the battle seemed . . . unrelated to the cause

for which it was being fought" (American 34).

 

 

  If you do not include the author in your sentence, you must include the author's last name and page number after the quotation.  If you include the author's name in the sentence, you need only include the page number.  There is no comma between the author and page number.  The period for the sentence goes after the parenthesis.

 

Examples:

The 1855 Kansas census contained only a "list of eligible voters" (Lainhart 45).

 

According to Lainhart, the 1855 Kansas census contained only a "list of eligible

voters" (45).

 

Entry in the bibliography at the end of the project:

 

Lainhart, Ann S.  State Census Records.  Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing

 

Company, 1992.

 

 

  If the citation has no author, include the first word from the entry in the bibliography and page number of the quotation.

 

Example:

"One bridge, only 270 feet from ground zero [at Hiroshima] . . . showed no sign of any structural damage" (Effects 245).

 

Entry in the bibliography at the end of the project:

 

Effects of Nuclear Weapons.  Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Defense, 1962.

 

 

  Select only the words or phrases that support your idea.  Attach those words to your own sentence whenever possible.

 

According to L. E. Spencer, former president of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company of Canada, foreign markets will "expand several times as fast as North American markets" (199).

 

 

  Do not use too many quotations.  A general rule of thumb is no more than two or three quotations per paragraph.  Every quotation should be preceded or followed by your own writing, showing how the quotation relates to your current idea.

 

 

  If you use a quotation of four typed lines or more, you must treat the quotation differently.  Indent 10 spaces from each margin on each side and use the same spacing.  The quotation must be introduced with a formal sentence followed by a colon.  Do not use any quotation marks.  Below is an example.

 

Max Weber is often credited with the first real analysis of the social forces and processes:

He conceived of society as, in the final analysis, the probability of specified human actions.  He repeatedly stated that society is too complex to be explained by any one cause . . . .  Throughout his work he emphasized the importance of human values in society and the economic system. (Vine 221)

 

  If you quote material that already has quotation marks, use single quotation marks around that material and double quotation marks around the entire quotation.

 

Original:

The tendency to "leveling" was in the interest of the broadest possible basis of recruitment.

 

Quoted version:

"The tendency to 'leveling' was in the interest of the broadest possible basis of recruitment" (Vine 222).

 

 

  If you have two or more sources by the same author, include the first major word or words from the title after the author's name.

 

Examples:

 

"Blankenship was a public spirited man" (Larew, Garret 141).

"Garret did leave a lot of outstanding debts" (Larew, Supplement 144).

 

Entries in the bibliography at the end of the project:

 

Larew, Karl G.  Garret Larew Civil War Soldier.  Baltimore: Gateway Press, 1975.

 

Larew, Karl G.  Supplement to Garret Larew Civil War Soldier.  Baltimore:

 

Gateway Press, 1977.

 

 

  If there is an error in the quotation itself, put (sic) behind the error to indicate that you have copied it exactly and the error is not yours.

 

Example:

 

"Lincoln worked and reworked his speech on the way to made his famous adress (sic)."