The Modern Language Association style (better known as MLA) is used for most academic papers. MLA is used for research papers and thesis papers. Inserting a quote into an MLA essay takes a bit of work as quotes must follow the rules of accreditation and punctuation. Understanding how to put a quote in MLA essay is important because not only does it mean you are sticking to the rules of the format, it also means that you are giving proper credit to your source.
Quotes Under Four Lines
Start by writing a precedent to the quote including the name of the author or the source it comes from. For example, “John Smith states in his book that” or “The author of the Daily Science article stipulates…”
The actual quote should be placed between double quotation marks, with no punctuation marks following the quote. For example, quotes in an MLA “will look like this” and then be followed by standard MLA formatting.
The quotation should be followed up with parentheses stating the last name of the author and the page number/location of the quote in their work. For example, you would write a quote “like this and follow it up with” (Mark, p.18).
The essay should include a works cited page and include citations of the author and their work. The basic MLA rules say that lists tart with the last name of the author followed by a comma, their first name followed by a period, and the work being cited from written in italics. Space and indent the second line under the name of the author and include where the work was published. Put a colon after that and then write the publisher and date of copyright for the work.
Quotes Longer than Four Lines
Longer quotes should be preceded with a statement to introduce the quote along with a short statement followed by a colon. For example, “John Smith states the information was factually based and the conclusion could be proven with research. He states:” The quote is too long to be included in the introductory statement as with a short quote. The quote should be preceded with a colon.
The preceding statement should be followed with a line space down with the quote written on the next line. Each line of the quote should be indented. You won’t need to use quotation marks because the quote is indented.
The quote should be followed up with the appropriate punctuation and parentheses that include the name of the author and location of the quote in their work. For example, follow the indented quote with (Mark 49) with no punctuation after the parentheses.
You can continue writing the paper as it was before the quote once you’re done. As with the previous example, be sure to include a works cited page with a full list of citations.