As Ralph Waldo Emerson
wrote in 1849, “I hate quotations.
Tell me what you know” (qtd.
in Hacker 475).
Quotes MLA Style
 Quotes are used to support and enhance
your own writing; don’t let the quoted
material write your essay for you.
 When you do use material from another
source, you must document that source.
Integrating quotes
 Use sparingly
 Place generally in the body of the
paragraph
 Use as supporting evidence to develop
your paragraph
 Explain its relevance or interpret its
meaning--always set up and follow up
the quotation
Reasons to Use Quotations
I. For support
II. To preserve vivid or technical
language
III. To comment on the quotation
IV. To gain distance through
quotation
I. For support
A. From an authority:
Sara Mosle, a sixth-grade teacher and
education author, explains that electronic
communication between parent and teacher
is popular: “The appeal is obvious:
communication can be asynchronous and
delivered with the tap of thumb” (SR7).
B.To reinforce or expand on your point:
The English settlers showed no remorse
for spreading new diseases that devastated
the populations of the indigenous people of
the northeast. Historians Amy Segal and
Frank Stinebeck note that the settlers
considered these epidemics “the hand of God
making room for His followers in the New
World” (32).
Or…
 The English settlers showed no remorse for
spreading new diseases that devastated the
populations of the indigenous people of the
northeast. Historians note that the settlers
considered these epidemics “the hand of God
making room for His followers in the New
World” (Segal and Stinebeck 32).
* if three or more authors, cite first author
and add “et al.” (Segal et al. 32).
II. Vivid or Technical Language
Quote a sentence that is compact or relies
on a striking image to make its point:
In commenting on trying to understand
the Holocaust, Woody Allen said it “was not
such a puzzle if I understood that inside every
heart live the worm of self-preservation, of
fear, greed, and an animal will to power” (qtd
in Strang 468).
B. To retain the precise terminology in
technical or legal material:
Chief Justice Warren wrote, “Segregation of
children in public schools solely on the basis
of race, even though the physical facilities and
other "tangible" factors may be equal, deprive
the children of the minority group of equal
educational opportunities” (Brown vs. Board).
III. To Comment on the Quotation
 To analyze or comment on a statement
made by another writer, readers should
have that writer’s exact words in front of
them…you have to quote in order to
talk about it.
For example:
Worst of all is the overwritten prologue about John
Lennon’s death and its impact on Liverpool.
Author John Norman states, “The ruined
imperial city, its abandoned river, its tormented
suburban plain, knew an anguish greater than
recession and unemployment, more deadly than
Hitler’s blitz” (2). Norman and his publishers
should have realized that this statement was out
of proportion to the devastation of World War II.
IV. Gaining Distance
 From an obsolete phrase: Many “flower
children” gathered at rock festivals in
the 1960s.
 From slang: The actor was thought of as
handsome “back in the day.”
 Or to achieve irony: His “constant
companion,” a Chihuahua, traveled with
him everywhere.
MLA Parenthetical
Documentation
 Requires that you provide full
documentation only once for each
source
 Places that citation in Works Cited at
end of paper
 Within paper, gives brief references, in
parentheses, to sources cited
Parenthetical Reference
Format
 Begin parens one space after material
cited
 Place quotation marks before parens
 Place periods, commas and semicolons
after parens
Ex: …last word” ( ).
Parenthetical Referencing
 Follow the quote with a parenthesis that
includes all information necessary for the
reader to find it in your Works Cited page:
“There was nothing so humiliating as being
unable to express myself” (???).
 You only need to supply in parentheses the
information not included in the essay’s text.
Therefore:
 If
you introduce the quote with the author’s
name, then only include the page number:
According to author Jimmy Santiago Baca
when asked to read, “I felt the hang-rope
tighten around my neck and the trapdoor
creak beneath my feet” (352). He felt
“vulnerable, ridiculed and scorned” when
his inability to make sense of printed words
showed (353).
 Note both the signal phrase and
paraphrasing
 If you don’t include the author’s name,
supply it in the parenthesis:
 One
author describes his first journal: “One
day I tore two flaps from the cardboard
box that held all my belongings [and] …
threaded the holes with a shoestring” (Baca
355).
Two works, same author?
 If you quote more than one work by the
same author, supply the name of the
work in the parenthesis:
 Baca describes his first journal as “two
flaps from the cardboard box that held
all my belongings. … sketched on the
cover [was] a hummingbird” (“Coming
Into Language” 355).
Quoting someone quoting someone…
 If you use a source in which the author is quoting
another person, be sure to include this information
parentheses:

Critics of Legos argue the company has sold out on
fostering creativity in children. One parent
complains, “What stinks about Lego sets now is
that they’re not imaginative at all” (BagatelleBlack qtd in Richtel SR4). The sets are tied to
“billion dollar franchises like Lord of the Rings”
with detailed directions, not a child’s imagination
(Richtel SR4).
Don’t know the author?
 Use the title of the article, only as much
as is necessary for identification on
Works Cited page.
 The Associated Press reports that
“Arizona’s record for teaching children
to read is dismal” (“Creighton’s…” A24).
Full title of news article is “Creighton’s 3year effort represents partnership”
The Botos MLA rule
 Even though MLA states no page
number is necessary if one doesn’t
appear on the original, eg. articles from
websites or html text printouts…
 Use the page number on your printout
of the document.
Exercises
 Put the following quotes in MLA as they
would appear in your essay.
 The underlined text represents quotes.
Remove the underline and place the
quotation marks and other grammar in
the correct MLA fashion.
 Don’t forget to place the appropriate
information in the parentheses.
From the book Know Your Brain by
James Penfield
 Penfield was unable to use an electric probe
on a volunteer’s brain to alter awareness.
Despite trying to prove the reverse, Penfield
showed that the brain’s activity always
occurred within the dominating and
enveloping radiance of an autonomous mind.
(appears on page 58, only work by this author)
Answer
.
 The Nature Conservancy reports that as
recently as 1976, Long Island’s bay men
collected 700,000 bushels of clams. By
2003, those numbers were down 99
percent.
(quote appears on website
www.nature.org, printed out on p.4,
article titled “Restoring Great South
Bay.”)
Answer
Presenting information verses
creating an argument:
 Your claim should be fresh and original
 All research should frame your issue
and support your claim
 Sources should be credible, accurate,
and as unbiased as possible
 No “data dumps”