Let’s Learn How to Quote a Quote in APA And MLA

When I was a student, I had little to no knowledge about quoting quotes in MLA or APA. As a matter of fact, very few teachers taught us the basic foundation of quoting in different citation styles- or even the proper use of quotation marks. You’re right, my classmates and I have to learn almost everything by ourselves.

We have to help each other, as academic writing is not always about sunshine and rainbows.

Anyway, you might be here right now because you need help in how to quote to quote. Well, there’s no need to be afraid of quotation marks, although you’ve got to be a perfectionist when it comes to quoting a source correctly.

Don’t be afraid, and let’s get started!

How to Use Quotation Marks?

Generally speaking, you can place punctuation marks inside the quotation marks. This is the American English way of doing it:

Examples:

• I coaxed, “Come on! I know you can do it!”
• The child begged, “Mom, Can I have one last scoop of ice cream? Please?”

Punctuation marks are placed outside the quotation marks when writing in British style. The quotation is enclosed using single quotation marks or inverted commas.

Examples:

• His father thundered, ‘Get over here’!
• He told me, ‘I’m leaving Instagram for good’.

How to Quote a Quote within a Quote?

When you quote a quote in the American style, enclose the initial quotation with the double quotation marks. Then, use single quotation marks for the quote within the quote.

Example:

• Someone told me, “You have to get out of here because a stranger once whispered, ‘Watch out for the man who knocks at the door at 6 PM’”.

When quoting a quote in British style, you have to use single quotation marks for the initial quotes followed by double quotation marks for quotations within the quote.

Example:

• Someone told me, ‘You have to get out of here because a stranger once whispered, “Watch out for the man who knocks at the door at 6 PM”’.

Exceptions

The only punctuation marks allowed outside the quotation marks are colons, dashes, and semicolons. This applies to both British and American styles.

Examples:

• Let me tell you some awesome traits of the “Great Cats”: Fierce, fascinating, and powerful.
• He tells her, “Take a bite of this cupcake”— it was the sweetest cupcake she has ever tasted.

Extended Rules

1Omitting Words From a Quote

Add an ellipses in place of the omitted words.

Original text:

• “Philosophy has to do with ideas or realised thoughts, and hence not with what we have been accustomed to call mere conceptions” (Hegel, 1820, p. 13).

Omitted text:

• “Philosophy has to do with ideas or realised thoughts … not with what we have been accustomed to call mere conceptions” (Hegel, 1820, p. 13).

2Brackets

Use brackets if you think that the context is unclear to the reader. Write a word (or a few words) to clarify the meaning of your quotation.

Original text: 

• “They are the two largest emitters of greenhouse gas emissions as well as the two largest economies to tackle climate change and finance.”

Text with brackets:

• “They [China and the United States] are the two largest emitters of greenhouse gas emissions as well as the two largest economies to tackle climate change and finance.”

Does Punctuation Go Inside the Quotation Marks In MLA?

It varies.

I gave you a basic foundation for using quotation marks is that the Associated Press (AP), APA, Chicago, and MLA follow the American way of placing punctuation marks.

The MLA Handbook states, “By convention, commas and periods that directly follow quotations go inside the closing quotation marks.”

Examples:

• Thomas Hobbes wrote the “Leviathan.”
• It was a “success.”

Let’s add an in-text citation.

Example #1: 

• It is interesting to note “THAT when a thing lies still, unless somewhat else stir it, it will lie still for ever, is a truth that no man doubts of” (Hobbes).

Example #2: 

• According to Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, “The bourgeoisie, historically, has played a most revolutionary part” (15).

How to Quote a Quote?

This is when things become a little trickier. Setting that aside, all you have to do is to follow some basic rules.

How to Quote a Quote in APA?

1The Essentials First!

Before quoting a text from an author, you would need to follow these guidelines:

• Author’s last name
• Page number (if needed)
• Year published
• Parenthetical citation is placed after the quotation

2Quote a Short Quote!

You can begin with a signal phrase.

Example:

• According to Karl Marx and Frederick Engels (1848), “Modern industry has established the world market, for which the discovery of America paved the way” (p. 15).

This is another alternative if you don’t want to write a signal phrase.

Example:

• Karl Marx and Frederick Engels (1848) states that “Modern industry has established the world market, for which the discovery of America paved the way” (p. 15).

Now, if the author/s is/are not named, enclose the last name/s, year published, and page number in one parenthesis.

Example:

• They noted, “Modern industry has established the world market, for which the discovery of America paved the way” (Marx & Engels, 1848, p. 15).

3Quote a long quote!

In APA, quotations that are more than 40 words should be written in a separate block. Outlined below are the formatting guidelines:

• Omission of quotation marks
• ½ Inch margin from the left margin (It’s where you usually begin a paragraph)
• Sentences after the first sentence should be indented at ½ inch
• Parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.

Example:

If the author is not written, the citation would look like:

Example:

How to Quote a Quote in MLA?

1The Essentials

Here’s what you need when you are quoting in MLA style:

• Year published
• Author’s last name
• Page number

2Quote a Short Quote!

In MLA, a short quote consists of less than four lines. Punctuation marks such as periods, commas, and colons come after the citation.

Example #1:

• “And how does the bourgeoisie get over these crises?” (Marx and Engels 17)

Example #2:

• Tocqueville point out, “In France the kings have always been the most active and the most constant of levelers” (14).

3Quote a long quote!

Type the quote separately if it exceeds four lines. Please take note of the following:

• ½ Inch from the left margin
• Citation after the closing punctuation mark

Example:

Example:

How to Quote a Quote From a Book?

1Figure Out!

Ask yourself these two questions:

• Why do I want to add a quote in the first place?
• Do you think the quote I’m going to place will help the reader understand my topic more?

2Incorporate

Read your quote if it flows naturally or grammatically correct. Use brackets or ellipses if you need to. Moreover, consider using the following signal words:

• According to
• Points out
• Narrates
• States/says
• Hypothesizes
• Conjectures
• Observes
• Concludes
• Affirms

Example in MLA:

• It is said, “…the contention that the unemployment which characterises a depression is due to a refusal by labour to accept a reduction of money-wages is not clearly supported by the facts” (Keynes).

Example in APA:

• It is said, “…the contention that the unemployment which characterises a depression is due to a refusal by labour to accept a reduction of money-wages is not clearly supported by the facts” (Keynes, 1936).

How to Cite Movie Quotes?

In MLA style of citation, all you have to do is to indicate the title of the movie.

Example in MLA:

On the other hand, you have to write the producer or the director’s name and the year it was produced in APA style of citation.

Example in APA:

• Batou notes, “There’s nothing sadder than a puppet without a ghost, especially the kind with red blood running through them” (Oshii & Mizuo, 1995).

Example in APA #2:

• The Joker said a mind-opening quote in The Dark Knight, “Madness, as you know, is like gravity, all it takes is a little push” (Nolan, 2008).

How to Quote a Conversation/Dialogue?

Just format it like a block quotation similar to the examples below.

Example in MLA:

Example in APA:

I hope you learned something today. Quoting is somehow a “perfectionist” task because of all the guidelines you have to abide. However, following them makes your work appear more credible and professional.

Good luck!