how to write a quotes book

• AI in action
• AI in the enterprise
• Humans of AI

Words at work

• Inside Writer
• Content strategy
• Inspiration

– 10 min read

A detailed guide to quoting

Jessica Malnik

Quotations have the power to elevate your written work when used correctly. But in order to use a quote properly, you must give full credit to the original source.

Before you can learn how to properly include quoted material, you need to have a firm understanding of what a quotation is, the purpose for using one, and the difference between quoting and paraphrasing.

What is a quotation in writing?

Quotations serve multiple purposes in writing. Students and professionals alike can benefit from using quotations in their work. Whether you’re writing a research paper or a blog article, you’ll likely find yourself needing to use them at some point. Quoting can add perspective, validation, and evidence to your piece.

What do you mean by quoting?

Quoting is a technique that allows you to include an original passage from a source in your work as a direct quote. You do this by framing or surrounding the quote in quotation marks like this, “This is an example of a sentence framed by quotation marks.” 

However, you can’t just add quotation marks and call it a day. You also need proper attribution for your source. 

Keep in mind that there is a difference between direct quoting and indirect quoting. With direct quoting, you include the source’s exact words framed within quotation marks. 

With indirect quoting, you can paraphrase what the person or text said in your own words instead of copying it verbatim. Indirect quoting, also known as indirect speech or discourse, is mostly used to summarize what someone said in a talk or interview. Indirect quotations are never placed within quotation marks.

How do you properly quote? 

To properly quote someone, you’ll need to follow some general quoting rules along with properly citing your source using your preferred MLA, APA, or Chicago style guide. 

For example, many people incorrectly use punctuation with quotation marks. Do you know whether or not to include punctuation inside the quotation marks?

Here’s how to handle punctuation marks with quotes, as well as a few more rules to consider when including quotations in your work:

Punctuation

As a good rule of thumb, periods and commas should go inside quotation marks. On the other hand, colons, semicolons, and dashes go outside of the quotation marks. 

However, exclamation points and question marks aren’t set in stone. While these tend to go on the inside of quotation marks, in some instances, you might place them outside of the marks. 

Here are a few examples to illustrate how this would work in practice:

“ You should keep commas inside the quotation marks, ” he explained.

She wanted to help, so she said, “ I’m happy to explain it ” ; they needed a thorough explanation, and she loved to teach her students.

It gets a little trickier with exclamation marks and question marks when quoting. These can be either inside the quotation marks or outside of them, depending on the situation. Keep question and exclamation marks inside the quotations if they apply to the quoted passage. If they apply to your sentence instead of the quote, you’ll want to keep them outside. Here’s an example:

He asked the students, “ Do you know how to use quotation marks? ”

Did the students hear the teacher when he said, “ I will show you how to use quotation marks ”?

Closing quotations

Once you start using a quotation mark, you have to close it. This means that you can’t leave a quote open like the example below because the reader wouldn’t know when the quote is over.

Capitalization

The rule of capitalization changes depending on the context. 

For example, if you quote a complete sentence, then you should capitalize the first word in the sentence. However, if you are quoting a piece of a sentence or phrase, then you wouldn’t need to start with capitalization, like this:

She said, “ Here’s an example of a sentence that should start with a capital letter. ”

He said it was “ a good example of a sentence where capitalization isn’t necessary. ”

Sometimes, you’ll want to split a quote. You don’t need to capitalize the second half of the quote that’s divided by a parenthetical. Here’s an example to show you what that would look like:

“ Here is an example of a quote, ” she told her students, “ that doesn’t need capitalization in the second part . ”

What is the purpose of quoting? 

As stated above, quotations can serve multiple purposes in a written piece. Quotes can signify direct passages or titles of works. Here are a few of the reasons to include a quote within your written work:

These intentions can apply whether you’ve interviewed your source or are taking a quote from an existing, published piece. 

However, before you use a quote, you’ll want to understand how it can strengthen your work and when you should use one. We’ll discuss when you should use quotes and how to properly cite them using different style guides in the next section.

When you should use quotes

Quotations should be used strategically, no matter what type of writing you’re doing. For instance, if you’re a professional copywriter crafting a white paper or a student writing a research paper, you’ll likely want to include as much proof as possible in your work. However, stuffing your paper with a ton of quotations can do more harm than good because the piece needs to represent your ideas and interpretations of the source, not just good quotes.

That being said, quoting reputable sources in your work is an excellent way to prove your points and add credibility to the piece. Use quotations in your work when you want to share accurate ideas and passages from source materials.

You should also use quotes when you want to add emphasis to a source on the topic you’re covering. 

For example, if you’re writing a research paper, then it would be beneficial to add quotes from a professor involved in the study you’re referring to in your piece.

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

MLA, APA, and Chicago are three of the most common citation styles. It’s a standardized way of crediting the sources that you quote. Depending on your assignment, you may need to use a specific one when citing your sources.

This section shares how to cite your quotes in these three popular citation styles, along with several examples of each.

Modern Language Association (MLA) is most often associated with academics in English or philosophic fields. With this style of citation, you’ll need to include quotes word-for-word. It’s fine to use only phrases or pieces from a specific quote, but you’ll need to keep the spelling and punctuation the same.

Here are some other criteria to keep in mind when citing using MLA style:

• If the quote goes longer than four lines, you must use a blockquote. Do not indent at the start of the quote block.

• Start quotes on the next line, ½ inch from the left margin of the paper.

• Quotes must be double spaced like the rest of the paper.

• Only use quotations when quotation marks are a part of the source.

• Include in-text citations next to the blockquote.

• If a blockquote is longer than a paragraph, you must start the next paragraph with the same indent.

• Don’t include a number in the parenthetical quotation if the source doesn’t use page numbers.

Here’s an example of a short, direct quote with MLA using a website resource without page numbers:

She always wanted to be a writer. “ I knew from a young age that I wanted to write a novel . ” (Smith)

And an example of a blockquote from page 2 of the source:

John Doe shares his experience getting his book published in the prologue:

I never expected so many people to be willing to help me publish this book. I had a lot of support along the way. My friends and colleagues always encouraged me to keep going. Some helped me edit, and others reminded me why I started in the first place. One of my good friends even brought me dinner when she knew I was going to be working late. (2)

With MLA, the reader can reference the full sources at the end in the Work Cited section. For this example, it could look like this:

Works Cited

Smith, J. (2021). Example Blog Post. Retrieved 2021, from www.example.com

Doe, J. (2021). Book Title One (1st ed., Vol. 1). Example, TX: Example Publishing.

See this article for more information on MLA style citations.

American Psychological Association (APA) is used often in psychology, education, and criminal justice fields. It often requires a cover page and abstract.

Here are a few points to consider when using APA style to cite your sources:

• Citation pages should be double spaced.

• All citations in a paper must have a full reference in the reference list.

• All references must have a hanging indent.

• Sources must be listed in alphabetical order, typically by the last name.

Using the same source examples as we did with MLA above, here is how they would be cited in APA:

Doe, Jane. Example Blog Post . 2021, www.example.com. 

Doe, John. Book Title One . 1st ed., vol. 1, Example Publishing, 2021. 

See this article for more information on APA style citations.

Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) is commonly used in history and humanities fields. It was created to help researchers. Here are a few points to keep in mind for Chicago Style:

• There are 2 types of referencing styles:

    → Notes and Bibliography

    → Author-Date

• The list of bibliography must be single-spaced.

• The text should be double spaced, except for block quotations, tables, notes, and bibliographies.

• The second line should be indented for sources.

•Author last names must be arranged alphabetically.

Here’s how the same example sources used above would be cited using Chicago style:

Doe, Jane. “Example Blog Post,” 2021. www.example.com. 

Doe, John. Book Title One . 1. 1st ed. Vol. 1. Example, TX: Example Publishing, 2021.

See this article for more information on Chicago style citations.

Types of quotes and examples

There are two main types of quotes: direct and indirect.

Whenever you want to use someone’s statement word-for-word in your text, you’ll need to include properly cited, direct quotations. However, if you want to paraphrase someone’s words then indirect quotes could be more appropriate.

For example, say that you’re writing a press release for a company. You could interview different people within the company’s staff and paraphrase their quotes. This is particularly useful if the direct quote wouldn’t work well within your piece. For instance, you could change this direct quote example into an indirect quote that would more succinctly represent the speech:

Direct quote:

Indirect quote:

Keep in mind when using quotations that you should aim for using as few words as necessary. You don’t want to quote an entire paragraph when only one sentence contains the key information you want to share. If you need to add context, do so in your words. It’ll make for a much more interesting piece if you’re using quotes to support your stance alongside your interpretation instead of just repeating what’s already been said.

--> “A wide screen just makes a bad film twice as bad.” -->

May Habib CEO, Writer.com

Here’s what else you should know about Ascending.

More resources

Recommended content strategy resources & tools

Ashley Coolman

– 4 min read

A guide to apostrophe rules

What this handout is about

Used effectively, quotations can provide important pieces of evidence and lend fresh voices and perspectives to your narrative. Used ineffectively, however, quotations can clutter your text and interrupt the flow of your argument. This handout will help you decide when and how to quote like a pro.

When should I quote?

Use quotations at strategically selected moments. You have probably been told by teachers to provide as much evidence as possible in support of your thesis. But packing your paper with quotations will not necessarily strengthen your argument. The majority of your paper should still be your original ideas in your own words (after all, it’s your paper). And quotations are only one type of evidence: well-balanced papers may also make use of paraphrases, data, and statistics. The types of evidence you use will depend in part on the conventions of the discipline or audience for which you are writing. For example, papers analyzing literature may rely heavily on direct quotations of the text, while papers in the social sciences may have more paraphrasing, data, and statistics than quotations.

Discussing specific arguments or ideas

Sometimes, in order to have a clear, accurate discussion of the ideas of others, you need to quote those ideas word for word. Suppose you want to challenge the following statement made by John Doe, a well-known historian:

“At the beginning of World War Two, almost all Americans assumed the war would end quickly.”

If it is especially important that you formulate a counterargument to this claim, then you might wish to quote the part of the statement that you find questionable and establish a dialogue between yourself and John Doe:

Historian John Doe has argued that in 1941 “almost all Americans assumed the war would end quickly” (Doe 223). Yet during the first six months of U.S. involvement, the wives and mothers of soldiers often noted in their diaries their fear that the war would drag on for years.

Giving added emphasis to a particularly authoritative source on your topic.

There will be times when you want to highlight the words of a particularly important and authoritative source on your topic. For example, suppose you were writing an essay about the differences between the lives of male and female slaves in the U.S. South. One of your most provocative sources is a narrative written by a former slave, Harriet Jacobs. It would then be appropriate to quote some of Jacobs’s words:

Harriet Jacobs, a former slave from North Carolina, published an autobiographical slave narrative in 1861. She exposed the hardships of both male and female slaves but ultimately concluded that “slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women.”

In this particular example, Jacobs is providing a crucial first-hand perspective on slavery. Thus, her words deserve more exposure than a paraphrase could provide.

Jacobs is quoted in Harriet A. Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, ed. Jean Fagan Yellin (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1987).

Analyzing how others use language.

This scenario is probably most common in literature and linguistics courses, but you might also find yourself writing about the use of language in history and social science classes. If the use of language is your primary topic, then you will obviously need to quote users of that language.

Examples of topics that might require the frequent use of quotations include:

Southern colloquial expressions in William Faulkner’s Light in August

Ms. and the creation of a language of female empowerment

A comparison of three British poets and their use of rhyme

Spicing up your prose.

In order to lend variety to your prose, you may wish to quote a source with particularly vivid language. All quotations, however, must closely relate to your topic and arguments. Do not insert a quotation solely for its literary merits.

One example of a quotation that adds flair:

President Calvin Coolidge’s tendency to fall asleep became legendary. As H. L. Mencken commented in the American Mercury in 1933, “Nero fiddled, but Coolidge only snored.”

How do I set up and follow up a quotation?

Once you’ve carefully selected the quotations that you want to use, your next job is to weave those quotations into your text. The words that precede and follow a quotation are just as important as the quotation itself. You can think of each quote as the filling in a sandwich: it may be tasty on its own, but it’s messy to eat without some bread on either side of it. Your words can serve as the “bread” that helps readers digest each quote easily. Below are four guidelines for setting up and following up quotations.

In illustrating these four steps, we’ll use as our example, Franklin Roosevelt’s famous quotation, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

1. Provide context for each quotation.

Do not rely on quotations to tell your story for you. It is your responsibility to provide your reader with context for the quotation. The context should set the basic scene for when, possibly where, and under what circumstances the quotation was spoken or written. So, in providing context for our above example, you might write:

When Franklin Roosevelt gave his inaugural speech on March 4, 1933, he addressed a nation weakened and demoralized by economic depression.

2. Attribute each quotation to its source.

Tell your reader who is speaking. Here is a good test: try reading your text aloud. Could your reader determine without looking at your paper where your quotations begin? If not, you need to attribute the quote more noticeably.

Avoid getting into the “they said” attribution rut! There are many other ways to attribute quotes besides this construction. Here are a few alternative verbs, usually followed by “that”:

Different reporting verbs are preferred by different disciplines, so pay special attention to these in your disciplinary reading. If you’re unfamiliar with the meanings of any of these words or others you find in your reading, consult a dictionary before using them.

3. Explain the significance of the quotation.

Once you’ve inserted your quotation, along with its context and attribution, don’t stop! Your reader still needs your assessment of why the quotation holds significance for your paper. Using our Roosevelt example, if you were writing a paper on the first one-hundred days of FDR’s administration, you might follow the quotation by linking it to that topic:

With that message of hope and confidence, the new president set the stage for his next one-hundred days in office and helped restore the faith of the American people in their government.

4. Provide a citation for the quotation.

All quotations, just like all paraphrases, require a formal citation. For more details about particular citation formats, see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . In general, you should remember one rule of thumb: Place the parenthetical reference or footnote/endnote number after—not within—the closed quotation mark.

Roosevelt declared, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” (Roosevelt, Public Papers, 11).

Roosevelt declared, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”1

How do I embed a quotation into a sentence?

In general, avoid leaving quotes as sentences unto themselves. Even if you have provided some context for the quote, a quote standing alone can disrupt your flow.  Take a look at this example:

Hamlet denies Rosencrantz’s claim that thwarted ambition caused his depression. “I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space” (Hamlet 2.2).

Standing by itself, the quote’s connection to the preceding sentence is unclear. There are several ways to incorporate a quote more smoothly:

Lead into the quote with a colon.

Hamlet denies Rosencrantz’s claim that thwarted ambition caused his depression: “I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space” (Hamlet 2.2).

The colon announces that a quote will follow to provide evidence for the sentence’s claim.

Introduce or conclude the quote by attributing it to the speaker. If your attribution precedes the quote, you will need to use a comma after the verb.

Hamlet denies Rosencrantz’s claim that thwarted ambition caused his depression. He states, “I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space” (Hamlet 2.2).

When faced with a twelve-foot mountain troll, Ron gathers his courage, shouting, “Wingardium Leviosa!” (Rowling, p. 176).

The Pirate King sees an element of regality in their impoverished and dishonest life. “It is, it is a glorious thing/To be a pirate king,” he declares (Pirates of Penzance, 1983).

Interrupt the quote with an attribution to the speaker. Again, you will need to use a comma after the verb, as well as a comma leading into the attribution.

“There is nothing either good or bad,” Hamlet argues, “but thinking makes it so” (Hamlet 2.2).

“And death shall be no more,” Donne writes, “Death thou shalt die” (“Death, Be Not Proud,” l. 14).

Dividing the quote may highlight a particular nuance of the quote’s meaning. In the first example, the division calls attention to the two parts of Hamlet’s claim. The first phrase states that nothing is inherently good or bad; the second phrase suggests that our perspective causes things to become good or bad. In the second example, the isolation of “Death thou shalt die” at the end of the sentence draws a reader’s attention to that phrase in particular. As you decide whether or not you want to break up a quote, you should consider the shift in emphasis that the division might create.

Use the words of the quote grammatically within your own sentence.

When Hamlet tells Rosencrantz that he “could be bounded in a nutshell and count [him]self a king of infinite space” (Hamlet 2.2), he implies that thwarted ambition did not cause his depression.

Ultimately, death holds no power over Donne since in the afterlife, “death shall be no more” (“Death, Be Not Proud,” l. 14).

Note that when you use “that” after the verb that introduces the quote, you no longer need a comma.

The Pirate King argues that “it is, it is a glorious thing/to be a pirate king” (Pirates of Penzance, 1983).

How much should I quote?

As few words as possible. Remember, your paper should primarily contain your own words, so quote only the most pithy and memorable parts of sources. Here are guidelines for selecting quoted material judiciously:

Excerpt fragments.

Sometimes, you should quote short fragments, rather than whole sentences. Suppose you interviewed Jane Doe about her reaction to John F. Kennedy’s assassination. She commented:

“I couldn’t believe it. It was just unreal and so sad. It was just unbelievable. I had never experienced such denial. I don’t know why I felt so strongly. Perhaps it was because JFK was more to me than a president. He represented the hopes of young people everywhere.”

You could quote all of Jane’s comments, but her first three sentences are fairly redundant. You might instead want to quote Jane when she arrives at the ultimate reason for her strong emotions:

Jane Doe grappled with grief and disbelief. She had viewed JFK, not just as a national figurehead, but as someone who “represented the hopes of young people everywhere.”

Excerpt those fragments carefully!

Quoting the words of others carries a big responsibility. Misquoting misrepresents the ideas of others. Here’s a classic example of a misquote:

John Adams has often been quoted as having said: “This would be the best of all possible worlds if there were no religion in it.”

John Adams did, in fact, write the above words. But if you see those words in context, the meaning changes entirely. Here’s the rest of the quotation:

Twenty times, in the course of my late reading, have I been on the point of breaking out, ‘this would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it!!!!’ But in this exclamation, I should have been as fanatical as Bryant or Cleverly. Without religion, this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in public company—I mean hell.

As you can see from this example, context matters!

This example is from Paul F. Boller, Jr. and John George, They Never Said It: A Book of Fake Quotes, Misquotes, and Misleading Attributions (Oxford University Press, 1989).

Use block quotations sparingly.

There may be times when you need to quote long passages. However, you should use block quotations only when you fear that omitting any words will destroy the integrity of the passage. If that passage exceeds four lines (some sources say five), then set it off as a block quotation.

Be sure you are handling block quotes correctly in papers for different academic disciplines–check the index of the citation style guide you are using. Here are a few general tips for setting off your block quotations:

• Set up a block quotation with your own words followed by a colon.
• Indent. You normally indent 4-5 spaces for the start of a paragraph. When setting up a block quotation, indent the entire paragraph once from the left-hand margin.
• Single space or double space within the block quotation, depending on the style guidelines of your discipline (MLA, CSE, APA, Chicago, etc.).
• Do not use quotation marks at the beginning or end of the block quote—the indentation is what indicates that it’s a quote.
• Place parenthetical citation according to your style guide (usually after the period following the last sentence of the quote).
• Follow up a block quotation with your own words.

So, using the above example from John Adams, here’s how you might include a block quotation:

After reading several doctrinally rigid tracts, John Adams recalled the zealous ranting of his former teacher, Joseph Cleverly, and minister, Lemuel Bryant. He expressed his ambivalence toward religion in an 1817 letter to Thomas Jefferson:

Adams clearly appreciated religion, even if he often questioned its promotion.

How do I combine quotation marks with other punctuation marks?

It can be confusing when you start combining quotation marks with other punctuation marks. You should consult a style manual for complicated situations, but the following two rules apply to most cases:

Keep periods and commas within quotation marks.

So, for example:

According to Professor Poe, werewolves “represent anxiety about the separation between human and animal,” and werewolf movies often “interrogate those boundaries.”

In the above example, both the comma and period were enclosed in the quotation marks. The main exception to this rule involves the use of internal citations, which always precede the last period of the sentence. For example:

According to Professor Poe, werewolves “represent anxiety about the separation between human and animal,” and werewolf movies often “interrogate those boundaries” (Poe 167).

Note, however, that the period remains inside the quotation marks when your citation style involves superscript footnotes or endnotes. For example:

According to Professor Poe, werewolves “represent anxiety about the separation between human and animal,” and werewolf movies often “interrogate those boundaries.” 2

Place all other punctuation marks (colons, semicolons, exclamation marks, question marks) outside the quotation marks, except when they were part of the original quotation.

Take a look at the following examples:

I couldn’t believe it when my friend passed me a note in the cafe saying the management “started charging $15 per hour for parking”!

The coach yelled, “Run!”

In the first example, the author placed the exclamation point outside the quotation mark because she added it herself to emphasize the outrageous nature of the parking price change. The original note had not included an exclamation mark. In the second example, the exclamation mark remains within the quotation mark because it is indicating the excited tone in which the coach yelled the command. Thus, the exclamation mark is considered to be part of the original quotation.

How do I indicate quotations within quotations?

If you are quoting a passage that contains a quotation, then you use single quotation marks for the internal quotation. Quite rarely, you quote a passage that has a quotation within a quotation. In that rare instance, you would use double quotation marks for the second internal quotation.

Here’s an example of a quotation within a quotation:

In “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” Hans Christian Andersen wrote, “‘But the Emperor has nothing on at all!’ cried a little child.”

Remember to consult your style guide to determine how to properly cite a quote within a quote.

When do I use those three dots ( . . . )?

Whenever you want to leave out material from within a quotation, you need to use an ellipsis, which is a series of three periods, each of which should be preceded and followed by a space. So, an ellipsis in this sentence would look like . . . this. There are a few rules to follow when using ellipses:

Be sure that you don’t fundamentally change the meaning of the quotation by omitting material.

Take a look at the following example:

“The Writing Center is located on the UNC campus and serves the entire UNC community.”

“The Writing Center . . . serves the entire UNC community.”

The reader’s understanding of the Writing Center’s mission to serve the UNC community is not affected by omitting the information about its location.

Do not use ellipses at the beginning or ending of quotations, unless it’s important for the reader to know that the quotation was truncated.

For example, using the above example, you would NOT need an ellipsis in either of these situations:

“The Writing Center is located on the UNC campus . . .”

The Writing Center ” . . . serves the entire UNC community.”

Use punctuation marks in combination with ellipses when removing material from the end of sentences or clauses.

For example, if you take material from the end of a sentence, keep the period in as usual.

“The boys ran to school, forgetting their lunches and books. Even though they were out of breath, they made it on time.”

“The boys ran to school. . . . Even though they were out of breath, they made it on time.”

Likewise, if you excerpt material at the end of clause that ends in a comma, retain the comma.

“The red car came to a screeching halt that was heard by nearby pedestrians, but no one was hurt.”

“The red car came to a screeching halt . . . , but no one was hurt.”

Is it ever okay to insert my own words or change words in a quotation?

Sometimes it is necessary for clarity and flow to alter a word or words within a quotation. You should make such changes rarely. In order to alert your reader to the changes you’ve made, you should always bracket the altered words. Here are a few examples of situations when you might need brackets:

Changing verb tense or pronouns in order to be consistent with the rest of the sentence.

Suppose you were quoting a woman who, when asked about her experiences immigrating to the United States, commented “nobody understood me.” You might write:

Esther Hansen felt that when she came to the United States “nobody understood [her].”

In the above example, you’ve changed “me” to “her” in order to keep the entire passage in third person. However, you could avoid the need for this change by simply rephrasing:

“Nobody understood me,” recalled Danish immigrant Esther Hansen.

Including supplemental information that your reader needs in order to understand the quotation.

For example, if you were quoting someone’s nickname, you might want to let your reader know the full name of that person in brackets.

“The principal of the school told Billy [William Smith] that his contract would be terminated.”

Similarly, if a quotation referenced an event with which the reader might be unfamiliar, you could identify that event in brackets.

“We completely revised our political strategies after the strike [of 1934].”

Indicating the use of nonstandard grammar or spelling.

In rare situations, you may quote from a text that has nonstandard grammar, spelling, or word choice. In such cases, you may want to insert [sic], which means “thus” or “so” in Latin. Using [sic] alerts your reader to the fact that this nonstandard language is not the result of a typo on your part. Always italicize “sic” and enclose it in brackets. There is no need to put a period at the end. Here’s an example of when you might use [sic]:

Twelve-year-old Betsy Smith wrote in her diary, “Father is afraid that he will be guilty of beach [sic] of contract.”

Here [sic] indicates that the original author wrote “beach of contract,” not breach of contract, which is the accepted terminology.

Do not overuse brackets!

For example, it is not necessary to bracket capitalization changes that you make at the beginning of sentences. For example, suppose you were going to use part of this quotation:

“The colors scintillated curiously over a hard carapace, and the beetle’s tiny antennae made gentle waving motions as though saying hello.”

If you wanted to begin a sentence with an excerpt from the middle of this quotation, there would be no need to bracket your capitalization changes.

“The beetle’s tiny antennae made gentle waving motions as though saying hello,” said Dr. Grace Farley, remembering a defining moment on her journey to becoming an entomologist.

Not: “[T]he beetle’s tiny antennae made gentle waving motions as though saying hello,” said Dr. Grace Farley, remembering a defining moment on her journey to becoming an entomologist.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Barzun, Jacques, and Henry F. Graff. 2012. The Modern Researcher , 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, Joseph Bizup, and William T. FitzGerald. 2016. The Craft of Research , 4th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Gibaldi, Joseph. 2009. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers , 7th ed. New York: The Modern Language Association of America.

Turabian, Kate. 2018. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, Dissertations , 9th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Make a Gift

A direct quotation reproduces words verbatim from another work or from your own previously published work. It is best to paraphrase sources rather than directly quoting them because paraphrasing allows you to fit material to the context of your paper and writing style.

Use direct quotations rather than paraphrasing:

• when reproducing an exact definition (see Section 6.22 of the Publication Manual ),
• when an author has said something memorably or succinctly, or
• when you want to respond to exact wording (e.g., something someone said).

Instructors, programs, editors, and publishers may establish limits on the use of direct quotations. Consult your instructor or editor if you are concerned that you may have too much quoted material in your paper.

This page addresses how to format short quotations and block quotations. Additional information is available about how to:

• include page numbers for quotations
• cite quotations from material without page numbers
• cite quotations that include errors
• indicate changes to quotations
• present quotations from research participants

Quotations are covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Sections 8.25 to 8.35 and the Concise Guide Sections 8.25 to 8.34

Related handout

• In-Text Citation Checklist (PDF, 227KB)

Short quotations (fewer than 40 words)

For quotations of fewer than 40 words, add quotation marks around the words and incorporate the quote into your own text—there is no additional formatting needed. Do not insert an ellipsis at the beginning and/or end of a quotation unless the original source includes an ellipsis.

Effective teams can be difficult to describe because “high performance along one domain does not translate to high performance along another” (Ervin et al., 2018, p. 470).

For a direct quotation, always include a full citation ( parenthetical or narrative ) in the same sentence as the quotation, including the page number (or other location information, e.g., paragraph number).

• Place a parenthetical citation either immediately after the quotation or at the end of the sentence.
• For a narrative citation, include the author and year in the sentence and then place the page number or other location information in parentheses after the quotation.
• If the quotation precedes the narrative citation, put the page number or location information after the year and a comma.
• If the citation appears at the end of a sentence, put the end punctuation after the closing parenthesis for the citation.
• If the quotation includes citations, see Section 8.32 of the Publication Manual .
• If the quotation includes material already in quotation marks, see Section 8.33 of the Publication Manual .
• Place periods and commas within closing single or double quotation marks. Place other punctuation marks inside quotation marks only when they are part of the quoted material.

Block quotations (40 words or more)

Format quotations of 40 words or more as block quotations:

• Do not use quotation marks to enclose a block quotation.
• Start a block quotation on a new line and indent the whole block 0.5 in. from the left margin.
• Double-space the entire block quotation.
• Do not add extra space before or after it.
• If there are additional paragraphs within the quotation, indent the first line of each subsequent paragraph an additional 0.5 in. See an example in Section 8.27 of the Publication Manual .
• Either (a) cite the source in parentheses after the quotation’s final punctuation or (b) cite the author and year in the narrative before the quotation and place only the page number in parentheses after the quotation’s final punctuation.
• Do not add a period after the closing parenthesis in either case.

Block quotation with parenthetical citation:

Researchers have studied how people talk to themselves:

Inner speech is a paradoxical phenomenon. It is an experience that is central to many people’s everyday lives, and yet it presents considerable challenges to any effort to study it scientifically. Nevertheless, a wide range of methodologies and approaches have combined to shed light on the subjective experience of inner speech and its cognitive and neural underpinnings. (Alderson-Day & Fernyhough, 2015, p. 957)

Block quotation with narrative citation:

Flores et al. (2018) described how they addressed potential researcher bias when working with an intersectional community of transgender people of color:

Everyone on the research team belonged to a stigmatized group but also held privileged identities. Throughout the research process, we attended to the ways in which our privileged and oppressed identities may have influenced the research process, findings, and presentation of results. (p. 311)

Have a thesis expert improve your writing

Check your thesis for plagiarism in 10 minutes, generate your apa citations for free.

• Knowledge Base
• Working with sources
• How to Quote | Citing Quotes in Harvard & APA

How to Quote | Citing Quotes in Harvard & APA

Published on 15 April 2022 by Shona McCombes and Jack Caulfield. Revised on 3 September 2022.

Quoting means copying a passage of someone else’s words and crediting the source. To quote a source, you must ensure:

• The quoted text is enclosed in quotation marks (usually single quotation marks in UK English, though double is acceptable as long as you’re consistent) or formatted as a block quote
• The original author is correctly cited
• The text is identical to the original

The exact format of a quote depends on its length and on which citation style you are using. Quoting and citing correctly is essential to avoid plagiarism , which is easy to detect with a good plagiarism checker .

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Be assured that you'll submit flawless writing. Upload your document to correct all your mistakes.

Table of contents

How to cite a quote in harvard and apa style, introducing quotes, quotes within quotes, shortening or altering a quote, block quotes, when should i use quotes, frequently asked questions about quoting sources.

Every time you quote, you must cite the source correctly . This looks slightly different depending on the citation style you’re using.

Citing a quote in Harvard style

When you include a quote in Harvard style, you must add a Harvard in-text citation giving the author’s last name, the year of publication, and a page number if available. Any full stop or comma appears after the citation, not within the quotation marks.

Citations can be parenthetical or narrative. In a parenthetical citation , you place all the information in brackets after the quote. In a narrative citation , you name the author in your sentence (followed by the year), and place the page number after the quote.

• Evolution is a gradual process that ‘can act only by very short and slow steps’ (Darwin, 1859, p. 510) . Darwin (1859) explains that evolution ‘can act only by very short and slow steps’ (p. 510) .

Complete guide to Harvard style

Citing a quote in APA Style

To cite a direct quote in APA , you must include the author’s last name, the year, and a page number, all separated by commas. If the quote appears on a single page, use ‘p.’; if it spans a page range, use ‘pp.’

An APA in-text citation can be parenthetical or narrative. In a parenthetical citation , you place all the information in parentheses after the quote. In a narrative citation , you name the author in your sentence (followed by the year), and place the page number after the quote.

Punctuation marks such as full stops and commas are placed after the citation, not within the quotation marks.

• Evolution is a gradual process that ‘can act only by very short and slow steps’ (Darwin, 1859, p. 510) .
• Darwin (1859) explains that evolution ‘can act only by very short and slow steps’ (p. 510) .

Complete guide to APA

The only proofreading tool specialized in correcting academic writing.

The academic proofreading tool has been trained on 1000s of academic texts and by native English editors. Making it the most accurate and reliable proofreading tool for students.

Correct my document today

Make sure you integrate quotes properly into your text by introducing them in your own words, showing the reader why you’re including the quote and providing any context necessary to understand it.  Don’t  present quotations as stand-alone sentences.

There are three main strategies you can use to introduce quotes in a grammatically correct way:

• Add an introductory sentence
• Use an introductory signal phrase
• Integrate the quote into your own sentence

The following examples use APA Style citations, but these strategies can be used in all styles.

Introductory sentence

Introduce the quote with a full sentence ending in a colon . Don’t use a colon if the text before the quote isn’t a full sentence.

If you name the author in your sentence, you may use present-tense verbs, such as “states’, ‘argues’, ‘explains’, ‘writes’, or ‘reports’, to describe the content of the quote.

• In Denmark, a recent poll shows that: ‘A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters’ (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• In Denmark, a recent poll shows that support for the EU has grown since the Brexit vote: ‘A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters’ (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• Levring (2018) reports that support for the EU has grown since the Brexit vote: ‘A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters’ (p. 3).

Introductory signal phrase

You can also use a signal phrase that mentions the author or source but doesn’t form a full sentence. In this case, you follow the phrase with a comma instead of a colon.

• According to a recent poll, ‘A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters’ (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• As Levring (2018) explains, ‘A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters’ (p. 3).

Integrated into your own sentence

To quote a phrase that doesn’t form a full sentence, you can also integrate it as part of your sentence, without any extra punctuation.

• A recent poll suggests that EU membership ‘would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters’ in a referendum (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• Levring (2018) reports that EU membership ‘would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters’ in a referendum (p. 3).

When you quote text that itself contains another quote, this is called a nested quotation or a quote within a quote. It may occur, for example, when quoting dialogue from a novel.

To distinguish this quote from the surrounding quote, you enclose it in double (instead of single) quotation marks (even if this involves changing the punctuation from the original text). Make sure to close both sets of quotation marks at the appropriate moments.

Note that if you only quote the nested quotation itself, and not the surrounding text, you can just use single quotation marks.

• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: ‘ ‘ Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, ‘ he told me, ‘ just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had ‘ ‘ (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: ‘”Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had “  (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: ‘“Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had”’ (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway begins by quoting his father’s invocation to ‘remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had’ (Fitzgerald 1).

Note:  When the quoted text in the source comes from another source, it’s best to just find that original source in order to quote it directly. If you can’t find the original source, you can instead cite it indirectly .

Often, incorporating a quote smoothly into your text requires you to make some changes to the original text. It’s fine to do this, as long as you clearly mark the changes you’ve made to the quote.

Shortening a quote

If some parts of a passage are redundant or irrelevant, you can shorten the quote by removing words, phrases, or sentences and replacing them with an ellipsis (…). Put a space before and after the ellipsis.

Be careful that removing the words doesn’t change the meaning. The ellipsis indicates that some text has been removed, but the shortened quote should still accurately represent the author’s point.

Altering a quote

You can add or replace words in a quote when necessary. This might be because the original text doesn’t fit grammatically with your sentence (e.g., it’s in a different tense), or because extra information is needed to clarify the quote’s meaning.

Use brackets to distinguish words that you have added from words that were present in the original text.

The Latin term ‘ sic ‘ is used to indicate a (factual or grammatical) mistake in a quotation. It shows the reader that the mistake is from the quoted material, not a typo of your own.

In some cases, it can be useful to italicise part of a quotation to add emphasis, showing the reader that this is the key part to pay attention to. Use the phrase ’emphasis added’ to show that the italics were not part of the original text.

You usually don’t need to use brackets to indicate minor changes to punctuation or capitalisation made to ensure the quote fits the style of your text.

If you quote more than a few lines from a source, you must format it as a block quote . Instead of using quotation marks, you set the quote on a new line and indent it so that it forms a separate block of text.

Block quotes are cited just like regular quotes, except that if the quote ends with a full stop, the citation appears after the full stop.

To the end of his days Bilbo could never remember how he found himself outside, without a hat, a walking-stick or any money, or anything that he usually took when he went out; leaving his second breakfast half-finished and quite unwashed-up, pushing his keys into Gandalf’s hands, and running as fast as his furry feet could carry him down the lane, past the great Mill, across The Water, and then on for a mile or more. (16)

Avoid relying too heavily on quotes in academic writing . To integrate a source , it’s often best to paraphrase , which means putting the passage into your own words. This helps you integrate information smoothly and keeps your own voice dominant.

However, there are some situations in which quotes are more appropriate.

When focusing on language

If you want to comment on how the author uses language (for example, in literary analysis ), it’s necessary to quote so that the reader can see the exact passage you are referring to.

When giving evidence

To convince the reader of your argument, interpretation or position on a topic, it’s often helpful to include quotes that support your point. Quotes from primary sources (for example, interview transcripts or historical documents) are especially credible as evidence.

When presenting an author’s position or definition

When you’re referring to secondary sources such as scholarly books and journal articles, try to put others’ ideas in your own words when possible.

But if a passage does a great job at expressing, explaining, or defining something, and it would be very difficult to paraphrase without changing the meaning or losing the weakening the idea’s impact, it’s worth quoting directly.

A quote is an exact copy of someone else’s words, usually enclosed in quotation marks and credited to the original author or speaker.

To present information from other sources in academic writing , it’s best to paraphrase in most cases. This shows that you’ve understood the ideas you’re discussing and incorporates them into your text smoothly.

It’s appropriate to quote when:

• Changing the phrasing would distort the meaning of the original text
• You want to discuss the author’s language choices (e.g., in literary analysis )
• You’re presenting a precise definition
• You’re looking in depth at a specific claim

Every time you quote a source , you must include a correctly formatted in-text citation . This looks slightly different depending on the citation style .

For example, a direct quote in APA is cited like this: ‘This is a quote’ (Streefkerk, 2020, p. 5).

Every in-text citation should also correspond to a full reference at the end of your paper.

In scientific subjects, the information itself is more important than how it was expressed, so quoting should generally be kept to a minimum. In the arts and humanities, however, well-chosen quotes are often essential to a good paper.

In social sciences, it varies. If your research is mainly quantitative , you won’t include many quotes, but if it’s more qualitative , you may need to quote from the data you collected .

As a general guideline, quotes should take up no more than 5–10% of your paper. If in doubt, check with your instructor or supervisor how much quoting is appropriate in your field.

If you’re quoting from a text that paraphrases or summarises other sources and cites them in parentheses , APA recommends retaining the citations as part of the quote:

• Smith states that ‘the literature on this topic (Jones, 2015; Sill, 2019; Paulson, 2020) shows no clear consensus’ (Smith, 2019, p. 4).

Footnote or endnote numbers that appear within quoted text should be omitted.

If you want to cite an indirect source (one you’ve only seen quoted in another source), either locate the original source or use the phrase ‘as cited in’ in your citation.

A block quote is a long quote formatted as a separate ‘block’ of text. Instead of using quotation marks , you place the quote on a new line, and indent the entire quote to mark it apart from your own words.

APA uses block quotes for quotes that are 40 words or longer.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

McCombes, S. & Caulfield, J. (2022, September 03). How to Quote | Citing Quotes in Harvard & APA. Scribbr. Retrieved 10 July 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/working-sources/quoting/

Is this article helpful?

Shona McCombes

Other students also liked, how to paraphrase | step-by-step guide & examples, how to avoid plagiarism | tips on citing sources, the 5 types of plagiarism | explanations & examples.

Training Authors with CJ and Shelley Hitz

We help Christian writers take a step of faith and finally finish your book!

How To Properly Quote A Book: Citing Quotes From A Book The Right Way

December 6, 2023 By Training Authors Leave a Comment Click here for FREE training for Christian writers

How to properly quote a book? Moreover, citing a quote can be a mark of respect for the original author’s eloquent expression—adopting their words to enrich your own work. Furthermore, done with attention to proper attribution, it acknowledges the value of their contribution to your narrative. However, are you confident you’re doing it with the integrity it deserves?

How to properly quote a book – Key Takeaways

• Understand the importance of accurate quoting
• Learn the proper techniques for citation
• Gain access to resources that streamline quoting practices

Understanding How to Accurately Attribute Quotations from Books

The significance of quoting with precision.

Respecting copyright and intellectual property, you enhance both the legal and ethical standing of your work. In addition, as you acknowledge others’ contributions, you also bolster the reliability of your own content. Moreover, a careful citation is more than a formality; it reinforces your commitment to academic honesty and the golden rule of treating others’ work as you would wish yours to be treated.

You strengthen your arguments when you incorporate authoritative voices from relevant literature. Furthermore, incorporating the insights of others shows you’ve engaged deeply with the topic and are presenting a well-considered perspective.

Citing A Book: Principles For Accurate Attribution

Choosing a Quotation Style

Select a citation style according to your field of study or the publication’s requirements. Whether it’s APA for the social sciences, MLA for humanities, or the Chicago style for a variety of purposes, each format has precise rules for quoting sources effectively.

APA Style Direct Quote Example: “Here’s a direct quote” (Johnson, 2016, p. 52).

MLA Style Direct Quote Example: “Here’s a direct quote” (Johnson 52).

Chicago Style Direct Quote Example: “Here’s a direct quote” (Johnson, 2016, 52).

Formatting Quotes and Citations

Depending on the length and format of quotes use quotation marks for shorter excerpts or indented blocks for longer passages. Also, Remember to include relevant details like the author’s last name, publication year, and page numbers, as detailed by the citation style you’re using.

Paraphrasing and Summarizing

When you reword an author’s ideas in your own style, that’s paraphrasing. Similarly, summarizing condenses the main points into a brief overview. Both require citations, as the ideas originate from another person’s work.

Steering Clear of Quoting and Citation Errors

Remain vigilant about punctuation when quoting; periods and commas should be inside the quotation marks. In addition, accuracy in quoting demands that every comma, period, and citation appears in its rightful place to maintain readability and prevent miscommunication.

Maintain the integrity of quotes by verifying their sources before inclusion. Moreover, misattribution can undermine your credibility. Additionally, use digital tools like Google Books or Wikiquote to confirm quotations and attribute them correctly.

Always attribute quotes to avoid accidental plagiarism. Furthermore, using someone else’s words without proper credit can have serious consequences and impugn your integrity. Moreover, remember to employ a consistent format for in-text citations and full references in the bibliography to comply with academic standards.

Quoting from literature enriches your work, imbuing it with depth and authority. Therefore, follow these guidelines to cite with confidence and navigate the nuances of academic integrity with ease.

How to properly quote a book: Guides on Correctly Citing Literature (MLA and Chicago Style)

Recognized Styles :

• Modern Language Association (MLA)
• American Psychological Association (APA)
• Chicago Manual of Style (CMS)

Notable Differences :

• MLA primarily used for humanities.
• APA preferred for sciences.
• CMS suitable for broad range of subjects.
• MLA or APA? Humanities often use MLA, while APA is for sciences.
• CMS relevance? Offers flexibility across various subjects.

Formatting Essentials :

• MLA : Author’s last name and first name. Book Title, Publisher, and Year Published.
• APA : Author’s last nameand initials. (Year Published), Book Title, and Publisher.
• CMS : Author’s last name and first name. Book Title, City of publication: Publisher, and Year Published.

How to properly quote a book: Suggested Literature

For Nonfiction Authors:

• Navigating Common Errors in Drafting
• Mastering Self-Review Techniques

Enhance Your Editing Skills:

• Recognize and Fix Typical Writing Slip-ups
• Implement Effective DIY Revision Strategies

How to properly quote a book: Common Inquiries Regarding Book Quotations

Apa style book quotation formatting.

When quoting from a book in APA style, include the author’s last name, publication year, and page number in parentheses after the quote. For example, (Smith, 2020, p. 152).

Incorporating Book Quotes into Essays

To integrate a direct quote, introduce it with a signal phrase, such as “According to Smith (2020),” followed by the quotation and a parenthetical citation.

Citing Book Titles in Text

Italicize the title of the book within the essay text. Also, capitalize the major words of the title, for instance, The Great Gatsby .

Referencing Direct Quotes from Individuals in Scholarly Writing

For a direct quote from a person, include their name, the year, and the page number if available, and much like a book citation. Example: (Doe, 2021, p. 45).

In-Text Citation Example

When citing within the body of an essay, you might write, “It is noted that ‘the data reflects…’ (Smith, 2020, p. 152).”

Attributing Quotes from Books in Academic Work

To correctly attribute a quote from a book:

• Introduce the quote with the author’s name
• Include a citation after the quote
• Add the full citation in the reference list at the end of your paper

Resources for How to Properly Quote a Book

• American Psychological Association
• Chicago Manual of Style
• APA vs MLA – The Key Differences in Format and Citation

Recommended Reading

• 5 Editing Mistakes to Avoid When Writing a Nonfiction Book
• 5 Steps to Self-Editing Your Writing

Share this post: on Twitter on Facebook on LinkedIn

About Training Authors

Join Our FREE Facebook Group: Kingdom Writers Community Group

Together, CJ and Shelley Hitz are passionate about equipping and empowering Christian writers of all genres to share their unique gifts with the world. This website is filled with spiritual encouragement as well as prayers to help you overcome the resistance you face as a writer. Your story matters! Our online community, Christian Book Academy , is where we help you write, self-publish and market your books. We invite you to join our community of Kingdom Writers! 

   Get our FREE training for writers here and shop our tools and templates here.  

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Table of Contents

Collaboration, information literacy, writing process, quoting in mla – definition & examples.

• © 2023 by Angela Eward-Mangione - Hillsborough Community College

Quotations are effective in academic writing when used carefully and selectively. Although misquoting or quoting too much can confuse or overwhelm your audience, quoting relevant and unique words, phrases, sentences, lines, or passages can help you achieve your purpose.

The Modern Language Association (MLA) provides guidelines/rules for quoting:

• Quotes within quotes.  

This article discusses rules for quoting both prose and quotes within quotes. It also addresses a few special issues, like what to do if there is a spelling error in a quote, as well as how to handle punctuation. Consult the MLA Handbook to review additional topics and learn more.

Writers must always accurately quote the source. If you decide to quote a source in order to support your thesis statement, reproduce the source word for word. Unless you use brackets or parentheses (see below), changes to the source’s words, spelling, capitalization, or punctuation cannot be made. Additionally, introducing the quote with a signal phrase helps you smoothly incorporate the quotation (“Quotations” 75).

Quoting Prose

The rules for quoting prose vary according to how much you quote. Adhere to the following guidelines.

Special Issues: Omissions in Passages

According to the MLA Handbook , if you must omit a word, phrase, or sentence from a quoted passage, mark the omission with ellipsis points (. . . ), or three spaced periods (80-81).

If you omit an entire sentence, use ellipses points, and retain rules for end punctuation (always place a period at the end of a declarative sentence). In other words, use four periods, with no space before the first or after the last. Follow this rule for a quotation with an ellipses at the end as well, except when a parenthetical citation follows the ellipses.

Original : “I know I have said this before and will say it again, but it bears repeating: if it’s not in the text, it doesn’t exist. We can only read what is present in a novel, play, or film. If something informed the author’s creation of the text but the evidence is not present in the text, that’s a matter for scholars concerned with motives, not with readers wrestling with meaning” (80). Quote with Omission : In How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas Foster emphasizes the importance of focusing on textual evidence: “I know I have said this before and will say it again, but it bears repeating: if it’s not in the text, it doesn’t exist. . . . If something informed the author’s creation of the text but the evidence is not

Explanation : Foster’s main point is that readers of literature should concern themselves with the evidence in the text. Pointing out that readers can only read what is actually present in a particular text is illustrative, but this assertion can be omitted without changing the meaning of the passage.

A Word of Caution : Never present a quote in a way that could cause a reader to misunderstand the original quote (80-81).

Additional Special Issues

Other Alterations of Quotes

There may be some occasions when you need to alter a quote in order to prevent the audience from becoming confused.

Punctuation

In the book Subliminal, Leonard Mlodinow explains the role that technology has played in furthering our understanding of the unconscious: “The current revolution in thinking about the unconscious came about because, with modern instruments, we can watch as different structures and substructures in the brain generate feelings and emotions. We can measure the electrical output of individual neurons” (15).

As Harry Frankfurt cautions, “The fact that a person could not have avoided doing something is a sufficient condition of his having done it. But, as some of my examples show, this fact may play no role whatever in the explanation of why he did it” (8).

To further explain the principle of diminishing marginal utility of income, Watts quotes Abba Lerner, who argues that the principle ““can be derived from the assumption that consumers spend their income in a way that maximizes the satisfaction they can derive from the good obtained’” (Lerner qtd. in Watts 141).

“No!” she emphatically responded, for the third time.

Do you agree with Watts’s view regarding the essential difference between persons and other creatures: that it is to be found in the “structure of a person’s will” (12)? The question mark is not part of the quoted material, so it should be placed outside the closing quotation mark.

Quoting prose in MLA format can seem like a daunting task. Fortunately, the MLA has offered clear guidelines for doing so. Consult the MLA Handbook to learn more about quoting in MLA.

Works Cited

Foster, Thomas. How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines . Revised Edition. Harper Perennial, 2014.

Frankfurt, Harry. The Importance of What We Care About. Cambridge UP, 1998.

Mlodinow, Leonard. Subliminal : How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior . Vintage Books, 2012.

“Quotations.” The MLA Handbook . 8 th edition. The Modern Language Association of America, 2016, pp. 75-91.

Smith, James Jr. The Writer’s Little Helper . Writer’s Digest Books, 2006.

Watts, Alan. The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are . 1966. VintageBooks, 1989.

Brevity - Say More with Less

Clarity (in Speech and Writing)

Coherence - How to Achieve Coherence in Writing

Flow - How to Create Flow in Writing

Inclusivity - Inclusive Language

The Elements of Style - The DNA of Powerful Writing

Recommended

Academic Writing – How to Write for the Academic Community

Structured Revision – How to Revise Your Work

Professional Writing – How to Write for the Professional World

Credibility & Authority – How to Be Credible & Authoritative in Research, Speech & Writing

Citation Guide – Learn How to Cite Sources in Academic and Professional Writing

Page Design – How to Design Messages for Maximum Impact

Suggested edits.

• Please select the purpose of your message. * - Corrections, Typos, or Edits Technical Support/Problems using the site Advertising with Writing Commons Copyright Issues I am contacting you about something else
• Your full name
• Your email address *
• Page URL needing edits *
• Name This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Other Topics:

Citation - Definition - Introduction to Citation in Academic & Professional Writing

• Joseph M. Moxley

Explore the different ways to cite sources in academic and professional writing, including in-text (Parenthetical), numerical, and note citations.

Collaboration - What is the Role of Collaboration in Academic & Professional Writing?

Collaboration refers to the act of working with others or AI to solve problems, coauthor texts, and develop products and services. Collaboration is a highly prized workplace competency in academic...

Genre may reference a type of writing, art, or musical composition; socially-agreed upon expectations about how writers and speakers should respond to particular rhetorical situations; the cultural values; the epistemological assumptions...

Grammar refers to the rules that inform how people and discourse communities use language (e.g., written or spoken English, body language, or visual language) to communicate. Learn about the rhetorical...

Information Literacy - Discerning Quality Information from Noise

Information Literacy refers to the competencies associated with locating, evaluating, using, and archiving information. In order to thrive, much less survive in a global information economy — an economy where information functions as a...

Mindset refers to a person or community’s way of feeling, thinking, and acting about a topic. The mindsets you hold, consciously or subconsciously, shape how you feel, think, and act–and...

Rhetoric: Exploring Its Definition and Impact on Modern Communication

Learn about rhetoric and rhetorical practices (e.g., rhetorical analysis, rhetorical reasoning,  rhetorical situation, and rhetorical stance) so that you can strategically manage how you compose and subsequently produce a text...

Style, most simply, refers to how you say something as opposed to what you say. The style of your writing matters because audiences are unlikely to read your work or...

The Writing Process - Research on Composing

The writing process refers to everything you do in order to complete a writing project. Over the last six decades, researchers have studied and theorized about how writers go about...

Writing Studies

Writing studies refers to an interdisciplinary community of scholars and researchers who study writing. Writing studies also refers to an academic, interdisciplinary discipline – a subject of study. Students in...

Featured Articles

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Education and Communications
• College University and Postgraduate
• Academic Writing

How to Cite a Quote

Last Updated: June 27, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was reviewed by Gerald Posner . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. There are 18 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,268,637 times.

According to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, the word "plagiarize" can mean trying to pass off someone else's ideas, work or words as your own, or using those ideas, work or words without giving due credit to the source. You can avoid either misdeed by simply giving credit where credit is due. The three primary citation styles are APA, MLA, and CMS.

Sample Citations

Cite a Quote in APA Style

Example: Smith (2013) states that citing quotes can be challenging.

The author remarks on the "difficulty of citing quotes," (Smith, 2002, p. 32) but does not go into depth. or Smith (2002) mentions the "difficulty of citing quotes" (p. 32) but does not go into depth.

These scholars agree that "quotes are useful" (Hu, Koller, and Shier, 2013, p. 75). or Hu, Koller, and Shier agree that "quotes are useful" (p. 75).

In a study, it was determined that “the sky is in fact blue” (“Obvious Observations,” 2013).

Another study showed that “clouds are white” (“More Obvious Observations,” n.d., para. 7).

The message affirmed that “the sky is in fact blue” (John Smith, email, August 23, 2013).

Book with one or more authors: Lastname, First Initials (year published). Title of Book . Location: Publisher. Book with no author: [7] X Trustworthy Source APA Style Definitive source for current APA style writing and citation guidelines Go to source Title of Book. (Year). Location: Publisher. Web page: Lastname, First Initials (date of publication). Title of document. URL. If there is no date, write n.d. If there is no author, start with "Title. (date)." [8] X Research source

Cite a Quote in MLA Style

The meat factory workers of Chicago “were tied to the great packing-machine, and tied to it for life” (Sinclair, 99). or Upton Sinclair described the workers as "tied to the great packing-machine, and tied to it for life” (99).

Two or three authors The authors state, “citing quotes can be annoying” (Hu, Koller, and Shier 45). More than three authors: The authors state, “citing different sources can be confusing” (Perhamus et al. 63). [11] X Research source

Citing How to Cite Like a Champion and Be Better Than Other Writers : Citing sources can get annoying because “it can take a while” (Cite like a Champion 72).

The sky is blue but “clouds are white” (Obvious Observations Online).

An email message confirmed that “the sky is indeed blue” (Smith).

Book with one author: Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book . City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication. Note: The Medium of Publication is "Print" for paper books. Other media include Web and Radio. Book with multiple authors: Lastname, Firstname of first alphabetical author, then Firstname Lastname for other authors. Title of Book . City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication. Book with no known author: Title of publication . City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication. Web page: [16] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source “Name of Article.” Name of Website. Name of website owner, date of publication. Web. Date of access. Note: Write n.d. if no publishing date is listed. Personal interview: Lastname, Firstname of interviewee. Personal interview. Date. Published interview: Lastname, Firstname of interviewee. Interview with (Name of Interviewer). Publication or program (year): page numbers if applicable. Medium of publication. Personal message: Lastname, Firstname of sender. “Title of Message.” Medium. Date.

Cite a Quote in CMS

The people who worked in the meat factories of Chicago at the turn of the century “were tied to the great packing-machine, and tied to it for life.” 1

1 Upton Sinclair, The Jungle (Doubleday, Page & Company: 1906), 99.

With an author: John Doe, “Citing Sources,” Organization of Writing Fanatics, last modified August 23, 2013, www.blahcitingblahblah.com Page without an author: “Citing Sources,” Organization of Writing Fanatics, last modified August 23, 2013, www.blahcitingblahblah.com

Unpublished interview: John Doe, (musician) in discussion with the author, Aug 23, 2013. Published interview: John Doe, interviewed by Jane Doe, Music Lovers, Aug 23, 2013. Personal communication: John Doe, email to the author, Aug 23, 2013.

' Book with one author: Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication. Book with two authors: Lastname, Firstname and Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication. Book with no known author: Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication. Web page with author: Lastname, Firstname. “Title of Web Page.” Publishing Organization or Name of Website in Italics. Publication date and/or access date if available. URL. Web page without an author: “Title of Web Page.” Publishing Organization or Name of Website in Italics. Publication date and/or access date if available. URL. Published Interview: Lastname, Firstname of interviewee, place where interview was held, by Interviewer's Firstname Lastname, date.

Community Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/apaquickguide/intext
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_the_basics.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_author_authors.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_electronic_sources.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_basic_rules.html
• ↑ http://www.apastyle.org/learn/faqs/cite-book-no-author.aspx
• ↑ https://libguides.jcu.edu.au/apa/reference-list
• ↑ https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/mlacitation/intext
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_basics.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_electronic_sources.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_other_common_sources.html
• ↑ https://research.wou.edu/c.php?g=551307&p=3785495
• ↑ https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-2.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/chicago_manual_17th_edition/cmos_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/chicago_manual_17th_edition/cmos_formatting_and_style_guide/books.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/chicago_manual_17th_edition/cmos_formatting_and_style_guide/web_sources.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/chicago_manual_17th_edition/cmos_formatting_and_style_guide/interviews_personal_communication.html
• ↑ https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-1.html

About This Article

To cite a quote using APA, put parentheses with the citation directly after the quoted material. For a citation with one or more authors, include their last names, the year of publication, and page number preceded by a "p.” If you're citing something but don't know the author, put the title of the publication and its date in parentheses. You can follow the same author-date format to cite web pages, but if you don't know the author or the date, use a shortened version of the web page title and write "n.d." after for "no date." To learn how to cite a quote using MLA or CMS, scroll down! Did this summary help you? Yes No

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Apr 26, 2018

Did this article help you?

Ritchel Noay

Feb 14, 2019

Dec 16, 2018

Bahadr Trker

Mar 10, 2017

Siege Martenes

Sep 13, 2016

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

Don’t miss out! Sign up for

wikiHow’s newsletter

popular searches

• Request Info

Suggested Ways to Introduce Quotations

When you quote another writer's words, it's best to introduce or contextualize the quote. 

How To Quote In An Essay?

To introduce a quote in an essay, don't forget to include author's last name and page number (MLA) or author, date, and page number (APA) in your citation. Shown below are some possible ways to introduce quotations. The examples use MLA format.

Use A Full Sentence Followed by A Colon To Introduce A Quotation

• The setting emphasizes deception: "Nothing is as it appears" (Smith 1).
• Piercy ends the poem on an ironic note: "To every woman a happy ending" (25).

Begin A Sentence with Your Own Words, Then Complete It with Quoted Words

Note that in the second example below, a slash with a space on either side ( / ) marks a line break in the original poem.

• Hamlet's task is to avenge a "foul and most unnatural murder" (Shakespeare 925).
• The speaker is mystified by her sleeping baby, whose "moth-breath / flickers among the flat pink roses" (Plath 17).

Use An Introductory Phrase Naming The Source, Followed By A Comma to Quote A Critic or Researcher

Note that the first letter after the quotation marks should be upper case. According to MLA guidelines, if you change the case of a letter from the original, you must indicate this with brackets. APA format doesn't require brackets.

• According to Smith, "[W]riting is fun" (215).
• In Smith's words, " . . .
• In Smith's view, " . . .

Use A Descriptive Verb, Followed by A Comma To Introduce A Critic's Words

Avoid using says unless the words were originally spoken aloud, for instance, during an interview.

• Smith states, "This book is terrific" (102).
• Smith remarks, " . . .
• Smith writes, " . . .
• Smith notes, " . . .
• Smith comments, " . . .
• Smith observes, " . . .
• Smith concludes, " . . .
• Smith reports, " . . .
• Smith maintains, " . . .
• Smith adds, " . . .

Don't Follow It with A Comma If Your Lead into The Quotation Ends in That or As

The first letter of the quotation should be lower case.

• Smith points out that "millions of students would like to burn this book" (53).
• Smith emphasizes that " . . .
• Smith interprets the hand washing in MacBeth as "an attempt at absolution" (106).
• Smith describes the novel as "a celebration of human experience" (233).

Other Writing Resources

Enhance your academic writing skills by exploring our additional writing resources that will help you craft compelling essays, research papers, and more.

Your New Chapter Starts Wherever You Are

The support you need and education you deserve, no matter where life leads.

because a future built by you is a future built for you.

Too many people have been made to feel that higher education isn’t a place for them— that it is someone else’s dream. But we change all that. With individualized attention and ongoing support, we help you write a new story for the future where you play the starring role.

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

MLA Works Cited Page: Books

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

When you are gathering book sources, be sure to make note of the following bibliographic items: the author name(s), other contributors such as translators or editors, the book’s title, editions of the book, the publication date, the publisher, and the pagination.

The 8 th  edition of the MLA handbook highlights principles over prescriptive practices. Essentially, a writer will need to take note of primary elements in every source, such as author, title, etc. and then assort them in a general format. Thus, by using this methodology, a writer will be able to cite any source regardless of whether it’s included in this list.

Please note these changes in the new edition:

• Commas are used instead of periods between Publisher, Publication Date, and Pagination.
• Medium is no longer necessary.
• Containers are now a part of the MLA process. Commas should be used after container titles.
• DOIs should be used instead of URLS when available.
• Use the term “Accessed” instead of listing the date or the abbreviation, “n.d."

Below is the general format for any citation:

Author. Title. Title of container (do not list container for standalone books, e.g. novels), Other contributors (translators or editors), Version (edition), Number (vol. and/or no.), Publisher, Publication Date, Location (pages, paragraphs URL or DOI). 2 nd  container’s title, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location, Date of Access (if applicable).

Basic Book Format

The author’s name or a book with a single author's name appears in last name, first name format. The basic form for a book citation is:

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book . City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.

* Note: the City of Publication should only be used if the book was published before 1900, if the publisher has offices in more than one country, or if the publisher is unknown in North America.

Book with One Author

Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science . Penguin, 1987.

Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House . MacMurray, 1999.

Book with More Than One Author

When a book has two authors, order the authors in the same way they are presented in the book. Start by listing the first name that appears on the book in last name, first name format; subsequent author names appear in normal order (first name last name format).

Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring . Allyn and Bacon, 2000.

If there are three or more authors, list only the first author followed by the phrase et al. (Latin for "and others") in place of the subsequent authors' names. (Note that there is a period after “al” in “et al.” Also note that there is never a period after the “et” in “et al.”).

Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition . Utah State UP, 2004.

Two or More Books by the Same Author

List works alphabetically by title. (Remember to ignore articles like A, An, and The.) Provide the author’s name in last name, first name format for the first entry only. For each subsequent entry by the same author, use three hyphens and a period.

Palmer, William J. Dickens and New Historicism . St. Martin's, 1997.

---. The Films of the Eighties: A Social History . Southern Illinois UP, 1993.

Book by a Corporate Author or Organization

A corporate author may include a commission, a committee, a government agency, or a group that does not identify individual members on the title page.

List the names of corporate authors in the place where an author’s name typically appears at the beginning of the entry.

American Allergy Association. Allergies in Children . Random House, 1998.

When the author and publisher are the same, skip the author, and list the title first. Then, list the corporate author only as the publisher.

Fair Housing—Fair Lending. Aspen Law & Business, 1985.

Book with No Author

List by title of the book. Incorporate these entries alphabetically just as you would with works that include an author name. For example, the following entry might appear between entries of works written by Dean, Shaun and Forsythe, Jonathan.

Encyclopedia of Indiana . Somerset, 1993.

Remember that for an in-text (parenthetical) citation of a book with no author, you should provide the name of the work in the signal phrase and the page number in parentheses. You may also use a shortened version of the title of the book accompanied by the page number. For more information see the In-text Citations for Print Sources with No Known Author section of In-text Citations: The Basics .

A Translated Book

If you want to emphasize the work rather than the translator, cite as you would any other book. Add “translated by” and follow with the name(s) of the translator(s).

Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason . Translated by Richard Howard, Vintage-Random House, 1988.

If you want to focus on the translation, list the translator as the author. In place of the author’s name, the translator’s name appears. His or her name is followed by the label, “translator.” If the author of the book does not appear in the title of the book, include the name, with a “By” after the title of the book and before the publisher. Note that this type of citation is less common and should only be used for papers or writing in which translation plays a central role.

Howard, Richard, translator. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason . By Michel Foucault, Vintage-Random House, 1988.

Republished Book

Books may be republished due to popularity without becoming a new edition. New editions are typically revisions of the original work. For books that originally appeared at an earlier date and that have been republished at a later one, insert the original publication date before the publication information.

For books that are new editions (i.e. different from the first or other editions of the book), see An Edition of a Book below.

Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble . 1990. Routledge, 1999.

Erdrich, Louise. Love Medicine . 1984. Perennial-Harper, 1993.

An Edition of a Book

There are two types of editions in book publishing: a book that has been published more than once in different editions and a book that is prepared by someone other than the author (typically an editor).

A Subsequent Edition

Cite the book as you normally would, but add the number of the edition after the title.

Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students . 3rd ed., Pearson, 2004.

A Work Prepared by an Editor

Cite the book as you normally would, but add the editor after the title with the label "edited by."

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre,  edited by Margaret Smith, Oxford UP, 1998.

Note that the format for citing sources with important contributors with editor-like roles follows the same basic template:

...adapted by John Doe...

Finally, in the event that the source features a contributor that cannot be described with a past-tense verb and the word "by" (e.g., "edited by"), you may instead use a noun followed by a comma, like so:

...guest editor, Jane Smith...

Anthology or Collection (e.g. Collection of Essays)

To cite the entire anthology or collection, list by editor(s) followed by a comma and "editor" or, for multiple editors, "editors." This sort of entry is somewhat rare. If you are citing a particular piece within an anthology or collection (more common), see A Work in an Anthology, Reference, or Collection below.

Hill, Charles A., and Marguerite Helmers, editors. Defining Visual Rhetorics . Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004.

Peterson, Nancy J., editor. Toni Morrison: Critical and Theoretical Approaches . Johns Hopkins UP, 1997.

A Work in an Anthology, Reference, or Collection

Works may include an essay in an edited collection or anthology, or a chapter of a book. The basic form is for this sort of citation is as follows:

Last name, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection , edited by Editor's Name(s), Publisher, Year, Page range of entry.

Some examples:

Harris, Muriel. "Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers." A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers One to One , edited by Ben Rafoth, Heinemann, 2000, pp. 24-34.

Swanson, Gunnar. "Graphic Design Education as a Liberal Art: Design and Knowledge in the University and The 'Real World.'" The Education of a Graphic Designer , edited by Steven Heller, Allworth Press, 1998, pp. 13-24.

Note on Cross-referencing Several Items from One Anthology: If you cite more than one essay from the same edited collection, MLA indicates you may cross-reference within your works cited list in order to avoid writing out the publishing information for each separate essay. You should consider this option if you have several references from a single text. To do so, include a separate entry for the entire collection listed by the editor's name as below:

Rose, Shirley K, and Irwin Weiser, editors. The Writing Program Administrator as Researcher . Heinemann, 1999.

Then, for each individual essay from the collection, list the author's name in last name, first name format, the title of the essay, the editor's last name, and the page range:

L'Eplattenier, Barbara. "Finding Ourselves in the Past: An Argument for Historical Work on WPAs." Rose and Weiser, pp. 131-40.

Peeples, Tim. "'Seeing' the WPA With/Through Postmodern Mapping." Rose and Weiser, pp. 153-67.

Please note: When cross-referencing items in the works cited list, alphabetical order should be maintained for the entire list.

Poem or Short Story Examples :

Burns, Robert. "Red, Red Rose." 100 Best-Loved Poems, edited by Philip Smith, Dover, 1995, p. 26.

Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories , edited by Tobias Wolff, Vintage, 1994, pp. 306-07.

If the specific literary work is part of the author's own collection (all of the works have the same author), then there will be no editor to reference:

Whitman, Walt. "I Sing the Body Electric." Selected Poems, Dover, 1991, pp. 12-19.

Carter, Angela. "The Tiger's Bride." Burning Your Boats: The Collected Stories, Penguin, 1995, pp. 154-69.

Article in a Reference Book (e.g. Encyclopedias, Dictionaries)

For entries in encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference works, cite the entry name as you would any other work in a collection but do not include the publisher information. Also, if the reference book is organized alphabetically, as most are, do not list the volume or the page number of the article or item.

"Ideology." The American Heritage Dictionary.  3rd ed. 1997. 

A Multivolume Work

When citing only one volume of a multivolume work, include the volume number after the work's title, or after the work's editor or translator.

Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria . Translated by H. E. Butler, vol. 2, Loeb-Harvard UP, 1980.

When citing more than one volume of a multivolume work, cite the total number of volumes in the work. Also, be sure in your in-text citation to provide both the volume number and page number(s) ( see "Citing Multivolume Works" on our in-text citations resource .)

Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria . Translated by H. E. Butler, Loeb-Harvard UP, 1980. 4 vols.

If the volume you are using has its own title, cite the book without referring to the other volumes as if it were an independent publication.

Churchill, Winston S. The Age of Revolution . Dodd, 1957.

An Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword

When citing an introduction, a preface, a foreword, or an afterword, write the name of the author(s) of the piece you are citing. Then give the name of the part being cited, which should not be italicized or enclosed in quotation marks; in italics, provide the name of the work and the name of the author of the introduction/preface/foreword/afterword. Finish the citation with the details of publication and page range.

Farrell, Thomas B. Introduction. Norms of Rhetorical Culture , by Farrell, Yale UP, 1993, pp. 1-13.

If the writer of the piece is different from the author of the complete work , then write the full name of the principal work's author after the word "By." For example, if you were to cite Hugh Dalziel Duncan’s introduction of Kenneth Burke’s book Permanence and Change, you would write the entry as follows:

Duncan, Hugh Dalziel. Introduction. Permanence and Change: An Anatomy of Purpose, by Kenneth Burke, 1935, 3rd ed., U of California P, 1984, pp. xiii-xliv.

Book Published Before 1900

Original copies of books published before 1900 are usually defined by their place of publication rather than the publisher. Unless you are using a newer edition, cite the city of publication where you would normally cite the publisher.

Thoreau, Henry David. Excursions . Boston, 1863.

Italicize “The Bible” and follow it with the version you are using. Remember that your in-text (parenthetical citation) should include the name of the specific edition of the Bible, followed by an abbreviation of the book, the chapter and verse(s). (See Citing the Bible at In-Text Citations: The Basics .)

The Bible. Authorized King James Version , Oxford UP, 1998.

The Bible. The New Oxford Annotated Version , 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2001.

The New Jerusalem Bible. Edited by Susan Jones, Doubleday, 1985.

A Government Publication

Cite the author of the publication if the author is identified. Otherwise, start with the name of the national government, followed by the agency (including any subdivisions or agencies) that serves as the organizational author. For congressional documents, be sure to include the number of the Congress and the session when the hearing was held or resolution passed as well as the report number. US government documents are typically published by the Government Printing Office.

United States, Congress, Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearing on the Geopolitics of Oil . Government Printing Office, 2007. 110th Congress, 1st session, Senate Report 111-8.

United States, Government Accountability Office. Climate Change: EPA and DOE Should Do More to Encourage Progress Under Two Voluntary Programs . Government Printing Office, 2006.

Cite the title and publication information for the pamphlet just as you would a book without an author. Pamphlets and promotional materials commonly feature corporate authors (commissions, committees, or other groups that does not provide individual group member names). If the pamphlet you are citing has no author, cite as directed below. If your pamphlet has an author or a corporate author, put the name of the author (last name, first name format) or corporate author in the place where the author name typically appears at the beginning of the entry. (See also Books by a Corporate Author or Organization above.)

Women's Health: Problems of the Digestive System . American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2006.

Your Rights Under California Welfare Programs . California Department of Social Services, 2007.

Dissertations and Master's Theses

Dissertations and master's theses may be used as sources whether published or not. Unlike previous editions, MLA 8 specifies no difference in style for published/unpublished works.

The main elements of a dissertation citation are the same as those for a book: author name(s), title (italicized) , and publication date. Conclude with an indication of the document type (e.g., "PhD dissertation"). The degree-granting institution may be included before the document type (though this is not required). If the dissertation was accessed through an online repository, include it as the second container after all the other elements.

Bishop, Karen Lynn. Documenting Institutional Identity: Strategic Writing in the IUPUI Comprehensive Campaign . 2002. Purdue University, PhD dissertation.

Bile, Jeffrey. Ecology, Feminism, and a Revised Critical Rhetoric: Toward a Dialectical Partnership . 2005. Ohio University, PhD dissertation.

Mitchell, Mark. The Impact of Product Quality Reducing Events on the Value of Brand-Name Capital: Evidence from Airline Crashes and the 1982 Tylenol Poisonings.  1987. PhD dissertation.  ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.

List the names of corporate authors in the place where an author’s name typically appears at the beginning of the entry if the author and publisher are not the same.

Fair Housing—Fair Lending. Aspen Law & Business, 1985.

Stack Exchange Network

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

How to quote a book in my novel?

I write as a hobby and so my works are pretty amateur, but I still try to keep my writing as legitimate and proper as I can. My novel is about how a teenage boy (who is notorious for being a bad decision maker) makes a few bad decisions and has to start living and dealing with the consequences.

Throughout, he's been reading Oscar Wilde's novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray . There are a few instances where my character quotes the book, or where the narrator quotes the book, and the themes of morality resemble each other—in a roundabout way. I would compare it to how She's the Man is a modernized version of Shakespeares Twelfth Night .

My question is: Is it fine for me to use these quotes and make these comparisons? I understand Wilde has been dead for some time now, and that his works fall under public domain, I just don't want to misuse anything.

• Welcome to Writing.SE Dani ! A little tip about markdown: you need to have two spaces at the end of a line before hitting Enter to get a soft linebreak. Hitting Enter twice gives a paragraph. Most of the time I've seen people prefer paragraphs in their writing. There is a little box at the top of where you type your posts that can help you with the different markdown features and you can check the result below the box. You can also "suggest an edit" to others posts to check their markdown. If you have a moment please take the tour and visit the help center to learn more about the site. Have fun! –  Secespitus Commented Apr 30, 2018 at 21:50
• Another tip: it's recommended to wait a little (~24 hours) to let other users chime in. Your question hasn't been up for twenty minutes and there are users all around the globe in different timezones. You can always accept/unaccept as often as you like, but some people might be discouragred from interacting with your question when they think you have found your solution, so waiting can potentially increase the amount and quality of the answers you receive. Just at tip for the future: it's completely up to you to decide whether or not you want to accept something and if so what and when. –  Secespitus Commented Apr 30, 2018 at 22:09

2 Answers 2

Oscar Wilde's work is in the public domain; so yes, you can copy and quote it directly, even without attribution. You are doing Wilde a favor by attributing the quotes to his book. It isn't a problem.

• 2 This is a good answer for this specific situation, Amadeus, however could you possibly elaborate on the answer to apply it to quoting other novels in general beyond just Oscar Wilde? –  White Eagle Commented Apr 30, 2018 at 22:30
• 2 @WhiteEagle I have taken the liberty to add a more general answer to Amadeus' specific one. –  user29032 Commented May 1, 2018 at 9:24

You can look at this question from two levels: legal and writing .

From a writing perspective, in fiction there are no rules about how you have to cite other works.

If you write an academic journal article, you will have to follow a style guide on how to denote citations (e.g. put cited text in quotations marks) and in what format the source has to be given. In fiction, there are no such rules. You can do this however you want. If you like, you can write your whole novel in sentences cited from other works without acknowledging this even once.

In fiction you show how people behave in (something like) real life, and therefore citations in fiction are handled like citations in life. If you sing a song in real life, you don't usually add that this was a citation from a song and say who composed it. You just sing it, and others will recognize it or not, and if they don't and want to know the title, they ask. Do the same in fiction. If you have a character singing a verse from a song, then only mention the title of the song or the original singer or composer, if the characters talk about this . If they don't, don't mention it (in text) either. You can, if you want to, explain all your sources in an appendix, but (from the perspective of writing a story) you don't have to.

Legally, you may be required to acknowledge your use of copyrighted material and even ask for permission. 1 Usually, if the citations are brief and fall under fair use , you don't have to ask for permission, but it is still good practice to list the works and their respective copyright holders on your book's copyright page. 2

If the works you cite from have been released into the public domain or if the copyright has expired, you can do what you want with the text. Other licenses, such as Creative Commons or GPL, will explain what you need to do.

1 The legal situation may be different in different countries.

2 We are not lawyers on this site. You may want to consult a lawyer when you are unsure about legal issues. As @celtschk has pointed out in a comment below, be especially careful if you want to cite song lyrics or poems.

• 1 Actually some time ago I came across this which, while actually about song lyrics, might also be relevant here. –  celtschk Commented May 1, 2018 at 15:57

Your Answer

Reminder: Answers generated by artificial intelligence tools are not allowed on Writing Stack Exchange. Learn more

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest.

Required, but never shown

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy .

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged novel copyright citations legal or ask your own question .

• Featured on Meta
• Upcoming initiatives on Stack Overflow and across the Stack Exchange network...
• We spent a sprint addressing your requests — here’s how it went

Hot Network Questions

• Accommodating whiteboard glare for low-vision student
• Of "ils" and "elles", which pronoun is, grammatically speaking, used to refer to a group with an overwhelming female majority?
• What do American people call the classes that students go to after school for SATs?
• How should I deal with curves in new deck boards during installation?
• Confusion regarding "since" vs "for"
• Is a spirit summoned with the Find Greater Steed spell affected by the Divine Word spell?
• ArXiv submission on hold for 11 days. Should I inquire via moderation support or wait longer?
• A web site allows upload of pdf/svg files, can we say it is vulnerable to Stored XSS?
• Histogram manipulation
• Can IBM Quantum hardware handle any CSWAP at all?
• Can I exit România on a different passport than the one used for entering the country?
• Which Präposition should I use with Erwartungen?
• Part name of this IC - Analog Devices, 8-pin, "S 6B" A 06" "C 42"
• Why does Macbeth well deserve his name?
• Sci-fi movie - men in a bar in a small town, trapped by an alien
• French Election 2024 - seat share based on first round only
• Is prescreening not detrimental for paid surveys?
• Dual of slope semistable vector bundle on higher dimensional variety
• Are the North Star and the moon ever visible in the night sky at the same time?
• Pattern on a PCB
• Is it possible with modern-day technology to expand an already built bunker further below without the risk of collapsing the entire bunker?
• Whom did Rashi call "oker harim"
• Custom panel is created but does not display properly in custom plug-in
• Error concerning projectile motion in respected textbook?

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to content

• Home – AI for Research

How to cite a quote from a book

In this post, we take a look at some general guidelines when it comes to citing quoted text from a book. The guide will cover APA style (American Psychological Association ) as well as MLA style, and we’ll go through how to format the author names (author’s first name, the author’s last name), year of publication, title of the work, closing punctuation mark  and how to use brackets.

Note that there are some differences when it comes to citing web pages compared to a book where you have a specific page number. The following guidelines are applicable for the sixth edition of the APA style.

APA [6 th edition]

APA notes that a direct quotation is a verbatim representation of words from another work or words from your earlier published work. It goes on to advise that paraphrasing should be preferred to quoting directly because it grants you more flexibility to organize words in a way that matches the context of the paper you are writing and also gives you more room to display your writing style to the reading public. However, direct quotations should be used when:

• writing an exact definition
• you want to precisely capture a memorable or succinct saying by another writer, and
• it is pertinent to comment on an exact expression [for, instance, a comment by another individual]

Note that external influences such as teachers, editors, software programmes, and publishers can limit the extent to which quotations should be used. It is therefore advised that the writer consults to find out if such restrictions exist before proceeding to include quotes in his or her paper.

Short quotations [Less than 40 words]

If the quoted passage does not have up to 40 words, it should be enclosed in quotation marks and then integrated into the text. There is no need to add an ellipsis at the start or conclusion of the quotation if such is not the case with the original source of the quotation. For example , in underdeveloped countries, “the masses are poverty-ridden, they are mostly illiterate and unskilled, use outmoded capital equipment and methods of production.” (Jhingan, 2011, p. 52).

When dealing with a direct quotation, be sure to attach a full citation in the quoted sentence[s]. The citation should include location information such as a page number or paragraph number.

The following tips will help.

• A parenthetical citation should be attached either immediately after the quotation or at the conclusion of the sentence
• In the case of a narrative citation, the author and year should form part of the sentence while the location information [e.g., page number] should be enclosed in parenthesis at the end of the quotation.
• In a situation where the quotation precedes the narrative citation, then the location information should come after the year, and a comma
• If the citation is situated at a sentence’s end, the end punctuation [that is, the sentence-ending period] should come after the citation’s closing parenthesis
• For a quotation that comes with its own citation, more clarifications can be found in section 8.32 of the APA Publication Manual
• For a quotation that has a part of it also in quotes, section 8.33 of the Publication Manual provides more insight
• Commas and periods should be positioned inside quotation marks and other punctuation marks kept outside unless they are part of the quoted material

Block quotations [from 40 words and above]

Below are the steps for formatting block quotations.

• It is not necessary to enclose a block quotation with quotation marks
• Block quotations should begin on a new line and the whole block indented 0.5 inches from the left margin
• The whole block quotation should be double spaced
• No extra space should be added before or after the block quotation
• Where additional paragraphs occur within the block quotation, the first line of each new paragraph should be indented by an additional 0.5 inches. An example can be found in section 8.27 of the Manual
• The author/source can either be cited parenthetically after the quotation’s last punctuation or in a narrative format by placing the source/author before the quotation and the location information in parenthesis after the last punctuation in the quotation
• For a parenthetical citation, cite your source in parenthesis after the quotation’s last punctuation and for a narrative citation, the author and year should be cited in the narrative before the quotation while the parenthesized page number should come after the quotation’s last punctuation [as shown in the examples below]
• In either of the cases above, there is no need for a period after the parentheses [as shown in the examples below]

Block quotation with parenthetical citation

Here is a perspective on the importance of econometrics:

Economic theory makes statements or hypotheses that are mostly qualitative in nature. For example, microeconomic theory states that other things remaining the same, a reduction in the price of a commodity is expected to increase the quantity demanded of that commodity. But theory itself does not provide any numerical measure of the relationship between the two; that is, it does not tell by how much the quantity will go up or down as a result of a certain change in the price of a commodity. It is the job of the econometrician to provide such numerical estimates. (Gujarati, 2009, p. 6)

Block quotation with a narrative citation

Todaro and Smith (2011) have developed a rather broad conceptual framework for defining the term development. According to them, development must be conceived as:

A multidimensional process involving major changes in social structures, popular attitudes, and national institutions as well as the acceleration of economic growth, the reduction of inequality, and the eradication of poverty. Development in its essence must represent the whole gamut of change by which an entire social system, turned to diverse basic needs and evolving aspirations of individual and social groups within that system, moves away from a condition of life widely perceived as unsatisfactory toward a situation or condition of life regarded as materially and spiritually better. (p. 16)

MLA [8 th edition]

Short quotations.

In MLA, a short quotation consists of four typed lines of prose or less or three lines of verse [poetry]. Short quotations are separated from the rest of the text by enclosing them with double quotation marks. In-text citation requires providing the author and specific page number. Be sure to add the line number[s] to these if you are dealing with verse. Your works cited entry should be a complete reference of the in-text citations.

Place punctuation marks like commas, semi-colons, and periods after the parenthetical citation. If question marks and exclamation points are part of the quote, then they should be inside the quotation marks. If not, then they should be placed after the parenthetical citation.  

Here are some examples of how to quote short passages both parenthetically and in narrative form:

It is the view of some that “democracy is not always suitable in every context” (Caleb 190), though many disagree 

Caleb’s study suggests that “democracy is not always suitable in every context” (190)

What is the possibility that “democracy is not always suitable in every context” (Caleb 190)?

For short poetry quotations, a slash [/] should be used to indicate breaks in verse. For instance, at the conclusion of every line of verse, there should be a space then a slash before another space. A double slash [//]should be used to show the occurrence of a stanza break during the quotation.

Yunisobserves: “The country is so disunited / It may not survive for long” (6-7).

Long quotations

These are quotations that exceed four lines of prose and three lines of verse. In such cases, separate the quotations by placing them in a free-standing block of text, without enclosing them in quotation marks. In other words, the quotation should start on a new line and the whole quote indented 1/2 an inch from the left margin in double spacing. Parenthetical citations should be attached after the last punctuation mark. If you are quoting poetry, be sure to indicate original line breaks [and double-space your essay as a whole]. The following example would suffice when writing prose with over four lines:

In recent years, the people of Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and China have been trying to convert their command economies to market economies. After many decades, they became disillusioned with the way in which their command economies were working. By comparison, the market economies in Western Europe, the United States, and Japan worked much better: these economies were more productive and offered greater quality and more variety of goods and services to consumers. (Taylor 58)

Note that the above citation can easily take a narrative format if the author is made part of the story.

For citations that involve long passages of poetry [four lines of verse and above], formatting should be as original as possible. Note that “qtd. in” in a citation indicates that it is from an indirect source. If your discussion makes clear that the quotation is from an indirect source, then the term “qtd. in” isn’t needed.

If your citation involves a couple of paragraphs or more, use a block quotation format whether the paragraph is up to four lines or not. Also, for citations involving more than a paragraph, indent the first line of each subsequent paragraph by an extra ¼ inch to indicate a new paragraph.

Privacy Overview

Adding {{itemName}} to cart

Added {{itemName}} to cart

How to create a book of your favorite quotes and proverbs

Since i was young i was fascinated by quotes - words & sayings that resonated with my own dreams & values. many years ago i started saving my favorites. here's how....

Quotations, proverbs, sayings . . . why are these important? And why would we want to save them?

Certainly there are words that have inspired you. A saying that reminds you about something that is important to you. A proverb that has guided your own philosophy of life.

Putting these in a journal means that later you can come back to them when you need inspiration.

Or maybe to share them with others.

Or perhaps you want to create something you can pass along to your children someday.

📖 So where do you find quotes? 📖

Books are a major source. Often you'll find an opening quote (epigraph) that captures the story's essence or sets the stage. Sometimes these are literary and sometimes they're drawn from pop culture.

There are countless books dedicated to quotations. The granddaddy of them all is "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations." First published in 1882, the book has been revised and updated many times since.

Family sayings - is there a family saying or proverb that's been passed down from your ancestors? Be sure to include that in your book.

Magazines sometimes have quotes at the opening of articles or in an article that you might like. Just remember to write down anything that resonates with you.

Religious books are a great source.

Facebook - people often post quotations or if you look at the About page of any of your friends, there's even a section where they put their favorite quotations.

On the app Pinterist, do a search for quotations and see what comes up. Lots!

Google "quotations" and tons of websites come up.

You can even google a specific topic like quotations about love and get pages and pages of quotes related to this theme.

The possibilities on the web are limitless!

Emails - sometimes people will include a favorite quote down at the bottom with their signature. Whenever I come across one that I like, I just save it for later to include in my book.

Song lyrics are an excellent source. Think of how many times you've actually quoted from a favorite song. All you need is love!

Even on the street – there are quotations around you everywhere. You just have to keep your eyes open.

📖 Putting Your Quote Book Together 📖

First step is to find a journal. You want it sturdy and well-made so that it will last for many years to come. Who knows? Even for generations.

There are thousands of different styles and designs, lined or unlined, blank pages or illustrated, spiral or leather bound.

Remember your quote book is a work in progress. You'll be adding to it constantly, whenever you find a quote that you want to include.

Here's my quote book - a bit weathered as I've been adding to it for over 30 years.

My book happens to include some images from nature so I just write my quotes around them. When you can, attribute your quote to the person who said it. Sometimes though you have to write "anonymous."

Over the years I've used different color pen ink. Sometimes I print; sometimes I write cursive. I don't put the quotes in any particular order. How you put it together is all up to you.

Sometimes you'll find quotes that are with an image so you might want to cut them out and paste them in your book rather than just write the quote itself.

Sometimes you will find a quote already printed on paper and you can just cut that out and glue that in your book like I did here with this quote from Jack London.

I hope you've enjoyed this guide. Be sure to leave feedback and any other ideas you might have to share with others. Now you can get started - all you need is one quote!

• Blank Journal or notebook
• Quotations, Sayings, Proverbs

Join our mailing list and receive your free eBook. You'll also receive great tips on story editing, our best blogs, and learn how to use Fictionary software to make your story unforgettable.

• Email This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Blogs / Fictionary Events / Inkers Con 2024: Everything You Need to Know

Get Unlimited Writing Courses

Inkers con 2024: everything you need to know.

If you’re an independent fiction author looking to go that extra mile, you’re in the right place. Welcome to Inkers Con 2024!

What Is Inkers Con? 

Inkers Con is a yearly online conference for independent fiction authors that was founded by Alessandra Torre, a 7x NYTimes bestselling author. It has been running since 2022, and you can purchase the previous courses as a bundle. 

It offers recorded classes, Q and As with bestselling authors, live events, networking events, co-writing sprints, and more. 

Sign up today and get $50 off with the coupon code FICTIONARY50.

Inkers Con 2024

This year, Inkers Con is running for two weeks, from July 20th to August 2nd, and it is entirely online. During the two weeks, you will get: 

• 24 recorded classes 
• 10 live Q and As with bestselling authors 
• 40+ live events 
• 6 years of access to recordings
• Author roundtable discussions 
• Co-working writing sprints 
• Speed networking

Learn how to successfully world-build, promote new releases, run online ads, create character conflict, and more. 

The whole event retails at $249, but with Fictionary’s coupon code , FICTIONARY50, you can get $50 off!

So, if you are a fiction author drafting your first book, getting ready to publish, or working on your 10th novel, then this is the conference for you. 

Alternative Courses For Fiction Writers

If Inkers Con 2024 isn’t the right fit for you, or if you are looking to go even further in your writing journey, Fictionary has got you covered. 

With a Fictionary StoryTeller Premium subscription, you will get unlimited access to a whole host of live courses made by writers, for writers. The courses include: 

• Story Foundations: Start Your Story with 5 Must-Have Scenes
• From Sparks to Soulmates: A Deep Dive into Romance Structure
• Forge Your Fantasy: A Deep Dive into Fantasy Structure 
• Series Foundations: Structure Your Entire Book Series
• Write Sensational Scenes: Discover the Power of Deep Structure
• Novel Editing Part 1: Identify Issues and Create a Revision Plan
• Novel Editing Part 2: Revise and Finish Your Story

So no matter what stage of the writing process you are at, whether you are yet to write the first word or you are fishing book seven in your jaw-dropping series, there is a course to help you shine. 

Generate accurate APA citations for free

• Knowledge Base
• How to cite a book in APA Style

How to Cite a Book in APA Style | Format & Examples

Published on November 14, 2019 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on January 17, 2024.

A book citation in APA Style always includes the author’s name, the publication year, the book title, and the publisher. Use the interactive tool to see examples, or try the free APA Citation Generator to create your citations automatically.

Cite a book in APA Style now:

Table of contents, basic book citation format, ebooks and online books, citing a chapter from an edited book, multivolume books, where to find the information for an apa book citation, frequently asked questions about apa style citations.

The in-text citation for a book includes the author’s last name, the year, and (if relevant) a page number.

In the reference list , start with the author’s last name and initials, followed by the year. The book title is written in sentence case (only capitalize the first word and any proper nouns ). Include any other contributors (e.g. editors and translators) and the edition if specified (e.g. “2nd ed.”).

Scribbr Citation Checker New

The AI-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:

• Missing commas and periods
• Incorrect usage of “et al.”
• Ampersands (&) in narrative citations
• Missing reference entries

A citation of an ebook (i.e. a book accessed on an e-reader) or a book viewed online (e.g. on Google Books or in PDF form ) includes the DOI where available. If there is no DOI, link to the page where you viewed the book, or where the ebook can be purchased or accessed.

Since ebooks sometimes do not include page numbers, APA recommends using other methods of identifying a specific passage in your in-text citations—for example, a chapter or section title, or a paragraph number.

When citing a particular chapter from a book containing texts by various authors (e.g. a collection of essays), begin the citation with the author of the chapter and mention the book’s editor(s) later in the reference. A page range identifies the chapter’s location in the book.

Some books come in multiple volumes. You may want to cite the entire book if you’ve used multiple volumes, or just a single volume if that was all you used.

Citing a single volume

When citing from one volume of a multivolume book, the format varies slightly depending on whether each volume has a title or just a number.

If the volume has a specific title, this should be written as part of the title in your reference list entry.

Eliot, T. S. (2015). The poems of T. S. Eliot: Vol. 1. Collected and uncollected poems (C. Ricks & J. McCue, Eds.). Faber & Faber.

If the volume is only numbered, not titled, the volume number is not italicized and appears in parentheses after the title.

Dylan, B. (2005). Chronicles (Vol. 1) . Simon & Schuster.

Citing a multivolume book as a whole

When citing the whole book, mention the volumes in parentheses after the title. Individual volume titles are not included even if they do exist.

Eliot, T. S. (2015). The poems of T. S. Eliot (Vols. 1–2) (C. Ricks & J. McCue, Eds.). Faber & Faber.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

All the information you need to cite a book can usually be found on the title and copyright pages.

The APA reference list entry for the book above would look like this:

Butler, C. (2002). Postmodernism: A very short introduction . Oxford University Press.

When a book’s chapters are written by different authors, you should cite the specific chapter you are referring to.

When all the chapters are written by the same author (or group of authors), you should usually cite the entire book, but some styles include exceptions to this.

• In APA Style , single-author books should always be cited as a whole, even if you only quote or paraphrase from one chapter.
• In MLA Style , if a single-author book is a collection of stand-alone works (e.g. short stories ), you should cite the individual work.
• In Chicago Style , you may choose to cite a single chapter of a single-author book if you feel it is more appropriate than citing the whole book.

The abbreviation “ et al. ” (meaning “and others”) is used to shorten APA in-text citations with three or more authors . Here’s how it works:

Only include the first author’s last name, followed by “et al.”, a comma and the year of publication, for example (Taylor et al., 2018).

In the 7th edition of the APA manual, no location information is required for publishers. The 6th edition previously required you to include the city and state where the publisher was located, but this is no longer the case.

If you’re citing from an edition other than the first (e.g. a 2nd edition or revised edition), the edition appears in the reference, abbreviated in parentheses after the book’s title (e.g. 2nd ed. or Rev. ed.).

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2024, January 17). How to Cite a Book in APA Style | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved July 10, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-examples/book/

Is this article helpful?

Jack Caulfield

Other students also liked, apa 7th edition: the most notable changes, setting up the apa reference page | formatting & references (examples), beginner's guide to apa in-text citation, scribbr apa citation checker.

An innovative new tool that checks your APA citations with AI software. Say goodbye to inaccurate citations!

I wanted to write a book about Irish women’s writing. They told me to include men

If anything will embitter you, it is researching and writing a history of irish women’s writing.

In 2007, when I presented my first work on modernist afterlives in Irish women’s fiction at a Dublin conference, I was informed by an eminent colleague that there was no such thing as a woman Irish modernist writer, ever. Later, when I began my book Modernism in Irish Women’s Contemporary Writing: The Stubborn Mode, I met roadblocks on the way to publication, of the type I had never encountered before turning my attention to women writers.

Without apology, publishers doubted interest in an academic book on this subject, and I received peculiar editorial suggestions, among them that my study should fold in male writers. Of note, such feedback came after Anne Enright , and then Anna Burns , had won the Booker Prize .

Now this introduction might be dismissed as sulking, which is apt because if anything will embitter you, it is researching and writing a history of Irish women’s writing. However, it’s difficult to take such gatekeeping personally when you’re watching Elizabeth Bowen dismissed by her peers as a “reductio ad absurdum” of Henry James , or seeing Edna O’Brien described as a “whore” for her modernist experiments, or citing Seán Ó Faoláin as he asserts, in 1984, that there is no such genre as the Irish novel, despite the thousands written and published by Irish women across the past two centuries.

Why the hostility towards Irish women’s fiction, particularly when engaged with modernism?

An American on the Irish sense of humour: ‘I’m very literal ... I thought everybody hated me’

Do plastic chopping boards shed microplastics into food?

Nicki Minaj fans angry over rapper taking to Malahide stage 90 minutes late and playing for less than an hour

For a small country, Ireland looms especially large in our understanding of modernism because, since its inception as a critical category, Yeats , Joyce and Beckett have been among the movement’s most influential figures. Despite its disproportionate presence in modernist studies, Ireland lacks a “major” woman modernist writer like a Woolf or Stein. Yet modernism surfaces in a surprising array of Irish women’s fiction written from the immediate aftermath of the movement’s early 20th-century prime into the present day, appearing in the work of Kate O’Brien, Maeve Kelly, Evelyn Conlon, Deirdre Madden, Éilís Ní Dhuibhne, Anna Burns, Anne Enright, Emma Donoghue , Eimear McBride, June Caldwell and Louise O’Neill , to name only a few.

[  10 great books by Irish women Opens in new window  ]

In spite of its prevalence, Irish women’s writing inflected by modernism has been dismissed as largely peripheral to the narrative of the modern literary tradition for reasons ranging from overt sexism to misunderstandings about the relationship between realist and experimental writing.

Blurring the once clear divides that separated discrete cultural movements, neat generic categories and orderly developmental timelines has allowed us to see Irish women’s modernist experiments and afforded opportunities to imagine a different type of tradition for Irish writing, as well as to make evident how, and to question why, certain critical biases adhere unevenly to particular genres, national traditions and identity categories.

Strikingly, the exclusion of these women from the modernist canon is not entirely the result of the outside imposition of obdurate gender and genre biases. Their marginal status is often a problem of their own making. Throughout the 20th century, many Irish women writers expressed scepticism about the public value of experimental literature, fearing that overt experiments in their fiction might somehow obscure its public impact. In a 1967 interview, for example, Mary Lavin distanced herself from Joyce and Beckett, despite her evident aesthetic commitment to modernism, and described herself as a “very conservative experimentalist”.

Let’s jump ahead in time to consider Sally Rooney as an exemplar of the “very conservative experimentalist”. Set in contemporary Ireland, her third novel Beautiful World, Where Are You (2021) focuses on the friendship shared by two young women, university friends now on the cusp of 30. We watch as the novelist Alice begins a relationship with Felix, a warehouse worker whom she met through an online dating app, and as Eileen, an editorial assistant for a Dublin literary magazine, becomes romantically involved with her childhood crush, the left-wing adviser Simon.

Alongside Rooney’s user-friendly depictions of daily life in the present runs a surprising strand of modernism, as when Alice professes her love for Charles Swann, or when Eileen reads The Golden Bowl. It also emerges in resonant forms, themes and narrative devices: the taut prose of the opening chapters suggests the style of Hemingway, an impressionistic account of a dinner party evokes the experiments of Woolf, the polyvocal catalogue of social ills throughout conjures Eliot’s The Waste Land, a performance of The Lass of Aughrim nods to Joyce’s The Dead.

The term ‘mode’, the French word for fashion, usefully invites us to consider this deliberate refashioning of modernism – to ask why writers like Rooney use it, when they use it, how they use it

With its attention to contemporary crises, Beautiful World, Where Are You employs familiar aspects of the modernist tradition to remind readers that, even in what seems at first glance a vastly different historical moment, certain problems remain intransigent. Conflicts arise, inequality prevails, pandemics erupt. To convey such elemental lessons, Rooney uses what I label the stubborn mode of modernism. Stubborn modes are tried-and-true literary tactics that trigger a sense of recognition when readers encounter them, a constellation of traits – including style, tone, forms, content and history – commonly associated with a particular literary movement or school that travels across time.

The term “mode”, the French word for fashion, usefully invites us to consider this deliberate refashioning of modernism – to ask why writers like Rooney use it, when they use it, how they use it. Such a legible modernism, of the type one might find trotted out in an open-source encyclopedia entry or an undergraduate lecture on high modernism, gives recognisable shape in Beautiful World, Where Are You to nebulous aspects of contemporary experience.

For instance, as The Lass of Aughrim trills through a party in Rooney’s novel, we witness the progress evident in Alice’s substantial economic and cultural authority, power once held in Joyce’s world almost exclusively by men. But we are also reminded that Rooney’s characters living in the present day, like those in The Dead from more than a century before, remain baffled and stymied by the interior lives of themselves and others.

In a surprising amount of Irish women’s contemporary fiction, the modernist mode generates a kind of interpretive friction for readers familiar with its norms, one that helps to uncover certain cultural fault lines, particularly those problems that persist into the present day. The mode embodies a pliable and portable set of features readily and broadly identified as “modernist” by readers that can move among not only historical periods, but also genres, media, national traditions, settings and audiences. Amid these travels, the mode remains recognisable because it adheres to its original conventions. But it also is adaptive and may resist or exceed those conventions.

But if the mode has already been defined by its durability and portability, by its detectable appearance in different moments and venues, why add the descriptor “stubborn” when thinking about modernism in contemporary fiction by Irish women? To be stubborn, the dictionary tells us, is to refuse to change one’s position or attitude, to be likened to a mule or an unreasonable child. It is a strategy of repetition and adamancy, of overstaying your welcome, of demanding to be acknowledged.

Often gendered, such behaviour undergirds disparaging tropes like the nagging wife, mutton dressed as lamb, the aggressive career woman, and the entitled Karen. Such stubbornness, for many woman protagonists in Irish women’s writing, has real costs.

A public and political stubbornness also represents for oft-silenced women a means of advocating and forging necessary if unwelcome change. A deliberate recalcitrance imagined as productive public intervention, for example, characterises the position of the speaker in Eavan Boland’s poem Mise Éire, who insists “I won’t go back to it–” and refuses to recapitulate the feminine tropes used to justify and promote the Irish national project, and the efforts of the real-life historian Catherine Corless celebrated for her relentless investigation of the records of the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam.

Irish women writers using the modernist mode are among this cohort. Modernism in Irish Women’s Contemporary Writing identifies and considers the peregrinations of early modernist themes and formal tactics across the later 20th Century and early 21st century to showcase the important ways that Irish women writers have self-consciously engaged the modernist tradition as a tradition, as a set of conventions embedded in the past. This approach allows us to see past the accepted narratives of modernist literary authority, to regard those long-standing assessments as the artefacts that they are so that we do not continue to replicate their limitations.

If the history of the stubborn mode teaches us little else, it is that such advancements for women writers are vulnerable, and that to sustain them, we must remain vigilant, remembering the history that preceded this ‘sudden’ success

The stubborn mode helps to remind readers of the sweep of history, using literary form and content to accentuate certain ongoing cultural problems, as well as to spotlight remedies previously imagined for such stubborn problems, whether the outcomes of those interventions have proven to be successful, unsuccessful or (more likely) a measure of both. Irish women writers employing the modernist mode do not eschew or evade the pre-packaged quality of high modernism; they neither disavow their complicity in the literary marketplace, nor perform the calculated irony often associated with postmodernism. Instead, they call to attention the aesthetic and social potential of a commodified and popularised modernism, laying bare the deep work the movement’s tenacious surface gestures might provoke in the present day.

Through the lens of the stubborn mode, it becomes evident that throughout the past century Irish women writers have faced a seemingly implacable triple-bind: if they are too vividly Irish, they are parochial; if they are too modernist, they are derivative; if they are too commercially appealing, they are apolitical or incorrectly political. Today, those binds seemed loosened, and their fiction increasingly has been celebrated, both critically and commercially, across the globe.

Problem solved, it appears.

But I end with a caution. If the history of the stubborn mode teaches us little else, it is that such advancements for women writers are vulnerable, and that to sustain them, we must remain vigilant, remembering the history that preceded this “sudden” success. The logic for dismissing women’s writing is highly familiar, but still potent. Today, for example, Rooney’s fictional portraits of millennial life have been denigrated by certain critics due to her class and racial privilege and her seemingly shallow Marxist politics. But how different is this from the mid-20th Century sidelining of Bowen as the patrician author of “peculiarly dated and blinkered” short stories, a strategy documented by the scholar Elke D’hoker?

Tracking the modernist mode reminds us that any forward movement in the appreciation and recognition of women’s writing, in Ireland and elsewhere, often has been characterised by backlash and relapse, a pattern that underscores the ongoing importance of the familiar project of women’s literary history. By closely examining a neglected literary tradition, I seek to address one stubborn problem by sharpening our understanding of the force of women’s writing across decades, as well as rescuing that writing from a reinvented form of polite marginalisation.

Modernism in Irish Women’s Contemporary Writing: The Stubborn Mode by Paige Reynolds is published by Oxford University Press

IN THIS SECTION

Tiananmen square by lai wen: a laudable work with lush melancholy but also some shortcomings, a good enough mother by catherine dunne review: a women-driven book, the anxious generation: jonathan haidt lays out potential solutions to the crisis, all of which depend upon collective action, alice munro’s daughter says nobel laureate knew stepfather sexually abused her as a child, gp faces €40,000 severance payment to receptionist of nearly 50 years after failing to ‘engage’ with her, ‘over the moon’: tori towey hopes to return to ireland on thursday after charges dropped in dubai, aer lingus pilots to halt industrial action, man suspected of murdering three women in crossbow attack in uk located by police, ‘i won’t accept it’ dáil unifies around michael healy-rae after emotional appeal over online abuse, latest stories, south africa vs ireland: garry ringrose could return at 13 among a number of irish changes.

‘We are not going to win with this president’: George Clooney implores Joe Biden to step aside

Improved support needed for householders to ease switch from fossil fuels, says climate council

Only one in four travelling to Dublin city do so by car. Should they monopolise so much space?

Damien Duff claims he would ‘raze Abbotstown to the ground’

Heimir Hallgrímsson, welcome to Irish football’s dysfunction

The Irish Times view on the latest carbon emission figurs: a bit done, a lot more to do

• Terms & Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Information
• Cookie Settings
• Community Standards

Screen Rant

All 6 mortal instruments books, ranked from worst to best.

Your changes have been saved

Email Is sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

10 Best Quotes From The Mortal Instruments Books

Amarantha's story in a court of thorns & roses makes way more sense thanks to 1 theory, i hope the next court of thorns & roses book confirms this brilliant elain theory.

• Each book in The Mortal Instruments series reveals a thrilling adventure filled with magic, danger, and intrigue, but every book has its highs and lows.
• City of Fallen Angels sets the stage for future books, making it less action-packed but crucial for the series.
• City of Heavenly Fire is the ultimate conclusion to Clary's journey, delivering a fast-paced, satisfying, and epic finale.

In 2007, author Cassandra Clare released the very first book in her The Mortal Instruments book series, and since then, the sequels in the YA romantasy series have had readers arguing how they rank against each other. In total, there are six books in The Mortal Instruments series. These include City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls, and City of Heavenly Fire. The series received a 2013 The Mortal Instruments movie adaptation and a 2016 TV series. Clare went on to write three more series, taking place in the same magical world over several generations.

Though each Mortal Instruments book follows a particular plot, the overarching story is the same. Teenager Clary Fray's life is turned upside down when she discovers the existence of Shadowhunters : angelic warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demonic entities. After her mother goes missing, she enlists the help of the Shadowhunters to figure out how she fits into this fantastical puzzle. What she learns leads her to uncover a sprawling world of danger, magic, and good and evil. Despite following the same trajectory, the harsh reality of the Mortal Instruments is that each book has its pros and cons.

Cassandra Clare's world-famous book series, The Mortal Instruments, has some memorable quotes across its six novels about love and family.

6 City Of Fallen Angels

Book four of six.

What is likely considered to be the worst Mortal Instruments book of the six is City of Fallen Angels. This is the fourth book in the series, and notably, is the shortest at 425 pages. On Goodreads, its average star rating is 4.08 , with a total of 607,000 ratings. City of Fallen Angels is ranked last on this list not because it's a bad book, but because it isn't entirely necessary to the plot.

City of Fallen Angels takes place directly after the events of City of Glass, wherein the Shadowhunters fought and won The Mortal War. Clary returns home to New York, believing that everything is right with the world. She is training to become a Shadowhunter, her mother has found love, Shadowhunters and Downworlders are at peace, and most importantly, Clary and Jace can finally be together. However, when a string of murdered Shadwowhunters show up around the city, Clary realizes that she set off a dangerous chain of events that could ruin everything, and worse, lead to another war.

Because City of Fallen Angels is a book meant to set up other books, it is likely the least popular Mortal Instruments story.

City of Fallen Angels is the least action-packed book in The Mortal Instruments . Where other books center on major battles, travels, and plot points, City of Fallen Angels takes a slower approach . A big part of this is because it is a book about resolution and set-up. It needs to tie up the loose ends of City of Glass while also gearing up for the huge events set to happen in the second half of the series. Because City of Fallen Angels is a book meant to set up other books, it is the least popular Mortal Instruments story.

5 City Of Ashes

Book two of six.

City of Ashes ranks fifth among The Mortal Instruments books. It is the second overall book in the series. Its Goodreads star rating rests at 4.11 , with 943,000 total ratings. As the second book in the series, City of Ashes is popular, but its storyline puts it at the bottom of the list.

Where the first Mortal Instruments book introduces readers to the world of Shadowhunters, City of Ashes immediately raises the stakes. After discovering that she is a Shadowhunter, Clary is overwhelmed with confusion and fear. She needs to figure out how to break her mother's magically induced coma, while also tracking down the evil Shadowhunter Valentine, who also happens to be her father. On top of that, Clary comes to terms with the fact that her former love interest, Jace, is her brother , and may just turn evil to please their father.

Overall, City of Ashes is so poorly rated among The Mortal Instruments series because of its plot. Watching Clary try to unravel so many Shadowhunter secrets on her own is incredibly hard to read, especially since she has been a part of this world for such a short time. Worse, all her relationships are changing, as Simon develops feelings for her and Jace becomes more distant. However, the worst part of City of Ashes is the squicky storyline of Clary and Jace believing they are siblings but still being attracted to one another . After rooting for their romance in the first book, it is excruciating to see them as siblings.

4 City Of Bones

Book one of six.

The book that rests in the middle of The Mortal Instruments ranking is City of Bones, the very first book in the series. Since its release in 2007, it has garnered the lowest Goodreads score of The Mortal Instruments books, with a 4.07 . However, it also has the most ratings of the entire series as well, with 2 million ratings. Notably, City of Bones is the basis for both on-screen Shadowhunters adaptations.

City of Bones is the adventurous and fantastical introduction to The Mortal Instruments series. In it, r eaders meet Clary, a normal teenage girl who gets sucked into the world of Shadowhunters . Through her eyes, readers also see Jace, a cocky yet talented Shadowhunter. By the end of the first book, Clary learns about her place in Shadowhunter society, but also becomes trapped in a scheme that is even more complicated than the first.

The 2013 movie, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones starred Lily Collins as Clary Fray and Jamie Campbell-Bower as Jace.

Though City of Bones has the worst ranking of the six The Mortal Instruments books, it ranks fourth because of its nostalgia value. City of Bones has a strong story that was clearly successful enough to suck readers into five more novels. In this book, Cassandra Clare succeeds at establishing an exciting world that is a launching point for the rest of the series. That being said, City of Bones does not have the most compelling plot of the six books, simply because it needs to set up a lot. Therefore, it sits in the middle of the ranking.

3 City Of Lost Souls

Book five of six.

Coming in third for the best The Mortal Instruments book is City of Lost Souls , the fifth and penultimate book in the series. It is the second-longest book, at 535 pages, making it a substantial read. On Goodreads, it has a 4.22 star rating , with a total of 536,000 ratings.

City of Lost Souls follows Clary in the aftermath of Jace being magically connected to her evil brother, Sebastian. Forced to work for the dark side, Jace is unreachable, and also in danger of being taken down by the Shadowhunter government. As Jace and Clary's friends try desperately to find a solution, Clary forges her own battle against Sebastian to regain the one she loves . However, Clary can't help but wonder if Jace is too changed to be worth saving.

City of Lost Souls seems to have little going on, but its slow burn quality makes it one of the best The Mortal Instruments books.

Based on its synopsis, City of Lost Souls seems to have little going on, but its well-paced quality makes it one of the best The Mortal Instruments books. As the fifth book in the series, City of Lost Souls has no need for exposition. Unlike some of its predecessors, it can jump right into the drama, making it a more riveting read. Plus, City of Lost Souls has major stakes . With a war brewing and Jace in immediate danger, this book builds the tension so it is ready to explode in the sixth and final installment.

2 City Of Glass

Book three of six.

The second-best book in Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments series is City of Glass. The third book in the series has an impressive 4.28 star rating on Goodreads, with 939,000 ratings. City of Glass' genius is that it is the unexpected and explosive end of the series' first half.

In City of Glass, Clary must travel to the magical land of the Shadowhunters to save her mother, but entering without permission means a high likelihood of death. To make matters worse, Jace doesn't want Clary to go and Simon is imprisoned for his Downworlder status. Ultimately, Clary forms a bond with a unique Shadowhunter named Sebastian to bring together the Shadowhunters and Downworlders and overthrow Valentine for good.

Although City of Glass is the third book in The Mortal Instruments, it gives readers a true climax. City of Glass is like the finale to the first half of the series , and this makes it one of the most memorable installments in the series. Readers do not have to wait until book six to get an all-out war or answers to their burning questions. City of Glass and its unexpected deaths offer an outstanding ending before the real ending. It is propulsive, exciting, and a solid end to the first half's biggest problems.

1 City Of Heavenly Fire

Book six of six.

The book that is easily considered the best of The Mortal Instruments series is the sixth and final book, City of Heavenly Fire. This is by far the longest book of the series, coming in at 725 pages. Its Goodreads star rating is 4.39 . It also has the least number of reviews of all six books, with 388,000 reviews.

City of Heavenly Fire is the intense ending to Clary's journey among the Shadowhunters. Clary and her friends find themselves in peril against Clary's brother, Sebastian. He has stolen the Infernal Cup, and is using it to turn Shadowhunters into terrifying monsters. With all the Shadowhunters hiding out in Idris, there is nowhere left to run and no one to protect the human world from demons. Backed into a corner, Clary, Jace, and their peers must dive into realms no one has ever gone into before to find a way to defeat Sebastian for good.

Regardless of its page count, City of Heavenly Fire is the most fast-paced and action-packed book in the entire series. Every second counts in this novel, as Clary races against the clock to take down her brother. What makes this book truly stand out is that it wraps up everything in a satisfying way, while also setting up for the other Shadowhunter book series . It makes all five books that came before incredibly worth it. Cassandra Clare's final battle is epic, heartbreaking, and engaging. In this way, there's little doubt that this is the best The Mortal Instruments novel.

• The Mortal Instruments

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Photography
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• AP Buyline Shopping
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Election Results
• Delegate Tracker
• AP & Elections
• Auto Racing
• 2024 Paris Olympic Games
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

Viola Davis and James Patterson to collaborate on novel set in the contemporary, rural South

Viola Davis appears at The Albies at the New York Public Library on Sept. 28, 2023, left, and author James Patterson poses for a portrait in New York on Aug. 30, 2016. Little, Brown and Company announced Tuesday that Davis and Patterson are collaborating on a novel, currently untitled and scheduled for 2025 or 2026, (AP Photo)

• Copy Link copied

NEW YORK (AP) — An upcoming thriller about a female judge in the contemporary, rural South will have two very famous, and very different, authors: Oscar winner Viola Davis and mega-selling novelist James Patterson .

Little, Brown and Company announced Tuesday that Davis and Patterson are collaborating on a novel, currently untitled and scheduled for 2025 or 2026, in which the “dynamic and brilliant” Judge Mary Stone faces “a decision with seismic repercussions for her small county, and potentially the whole nation.”

It will be the first work of adult fiction for Davis, whose previous books include the memoir “Finding Me” and the picture story “Corduroy Takes a Bow.” It’s the latest high-profile partnership for Patterson, whose previous co-authors range from Bill Clinton to Dolly Parton. The novel “Eruption,” for which Patterson completed a manuscript left behind by the late Michael Crichton, is one of the summer’s most popular books.

“James’s ability to weave compelling narratives with depth and suspense is unparalleled, and I am honored to work alongside him,” Davis said in a statement. “Writing about a character as compelling as Judge Mary Stone has been an extraordinary experience, and I believe readers will be deeply moved by her journey.”

Patterson, who came up with the idea after reading “Finding Me” and contacting Davis, said in a statement that the actor has a “gift for storytelling” and a “generous spirit.”

“I could not have asked for a better partner than Viola,” Patterson said.

Additional details about the book, including film rights, were not immediately available. Financial terms were not disclosed. The project was handled by Little, Brown; Patterson’s representatives, Robert Barnett and Deneen Howell of Williams & Connolly, and JVL Media, a “full-service media packaging firm and independent publisher” that Davis helped found.

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Guest Essay

George Clooney: I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee.

By George Clooney

Mr. Clooney is an actor, director and film producer.

I’m a lifelong Democrat; I make no apologies for that. I’m proud of what my party represents and what it stands for. As part of my participation in the democratic process and in support of my chosen candidate, I have led some of the biggest fund-raisers in my party’s history. Barack Obama in 2012 . Hillary Clinton in 2016 . Joe Biden in 2020 . Last month I co-hosted the single largest fund-raiser supporting any Democratic candidate ever, for President Biden’s re-election. I say all of this only to express how much I believe in this process and how profound I think this moment is.

I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As a vice president and as president. I consider him a friend, and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. In the last four years, he’s won many of the battles he’s faced.

But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can. It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe “ big F-ing deal ” Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.

Was he tired? Yes. A cold? Maybe. But our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw. We’re all so terrified by the prospect of a second Trump term that we’ve opted to ignore every warning sign. The George Stephanopoulos interview only reinforced what we saw the week before. As Democrats, we collectively hold our breath or turn down the volume whenever we see the president, whom we respect, walk off Air Force One or walk back to a mic to answer an unscripted question.

Is it fair to point these things out? It has to be. This is about age. Nothing more. But also nothing that can be reversed. We are not going to win in November with this president. On top of that, we won’t win the House, and we’re going to lose the Senate. This isn’t only my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator and Congress member and governor who I’ve spoken with in private. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly.

We love to talk about how the Republican Party has ceded all power, and all of the traits that made it so formidable with Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, to a single person who seeks to hold on to the presidency, and yet most of our members of Congress are opting to wait and see if the dam breaks. But the dam has broken. We can put our heads in the sand and pray for a miracle in November, or we can speak the truth.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .

R01 Writing Groups

Writing a strong application for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Project Grant (R01) requires dedicated, careful thought and time for writing. PIs often struggle to carve out dedicated grant writing time in a schedule already full of teaching, research, service and other scholarly activities. Being part of a peer writing group, which meets at a regularly scheduled time for the dedicated purpose of writing, can offer the extra push and accountability PIs need to help their applications materialize.

To support principal investigators as they pioneer revolutionary, comprehensive research, OVPR Research Development has partnered with the Population Research Center (PRC) to offer R01 Writing Groups.

The R01 Writing Groups Program is centered around 4-6 person writing groups, matched according to shared research interests and availability. Writing Groups will meet regularly throughout the academic year to make progress on their R01 applications. Groups will be self-directed, taking advantage of sample agendas and OVPR-provided meeting spaces to develop a group that meets all members’ needs.

Additionally, participants will have access to:

• R01 skill-building events (e.g., workshops, Q&As)
• A curated library of R01 resources and guides
• Opportunities for feedback on drafts from NIH-experienced UT PIs (once per semester)

Eligibility

• Must be a UT Principal Investigator
• Must be working on an NIH R01 application (for any deadline through the following Fall)
• Must commit to meeting with your writing group for a minimum of 1.5 hours every other week throughout the academic year
• Space is limited to 40 participants. If interest exceeds this limit, preference will be given to PIs who have not yet secured R01 funding, regardless of career stage or history of R01 submissions

Registration

Sign up here . Registration for the 2024-2025 academic year will close Friday, August 23, 2024.

Registration for the 2025-2026 academic year will open Summer 2025.

Questions? Contact [email protected]