Quotation Marks

How to Use Quotation Marks

Quotation marks are used to quote someone’s exact words. They are also used for the titles of short works.

Quotes

A quote presents someone’s exact words.

Example: The cartoon character Bugs Bunny is known for his catchphrase, “What’s up, Doc?”

Signal phrases often give quotes context. A signal phrase shows who is speaking when a quote is included in a sentence. Signal phrases can be placed at the beginning of a sentence, the middle of a sentence, or the end of a sentence.

Example: Gilbert said, “No matter what it takes, I’ll finish clown school.”
Example: “No matter what it takes,” Gilbert said, “I’ll finish clown school.”
Example: “No matter what it takes, I’ll finish clown school,” Gilbert said.

Full Sentence Quotes

A full-sentence quote presents an entire quoted sentence.

Example: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

When using a full-sentence quote in an essay, avoid placing the quote in the middle of a paragraph without any context.

Incorrect: Many Americans sign up for the armed forces. "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." For those driven by patriotism, serving is the highest honor.
Correct: Many Americans sign up for the armed forces. John F. Kennedy stirred Americans to service when he said, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." For those driven by patriotism, serving is the highest honor.

Partial Quotes

A partial quote presents a segment of a quoted sentence. With a partial sentence quote, do not use a comma, and do not capitalize the first word inside the quotation marks.

Original quote: “No matter what it takes, I’ll finish clown school.”
Partial quote: Gilbert said that he would finish clown school “no matter what it takes.”

Quotes and punctuation

Periods and commas that are part of a quote should be placed inside the quotation marks.

Example: He said, "It will rain today."
Example: “It will rain today,” he said.

If a quote itself is a question or an exclamation, place the punctuation inside the quotation marks.

Example: She asked, “Will it rain today?”
Example: The student shouted, “I’m graduating!”

If the sentence as a whole is a question or an exclamation, place the punctuation outside the quotation marks.

Example: Do you really think you’ll find your legendary “City of Gold”?
Example: She said that I’m “cute as a button”!

Titles

When to Use Quotation Marks in Titles

Use quotation marks for the titles of short works. Short works are items that are usually published in a larger work or collection. Common examples include songs, poems, pages from websites, and articles from periodicals (journals/magazines/newspapers).

Example for a Journal article: "Empathetic Approaches to Nursing"
Example for a Song: "Bad to the Bone"
Example for a Poem: "A Supermarket in California"
Example for a Web page: “Eleven Secrets to Improving Your Essay”

Use italics for standalone works such as books, plays, online databases, periodicals (journals/magazines/newspapers), and websites.

Example for a Book: Moby Dick
Example for a Play: Fences
Example for a Website: CNN.com
Example for a Periodical: The New Yorker

Single Quotation Marks

When to Use Single Quotation Marks

Use single quotation marks for quotes inside of quotes. Use apostrophes to serve as single quotation marks. Single quotation marks follow the same rules as regular quotation marks.

Example: The professor said, “Read the article entitled ‘How to Grow Hydroponic Tomatoes.'”
Example: In her essay on creativity, the author states, “According to Sigmund Freud, dreams are ‘the royal road to the unconscious,’ and new research is proving him right.”

Long Quotes for MLA

How to Format Long Quotes

For MLA style, if you are quoting more than four lines (not sentences), do not use quotation marks. Indent the quote one inch from the left margin, and use a colon instead of a comma for any introductory words.

Here is an example of a long quote:

In a famous essay, Helen Keller explains her adventurous take on life: Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.