In addition to the amount quoted and line breaks, other factors that matter include stanza breaks, and unusual layouts.
Special Issues: Stanza Breaks, Unusual Layouts
Stanza Breaks: Mark stanza breaks that occur in a quotation with two forward slashes, with a space before and after them ( / / ) (78).
William Carlos Williams depicts a vivid image in “The Red Wheelbarrow”: “so much depends / / upon / / a red wheel / / barrow / / glazed with rain / / water / / beside the white / / chickens” (“Williams”).
Unusual Layouts: If the layout of the lines in the original text is unusual, reproduce it as accurately as you can (79).
The English metaphysical John Donne uses indentation in some of his poems to create unusual layouts, as the first stanza of including “A Valediction: of Weeping” demonstrates:
Let me pour forth My tears before they face, whilst I stay here, For thy face coins them, and thy stamp they bear, And by this mintage they are something worth, For thus they be Pregnant of thee; Fruits of much grief they are, emblems of more, When a tear falls, that thou falls which it bore, So thou and I are nothing then, when on a divers shore. (lines 1-9)
When you must quote dialogue from a play, adhere to these rules:
Example: One of the flashbacks in Margaret Edson’s Wit suggests Vivian Bearing’s illness causes her to question some of her previous interactions with students:
STUDENT 1. Professor Bearing? Can I talk to you for a minute?
VIVIAN: You may.
STUDENT 1: I need to ask for an extension on my paper. I’m really sorry, and I know your policy, but see—
VIVIAN: Don’t tell me. Your grandmother died.
STUDENT 1: You knew.
VIVIAN: It was a guess.
STUDENT 1: I have to go home.
VIVIAN: Do what you will, but the paper is due when it is due. (63)
Omissions: Follow the rules for omissions in quotations of prose (83).
Although some of the rules for quoting plays and poetry in MLA differ than those for quoting prose, understanding the guidelines will help you apply them in any scenario.
Donne, John. “The Bait.” The Complete English Poems . Penguin Books, 1971, pp. 43-4.
—. “The Break of Day.” The Complete English Poems . Penguin Books, 1971, pp. 45-6. Edson, Margaret. Wit. Faber and Faber, 1993.
Shakespeare, William. Sonnet 39. The Pelican Shakespeare: The Sonnets . Penguin Books, 1970, p. 59.
Williams, William Carlos: “The Red Wheelbarrow.” Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/resources/learning/core-poems/detail/45502 .
Yeats, William. “A Prayer for My Daughter.” The Collected Poems . Ed. Richard Finneran. Scribner, 1983, pp. 188-190.
Suggested edits.
Explore the different ways to cite sources in academic and professional writing, including in-text (Parenthetical), numerical, and note citations.
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MLA style provides guidelines for citing both small and large passages of plays in the body of your text. In addition, MLA requires you to note any plays you reference on a separate works cited list. How you include quotes from a play in your text will depend on how whether you're quoting a single character or dialogue between multiple characters.
Whenever you quote a play in your essay, MLA style requires you to include an in-text citation showing where the quote came from. For a play, this will include the abbreviated title of the play, and the section of the play in which the quote is found.
If you are quoting a single character's dialogue, or stage directions, in your paper, you can simply include the quote within quotation marks as part of your sentence.
If quoting a verse play, lines are separated by a slash /. Take the following from Shakepeare's "Measure for Measure":
In asking for his pardon, Claudio states "the miserable have no other medicine/But only hope" ( Measure , 3.1.2-3).
In the in-text citation, " Measure " show's the play's title, "3" is the act number, "1" the scene number, and "2-3" the lines on which the quote appears. Note that each item in the play's division is separated by periods. '},{'content':'If you're quoting a play that does not have scenes or lines, include the act, and note it as such, so it is not confused with a page number.
For example, Caryl Churchill's "Cloud 9" has no scenes, so you might cite it as follows:
Betty's anxiety is shown by her worry toward Tommy. "He's going to fall in. Make Martin make him move back" ( Cloud , act 2).
One of the features of plays is that multiple characters speak to each other in dramatic form. If you quote two characters speaking to each other this way in your paper, it is formatted as a block quote. Include a blank line between the body of your paper and the first line of your quote.
When dialogue switches characters, include a blank line between each character's lines. Each line in the block quote must be indented 1 inch from your the rest of your paper's text, and if a character's speech runs more than one line, each additional line is indented an additional 1/4-inch. The names of characters are written in full caps -- don't forget to include an in-text citation after the quote.
This quote is from Aristophanes's "The Birds":
PISTHETAIROS: I never saw so many birds! They make me nervous.
EUELPIDES: You said it. When they lift their wings you can't see where you're going. ("Birds", párodos)
Greek plays are divided into named subsections, such as episodes and strophes -- the name of each subsection should be included when citing a Greek play. In this case "párodos" is the choral section including the quote.
In MLA style, an additional page is added after the last page of your paper to include all items that were cited in your essay.
When you quote or reference a play in your writing, you place a reference on this page to give the information of the book or anthology in which you found the play. Your reference will include the name of the author, the play title, the publication information, and the format in which it was found. MLA arranges this information in the following order:
Author Lastname, Firstname. Title of Play . Publication Location: Publisher, Year of Publication. Format.
For example:
Churchill, Caryl. Cloud 9 . New York: Theater Communications Group, 1985. Print.
If you are referencing a play that has been translated and/or edited, include the translator's and/or editor's name after the title of the play:
Pirandello, Luigi. Six Characters in Search of an Author . Trans. Edward Storer. Ed. Adam Frost. Mineola: Dover Publications, 1998. Print.
Plays will often be included in a multivolume work or anthology. If you are citing a specific play that is included in an anthology, the anthology name should be included in italics after the play title.
In addition, the pages the play appears on within the anthology should be included after the year of publication. Here's an example of an anthology citation:
Aristophanes. The Frogs . Four Comedies . Trans. and Ed. Dudley Fitts. New York: Harcourt, 1962. 69-156. Print.
Note that if the translator and editor are the same person, you list "Trans." first.
To include a play found online your reference list, you will replace the publisher information with the name and date of the Web page on which you found the play. Also note the source format as "Web." You do not need a URL to cite a Web source in MLA, but you need to indicate the date you last accessed the Web page. Format your citation as follows:
Author Lastname, Firstname. Title of Play . Name of Web page . Name of website, last date Web page was updated. Web. Date you accessed Web page.
Here is an example:
Shakespeare, William. Measure for Measure . The Complete Works of William Shakespeare . Massachusetts Institute of Technology, n.d. Web. 16 March 2015.
Note that "n.d." means "no date." You can use this in place of the update date for a webpage, or publication date for a book, if no date is available.
Need help with a citation? Try our citation generator .
Jon Zamboni began writing professionally in 2010. He has previously written for The Spiritual Herald, an urban health care and religious issues newspaper based in New York City, and online music magazine eBurban. Zamboni has a Bachelor of Arts in religious studies from Wesleyan University.
I can bet that at least once in your entire life in school you have asked the question, “how to quote a play?” Yes, it is a perfectly normal academic question that students worldwide have been asking with no solution in sight. Well, that is at least until we came along to offer online help in formatting papers written with the help of information gathered from plays. However, first, you have to learn what a play is and how they are developed.
A play is a very informative piece of literature, customarily shown on television or in a theatre, on stage. Sometimes plays are broadcast over the radio and often involve conversations between two or more people thus the need to learn how to quote a play MLA. Most people agree with the fact that to fully appreciate the theme of any play it is better to watch it rather than read it. Students and institutions of learning have taken to using plays, more so the information they possess in the course of their studies.
Information is an important element in any written assignment such as a research paper. Students can learn how to quote plays from our website with ease. Therefore, students can learn how to properly acknowledge the various elements that culminate to the production and distribution of such rich sources of information.
Now you fully enjoy the benefits of theatre in your writing by quoting a play and recognize the various aspects that culminate in their production. The people featured in a play are the actors; these actors perform their craft on a stage for people to watch. The people who are watching the play are the audience, for whom the play is written. The director helps the actors of the play too follow a pre-written script and, by definition, direct the actors’ moves and actions in the play.
Each play provides interesting and informative themes to students who can learn how to cite a play in an essay. However, the understanding and interpretation of the play are at the mercy of the audience, the directors and actors play their part to inspire and inform them as best as they can. Also, the directors can give new life to old or forgotten plays to allow them to reach many more audiences with the message in every line of their plays.
Very good examples of such plays include Shakespeare’s plays which were written a long time ago but are still being used today. Students can learn how to quote lines from a play using some of the samples of Shakespeare’s earlier plays from our website, absolutely free.
The question as always been, “can lessons delivered through the use of plays assist lecturers to meet goals and objectives established in formal education?” Shakespeare’s plays have often been reproduced using current technology; however, the original message remains somewhat the same for use with MLA in text citation play. The play writers and directors often have control of the delivery and genre of the plays.
Thus, you realize the need to pick up skills on how to cite lines from a play. Naturally, scholars are expected to give credit to the producers of any, and all, plays they use in their research when working on their assignments thus the need to seek for our help on how to quote a play in an essay.
There are different types of plays that students can learn how to quote from a play in their papers. These differences arise from changes to the presentation and delivery of the play; each of which can be used by students of all disciplines. Here are the seven notable types of themes most commonly used by students when quoting plays in their written assignments and research papers;
If you visit our website, you can learn how to cite lines from a play MLA using our database of comprehensive templates and samples that can be used to correctly quote plays by formatting the citations and works cited entries.
When trying to learn how to cite quotes from a play in an essay particularly from a published play, the format is basically the same as that of a book as is evident with the templates provided on our website. Also, you should note that an in-text play citation is derived from a corresponding works cited entry. When you want to learn how to quote a play in an essay example are provided for you to follow through and edit them yourself.
The agreed-upon format for MLA quoting a play, the in-text citation would have the writer of the poem’s last name and the page number. The bibliography entry for a play in MLA style of writing should include (in that order);
The lessons learned from plays has greatly helped students get better in their studies and also helped educators to deliver valuable lessons and assignments to the scholars through various plays. Students have come a long way in their pursuit of knowledge of how to cite a line from a play from various online websites. However, when you study how to quote plays MLA with the help of our samples and templates online you will be on the right track to formatting your play citations and references all on your own.
The idea that there is educational, student-oriented content in plays drove most, if not all, institutions of learning worldwide to incorporate them into the learning processes. However, there are only a handful of companies offering useful and comprehensive guides on how to cite quotes from a play online. We are among the few companies providing free unlimited access online citation generators for students in addition to the samples and templates available on our home page.
You should trust in our ability to pass on the knowledge we have on how to quote a play in a paper for any style of writing. We offer to format your APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard citations and bibliography entries. Therefore, to get assistance with quoting a play MLA do not hesitate to seek our help. We are here for your continued academic progression.
Home / Guides / Citation Guides / How to Cite Sources / How to Cite a Play in APA, MLA, or Chicago
You can cite a play as either a live performance or script.
EasyBib has a form to cite a performance that has been viewed live. For instructions on how to cite a live performance, visit this guide on citing Hamilton the musical in MLA, APA, and Chicago .
If you are citing a play found as an entire source, cite it as a book (and use our book citation form ).
STRUCTURES:
(Playwright last name page#)
Works Cited:
Playwright last name, First name. Play Title. Publisher, edition (if applicable), publication year.
Hwang, David Henry. M Butterfly . Plume, 1989.
If you’re merely paraphrasing or discussing a play in general terms, you’re not required to use a page number or other locator. But if you directly quote a play script, you must include a location for the relevant passage. For plays, this often means including a page number(s).
However, some plays use books, chapters, verses, lines, or cantos to distinguish specific parts of a play. The examples below include citations for both a modern play script with a page number and a play by Shakespeare with an act, scene, and line number.
(Since Shakespeare’s works appear in republications, there are two years in the source citations: the original publication year/the republication year).
(Playwright last name, year, p. page#)
(Playwright last name, year, Act#.Scene#.Line#)
References:
Playwright last name, First initials. (Year published). Play Title . Publisher.
Playwright last name, First initial. (Year of republished play). Classic Play Title. (First initials. Last Name, Ed.). Publisher. (Original work published Year)
(Hwang, 1989, p. 22)
Hwang, D. H. (1989). M butterfly . Plume.
(Shakespeare, 1603/2008, 1.4.5)
Shakespeare, W. (2008). Hamlet (S. Greenblatt, Ed.). W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. (Original work published 1603)
Author-Date Format In-text:
(Playwright Last Name Publication Year, page#)
(Playwright Last Name Publication Year, Act#.Scene#.Line#)
Author-Date Format Reference:
Playwright Last Name, First Name. Publication Year. Play Title. City: Publisher.
Playwright last name, First Name. Publication Year. Classic Play Title , edited by First Name Last Name. City: Publisher.
Note Format:
Bibliography Format:
Playwright Last Name, First name. Play Title . City: Publisher, Year.
Classic Play Title . Edited by First Name Last Name. Edition Details. City: Publisher, Year.
Author-Date:
(Hwang 1989, 22)
(Shakespeare 1603, 1.4.5)
Hwang, David Henry. 1989. M Butterfly . New York: Plume.
Shakespeare, William. 2004. Hamlet, edited by Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House.
Bibliography:
Hwang, David Henry. M Butterfly . New York: Plume, 1989.
Hamlet . Edited by Harold Bloom. Major Literary Characters, 1st ser. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2004.
Updated July 10, 2022.
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In academic writing , proper citation practices are essential to acknowledge the intellectual contributions of authors and to uphold the integrity of scholarly discourse. For scholars, students, and writers engaged in the study of drama and theater, understanding how to cite a play in MLA format is important. This guide delves into the intricacies of citing plays in MLA, providing a step-by-step elucidation of the citation process for various play types, including classic and contemporary works.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
An MLA parenthetical citation for a play with numbered lines should include the play’s title, author, act number, scene number, and line numbers. Without line numbers, refer to the page the text appears on. Capitalize, punctuate, and indent dialogue as necessary.
An MLA in-text citation includes the author’s last name and page number:
Replace the page number with the act, scene, and line numbers, separated by periods if they’re included in the play:
If the text only employs lines, clarify what the numbers represent by including “lines” before the author’s name or title in the first citation of that piece. Subsequent references to the same play may omit “lines.”
In articles focusing on many works by a single playwright, italicize the play title instead of the writer’s name in each reference.
The MLA style manual suggests using abbreviations after the initial reference to avoid repeating play titles throughout your dissertation . If your study is on Shakespeare, you can utilize commonly accepted acronyms for play titles.
When quoting several dialogue lines from a play or film:
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The Works Cited section contains the citation information used in the text. The citation format depends on whether it was published as a book, an anthology, or a live performance.
If the play is published as a book, the citation format is identical to the standard MLA format.
Author last name, First name. . Publisher, Year. |
Vin, Brian. Translations. , 1983. |
(Vin 57) |
Put a period after the play’s title if published in a collection or anthology, and then give the complete details of the sourcebook.
Author last name, First name. . , edited by Editor first name Last name, Publisher, Year, Page range. |
Austen, Jane. . T , edited by Success Oceo et al., 2nd ed., Marvel UP, 1995, pp. 2503–2568. |
(Austen 1.2.20) |
If there is no editor listed, simply remove this section and proceed as illustrated above.
To reference a live performance of a play, provide the date and location of the performance. Include the theater company as well.
Author last name, First name. . Directed by Director first name, Last name, Publisher, Day Month Year, Theater Name, City. Performance. |
Smith, Ethan, et al. . Directed by Casey Jason and Ethan Smith, 20 Feb. 2019, Prince Edward Theatre, London. |
(Smith et al.) |
MLA style ensures that your reader knows the play being cited. Italicize the work’s title with the page number or scene, act , and lines and only use the full title in the initial citation.
Use a shortened version of the work’s title when a source’s author is unknown. If the work is short, enclose the title in quotation marks ; if longer, italicize the title and include the page number.
Quotes longer than four prose lines or three verse lines should be placed in a separate block of text without quotation marks. Begin the quotation on a new line, double-spacing throughout and indenting it by 1/2 inch from the left margin.
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http://Image: Indoor Panorama from Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London, 2001
In-text citations.
Citing in-text from a play (short quotation)
If the quote is only one line place quotation marks around the quote then in paraphrases include the author's last name, act.scene.line. If the play is not divided into acts, scenes and lines then cite the page number in the paraphrases.
Example: "This is a sorry sight" (Shakespeare 2.2.26).
If the quote is two or three lines then place a forward slash between each line.
Example: "Come, you spirits / That tend on my mortal thoughts, unsex me here" (Shakespeare 1.5.46).
Citing in-text from a play (long quotation)
When quoting a conversation between two or more characters in a play, indent 1/2 an inch from the left margin then begin with the character's name in all capital letters and follow the name with a period. Do the same for each character.
Example: HE. You saw nothing in Hiroshima. Nothing.....
SHE. I saw everything. Everything.. The hospital, for
instance, I saw it. I'm sure I did. There is a hospital
in Hiroshima. How could I help seeing it?....
HE: You did not see the hospital in Hiroshima. You saw
nothing in Hiroshima. (Dura 15-17)
Citing Prose Plays vs Verse Plays
When citing prose plays, use the page number first, followed by a semicolon and then other identifying information (e.g. Miller 9; Act 1). When citing verse plays with line numbers provided, use those instead of page numbers, separating division numbers with a period.
Citing a play published as a book
When citing a play in a bibliography first place the playwrights last name then first, the title of the play should be italics, then add the publisher and publication year.
Example: Shakespeare, William. Macbeth , Bedford/St. Martins, 1999.
Citing a play in an anthology
When citing a play from an anthology first cite the playwright, name of the play in italics, the name of the anthology also in italics , who the anthology was edited by then the publisher, publication year and page numbers.
Example:
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. William Shakespeare: The Complete Works , edited by _____ Stanley Well et al., Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 2501-2565.
The et al. is included when three or more contributors perform the same function.
Citing a play from a database
When citing from a database use the author's last and first name, the title of the play in italics, the name of the publisher, the publication year, the name of the database in italics and then the link to the database.
Example:
Shakespeare, William, et al. Macbeth . Yale University Press, 2005. JSTOR , www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1nq91p.
Citing a play published as an eBook
When citing as an eBook use the author's last and first name, the title of the play in italics, then put the word "e-book" or if you have used a specific device then replace "e-book" with "[App/Service] ed.". Then use with the name of the publisher, the publication year.
Example: Shakespeare, William. The Winter's Tale , Kindle ed., Simon & Schuster, 2016.
Citing a play from web site
When citing as a play use the author's last and first name, the title of the play in italics, the name of the website in italics and web site link.
Example: Shakespeare, William. As You Like It , The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, ______________ http://shakespeare.mit.edu/asyoulikeit/index.html
Modern Language Association of America. MLA Handbook. Eighth ed. 2016. Print.
" MLA Works Cited : Electronic Sources (Web Publications)." Purdue Writing Lab, https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_electronic_sources.html
Citing prose vs verse plays is from this library guide: https://rdc.libguides.com/c.php?g=529924&p=3624428
Research guides.
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Guidelines for referring to the works of others in your text using MLA style are covered throughout the MLA Handbook and in chapter 7 of the MLA Style Manual . Both books provide extensive examples, so it's a good idea to consult them if you want to become even more familiar with MLA guidelines or if you have a particular reference question.
In MLA Style, referring to the works of others in your text is done using parenthetical citations . This method involves providing relevant source information in parentheses whenever a sentence uses a quotation or paraphrase. Usually, the simplest way to do this is to put all of the source information in parentheses at the end of the sentence (i.e., just before the period). However, as the examples below will illustrate, there are situations where it makes sense to put the parenthetical elsewhere in the sentence, or even to leave information out.
General Guidelines
MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence. For example:
Both citations in the examples above, (263) and (Wordsworth 263), tell readers that the information in the sentence can be located on page 263 of a work by an author named Wordsworth. If readers want more information about this source, they can turn to the Works Cited page, where, under the name of Wordsworth, they would find the following information:
Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads . Oxford UP, 1967.
For print sources like books, magazines, scholarly journal articles, and newspapers, provide a signal word or phrase (usually the author’s last name) and a page number. If you provide the signal word/phrase in the sentence, you do not need to include it in the parenthetical citation.
These examples must correspond to an entry that begins with Burke, which will be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of an entry on the Works Cited page:
Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method . University of California Press, 1966.
When a source has a corporate author, it is acceptable to use the name of the corporation followed by the page number for the in-text citation. You should also use abbreviations (e.g., nat'l for national) where appropriate, so as to avoid interrupting the flow of reading with overly long parenthetical citations.
If a source uses a labeling or numbering system other than page numbers, such as a script or poetry, precede the citation with said label. When citing a poem, for instance, the parenthetical would begin with the word “line”, and then the line number or range. For example, the examination of William Blake’s poem “The Tyger” would be cited as such:
The speaker makes an ardent call for the exploration of the connection between the violence of nature and the divinity of creation. “In what distant deeps or skies. / Burnt the fire of thine eyes," they ask in reference to the tiger as they attempt to reconcile their intimidation with their relationship to creationism (lines 5-6).
Longer labels, such as chapters (ch.) and scenes (sc.), should be abbreviated.
When a source has no known author, use a shortened title of the work instead of an author name, following these guidelines.
Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work (such as an article) or italicize it if it's a longer work (e.g. plays, books, television shows, entire Web sites) and provide a page number if it is available.
Titles longer than a standard noun phrase should be shortened into a noun phrase by excluding articles. For example, To the Lighthouse would be shortened to Lighthouse .
If the title cannot be easily shortened into a noun phrase, the title should be cut after the first clause, phrase, or punctuation:
In this example, since the reader does not know the author of the article, an abbreviated title appears in the parenthetical citation, and the full title of the article appears first at the left-hand margin of its respective entry on the Works Cited page. Thus, the writer includes the title in quotation marks as the signal phrase in the parenthetical citation in order to lead the reader directly to the source on the Works Cited page. The Works Cited entry appears as follows:
"The Impact of Global Warming in North America." Global Warming: Early Signs . 1999. www.climatehotmap.org/. Accessed 23 Mar. 2009.
If the title of the work begins with a quotation mark, such as a title that refers to another work, that quote or quoted title can be used as the shortened title. The single quotation marks must be included in the parenthetical, rather than the double quotation.
Parenthetical citations and Works Cited pages, used in conjunction, allow readers to know which sources you consulted in writing your essay, so that they can either verify your interpretation of the sources or use them in their own scholarly work.
Page numbers are always required, but additional citation information can help literary scholars, who may have a different edition of a classic work, like Marx and Engels's The Communist Manifesto . In such cases, give the page number of your edition (making sure the edition is listed in your Works Cited page, of course) followed by a semicolon, and then the appropriate abbreviations for volume (vol.), book (bk.), part (pt.), chapter (ch.), section (sec.), or paragraph (par.). For example:
When you cite a work that appears inside a larger source (for instance, an article in a periodical or an essay in a collection), cite the author of the internal source (i.e., the article or essay). For example, to cite Albert Einstein's article "A Brief Outline of the Theory of Relativity," which was published in Nature in 1921, you might write something like this:
See also our page on documenting periodicals in the Works Cited .
Sometimes more information is necessary to identify the source from which a quotation is taken. For instance, if two or more authors have the same last name, provide both authors' first initials (or even the authors' full name if different authors share initials) in your citation. For example:
For a source with two authors, list the authors’ last names in the text or in the parenthetical citation:
Corresponding Works Cited entry:
Best, David, and Sharon Marcus. “Surface Reading: An Introduction.” Representations , vol. 108, no. 1, Fall 2009, pp. 1-21. JSTOR, doi:10.1525/rep.2009.108.1.1
For a source with three or more authors, list only the first author’s last name, and replace the additional names with et al.
Franck, Caroline, et al. “Agricultural Subsidies and the American Obesity Epidemic.” American Journal of Preventative Medicine , vol. 45, no. 3, Sept. 2013, pp. 327-333.
If you cite more than one work by an author, include a shortened title for the particular work from which you are quoting to distinguish it from the others. Put short titles of books in italics and short titles of articles in quotation marks.
Citing two articles by the same author :
Citing two books by the same author :
Additionally, if the author's name is not mentioned in the sentence, format your citation with the author's name followed by a comma, followed by a shortened title of the work, and, when appropriate, the page number(s):
If you cite from different volumes of a multivolume work, always include the volume number followed by a colon. Put a space after the colon, then provide the page number(s). (If you only cite from one volume, provide only the page number in parentheses.)
In your first parenthetical citation, you want to make clear which Bible you're using (and underline or italicize the title), as each version varies in its translation, followed by book (do not italicize or underline), chapter, and verse. For example:
If future references employ the same edition of the Bible you’re using, list only the book, chapter, and verse in the parenthetical citation:
John of Patmos echoes this passage when describing his vision (Rev. 4.6-8).
Sometimes you may have to use an indirect source. An indirect source is a source cited within another source. For such indirect quotations, use "qtd. in" to indicate the source you actually consulted. For example:
Note that, in most cases, a responsible researcher will attempt to find the original source, rather than citing an indirect source.
Sources that take the form of a dialogue involving two or more participants have special guidelines for their quotation and citation. Each line of dialogue should begin with the speaker's name written in all capitals and indented half an inch. A period follows the name (e.g., JAMES.) . After the period, write the dialogue. Each successive line after the first should receive an additional indentation. When another person begins speaking, start a new line with that person's name indented only half an inch. Repeat this pattern each time the speaker changes. You can include stage directions in the quote if they appear in the original source.
Conclude with a parenthetical that explains where to find the excerpt in the source. Usually, the author and title of the source can be given in a signal phrase before quoting the excerpt, so the concluding parenthetical will often just contain location information like page numbers or act/scene indicators.
Here is an example from O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh.
WILLIE. (Pleadingly) Give me a drink, Rocky. Harry said it was all right. God, I need a drink.
ROCKY. Den grab it. It's right under your nose.
WILLIE. (Avidly) Thanks. (He takes the bottle with both twitching hands and tilts it to his lips and gulps down the whiskey in big swallows.) (1.1)
With more and more scholarly work published on the Internet, you may have to cite sources you found in digital environments. While many sources on the Internet should not be used for scholarly work (reference the OWL's Evaluating Sources of Information resource), some Web sources are perfectly acceptable for research. When creating in-text citations for electronic, film, or Internet sources, remember that your citation must reference the source on your Works Cited page.
Sometimes writers are confused with how to craft parenthetical citations for electronic sources because of the absence of page numbers. However, these sorts of entries often do not require a page number in the parenthetical citation. For electronic and Internet sources, follow the following guidelines:
Two types of non-print sources you may encounter are films and lectures/presentations:
In the two examples above “Herzog” (a film’s director) and “Yates” (a presentor) lead the reader to the first item in each citation’s respective entry on the Works Cited page:
Herzog, Werner, dir. Fitzcarraldo . Perf. Klaus Kinski. Filmverlag der Autoren, 1982.
Yates, Jane. "Invention in Rhetoric and Composition." Gaps Addressed: Future Work in Rhetoric and Composition, CCCC, Palmer House Hilton, 2002. Address.
Electronic sources may include web pages and online news or magazine articles:
In the first example (an online magazine article), the writer has chosen not to include the author name in-text; however, two entries from the same author appear in the Works Cited. Thus, the writer includes both the author’s last name and the article title in the parenthetical citation in order to lead the reader to the appropriate entry on the Works Cited page (see below).
In the second example (a web page), a parenthetical citation is not necessary because the page does not list an author, and the title of the article, “MLA Formatting and Style Guide,” is used as a signal phrase within the sentence. If the title of the article was not named in the sentence, an abbreviated version would appear in a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence. Both corresponding Works Cited entries are as follows:
Taylor, Rumsey. "Fitzcarraldo." Slant , 13 Jun. 2003, www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/fitzcarraldo/. Accessed 29 Sep. 2009.
"MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL , 2 Aug. 2016, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/. Accessed 2 April 2018.
To cite multiple sources in the same parenthetical reference, separate the citations by a semi-colon:
When creating in-text citations for media that has a runtime, such as a movie or podcast, include the range of hours, minutes and seconds you plan to reference. For example: (00:02:15-00:02:35).
Common sense and ethics should determine your need for documenting sources. You do not need to give sources for familiar proverbs, well-known quotations, or common knowledge (For example, it is expected that U.S. citizens know that George Washington was the first President.). Remember that citing sources is a rhetorical task, and, as such, can vary based on your audience. If you’re writing for an expert audience of a scholarly journal, for example, you may need to deal with expectations of what constitutes “common knowledge” that differ from common norms.
The MLA Handbook describes how to cite many different kinds of authors and content creators. However, you may occasionally encounter a source or author category that the handbook does not describe, making the best way to proceed can be unclear.
In these cases, it's typically acceptable to apply the general principles of MLA citation to the new kind of source in a way that's consistent and sensible. A good way to do this is to simply use the standard MLA directions for a type of source that resembles the source you want to cite.
You may also want to investigate whether a third-party organization has provided directions for how to cite this kind of source. For example, Norquest College provides guidelines for citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers —an author category that does not appear in the MLA Handbook . In cases like this, however, it's a good idea to ask your instructor or supervisor whether using third-party citation guidelines might present problems.
Last Updated: April 11, 2024 Fact Checked
This article was co-authored by Annaliese Dunne and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Annaliese Dunne is a Middle School English Teacher. With over 10 years of teaching experience, her areas of expertise include writing and grammar instruction, as well as teaching reading comprehension. She is also an experienced freelance writer. She received her Bachelor's degree in English. There are 7 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 51,908 times.
When writing a research paper or other report, you may find that you want to quote directly from a source. The Modern Language Association (MLA) has specific formatting guidelines for including direct quotes in your work. These guidelines differ depending on the length of the quoted material. Additional rules apply if you want to change or omit words from the quoted material so it flows well with your own writing. [1] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source
Tip: The length of a quote refers to the length as typed in your paper, not the length as printed in the original source.
Tip: If you're using Microsoft Word, type the entire blockquote into your paper, starting on a new line. Then highlight the entire quote and press the tab key once to indent it correctly.
Tip: If you have to make too many changes to the source text, it may look cluttered and will negatively affect readability. Consider recasting your sentence or only quoting snippets of the source text, rather than using the full sentence.
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When you quote another writer's words, it's best to introduce or contextualize the quote.
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.
Note that in the second example below, a slash with a space on either side ( / ) marks a line break in the original poem.
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.
Avoid using says unless the words were originally spoken aloud, for instance, during an interview.
The first letter of the quotation should be lower case.
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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:
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:
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
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).
Format quotations of 40 words or more as block quotations:
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)
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)
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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 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 .
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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.
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.
Complete guide to Harvard 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.
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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:
The following examples use APA Style citations, but these strategies can be used in all styles.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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:
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:
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.
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 9 September 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/working-sources/quoting/
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Citing your sources is essential in academic writing . Whenever you quote or paraphrase a source (such as a book, article, or webpage), you have to include a citation crediting the original author.
Failing to properly cite your sources counts as plagiarism , since you’re presenting someone else’s ideas as if they were your own.
The most commonly used citation styles are APA and MLA. The free Scribbr Citation Generator is the quickest way to cite sources in these styles. Simply enter the URL, DOI, or title, and we’ll generate an accurate, correctly formatted citation.
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When do you need to cite sources, which citation style should you use, in-text citations, reference lists and bibliographies.
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Citation examples and full guides, frequently asked questions about citing sources.
Citations are required in all types of academic texts. They are needed for several reasons:
A citation is needed whenever you integrate a source into your writing. This usually means quoting or paraphrasing:
Citations are needed whether you quote or paraphrase, and whatever type of source you use. As well as citing scholarly sources like books and journal articles, don’t forget to include citations for any other sources you use for ideas, examples, or evidence. That includes websites, YouTube videos , and lectures .
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Usually, your institution (or the journal you’re submitting to) will require you to follow a specific citation style, so check your guidelines or ask your instructor.
In some cases, you may have to choose a citation style for yourself. Make sure to pick one style and use it consistently:
If in doubt, check with your instructor or read other papers from your field of study to see what style they follow.
In most styles, your citations consist of:
In-text citations most commonly take the form of parenthetical citations featuring the last name of the source’s author and its year of publication (aka author-date citations).
An alternative to this type of in-text citation is the system used in numerical citation styles , where a number is inserted into the text, corresponding to an entry in a numbered reference list.
There are also note citation styles , where you place your citations in either footnotes or endnotes . Since they’re not embedded in the text itself, these citations can provide more detail and sometimes aren’t accompanied by a full reference list or bibliography.
(London: John Murray, 1859), 510. |
A reference list (aka “Bibliography” or “Works Cited,” depending on the style) is where you provide full information on each of the sources you’ve cited in the text. It appears at the end of your paper, usually with a hanging indent applied to each entry.
The information included in reference entries is broadly similar, whatever citation style you’re using. For each source, you’ll typically include the:
The exact information included varies depending on the source type and the citation style. The order in which the information appears, and how you format it (e.g., capitalization, use of italics) also varies.
Most commonly, the entries in your reference list are alphabetized by author name. This allows the reader to easily find the relevant entry based on the author name in your in-text citation.
In numerical citation styles, the entries in your reference list are numbered, usually based on the order in which you cite them. The reader finds the right entry based on the number that appears in the text.
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Because each style has many small differences regarding things like italicization, capitalization , and punctuation , it can be difficult to get every detail right. Using a citation generator can save you a lot of time and effort.
Scribbr offers citation generators for both APA and MLA style. Both are quick, easy to use, and 100% free, with no ads and no registration required.
Just input a URL or DOI or add the source details manually, and the generator will automatically produce an in-text citation and reference entry in the correct format. You can save your reference list as you go and download it when you’re done, and even add annotations for an annotated bibliography .
Once you’ve prepared your citations, you might still be unsure if they’re correct and if you’ve used them appropriately in your text. This is where Scribbr’s other citation tools and services may come in handy:
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Plagiarism means passing off someone else’s words or ideas as your own. It’s a serious offense in academia. Universities use plagiarism checking software to scan your paper and identify any similarities to other texts.
When you’re dealing with a lot of sources, it’s easy to make mistakes that could constitute accidental plagiarism. For example, you might forget to add a citation after a quote, or paraphrase a source in a way that’s too close to the original text.
Using a plagiarism checker yourself before you submit your work can help you spot these mistakes before they get you in trouble. Based on the results, you can add any missing citations and rephrase your text where necessary.
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Scribbr’s Citation Checker is a unique AI-powered tool that automatically detects stylistic errors and inconsistencies in your in-text citations. It also suggests a correction for every mistake.
Currently available for APA Style, this is the fastest and easiest way to make sure you’ve formatted your citations correctly. You can try out the tool for free below.
If you need extra help with your reference list, we also offer a more in-depth Citation Editing Service.
Our experts cross-check your in-text citations and reference entries, make sure you’ve included the correct information for each source, and improve the formatting of your reference page.
If you want to handle your citations yourself, Scribbr’s free Knowledge Base provides clear, accurate guidance on every aspect of citation. You can see citation examples for a variety of common source types below:
And you can check out our comprehensive guides to the most popular citation styles:
At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).
Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.
The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .
The abbreviation “ et al. ” (Latin for “and others”) is used to shorten citations of sources with multiple authors.
“Et al.” is used in APA in-text citations of sources with 3+ authors, e.g. (Smith et al., 2019). It is not used in APA reference entries .
Use “et al.” for 3+ authors in MLA in-text citations and Works Cited entries.
Use “et al.” for 4+ authors in a Chicago in-text citation , and for 10+ authors in a Chicago bibliography entry.
The Scribbr Citation Generator is developed using the open-source Citation Style Language (CSL) project and Frank Bennett’s citeproc-js . It’s the same technology used by dozens of other popular citation tools, including Mendeley and Zotero.
You can find all the citation styles and locales used in the Scribbr Citation Generator in our publicly accessible repository on Github .
APA format is widely used by professionals, researchers, and students in the social and behavioral sciences, including fields like education, psychology, and business.
Be sure to check the guidelines of your university or the journal you want to be published in to double-check which style you should be using.
MLA Style is the second most used citation style (after APA ). It is mainly used by students and researchers in humanities fields such as literature, languages, and philosophy.
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2. Cite the author's name. Note the author's full last name first in the citation. [3] For example, you may write: " (Albee…)" or " (Hansberry…)". 3. Note the title of the play. After the author's last name, put in a comma. Then, write the title of the play you are quoting in italics.
In-text citation with abbreviated play title (Mac. 2.1.25) How to quote dialogue from a play. When quoting multiple lines of dialogue from a play or screenplay: Set the quote on a new line, indented half an inch from the left margin. Start the dialogue with the character's name in capital letters, followed by a period.
Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented 1/2 inch from the left margin while maintaining double-spacing. Your parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark. When quoting verse, maintain original line breaks. (You should maintain double-spacing throughout your essay.)
Quoting Plays. When you must quote dialogue from a play, adhere to these rules: Set the quotation off from your text. Begin each part of the dialogue with the appropriate character's name. Indent each name half an inch from the left margin and write it in all capital letters. Follow the name with a period and then start the quotation.
The example below is for a standalone edition of Hamlet. If you cite multiple Shakespeare plays in your paper, replace the author's name with an abbreviation of the play title in your in-text citation. MLA format. Shakespeare, William. Play Title. Edited by Editor first name Last name, Publisher, Year. MLA Works Cited entry. Shakespeare, William.
If you quote two characters speaking to each other this way in your paper, it is formatted as a block quote. Include a blank line between the body of your paper and the first line of your quote. When dialogue switches characters, include a blank line between each character's lines. Each line in the block quote must be indented 1 inch from your ...
The agreed-upon format for MLA quoting a play, the in-text citation would have the writer of the poem's last name and the page number. The bibliography entry for a play in MLA style of writing should include (in that order); The play writer or director's full names. The title of the play. The name of the publisher.
APA 7 Format. If you're merely paraphrasing or discussing a play in general terms, you're not required to use a page number or other locator. But if you directly quote a play script, you must include a location for the relevant passage. For plays, this often means including a page number (s). However, some plays use books, chapters, verses ...
In-text citations from plays have different formatting depending on whether the play is written in verse or in prose. When quoting lines of verse, avoid using page numbers and cite by whatever categories you can provide (title of play, act, scene, and line). Make sure to separate the numbers with periods. In the citation, use the title of the ...
Definition: How to cite a play in MLA. An MLA parenthetical citation for a play with numbered lines should include the play's title, author, act number, scene number, and line numbers. Without line numbers, refer to the page the text appears on. Capitalize, punctuate, and indent dialogue as necessary. Examples. Banquo: I'll have it done.
In terms of how to quote a play in your MLA format essay, use block quotes. When using block quotes for text, indent ½ inch and capitalize the speaker's name. If the dialogue of one speaker runs over onto the second line, you'll give that line a ½ inch indent as well. Take a look at this example for how to cite a quote from a play.
If a play is not divided into chapters or books (i.e. Aeschylus' trilogy The Oresteia: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides), you should cite just the line numbers. All Works Cited entries are double-spaced. Please check the MLA Handbook for formatting the citations of electronic texts. Author's Name.
Citing in-text from a play (short quotation) If the quote is only one line place quotation marks around the quote then in paraphrases include the author's last name, act.scene.line. If the play is not divided into acts, scenes and lines then cite the page number in the paraphrases. Example: "This is a sorry sight" (Shakespeare 2.2.26).
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-text citations: Author-page style. MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number (s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page. The author's name may appear either in the ...
3. Place the page number or range in parentheses after the quote. If you haven't mentioned the author in the text of your paper, include their last name first. Then, type only the page number, or the first page of the range and last page of the range, separated by a hyphen. Place a period outside the closing parenthesis.
Here are some tips to effectively accomplish this: 1. Provide context and analysis: Introduce the quote by briefly explaining the background or the source; Analyze the quote by breaking it down and examining its key elements; Discuss the implications or interpretations of the quote within the context of your topic. 2.
1. Make a free-standing blockquote for quotes longer than 4 lines. Start the quote on a new line and type the quote exactly as it appears in the source text, including punctuation. Do not enclose blockquotes in double quotation marks. [6] The entire blockquote is indented .5 inches (1.3 cm) from the left margin.
With individualized attention and ongoing support, we help you write a new story for the future where you play the starring role. When you quote another writer's words, it's best to introduce or contextualize the quote. Don't forget to include author's last name and page number (MLA) or author, date, and page number (APA) in your citation.
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.
Quotes should always be cited (and indicated with quotation marks), and you should include a page number indicating where in the source the quote can be found. Example: Quote with APA Style in-text citation Evolution is a gradual process that "can act only by very short and slow steps" (Darwin, 1859, p. 510).
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.
To quote a source, copy a short piece of text word for word and put it inside quotation marks. To paraphrase a source, put the text into your own words. It's important that the paraphrase is not too close to the original wording. You can use the paraphrasing tool if you don't want to do this manually.