Using quotes from a novel in an essay

Grammar Tips How do I handle book titles in my work? Do I underline them? Put them in quotes? This is one of those pesky questions that comes up all the time:

When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.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. MLA Modern Language Association style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities.

This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook 8th ed. When you directly quote the works of others in your paper, you will format quotations differently depending on their length.

Literary Analysis Papers: How to use literary quotations

Below are some basic guidelines for incorporating quotations into your paper. Please note that all pages in MLA should be double-spaced.

Short quotations To indicate short quotations four typed lines or fewer of prose or three lines of verse in your text, enclose the quotation within double quotation marks.

Provide the author and specific page citation in the case of verse, provide line numbers in the text, and include a complete reference on the Works Cited page.

Punctuation marks such as periods, commas, and semicolons should appear after the parenthetical citation. Question marks and exclamation points should appear within the quotation marks if they are a part of the quoted passage but after the parenthetical citation if they are a part of your text.

For example, when quoting short passages of prose, use the following examples: According to some, dreams express "profound aspects of personality" Foulkesthough others disagree. According to Foulkes's study, dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" Is it possible that dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" Foulkes ?

Long quotations For quotations that are more than four lines of prose or three lines of verse, place quotations in a free-standing block of text and omit quotation marks.

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.

For example, when citing more than four lines of prose, use the following examples: Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration: They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow.

By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house.

Bronte 78 When citing long sections more than three lines of poetry, keep formatting as close to the original as possible. The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy.

We Romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother's countenance Could not unfrown itself.How to Quote a Quote? Brittney Ross. Basics. In American English, use double quotation marks for quotations and single quotation marks for quotations within quotations. Let’s say you need to quote a book for an essay, and the passage you have in mind contains a quote .

D. Introductory Paragraph. SUMMARY: the author, and the essay topic.

How to Cite Passages From a Book in an Essay | Pen and the Pad

Nice. The previous sample introduction contains a general sentence at the beginning that bring up a very broad topic: love. how Dumas uses love in his novel to develop a connection with the reader.

You’d expect this paragraph to march right on down to the thesis. How you integrate a quote into an essay depends on three factors: what you want to quote, how much you want to quote, and how that quote will fit into your essay. What you want to quote: As you discuss ideas in a paragraph, quotes should be added to develop these ideas further.

Nov 15,  · When citing a shorter work (essay, magazine or newspaper article, short poem, chapter of a book, one-act play, song, etc.) in your essay, place the title in quotation marks. The focus of your essay should be on your understanding of the topic. If you include too much quotation in your essay, you will crowd out your own ideas.

If you include too much quotation in your essay, you will crowd out your own ideas. Titles of poems, short stories, essays, and other short pieces are set off in double quotes. George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" would be in quotes, since it is only an essay.