Essay

How to Use Quotes in an Essay?

Have you ever wondered how to introduce quotes in your article? If yes, you’re in the right place.

Fusing direct quotes into your essay is a great way to support your claims with concrete, fact-based evidence. Besides, quotes are multifunctional such that they help to back up your argument and can be used to develop your thesis statement.

While you may assume that the use of quotes depends on writing style, which is not true, all literary works require formal citations, especially when you are using someone else’s words.

However, you need not about how to quote in an essay. We are treating that right away. Let’s go!

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What is a Quote?

A quotation commonly referred to as quotes replicating a group of words initially created by someone else (another author). Citations are usually indicated by single or double quotation marks depending on the situation.

The quotation marks are characterized by inverted commas, which could either be single (‘) or double (“). They are often added to provide further insights into the paper.

How to Quote a Quote?

Using a quote in your essay is quite simple; however, citing a quote requires excellent attention to detail. To get started, you must first determine the section of the original text you intend to quote.

Secondly, it is vital to introduce the source of the quote when using it. To do a proper quoting, surround the source of the quote with double quotation marks, and the main quote with single question marks. For a better explanation, let’s look at the following:

Working with Short Quotes

A short quote is a quote that spans four typed lines or less. When using a quick quote, attach it directly to your paragraph together with your own words.

For example, if the quote you want to use is “technological advancements are a product of the hard work of many individuals in America and around the world.”

You can do the following:

Add an Introductory Phrase

If you add an introductory sentence to the previous quote, it becomes this;

“According to Alexis Sanchez, ‘technological advancements are a product of the hard work of many individuals in America and around the world.'”

From that example, you can observe that single quotation marks surround the main quote while double quotation marks surround the entire quotation.

Other examples of introductory phrases are:

As stated by
(Author’s name) states that,
(Author’s name) believes that,

Include a Comment after the Quote

Adding a comment to your quote helps to support your ideas by analyzing it and linking it back to your thesis. Look at another example here,

“According to Julio Cesar’s research, ‘Adults who do exercise for at least two hours a day have significantly lower blood pressure, less prone to fatigue, and have better-sleeping patterns.’ This indicated that daily work-out could positively affect people’s health, therefore introducing it into the regular schedule of workers’ can help improve employee health and well-being“.

From here, you can notice a lead-in, a quote, and a comment (underlined), which points back to the thesis of the essay.

Paraphrase the Quote

Paraphrasing means writing an author’s original statement in your own words to make them original or unique. Rewriting is especially useful if you want to incorporate evidence into your paper without using the quote every time.

Look at this:

Original quote:

“Our analysis revealed that 50%of voters in the just concluded election didn’t get their voters’ cards until they arrived at their respective polling units“.

Paraphrased quote:

Based on this analysis, 50% of voters got to the polling unit before they were given their voters’ cards.

How to do APA and MLA short in-text Citation?

In APA, you will have to provide the following details.

The author’s name
The page number
The date

Example: James Jack (2020) asserts, “the 21st-century woman is often stigmatized and considered inferior to the male counterpart, leading to social inequality” (p.22). In my opinion, this statement is incorrect.

In MLA, you will need to provide;

The author’s name
The page number

Example: James Jack asserts, “the 21st-century woman is often stigmatized and considered inferior to the male counterpart, leading to social inequality” (22). In my opinion, this statement is incorrect.

Is the difference that clear right?

Working with Long Quotations

A long quote is a quote that is usually longer than four typed lines. To use an extended reference, you have to present it in a block-like fashion, separated from the rest of your paragraph.

When using long quotes, you do not need to add quotation marks, because the reader would understand that it is a quote because of how it is aligned differently from the other text.

What to do when using long quotes

Write an introductory lead-in sentence to help the reader decipher what the quote is about
Apply 0.5 inches(1.3 cm) indent from the left margin
Cite the author of the quote at the bottom of the quote.

Let’s take a look at the examples below on how to use long quotes.

Sample APA Blockquote

In John Snow’s On Liberty, he suggests that the belief in magic is a significant part of the human mind. Individuals can consciously consider themselves to be entirely rational people and deny that they believe in God or magic despite harbouring a subconscious belief in the supernatural (John, 2015, p. 12).

Sample MLA Blockquote

Conclusion

Using quotes in your essay helps in many ways. It functions as a source of evidence for your claim. It strengthens your essay by simultaneously emphasizing and supporting your argument.

We’ve highlighted ways by which you can use both long and short quotes in your article. We hope you find this piece informational and enlightening.

Amit Kumar

FreeEducator.com blog is managed by Amit Kumar. He and his team come from the Oxford, Stanford and Harvard. At FreeEducator, we strive to create the best admission platform so that international students can go to the best universities - regardless of financial circumstances. By applying with us, international students get unlimited support and unbiased advice to secure the best college offers overseas.