Tips on Quoting
Some good reasons to include a quote are:
- You want to support or add credibility to your arguments
- The original is difficult to rephrase
- The original is soooo good that you want to preserve the language
Quoting is good, but stringing a bunch of quotes together without analysis and well-crafted transitions is bad. Also, random quotes and a lot of fluff will appear to be just that.
Always include a citation and use "quotation marks" to signal that you are using someone else's words when you quote.
Here's an example of what a quote would look like in your paper if you were using MLA:
| Original | Quote in a Paper Using MLA |
|---|---|
| Buffy, a small, delicate-looking blonde of superhuman strength, relies on Giles not only for adult support and coaching, but also for the research necessary to do that for which the Vampire Slayer has been chosen. | According to DeCandido, Buffy "relies on Giles not only for adult support and coaching, but also for the research necessary to do that for which the Vampire Slayer has been chosen" (44). |
And this complete citation would go in your "Works Cited" list.
| DeCandido, Graceanne A. "Bibliographic Good vs. Evil in Buffy the Vampire Slayer." American Libraries, Sept. 1999, pp. 44-47. |
Need more? See Resources for UCLA Students.