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7 Tips for integrating quotes into a research paper [Updated 2023]

Tips for integrating quotes into a research paper

What are the best strategies for integrating quotes into your research paper? This post offers 7 tips for using evidence effectively.

1. Decide on the best quotes

As you're reading through the research that you've gathered for your paper, take note of the quotes that you might like to integrate into your work.

From there, you'll want to decide which are the best and most useful, since you'll likely have more material than you ultimately need. Some information can be paraphrased or left out entirely.

The best quotes express an idea or point in a way that perfectly captures the situation, concept, or thought. Keep this in mind as you decide which quotes to integrate into your paper.

2. Create quote sandwiches

How do you integrate a quote? You need to "sandwich" your quote within your own words. Never simply plop a quote into your work and assume that your reader will understand its significance. Instead, lead into the quote with your own words and then close it by providing analysis.

Here's an example of a quote sandwich:

In their 2016 study on transportation planning and quality of life, Lee and Sener argue that "efforts to incorporate health [into transportation planning] have primarily been framed from a physical health perspective rather than considering broader QOL [quality of life] impacts." Although planners have consistently addressed physical health and well-being in transportation plans, they have not necessarily factored in how mental and social health contributes to quality of life. Put differently, transportation planning has traditionally utilized a limited definition of quality of life and this has necessarily impacted data on the relationship between public transit and quality of life.

4. Use block quotes sparingly

Unless you're writing a literary analysis in which you need to closely read large sections of texts, you should use block quotes sparingly.

Typically, for every quote that you use, you need to supply analysis that is at least as long as the quote itself. So, if you use a block quote, you'll need to provide enough substantive analysis to justify the use of a longer quote.

3. Segment longer quotes

To avoid using too many block quotes, you can segment longer quotes into shorter snippets or sentences. Excise the key words or phrases from the quote and then sandwich those within your own words.

Alternately, you can skip parts of longer quotes by removing material and substituting an ellipsis [...]. Here's an example of both quote segments and ellipsis:

“The blank spaces of Renaissance books,” Sherman explains, “were used to record not just comments on the text but penmanship exercises, prayers, recipes, popular poetry, [...] and other glimpses of the world in which they circulated” (15).

5. Provide adequate analysis

Every quote that you use needs to be accompanied by thorough analysis. If you're writing a literature paper , you'll need to provide a close reading of the quotes that you've included from literary texts.

For other types of papers, you might provide an analysis of what the quote said, but you'll also want to consider how that quote fits into your broader argument.

6. Make your quotes talk to each other

The point of utilizing quotes in your research is not simply to provide evidence in support of your main points. Quotes also represent significant instances of an ongoing scholarly conversation. As a result, you should make your quotes talk to each other.

You might do this in a formal way through a literature review or state-of-the-field, but you can also consider throughout your paper how different pieces of evidence reflect patterns, points of comparison, or divergences in the research landscape. Here's an example:

Elizabeth Patton, in her research on Catholic women’s “bookscapes,” contends that the staunchest Catholic families maintained textual networks in which they circulated books that were banned in Protestant England, including copies of medieval devotional manuscripts. Likewise, Jenna Lay claims that “Catholic women resisted any easy demarcation between a Catholic medieval past and a Protestant, reformed present in both their religious practices and their print and manuscript books,” an argument that can be extended to include entire Catholic families, as I will explore below (16). However, despite the fact that scholars such as Patton, Lay, and Jennifer Summit have argued that “we stand to learn much when we determine […] whether the early modern collector of a medieval devotional book was a Catholic or Protestant,” few studies have explored in any depth how Catholics used their books in the post-Reformation period.

7. Include correct in-text citations

If you are integrating direct quotes into your research paper, you'll need to include in-text citations that give proper credit for the borrowed material.

You can use BibGuru's citation generator to create your in-text citations and copy them to your document. Be sure to consult your assignment guidelines , or your instructor, to find out what citation style is required.

The bottom line

Integrating quotes into your paper can be overwhelming, especially if you are writing a longer paper. However, if you plan ahead and follow the above tips, you'll be able to incorporate evidence effectively.

Frequently Asked Questions about class presentations

To integrate quotes into your essay, create a quote sandwich. That is, always lead into a quote with your own words and then provide analysis after the quote.

You can integrate a long quote into your paper in one of two ways: through block quotes or by breaking quotes up into smaller segments.

To skip part of a quote, simply remove the unwanted text and substitute an ellipsis like this: [...]. Be sure that the statement retains its meaning and logic.

If you want to end a quote before its formal punctuation, you can simply provide a full stop or other ending punctuation where you would like to quote to end. However, make sure that the statement still makes sense in relation to the sentences and/or phrases that occur before and after it.

All borrowed quotes need accompanying in-text citations. You should consult your assignment guidelines, class syllabus, or instructor to find out which citation style is required. Use BibGuru's citation generator to create in-text citations and copy them to your document.

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Quoting and integrating sources into your paper

In any study of a subject, people engage in a “conversation” of sorts, where they read or listen to others’ ideas, consider them with their own viewpoints, and then develop their own stance. It is important in this “conversation” to acknowledge when we use someone else’s words or ideas. If we didn’t come up with it ourselves, we need to tell our readers who did come up with it.

It is important to draw on the work of experts to formulate your own ideas. Quoting and paraphrasing the work of authors engaged in writing about your topic adds expert support to your argument and thesis statement. You are contributing to a scholarly conversation with scholars who are experts on your topic with your writing. This is the difference between a scholarly research paper and any other paper: you must include your own voice in your analysis and ideas alongside scholars or experts.

All your sources must relate to your thesis, or central argument, whether they are in agreement or not. It is a good idea to address all sides of the argument or thesis to make your stance stronger. There are two main ways to incorporate sources into your research paper.

Quoting is when you use the exact words from a source. You will need to put quotation marks around the words that are not your own and cite where they came from. For example:

“It wasn’t really a tune, but from the first note the beast’s eyes began to droop . . . Slowly the dog’s growls ceased – it tottered on its paws and fell to its knees, then it slumped to the ground, fast asleep” (Rowling 275).

Follow these guidelines when opting to cite a passage:

  • Choose to quote passages that seem especially well phrased or are unique to the author or subject matter.
  • Be selective in your quotations. Avoid over-quoting. You also don’t have to quote an entire passage. Use ellipses (. . .) to indicate omitted words. Check with your professor for their ideal length of quotations – some professors place word limits on how much of a sentence or paragraph you should quote.
  • Before or after quoting a passage, include an explanation in which you interpret the significance of the quote for the reader. Avoid “hanging quotes” that have no context or introduction. It is better to err on the side of your reader not understanding your point until you spell it out for them, rather than assume readers will follow your thought process exactly.
  • If you are having trouble paraphrasing (putting something into your own words), that may be a sign that you should quote it.
  • Shorter quotes are generally incorporated into the flow of a sentence while longer quotes may be set off in “blocks.” Check your citation handbook for quoting guidelines.

Paraphrasing is when you state the ideas from another source in your own words . Even when you use your own words, if the ideas or facts came from another source, you need to cite where they came from. Quotation marks are not used. For example:

With the simple music of the flute, Harry lulled the dog to sleep (Rowling 275).

Follow these guidelines when opting to paraphrase a passage:

  • Don’t take a passage and change a word here or there. You must write out the idea in your own words. Simply changing a few words from the original source or restating the information exactly using different words is considered plagiarism .
  • Read the passage, reflect upon it, and restate it in a way that is meaningful to you within the context of your paper . You are using this to back up a point you are making, so your paraphrased content should be tailored to that point specifically.
  • After reading the passage that you want to paraphrase, look away from it, and imagine explaining the main point to another person.
  • After paraphrasing the passage, go back and compare it to the original. Are there any phrases that have come directly from the original source? If so, you should rephrase it or put the original in quotation marks. If you cannot state an idea in your own words, you should use the direct quotation.

A summary is similar to paraphrasing, but used in cases where you are trying to give an overview of many ideas. As in paraphrasing, quotation marks are not used, but a citation is still necessary. For example:

Through a combination of skill and their invisibility cloak, Harry, Ron, and Hermione slipped through Hogwarts to the dog’s room and down through the trapdoor within (Rowling 271-77).

Important guidelines

When integrating a source into your paper, remember to use these three important components:

  • Introductory phrase to the source material : mention the author, date, or any other relevant information when introducing a quote or paraphrase.
  • Source material : a direct quote, paraphrase, or summary with proper citation.
  • Analysis of source material : your response, interpretations, or arguments regarding the source material should introduce or follow it. When incorporating source material into your paper, relate your source and analysis back to your original thesis.

Ideally, papers will contain a good balance of direct quotations, paraphrasing and your own thoughts. Too much reliance on quotations and paraphrasing can make it seem like you are only using the work of others and have no original thoughts on the topic.

Always properly cite an author’s original idea, whether you have directly quoted or paraphrased it. If you have questions about how to cite properly in your chosen citation style, browse these citation guides . You can also review our guide to understanding plagiarism .

University Writing Center

The University of Nevada, Reno Writing Center provides helpful guidance on quoting and paraphrasing and explains how to make sure your paraphrasing does not veer into plagiarism. If you have any questions about quoting or paraphrasing, or need help at any point in the writing process, schedule an appointment with the Writing Center.

Works Cited

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  A.A. Levine Books, 1998.

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  • v.8(6); 2019 Dec

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Beyond the default colon: Effective use of quotes in qualitative research

Lorelei lingard.

Centre for Education Research & Innovation and Department of Medicine, Health Sciences Addition, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, Canada

In the Writer’s Craft section we offer simple tips to improve your writing in one of three areas: Energy, Clarity and Persuasiveness. Each entry focuses on a key writing feature or strategy, illustrates how it commonly goes wrong, teaches the grammatical underpinnings necessary to understand it and offers suggestions to wield it effectively. We encourage readers to share comments on or suggestions for this section on Twitter, using the hashtag: #how’syourwriting?

Last week the ‘e’ key died on my laptop. It’s a first-world problem, I’ll admit, but it really threw my writing for a loop—a lot of words require an ‘e’ key. Reflecting on what other keys I could not do without, I made a quick shortlist: comma, ‘ly’ and colon. The comma because its absence would consign me to the sort of breathy, adolescent writing that fills social media. The ‘ly’ because without that duo I can’t make most of the adverbs that prop up my first drafts. And the colon because I’m a qualitative researcher. How would I introduce quotes if the colon key were out of order?

I’m only partly joking. Every qualitative researcher confronts the challenge of selecting the right quotes and integrating them effectively into their manuscripts. As writers, we are all guilty of resorting to the default colon as an easy way to tuck quotes into our sentences; as readers, we have all suffered through papers that read like a laundry list of quotes rather than a story about what the writer learned. This Writer’s Craft instalment offers suggestions to help you choose the right quotes and integrate them with coherence and style, following the principles of authenticity and argument.

Authenticity

At the point of manuscript writing, a qualitative researcher is swimming in a sea of data. Innumerable transcript excerpts have been copied and pasted into data analysis software or (for the more tactile among us) onto multi-coloured sticky notes. Some of these excerpts we like very much. However, very few of them will make it into the final manuscript, particularly if we are writing for publication in a health research or medical education journal, with their 3000–4000 word limits.

Selecting the best quotes from among these cherished excerpts is harder than it looks. We should be guided by the principle of authenticity: does the quote offer readers first hand access to dominant patterns in the data? There are three parts to selecting a good, authentic quote: the quote is illustrative of the point the writer is making about the data, it is reasonably succinct, and it is representative of the patterns in data. Consider this quote, introduced with a short phrase to orient the reader:

Rather than feeling they were changing identities as they went through their training, medical students described the experience of accumulating and reconciling multiple identities: ‘the “life me”, who I was when I started this, is still here, but now there’s also, like, a “scientific me” as well as a sort of “doctor me”. And I’m trying to be all of that’ (S15) .

This quote is illustrative, providing an explicit example of the point that student identity is multiplying as training unfolds. It is succinct, expressing efficiently what other participants took pages to describe. And it is representative, remaining faithful to the overall sentiments of the many participants reporting this idea.

We have all read—and written!—drafts in which the quoted material does not reflect these characteristics. The remainder of this section addresses these recurring problems.

Is the quote illustrative?

A common challenge is the quote that illustrates the writer’s point implicitly, but not explicitly. Consider this example:

Medical students are undergoing a process of identity-negotiation: we’re ‘learning so much all the time, and some of it is the science stuff and some of it is professional or, like, practical ethical things, and we have to figure all that out’ (S2).

For this quote to serve as evidence for the point of identity-negotiation, the reader must infer that ‘figure all that out’ is a reference to this process. But readers may read their own meaning into decontextualized transcript extracts. Explicit is better, even if it sacrifices succinctness. In fact, this is the right quote, but we had trimmed away the first three sentences where ‘figuring out identity’ got explicit mention. The quote could be lengthened to include these sentences, or, to preserve succinctness, just that quoted phrase can be inserted into the introduction to the quote:

Medical students are ‘figuring out identity’, a process of negotiation in which they are ‘learning so much all the time, and some of it is the science stuff and some of it is professional or, like, practical ethical things, and we have to figure all that out’ (S2).

Is the quote succinct?

Interview transcripts are characterized by meandering and elliptical or incomplete speech. Therefore, you can search diligently and still come up with a 200-word quote to illustrate your 10-word point. Sometimes the long quote is perfect and you should include it. Often, however, you need to tighten it up. By including succinctness as part of the authenticity principle, my aim is to remind writers to explicitly consider whether their tightening up retains the gist of the quote.

The previous example illustrates one tightening technique: extract key phrases and integrate them into your own, introductory sentence to the quote. Another solution is to use the ellipsis to signal that you have cut part of the quote out:

Identity formation in the clinical environment is also influenced by materials and tools, ‘all this stuff you’ve never used before … you don’t know where it is or how to use it, and don’t even get me started on the computerized record. … So many hours and I’m still confused, am I ever going to know where to enter things?’ (S7) .

The first ellipsis signals that something mid-sentence has been removed. In this case, this missing material was an elaboration of ‘all this stuff’ that mentioned other details not relevant to the point being made. The second ellipsis follows a period, and therefore signals that at least one sentence has been removed and perhaps more. When using an ellipsis, only remove material that is irrelevant to the meaning of the quote, not relevant material that importantly nuances the meaning of the quote. The goal is not a bricolage which cuts and pastes tiny bits so that participants say what you want them to; it is a succinct-enough representation that remains faithful to the participant’s intended meaning.

Changing the wording of a quotation always risks violating the authenticity principle, so writers must do it thoughtfully. Two other situations, however, may call for this approach: to maintain the grammatical integrity of your sentence and to tidy up oral speech 1 . The first is usually not problematic, particularly if you are altering for consistent tense or for agreement of verb and subject or pronoun and antecedent, or replacing a pronoun with its referent. Square brackets signal such changes:

Participants from the community hospital setting, however, ‘[challenged] the assumption of anonymity when evaluating teachers’. (verb tense changed from present to past)

The second situation can be trickier: when should you tidy up the messiness of conversational discourse? Interview transcripts are replete with what linguists refer to as ‘fillers’ or ‘hesitation markers’, sounds and words such as ‘ah/uh/um/like/you know/right’ [ 1 ]. There is general agreement among qualitative scholars that quotes should be presented verbatim as much as possible, and those engaged in discourse and narrative analysis will necessarily analyze such hesitations as part of the meaning. In other applied social research methodologies, however, writers might do some ‘light tidying up’ both for readability and for ethical reasons, as long as they do not undermine authenticity in doing so [ 2 ]. Ethical issues include the desire not to do a disservice to participants by representing the um’s and ah’s of their natural speech, and the concern to protect participant anonymity by removing identifiable linguistic features such as regional or accented speech.

Finally, an emerging strategy for succinctness is to put the quotes into a table. Many qualitative researchers resent the constraints of the table format as an incursion from the quantitative realm. However, used thoughtfully, it can offer a means of presenting complex results efficiently. In this example, Goldszmidt et al. name, define and illustrate five main types of supervisor interruptions that they observed during their study of case review on internal medicine teaching teams (Tab.  1 ; [ 3 ]).

Types of supervisors’ interruptions during patient case review presentations, London Health Sciences Centre, University Hospital, Ontario, Canada 2010

AM  indicates morning case presentation; PM  overnight case presentation; A  attending physician; SR  senior resident; IM1  first-year internal medicine resident; FM1  first-year family medicine resident; CC  clinical clerk

This is a nice example of how ‘Tab.  1 ’, conventionally used in quantitative research papers for demographic details of the research sample, can be re-conceptualized to feature the key findings from a qualitative analysis. Tables should be supplemented, however, with narrative explanation in which the writer contextualizes and interprets the quoted material. More on this in the section on Argument.

Is the quote representative?

We have all been tempted to include the highly provocative quote (that thing we cannot believe someone said on tape), only to realize by the third draft that it misrepresents the data and must be relinquished. Quote selection should reflect strong patterns in the data; while discrepant examples serve an important purpose, their use should be purposeful and explicit. Your quote selection should also be distributed across participants, in order that you represent the data set. This may mean using the second- or third-best example rather than continuing to quote the same one or two highly articulate individuals.

You must provide sufficient context that readers can accurately infer the meaning of the quote. Sometimes this means including the interviewer’s question as well as the participant’s answer. In focus group research, where the emphasis is on the group discussion, it might be necessary to quote an exchange among participants rather than extracting individual comments. This example illustrates this technique:

Interviewer: And, in your experience, how do the students respond to your feedback about how well they communicated? SP1: Oh, really well, it’s really important to the students, they listen to what we say about their performance— Interruption with overlapping talk SP4: Well, yeah, on a good day maybe, sure. But not every time. Lots of sessions I feel like we’re probably more like props to them, so how well we think they did, I’m not sure that matters. SP3: Don’t you find it depends on the student? (FG2)

Of course, such a long excerpt threatens the goal of succinctness. Alternatively, you could use multiple quotes from this excerpt in a single sentence of your own:

Some standardized patients in the group believed that their assessor role was ‘really important to the students, they listen to what we say about their performance’, while others argued that ‘we’re probably more like props to them, so how well we think they did, I’m not sure that matters’. (FG2)

Sometimes a quote is representative but also, therefore, identifiable, jeopardizing confidentiality:

One participant explained that, ‘as chair of the competency committee, I prioritize how we spend our time. So that we can pay sufficient attention to this 2nd year resident. She’s supposed to be back from maternity leave but she had complications so her rotations need some altering for her to manage.’ (CCC4, P2)

In this case, the convention of using a legend (Clinical Competency Committee 4, participant 2) to attribute the quote may be insufficient to protect anonymity. If the study involves few programs and the methods identify them (e.g., Paediatrics and Medicine) and name the institution (e.g., Western University), the speaker may be identifiable to some readers, as may the resident.

Quoted material does not stand on its own: we must incorporate it into our texts, both grammatically and rhetorically. Grammatical incorporation is relatively straightforward, with one main rule to keep in mind: quoted material is subject to the same sentence-level conventions for grammar and punctuation as non-quoted material. Read this example aloud:

Arts and humanities teaching offers an opportunity for faculty to connect with medical students on a different level, ‘we can share how we feel about the work of caring, what it costs us, how it rewards us, as human beings’ (F9).

Your ear likely hears that this should be two sentences. But quotation marks seem to distract us from this, and we create a run-on sentence by putting a comma between the sentences. An easy correction is to replace the comma with a colon.

Arts and humanities teaching offers an opportunity for faculty to connect with medical students on a different level: ‘we can share how we feel about the work of caring, what it costs us, how it rewards us, as human beings’ (F9).

Many writers rely on the colon as their default mechanism for integrating quoted material. However, while it is often grammatically accurate, it is not always rhetorically sufficient. That is, the colon doesn’t contextualize, it doesn’t interpret. Instead, it ‘drops’ the quote in and leaves the reader to infer how the quoted material illustrates or advances the argument. This is problematic because it does not fulfil the requirement for adequacy of interpretation in presenting qualitative results. As Morrow argues, writers should aim for a balance of their interpretations and supporting quotations: ‘an overemphasis on the researcher’s interpretations at the cost of participant quotes will leave the reader in doubt as to just where the interpretations came from; an excess of quotes will cause the reader to become lost in the morass of stories’ [ 4 ]. (p. 256).

There are many techniques for achieving this balance between researcher interpretations and supporting quotations. Some techniques retain the default colon but attend carefully to the material that precedes it. Consider the following examples:

One clinician said: ‘Entrustment isn’t a decision, it’s a relationship’. (F21) One clinician argued: ‘Entrustment isn’t a decision, it’s a relationship’. (F21) One clinician in the focus group disagreed with the idea that entrustment was about deciding trainee progress: ‘Entrustment isn’t a decision, it’s a relationship’. (F21) Focus group participants debated the meaning of entrustment. Many described it matter-of-factly as ‘the process we use to decide whether the trainee should progress’, while a few argued that ‘entrustment isn’t a decision, it’s a relationship’. (F21)

These examples offer progressively more contextualization for the quote. The first example simply drops the quote in following the nondescript verb, ‘said’, offering no interpretive gloss and therefore exerting minimal rhetorical control over the reader. The second offers some context via the verb ‘argued’, which interprets the participant’s positioning or tone. The third interprets the meaning of the quote even more by situating it in the context of a focus group debate. And the fourth eschews the default colon entirely, integrating two quotes into the narrative structure of the author’s sentence to illustrate the dominant and the discrepant positions on entrustment in this focus group debate.

Integrating quotes into the narrative structure of your sentence, like the last example, offers two advantages to the writer. First, it interprets the quote for the reader and therefore exerts strong rhetorical control over the quote’s meaning. Second, it offers variety and style. If your goal is compelling prose, variety and style should not be underestimated. We have all had the experience of reading Results sections that proceed robotically: point-colon-quote, point-colon-quote, point-colon-quote …. If only to make the reader’s experience more enjoyable, your revision process should involve converting some of these to integrated narration.

Notwithstanding the goal of succinctness, sometimes you will include a longer quote because it beautifully illustrates the point. However, a long quote may offer opportunities for readers to focus on images or phrases other than those you intended, therefore creating incoherence in the argument you are making about your results. To guard against this, you might try the ‘quotation sandwich’ technique [ 5 ] of both an introductory phrase that sets up the context of the quote and a summary statement following it emphasizing why you consider it important and what you are using it to illustrate.

Finally, how many quotes do you need to support your point? More is not necessarily better. One quote should be sufficient to illustrate your point. Some points in your argument may not require a quoted excerpt at all. Consider this example, in which the first sentence presents a finding that is not illustrated with a quotation:

Residents described themselves as being always tired. However, their perceptions of the impact of their fatigue varied, from ‘not a factor in the care I provide’ (R8) to ‘absolutely killing me … I’m falling asleep at the bedside’ (R15).

The finding that residents are always tired does not require illustration. It is readily understandable and will not surprise anyone; therefore, following it with the quote ‘I’m tired all the time’ (R2) will feel redundant. The second part of the finding, however, benefits from illustration to show the variety of perception regarding impact.

If you do use multiple quotes to illustrate a point in your argument, then you must establish the relations between them for the reader. You can do this between the quoted excerpts or after them, as modelled above with the four examples used to illustrate progressively stronger quote contextualization.

In conclusion, quotes can be the life’s blood of your qualitative research paper. However, they are the evidence, not the argument. They do not speak for themselves and readers cannot infer what you intend them to illustrate. The authenticity principle can help you select a quote that is illustrative, succinct and representative, while the argument principle can remind you to attend to the grammatical and the rhetorical aspects of integrating the quote into the story you are telling about your research.

1 A third situation is beyond the scope of this piece: translating quoted material from another language into English. For careful consideration of this issue, please see Helmich et al. [ 6 ].

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Integrating Quotations in MLA Style

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Integrating Quotations (MLA)

A reader may be able to make sense of a quotation dropped into a piece of writing, but introducing or integrating quotations into the flow of your sentence is the way to use them most effectively—to be sure that your reader knows what you mean. You have three options: 

  • Introduce the quotation with a statement that puts it in context. A colon follows a formal statement or independent clause.
  • Lynn Quitman Troyka warns us of the particular challenges of using quotations in research papers: “The greatest risk you take when you use quotations is that you will end up with choppy, incoherent sentences” (184). 
  • Use a signal phrase followed by a comma or a signal verb followed by that to announce a quotation.
  • According to Lynn Quitman Troyka, “. . ..”
  • The narrator suggests that “. . ..”
  • As Jake Barnes says, “. . . . . ..”
  • Frye rejects this notion when he argues, “. . ..”
  • Integrate the quotation fully into your sentence. The quotation and your words must add up to a complete sentence.
  • We know the boy has learned a painful lesson when he says that his eyes “burned with anguish and anger” (Joyce 481). 
  • Leaders are inspirational; they are concerned with “providing meaning or purpose in work for employees and creating meaning in the product for customers” (Ivancevich, Lorenzi, and Skinner 341).  
  • Researchers found that firms with a strong corporate culture “based on a foundation of shared values” outperformed the other firms by a large margin (Quigley 42).

Quotations within Quotations:

Use single quotation marks to enclose a quotation within a quotation.

  • Miller states, “Religions are examples of ‘noble lies’ aimed at uplifting human stature” (18).

Adding Material within Quotations:

Use square brackets to enclose material that you add to or change within a quotation to allow it to fit grammatically into a sentence. 

  • Balko (2015) argues, “If they [policymakers] want to fight obesity, they’ll halt the creeping 

socialization of medicine” (p. 142).

  • “Today, the [saturated fat] warnings remain a cornerstone of the government’s dietary guidelines,” O’Connor (2016) states, “though in recent years the American Heart Association has also begun to warn that too much added sugar may increase cardiovascular disease risk” (p.92). 

Block Quotations:

Indent longer quotations (more than four lines) ten spaces from the margin. Notice that quotation marks are not used to enclose material that is set off from the text and that the parenthetical reference is placed after the punctuation following the quotation. 

A socially responsible vision can make an organization more attractive to customers, potential employees, and investors.  As consultant Robert Rosen puts it,  

The best companies are values-based and performance-driven.  Their community involvement supports the mission of the business.  Modern employees want to work for companies who make a difference, their customers want to do business with them because they have solid reputations as good corporate citizens, and shareholders enjoy the value such companies represent over the long term. (9)

Shortening Quotations:

Use an ellipsis of three dots to shorten longer quotations by removing non-essential words and ideas from the middle of the quote.  The quotation must fit grammatically into the sentence even with the ellipsis.   It must also retain enough of the quotation so that it still makes sense in your essay and you do not distort its meaning.   You do not need to provide ellipses at the beginning or the end of the quoted material. 

Foer states, “My grandmother survived World War II barefoot, scavenging Eastern Europe for other people’s inedibles . . . So she never cared if I colored outside the lines, as long as I cut coupons along the dashes” (159). 

Complete quote: “My grandmother survived World War II barefoot, scavenging Eastern Europe for other people’s inedibles: rotting potatoes, discarded scraps of meat, skins and the bits that clung to bones and pits. So she never cared if I colored outside the lines, as long as I cut coupons along the dashes.” 

Quick tip about citing sources in MLA style

What’s a thesis, sample mla essays.

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Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing

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This handout is intended to help you become more comfortable with the uses of and distinctions among quotations, paraphrases, and summaries. This handout compares and contrasts the three terms, gives some pointers, and includes a short excerpt that you can use to practice these skills.

What are the differences among quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing?

These three ways of incorporating other writers' work into your own writing differ according to the closeness of your writing to the source writing.

Quotations must be identical to the original, using a narrow segment of the source. They must match the source document word for word and must be attributed to the original author.

Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from source material into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly.

Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main point(s). Once again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.

Why use quotations, paraphrases, and summaries?

Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries serve many purposes. You might use them to:

  • Provide support for claims or add credibility to your writing
  • Refer to work that leads up to the work you are now doing
  • Give examples of several points of view on a subject
  • Call attention to a position that you wish to agree or disagree with
  • Highlight a particularly striking phrase, sentence, or passage by quoting the original
  • Distance yourself from the original by quoting it in order to cue readers that the words are not your own
  • Expand the breadth or depth of your writing

Writers frequently intertwine summaries, paraphrases, and quotations. As part of a summary of an article, a chapter, or a book, a writer might include paraphrases of various key points blended with quotations of striking or suggestive phrases as in the following example:

In his famous and influential work The Interpretation of Dreams , Sigmund Freud argues that dreams are the "royal road to the unconscious" (page #), expressing in coded imagery the dreamer's unfulfilled wishes through a process known as the "dream-work" (page #). According to Freud, actual but unacceptable desires are censored internally and subjected to coding through layers of condensation and displacement before emerging in a kind of rebus puzzle in the dream itself (page #).

How to use quotations, paraphrases, and summaries

Practice summarizing the essay found here , using paraphrases and quotations as you go. It might be helpful to follow these steps:

  • Read the entire text, noting the key points and main ideas.
  • Summarize in your own words what the single main idea of the essay is.
  • Paraphrase important supporting points that come up in the essay.
  • Consider any words, phrases, or brief passages that you believe should be quoted directly.

There are several ways to integrate quotations into your text. Often, a short quotation works well when integrated into a sentence. Longer quotations can stand alone. Remember that quoting should be done only sparingly; be sure that you have a good reason to include a direct quotation when you decide to do so. You'll find guidelines for citing sources and punctuating citations at our documentation guide pages.

Quote integration

Quote integration is arguably one of the most difficult parts of essay writing; however, it does not need to be. Here are some tips to make quote integration easier. 

First things first, the most basic way to integrate quotes into any piece of writing is with the following format

Signal phrase + Quote + Citations

  • Signal phrase: A short phrase or verb that indicates to the reader that you are going to introduce a quote.
  • Quote: Short quotes are less than four lines and can be integrated into the actual body of your essay. Quotes over four lines typically should be formatted as block quotes (based on the citation style you are using).
  • Citations in MLA 8th edition
  • Citations in APA 7 th
  • Citations in Chicago
  • Citations in AMA  

The following example follows the pattern of signal phrase , quote, and citation (in MLA style)

  • Exercise has many benefits for not only an individual’s present health but in the long term as well : “exercise is known to reduce a number of inflammatory markers…which are linked to a number of diseases” (Walton 1).

Another way to introduce a quote into a source is to use the author’s name as your signal phrase with a subsequent verb that is used to introduce the quote. For citation styles such as MLA or APA, when you start with the author’s name to introduce the source, the end of text citation only needs to have the page number/year.

  • Alice Walton writes that “exercise is one of the best-illustrated things we can do for our hearts, and this includes markers like blood pressure and cholesterol, in addition to the physical structure of the heart itself, and blood vessel function” (3).

Verbs to use to signal the beginning of a quotation

  • Demonstrates
  • Illustrates

Other methods to integrate a quote into a sentence

Introduce a quotation and have subsequent sentences that expand on the relevance.

  • This is the best way to integrate quotes into a paper. It is crucial that anytime you use from an outside source, you  explain the relevance of the quote to the rest of your paper .
  • Dr. Carrie Fisher details some of the most pressing ethical concerns that arise in the field of public health: “the primary ethical concern of public health officials is creating a balance between the common good and the right of the individual, when we undermine autonomy we create distrust among the general public, destabilizing the governing principles of public health” (2). Dr. Fisher’s concerns surrounding the field of public health echoes the main dilemma that has plagued the field since its conception. Her argument that undermining autonomy betrays public trust demonstrates that as public health officials it is crucial to understand that if individual autonomy is restricted, it can only be in the direst of circumstances.

Make the quotation part of a complete sentence

  • Current research indicates that exercise is beneficial for long-term health as it “can help control blood lipid abnormalities, diabetes, and obesity” (Fletcher et al., 1996).

Utilize brackets and ellipses to help improve clarity of a sentence

Brackets are used to add words to improve understanding. Ellipses are used to remove words to shorten a phrase.

  • According to physical therapist Dr. Smith, developing a consistent and sustainable workout foundation is the key to long term success: “[Workout programs] must be enjoyable, you cannot expect an individual to adhere to a regimen where they dread each day they must go. I recommend that individuals find a workout routine that both challenges them but also excites them, where it does not feel like a chore to workout” (2).

Here is an example sentence that utilizes all of these tactics to integrate a quote into a sentence

  • In the field of medicine, exercise recommendations remain hotly contested, “although a consensus is growing on the importance of the relation between physical activity and health and wellness, the specific dose of physical activity necessary for good health remains unclear… some of the inconsistency among physical activity recommendations is due simply to the inherent uncertainties of biomedical science” (Blair 2). It is crucial that the differing ideologies be addressed as they have the potential to impact the dissemination of information to the general public. The average American already struggles to meet the weekly exercise recommendations and conflicting information regarding these recommendations will only further exacerbate the issue.

Paraphrasing

  • You may be thinking “isn’t this supposed to be about integrating quotes into an essay?” You are correct; however, there are many times (and citation styles) where it is best to paraphrase a source instead of integrating a whole quote into the paper. Quote integration is crucial when the exact wording of the primary source is critical to the point being made, whereas paraphrasing is sufficient when restating the general idea is all that is required. 
  • Despite continual recommendations put forth by the CDC regarding exercise and physical activity “80% of the population is not meeting the guidelines. Each year in the US, an estimated 10% of premature deaths and $117 billion in healthcare costs are associated with inadequate physical activity” (Smith, 2017).

Paraphrased 

  • The CDC estimates that 80% of the United States population is not adhering to the guidelines regarding weekly physical activity recommendations (Smith 3). Inactive adults cost the U.S health care system an estimated $117 billion per year; estimates suggest 10% of premature deaths are due to inactivity (Smith, 2017).

*Remember that when paraphrasing a quote from a source an in-text citation is still included.

Common mistakes to avoid

Drop quotes.

This is when you “drop” a quote into your essay without any form of introduction; the most common mistake is making the quote its own sentence.

This is what you don’t want to do

  • There are numerous health benefits to working out. “Adults should move more and sit less throughout the day. Some physical activity is better than none. Adults who sit less and do any amount of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity gain some health benefits” (CDC).

A better way to approach this is

  • There are numerous health benefits to working. According to the CDC, “adults should move more and sit less throughout the day. Some physical activity is better than none. Adults who sit less and do any amount of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity gain some health benefits” (2019).

Not using brackets

Using brackets when integrating a quote actually helps improve clarity while writing. Otherwise, if you integrate a quote directly without adjusting it through the use of brackets, the sentence can be confusing to readers.

  • Dr. Smith, talks to patients candidly about the importance of physical activity while they are young, “it is important that you start working out when you are younger as it helps you build up bone density, which can decrease the risk of developing arthritis as you get older” (Horton 3).
  • Dr. Smith talks to patients candidly about the importance of physical activity while they are young: “it is important that [individuals] start working out when [they] are younger as it helps [them] build up bone density, which can decrease the risk of developing arthritis as they get older” (Horton 3).

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  • How to Quote | Citing Quotes in APA, MLA & Chicago

How to Quote | Citing Quotes in APA, MLA & Chicago

Published on April 15, 2022 by Shona McCombes and Jack Caulfield. Revised on May 31, 2023.

Quoting means copying a passage of someone else’s words and crediting the source. To quote a source, you must ensure:

  • The quoted text is enclosed in quotation marks or formatted as a block quote
  • The original author is correctly cited
  • The text is identical to the original

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 .

How to Quote

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Table of contents

How to cite a quote in apa, mla and chicago, introducing quotes, quotes within quotes, shortening or altering a quote, block quotes, when should i use quotes, other interesting articles, 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. Three of the most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

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 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 periods and commas are placed after the citation, not within the quotation marks .

  • Evolution is a gradual process that “can act only by very short and slow steps” (Darwin, 1859, p. 510) .
  • Darwin (1859) explains that evolution “can act only by very short and slow steps” (p. 510) .

Complete guide to APA

Citing a quote in mla style.

An MLA in-text citation includes only the author’s last name and a page number. As in APA, it can be parenthetical or narrative, and a period (or other punctuation mark) appears after the citation.

  • Evolution is a gradual process that “can act only by very short and slow steps” (Darwin 510) .
  • Darwin explains that evolution “can act only by very short and slow steps” (510) .

Complete guide to MLA

Citing a quote in chicago style.

Chicago style uses Chicago footnotes to cite sources. A note, indicated by a superscript number placed directly after the quote, specifies the author, title, and page number—or sometimes fuller information .

Unlike with parenthetical citations, in this style, the period or other punctuation mark should appear within the quotation marks, followed by the footnote number.

Complete guide to Chicago style

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integrating quotes in research paper

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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:

  • Add an introductory sentence
  • Use an introductory signal phrase
  • Integrate the quote into your own sentence

The following examples use APA Style citations, but these strategies can be used in all styles.

Introductory sentence

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.

  • In Denmark, a recent poll shows that: “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
  • In Denmark, a recent poll shows that support for the EU has grown since the Brexit vote: “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
  • Levring (2018) reports that support for the EU has grown since the Brexit vote: “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (p. 3).

Introductory signal phrase

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.

  • According to a recent poll, “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
  • As Levring (2018) explains, “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (p. 3).

Integrated into your own sentence

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 .

  • A recent poll suggests that EU membership “would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” in a referendum (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
  • Levring (2018) reports that EU membership “would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” in a referendum (p. 3).

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 single (instead of double) 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 double quotation marks.

  • Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: “ “ Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, ” he told me, “ just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had ” ” (Fitzgerald 1).
  • Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: “‘Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had ” (Fitzgerald 1).
  • Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: “‘Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had’” (Fitzgerald 1).
  • Carraway begins by quoting his father’s invocation to “remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” (Fitzgerald 1).

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.

Shortening a 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.

Altering a quote

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 verb 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 italicize 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 capitalization made to ensure the quote fits the style of your text.

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integrating quotes in research paper

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 period, the citation appears after the period.

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 in your own words. This helps you integrate information smoothly and keeps your own voice dominant.

However, there are some situations in which quoting is more appropriate.

When focusing on language

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.

When giving evidence

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 presenting an author’s position or definition

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.

If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

  • ChatGPT vs human editor
  • ChatGPT citations
  • Is ChatGPT trustworthy?
  • Using ChatGPT for your studies
  • What is ChatGPT?
  • Chicago style
  • Paraphrasing
  • Critical thinking

 Plagiarism

  • Types of plagiarism
  • Self-plagiarism
  • Avoiding plagiarism
  • Academic integrity
  • Consequences of plagiarism
  • Common knowledge

A quote is an exact copy of someone else’s words, usually enclosed in quotation marks and credited to the original author or speaker.

In academic writing , there are three main situations where quoting is the best choice:

  • To analyze the author’s language (e.g., in a literary analysis essay )
  • To give evidence from primary sources
  • To accurately present a precise definition or argument

Don’t overuse quotes; your own voice should be dominant. If you just want to provide information from a source, it’s usually better to paraphrase or summarize .

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.

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.

The rules for when to apply block quote formatting depend on the citation style:

  • APA block quotes are 40 words or longer.
  • MLA block quotes are more than 4 lines of prose or 3 lines of poetry.
  • Chicago block quotes are longer than 100 words.

If you’re quoting from a text that paraphrases or summarizes other sources and cites them in parentheses , APA and Chicago both recommend retaining the citations as part of the quote. However, MLA recommends omitting citations within a quote:

  • APA: Smith states that “the literature on this topic (Jones, 2015; Sill, 2019; Paulson, 2020) shows no clear consensus” (Smith, 2019, p. 4).
  • MLA: Smith states that “the literature on this topic shows no clear consensus” (Smith, 2019, p. 4).

Footnote or endnote numbers that appear within quoted text should be omitted in all styles.

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.

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.

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Story, Not Study: 30 Brief Lessons to Inspire Health Researchers as Writers pp 35–43 Cite as

Effective Use of Quotes in Qualitative Research

  • Lorelei Lingard   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4150-3355 10 &
  • Christopher Watling   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9686-795X 10  
  • First Online: 27 April 2021

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Part of the Innovation and Change in Professional Education book series (ICPE,volume 19)

For qualitative researchers, quotes are the heart of the results section. However, they are evidence, not argument. They do not speak for themselves and readers cannot infer what you intend them to illustrate. Using two principles, this chapter offers suggestions to help you choose the right quotes and integrate them with coherence and style. The authenticity principle will help you to select quotes that are illustrative, succinct and representative. The argument principle will help you to integrate those quotes grammatically and persuasively, ensuring that they support your argument.

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Lingard, L., Watling, C. (2021). Effective Use of Quotes in Qualitative Research. In: Story, Not Study: 30 Brief Lessons to Inspire Health Researchers as Writers. Innovation and Change in Professional Education, vol 19. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71363-8_6

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Integrating Quotations in Research Writing: A Lesson for High School Students

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Lesson Plan

Grade levels.

Students will write sentences that incorporate quotations to provide readers with the context of the original source and the connection to the essay’s main idea.

Total Estimated Class Time

Additional outcome.

Students will think critically about how their source material connects with the main idea of their essays and develop note cards that will help them start a draft.

Course Work or Assignment Underway

Students have completed an annotated bibliography and are preparing to write an essay supported by evidence from researched and cited sources.

Work Completed before Class

Students should have copies or printouts of their sources with some parts highlighted for potential use in their essays. Previous class sessions will have introduced students to searching for and evaluating sources and creating an MLA-style works-cited list for their annotated bibliographies.

Sequence of Classroom Activities

  • Pass out copies of sample research paper, and ask students to highlight quotations.
  • Ask students to notice how rarely a quotation stands alone as its own sentence. Often, the quotation occurs at the end of the sentence and sometimes at the beginning of the sentence. Ask students to use a different color highlighter to highlight the words in the sentence before or after the quotation. Then ask them where in the sentence quotations most often appear: the beginning, the middle, or the end.
  • Introduce students to the 5W and 1H questions (also known as the journalistic questions): who? what? when? where? why? how? Note that while writers might not provide answers to all those questions in the introduction to the quotation, they might answer some of them to provide necessary context for the quotation. Ask students to label the information provided before the quotation with who, what, when, where, why, or how to show what type of context is being provided. (Below, I have provided some examples, taken from the MLA Handbook , 8th ed.)
  • It can add credibility to the quotation because you show who originated it and what that person’s expertise is.
  • It can add credibility to the quotation because by showing when it was written, you show that it is a timely source.
  • It can help your readers understand the quotation better because you explain your source’s purpose (why it was written).
  • Show you: Use the sample completed template in the Note-Taking Template to show how section 1 provides some context (who, what, when, where, why, how) and section 2 provides the paraphrase.
  • Guide you : Display a blank template for the whole class to see. Ask a student to volunteer a quotation from any articles brought to class. Write that quotation in section 2 of the template. Ask that student the who, what, when, where, why, how of the quotations. As a class, come up with a way to incorporate the most important part of that context in section 1 of the template.
  • Watch you : Divide students into small groups. Ask them to work with each other to produce one note-taking card for each student in the group. Circulate around the room to help with specific issues and to assess competence.
  • Let you : Once student have achieved competence in a small group, you can assign the rest of the cards for independent practice.

5W and 1H Example

Sentences with the 5 Ws and 1 H highlighted and categorized - MLA Style Center

Alternative Approaches

A lesson on citing the material (section 3 of the template) may be done after or before this lesson. A lesson on explaining how the material relates to the student’s topic (section 4 of the template) may be done after or before this lesson. When students have completed all sections of the Note-Taking Template, they can print out the document and cut each into a separate “note card” to work on organizing and then drafting their essays. 

To see how you can adapt these activities for undergraduates, see the lesson plan for college students .

Lesson Materials

Copies of a sample research paper or of a body paragraph from a sample research paper

Highlighters of different colors

Note-Taking Template

Dorota 23 November 2023 AT 05:11 PM

A good lesson plan, thanks

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Jerz's Literacy Weblog (est. 1999)

Integrated quotes: citing sources effectively in mla-style papers.

Jerz > Writing > Academic  > [ Argument |  Titles | Thesis Statements | Blueprinting  | Quoting | Citing |  MLA Format  ]

The MLA-style in-text citation is highly compressed, designed to balance the flow of your own ideas with the precision of brief references.

Rather than interrupting your ideas with long chunks from other sources, prefer integrated quotations — short, meaningful quotes that work organically with the grammar of your original sentence, invoking outside evidence with power and precision.  (See also: Academic Writing ;  Thesis Statements .)

integrating quotes in research paper

Integrate Brief Quotations from Outside Sources

If you bring your essay to a screeching halt in order to introduce the full name and credentials of each author, you will bury whatever argument you were trying to make.

Spot the Wordy Formula

Efficient revision, three potential ways to apply borrowed material.

The following examples show three different ways that the same quoted material could be used to advance an original argument, by directly tying the material from one source to related material from another source.

 Integrate Borrowed Material Smoothly and Efficiently

Avoid clunky, high-schoolish documentation like the following:.

Don’t expend words writing about quotes and sources.  If you provide a lengthy introduction such as “In the book  My Big Boring Academic Study , by Professor H. Pompous Windbag III, it says” or “the following quote by a government study shows that…” you are wasting words that would be better spent developing your ideas.

Using about the same space as the original, see how MLA style helps an author devote more words to developing the idea more fully. We shall continue to revise the above example:

If your college instructor wants you to cite every fact or opinion you find in an outside source, how do you make room for your own opinion?

  • Paraphrase. You can introduce studies that agree with you (Smith 123; Jones and Chin 123) and those that disagree with you (Mohan and Corbett 200) without interrupting your own argument. (See what I did there?)
  • Quote Selectively . If you must use the original author’s language,  work a few words from the outside source into a sentence you wrote yourself . (If you can’t supply at least as many words of your own analysis of and rebuttal to the quoted passage, then you are probably padding.)
  • Avoid Summary . Summarizing someone else’s ideas is one of the easiest ways to churn out words; while students often turn to summary when they want to boost their word count, paragraphs that merely summarize are not as intellectually engaging, and therefore not worth as many points, as paragraphs that analyze, synthesize, and evaluate. See “ Writing that Demonstrates Thinking Ability .”)

While MLA Style generally expects authors to save details for the Works Cited pages, there’s nothing wrong with introducing the work more fully — if you have a good reason to do so.

For example, in a paper on the history of the typewriter, you might want to refer to the typist who appears in T. S. Eliot’s poem, “The Waste Land.” If so, you should identify the source as a poem, so that reader won’t mistake the reference for an academic article. In a similar way, if your paper mainly cites poets, you might need to identify somebody else as an editor or literary critic. Or, perhaps you feel that a particular author’s nationality, ethnicity, gender, age, or education level may affect the relevance of a particular point raised by the author.

Don’t give the full, high-schoolish introduction without a good reason — the presence of irrelevant details is a signal to your reader that you don’t know what you want to say.

Integrated Quotes Facilitate Smarter Writing

How good is a composer who only lets one instrument play at a time? Would you like a pizza that was served to you first as a dry round crust, then a bowl of tomato sauce, then a hunk of cheese?

Avoid a rigid, simplistic organizational structure focused only on summarizing or reflecting on the sources you have found. It’s not possible to think about an issue in a complex way if you examine only one source per paragraph.

Consider instead the following, more intellectually complex use of sources:

03 Oct 2007 — extracted and expanded from a handout that focused on finding good sources . 04 Nov 2011 — reorganization and updates 20 Dec 2016 — further reorganization and updates 06 Dec 2017 — expanded Kanye example

12 thoughts on “ Integrated Quotes: Citing Sources Effectively in MLA-Style Papers ”

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great posting thanks a lot !!

still confused on how to insert things when needed and basically using it in general paper is due wednesday rough draft

Leslie, it’s great that your instructor is giving you the chance to revise. He or she is doing twice or three times the work it would take just to give you a single grade, and you will learn a lot if you take full advantage of the opportunity.

You are bang on correct!

I’m looking at the author’s footnote, and it says “…STATISTICS”.

So I Google the article in the NYT by it’s title: “Belt-Loosening in the Work Force” (NYT 2 Mar 2003)

and the article’s author writes:

______________________________________

The economists — Shin-Yi Chou, Henry Saffer and Michael Grossman — presented their findings in a working paper called ” An Economic Analysis of Obesity ” for the National Bureau of Economic Research . In the paper, the economists note that… ______________________________________

So I Google An Economic Analysis of Obesity and find it’s REALLY:

An Economic Analysis of Adult Obesity: Results from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Shin-Yi Chou, Michael Grossman and Henry Saffer NBER Working Paper No. 9247 October 2002 JEL No. I12, I18

The mis-cited, mis-cited :) statement is on page 28:

“Without trend terms, the increase in the per capita number of restaurants makes the largest contribution to trends in weight outcomes, accounting for 69 percent of the growth in BMI and 68 percent of the rise in the percentage obese.” (Chou 28)

So, first, kudos to you!!! – for even taking the time to fact-check the quote… If it wasn’t for you, I’d have been wrong, and wronger :)

Second, now that I have the correct citation information, do I

a) cite Banzhaf only, and b) with a [sic]?

The reason I ask is… I learned from you, elsewhere on your site, that I should not quote from an “outside source”… If I quote Chou’s paper, I’m thinking that is considered an “outside source”?

Wow. You blow my doors off with your attention to detail. Excellent, sir. Pure excellence.

Your own detective work was pretty good, too! Most professional researchers will put this level of scrutiny into every source they plan to use in their papers, which is why it’s worth the effort for students to find and use peer-reviewed academic sources, rather than random web pages.

If you want to use that statistic, I wouldn’t cite Banzhaf at all — which looked like a random website, not a scholarly publication. Just cite the MBER paper directly.

I just wanted to catch up and say thanks for your help.

I was (and still am) under a ton of deadlines, so I wasn’t able to stop back here right away…

FYI: The Banzhaf essay in question is in a textbook called: “They Say/I Say”: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing : With Readings. By Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel K. Durst. 1st ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2009. ISBN-13: 978-0393931747

The final was due within hours of my last post, so I had to make a corporate decision as to what(whom) I should cite…I picked Banzhaf. Citing him was easier than going with the MBER paper :)

I received a solid “B”. I kinda thought I was getting an A (hah! giggle…) When I read my professor’s critiques of my paper, however, she was deadly accurate as to what I needed to improve upon. It certainly was not an A paper, after all. So, I’ve got new goals for paper #2 :)

She made this very neat-o checklist of what constitutes A level work, B level work, C level work, etc… I’ll ask her permission to scan in and send to you…might be something cool to pass along.

An interesting anecdote: Discovering the mis-cited, mis-cited information in the Banzhaf essay/NYT article led me to my thesis topic for paper #2.

(I’m still trying to work out how I’m going to explain somewhere in that paper that ya’ got ta’ put da’ lime in de’ coconut… but it’ll come to me…)

Keep up the awesome work on helping all of us of out here in “the intertoobs” land… we, the unwashed masses of inept paper writers :) You rock!

How delightful to hear your update! If you are taking your learning this seriously, I don’t see how you can go wrong.

I love your website! I’m in a college English Comp class and am working on a thesis paper.

(MLA format)

I’m quoting an author named John Banzhaf and have a question about how to cite the quote.

My author’s essay is actually a transcript of his Congressional testimony. He uses footnotes to provide references to validate his statements.

In one of his footnotes, he quotes an excerpt from an article in the New York Times.

I’ve quoted that same NYT excerpt.

How would I format the quote citation?

Do I cite the quote as coming from the author’s body of work, and not worry about it’s original source?

I’m thinking it should be: (I’ve included my own lead-in, for your to see what I’m trying to quote)

…it is one of these footnotes that refers us to a study done by the National Bureau of Economic Statistics and subsequently reported in the New York Times that the “growth of fast-food accounted for 68 percent of the rise in American obesity”. (Banzhaf 166)

I asked my professor, and she wasn’t sure. MLA’s website doesn’t provide specific formatting help (buy the book :) and Purdue doesn’t mention a quote within a quote…

Thank you for any help!!! You are an ENORMOUS help to us literary n00bs :)

You’re playing the telephone game — I am reading what you say Banzhaf said the New York Times said something called the “National Bureau of Economic Statistics” said.

I just did a Google search, and I found a US Bureau of Economic Analysis and National Bureau of Economic Research. I don’t know anything about economics, so I don’t know whether perhaps the same organization had a recent name change, but it looks to me like Google references to NBES are actually talking about the NBER instead. At any rate, that’s enough of a warning sign that I’d say the problem is not how to cite Banzhaf, but rather how to trace the 68% statistic directly to its source. (I’d start by looking for the NYT article that Banzhaf mentions.)

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VMI WRITING CENTER

Integrating Quotes

by Stephanie Johnson | Nov 28, 2016 | tips | 0 comments

While writing an essay, research paper, or report, you may run across a turn-of-phrase that is too perfect not to use word-for-word in your own paper.  If you have the perfect line of writing from a source that just begs to be added in to your paper, there are a few steps to ensure you do so successfully.

First and foremost, make sure you know how to properly cite the original source you’re quoting each and every time you take words verbatim and place them in your paper.  In all citation styles, quotation marks are necessary to indicate where a direct quote begins and ends. Then, use footnotes or parenthetical citations to indicate where the quote originated.

Citation guidelines for how to properly attribute a quote to a source can be found in The Everyday Writer .  The three most common styles of citation are Modern Language Association documentation (MLA), Chicago style documentation or American Psychological Association documentation (APA).  Guidelines for how to properly use any one of these three styles begins on page 461 of The Everyday Writer , 6th edition. Another excellent resource is the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University ( OWL ).

Properly citing a source is not the only struggle writers face in using direct quotes. It is also imperative to consider style when using quotations.  Two major pitfalls often capture emerging writers.  They’re easy to avoid and will drastically improve writing style if you consider the following two issues.

1) Avoid dropping a quote in to your writing with little to no introduction or integration.  This creates a break in the flow for your reader and causes them to disengage or “come out of” the paper they’re reading.  Instead, consider using a signal phrase or verb for better flow.

Don’t Do the Following:

Integrating quotes into a paragraph smoothly takes practice. Although some students think it’s ok to drop a quote their writing with little preamble, this makes for clunky and amateurish writing. “Carefully integrate quotations into your text so that they flow smoothly and clearly into the surrounding sentences” (Lunsford et al. 214). That way your quotes will enhance your writing rather than detract from the paper.

Do the Following:

Integrating quotes into a paragraph smoothly takes practice. Although some students think it’s ok to drop a quote their writing with little preamble, this makes for clunky and amateurish writing. According to the writing handbook, The Everyday Writer, it’s important to, “Carefully integrate quotations into your text so that they flow smoothly and clearly into the surrounding sentences.” (Lunsford et al. 214). That way your quotes will enhance your writing rather than detract from the paper.

(Lunsford et al. 184)

Check out page 184 in The Everyday Writer (6th edition) for additional information on using quotations.

2) Avoid ending a paragraph with a quote and no analysis of that quote. This leaves your reader unsure of the significance of a quote.  Instead, create strong analysis by directly addressing the significance of a quote each and every time you use one.  A good rule of thumb is to reflect back to your thesis statement after each piece of evidence and make sure the connection between thesis and quotation is clear.  Explain why that connection is relevant and or important to your paper.

Shakespeare ‘s witches in Macbeth are some of the most quoted characters of all time. This is  especially true around Halloween. The three witches stand around a cauldron and chant in unison, “Double, Double Toil and Trouble;/ Fire burn and cauldron bubble” (Pechman).

Shakespeare ‘s witches in Macbeth are some of the most quoted characters of all time. This is especially true around Halloween. The three witches stand around a cauldron and chant in unison, “Double, double toil and trouble;/ Fire burn and cauldron bubble” (Pechman). This brings to mind three hags standing around a smoking, bubbling pot stirring up trouble for Macbeth. He certainly doesn’t need any more trouble on his side, but the witches’ song foreshadows for the audience that life is about to become a hell on earth for Macbeth.

Works Cited

Lunsford, Andrea A., Paul Kei. Matsuda, and Christine M. Tardy. The Everyday Writer . Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016. Print.           

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  • Integrating Quotations and Paraphrases
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Integrating Quotations

  • Introducing Quotations
  • Punctuation with Quotations
  • Format Block Quotations

Introduce the quotation or paraphrase by setting it in context. For a nonfiction source, identify the author the first time you cite the source. For a literary source, identify the speaker or writer and the position of the quoted piece in its work for every quotation. There are three ways to introduce quotations or paraphrases:

1. You can use a full sentence followed by a colon to introduce a quotation.

Coming upon the witches, Macbeth unknowingly echoes them: “So foul and fair a day I have not seen” (1.3.39).

Economist Grant Houston lays the blame on bad government policy:  “subsidies to corn growers keep the price of corn artificially low” (122).  

2. You can use a lead-in naming the author or character, followed by a comma .

Often since his walk, the speaker confides, “They flash upon that inward eye/ Which is the bliss of solitude” (21-22).

According to Sanchez, parents are furious about the ban on bake sales at schools (“PTA Focuses on Food” 16).

[No quotation marks in this example because it’s a paraphrase.]

3. You can also begin a sentence with your own words and complete it with quoted words. In this case, do not use a comma before the quotation.

Mr. Bennet, however, is “among the earliest of those who waited on Mr. Bingley” (7).

Houston argues that “tariffs on imported sugar unfairly subsidize US sugar growers” (248).

1. If the quotation ends in a punctuation mark such as a period or a comma, drop that final punctuation mark (keep it only if it’s an exclamation mark or a question mark).  At the end of the sentence containing the quotation, provide a parenthetical citation of the page or line number, and put a period at the end of the whole sentence.

[The period that concludes the quoted sentence in the original has been dropped.]

2. If you quote words that are in quotation marks in the original, such as character dialogue in a novel, then use double quote marks enclosing single quote marks.

Talking to Wickham about Darcy, Elizabeth says, “’He is a man of very large property in Derbyshire, I understand’” (67).

3. When quoting poetry, indicate line breaks with a slash mark.

The speaker may live in a city, but his heart in on the island: “While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,/ I hear it in the deep heart’s core” (11-12).

4. Quotations must match the source exactly.  Indicate omissions with three dots (ellipsis), and indicate insertions with square brackets.

Ralph and the other boys realize the horror of their actions: “The tears began to flow and sobs shook him… [T]he other little boys began to shake and sob too” (186).

Set off a quotation of more than 50 words of prose or 3 lines of poetry by beginning a new line and indenting the body of the quotation one inch in from the left margin of your text (a “block quotation”).   Block quotations are double spaced like the rest of your essay and not surrounded by quotation marks.  With a block quotation, put the period before the parenthetical citation instead of after.

A quotation of more than 50 words of prose:   

Ralph and the other boys realize the horror of their actions:

The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island: great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. (186)

A quotation of more than 3 lines of poetry:

Elizabeth Bishop's "In the Waiting Room" is rich in evocative detail:

The waiting room

was full of grown up people,

arctics and overcoats,

lamps and magazines. (6-10)

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  • Last Updated: Oct 2, 2023 8:43 AM
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Quote integration

Quote integration is arguably one of the most difficult parts of essay writing; however, it does not need to be. Here are some tips to make quote integration easier. 

First things first, the most basic way to integrate quotes into any piece of writing is with the following format

Signal phrase + Quote + Citations

  • Signal phrase: A short phrase or verb that indicates to the reader that you are going to introduce a quote.
  • Quote: Short quotes are less than four lines and can be integrated into the actual body of your essay. Quotes over four lines typically should be formatted as block quotes (based on the citation style you are using).
  • Citations in MLA 8th edition
  • Citations in APA 7 th
  • Citations in Chicago
  • Citations in AMA  

The following example follows the pattern of signal phrase , quote, and citation (in MLA style)

  • Exercise has many benefits for not only an individual’s present health but in the long term as well : “exercise is known to reduce a number of inflammatory markers…which are linked to a number of diseases” (Walton 1).

Another way to introduce a quote into a source is to use the author’s name as your signal phrase with a subsequent verb that is used to introduce the quote. For citation styles such as MLA or APA, when you start with the author’s name to introduce the source, the end of text citation only needs to have the page number/year.

  • Alice Walton writes that “exercise is one of the best-illustrated things we can do for our hearts, and this includes markers like blood pressure and cholesterol, in addition to the physical structure of the heart itself, and blood vessel function” (3).

Verbs to use to signal the beginning of a quotation

  • Demonstrates
  • Illustrates

Other methods to integrate a quote into a sentence

Introduce a quotation and have subsequent sentences that expand on the relevance.

  • This is the best way to integrate quotes into a paper. It is crucial that anytime you use from an outside source, you  explain the relevance of the quote to the rest of your paper .
  • Dr. Carrie Fisher details some of the most pressing ethical concerns that arise in the field of public health: “the primary ethical concern of public health officials is creating a balance between the common good and the right of the individual, when we undermine autonomy we create distrust among the general public, destabilizing the governing principles of public health” (2). Dr. Fisher’s concerns surrounding the field of public health echoes the main dilemma that has plagued the field since its conception. Her argument that undermining autonomy betrays public trust demonstrates that as public health officials it is crucial to understand that if individual autonomy is restricted, it can only be in the direst of circumstances.

Make the quotation part of a complete sentence

  • Current research indicates that exercise is beneficial for long-term health as it “can help control blood lipid abnormalities, diabetes, and obesity” (Fletcher et al., 1996).

Utilize brackets and ellipses to help improve clarity of a sentence

Brackets are used to add words to improve understanding. Ellipses are used to remove words to shorten a phrase.

  • According to physical therapist Dr. Smith, developing a consistent and sustainable workout foundation is the key to long term success: “[Workout programs] must be enjoyable, you cannot expect an individual to adhere to a regimen where they dread each day they must go. I recommend that individuals find a workout routine that both challenges them but also excites them, where it does not feel like a chore to workout” (2).

Here is an example sentence that utilizes all of these tactics to integrate a quote into a sentence

  • In the field of medicine, exercise recommendations remain hotly contested, “although a consensus is growing on the importance of the relation between physical activity and health and wellness, the specific dose of physical activity necessary for good health remains unclear… some of the inconsistency among physical activity recommendations is due simply to the inherent uncertainties of biomedical science” (Blair 2). It is crucial that the differing ideologies be addressed as they have the potential to impact the dissemination of information to the general public. The average American already struggles to meet the weekly exercise recommendations and conflicting information regarding these recommendations will only further exacerbate the issue.

Paraphrasing

  • You may be thinking “isn’t this supposed to be about integrating quotes into an essay?” You are correct; however, there are many times (and citation styles) where it is best to paraphrase a source instead of integrating a whole quote into the paper. Quote integration is crucial when the exact wording of the primary source is critical to the point being made, whereas paraphrasing is sufficient when restating the general idea is all that is required. 
  • Despite continual recommendations put forth by the CDC regarding exercise and physical activity “80% of the population is not meeting the guidelines. Each year in the US, an estimated 10% of premature deaths and $117 billion in healthcare costs are associated with inadequate physical activity” (Smith, 2017).

Paraphrased 

  • The CDC estimates that 80% of the United States population is not adhering to the guidelines regarding weekly physical activity recommendations (Smith 3). Inactive adults cost the U.S health care system an estimated $117 billion per year; estimates suggest 10% of premature deaths are due to inactivity (Smith, 2017).

*Remember that when paraphrasing a quote from a source an in-text citation is still included.

Common mistakes to avoid

Drop quotes.

This is when you “drop” a quote into your essay without any form of introduction; the most common mistake is making the quote its own sentence.

This is what you don’t want to do

  • There are numerous health benefits to working out. “Adults should move more and sit less throughout the day. Some physical activity is better than none. Adults who sit less and do any amount of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity gain some health benefits” (CDC).

A better way to approach this is

  • There are numerous health benefits to working. According to the CDC, “adults should move more and sit less throughout the day. Some physical activity is better than none. Adults who sit less and do any amount of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity gain some health benefits” (2019).

Not using brackets

Using brackets when integrating a quote actually helps improve clarity while writing. Otherwise, if you integrate a quote directly without adjusting it through the use of brackets, the sentence can be confusing to readers.

  • Dr. Smith, talks to patients candidly about the importance of physical activity while they are young, “it is important that you start working out when you are younger as it helps you build up bone density, which can decrease the risk of developing arthritis as you get older” (Horton 3).
  • Dr. Smith talks to patients candidly about the importance of physical activity while they are young: “it is important that [individuals] start working out when [they] are younger as it helps [them] build up bone density, which can decrease the risk of developing arthritis as they get older” (Horton 3).
  • How it works

How to Quote Sources – Comprehensive Guide With Examples

Published by Olive Robin at October 17th, 2023 , Revised On October 17, 2023

In academia, research, journalism, and writing, the skill of quoting sources is fundamental. Accurate and proper quoting adds credibility to your work and demonstrates respect for the original authors and their ideas. Whether you’re working on a research paper , an essay , or any other form of written communication, understanding how to quote sources is crucial. This comprehensive guide will take you through the ins and outs of quoting, with examples and tips to help you become proficient in citation.

Understanding the Basics of Quoting

Proficiency in the fundamentals of quoting is integral to scholarly writing . This proficiency encompasses the ability to distinguish between primary and secondary sources and the skill of sourcing quotations.

Primary Source Vs. Secondary Source

Before discussing our journey of quoting sources, it’s crucial to distinguish between primary and secondary sources.

Primary Source 

A primary source is direct, firsthand information or an original work. Examples include original research papers, letters, diaries, speeches, and interviews.

Secondary Source 

On the other hand, a secondary source interprets, analyses, or summarises primary sources. It provides commentary or analysis based on primary sources. Examples include books, articles, documentaries, or reviews.

In most cases, it’s preferable to quote from primary sources as they offer the most direct and credible information.

How to Find a Quote Source

Finding the right source to quote is the first step in the quoting process. Here are some tips on how to locate suitable sources:

Online Databases and Libraries

Utilise online databases and library resources like PubMed, JSTOR, Google Scholar, and your university library’s website. These platforms provide access to a vast collection of scholarly materials.

Credible Websites

When searching online, focus on credible websites, such as government agencies, academic institutions, and well-established news outlets. Check for the author’s credentials and the publication date to ensure reliability.

Books and Journals

Physical and digital books and academic journals are excellent sources for quotes. Libraries and digital libraries like Project Gutenberg and the Library of Congress offer extensive collections.

Interviews and Personal Communications

If quoting from an interview or personal communication, ensure you have proper consent from the source. Use these quotes sparingly and only when they add unique value to your work.

How to Quote Sources in a Research Paper

Now that we have laid the foundation, let us explore the specifics of quoting within a research paper.

Inline Quotations

Inline quotations are short snippets of text integrated into your writing. 

Here’s how to format them correctly:

  • Use Quotation Marks: Enclose the quoted text in double quotation marks.
  • Include Page Numbers: If available, add the page number in parentheses after the quotation.
  • Credit the Source: Mention the author’s name and the publication date within or after the quotation.

According to Smith (2020), “Quoting sources properly enhances the credibility of your research” (p. 45).

Block Quoting

When a quote exceeds 40 words or more, it should be formatted as a block quote.  

Follow these guidelines:

  • Indentation: Indent the entire quote from the left margin, typically by 0.5 inches.
  • Omit Quotation Marks: Block quotes do not require double quotation marks.
  • Maintain Spacing: Keep the spacing consistent with the original text.
  • Cite Source: Include the author’s name and publication date either before or after the block quote .

Example: Markdown

Smith (2020) highlighted the importance of proper quoting:

    Quoting sources properly enhances the credibility of your research. It shows that you have conducted thorough research and are building upon established knowledge. (p. 45)

Verifying Quotes

In quotes, especially when dealing with secondary sources that include quotes, it’s wise to verify the accuracy of the quoted material. Take the extra step to go back to the original source to ensure that the quote is complete, accurate, and not taken out of context. This diligence is essential for maintaining the integrity of your work.

Using Ellipses and Square Brackets

Quoting often involves adapting source material to fit within your narrative. When omitting words or phrases from a quote, use ellipses (…) to indicate the omission. When adding clarifications or explanations within a quote, enclose them in square brackets [].

These tools allow you to maintain the integrity of the original quote while ensuring it fits smoothly into your text.

Quoting a Source in An Essay

Quoting within an essay follows similar principles to research papers, with minor differences.

Signal Phrases

Signal phrases are used to introduce quotes in your essay. They provide context and indicate that you are incorporating someone else’s ideas. Examples of signal phrases include:

  • According to…
  • Smith argues that…
  • In the words of…

Using signal phrases helps smoothly integrate quotes into your essay’s narrative.

Paraphrasing

While quoting is a valuable skill, it’s worth noting that paraphrasing—expressing someone else’s ideas in your own words—is another essential technique in writing. Paraphrasing allows you to integrate source material smoothly into your text while giving proper credit. When quoting is not necessary, consider paraphrasing as a viable alternative.

How to Cite a Quote: Harvard Style

Citing quotes correctly is crucial to avoiding plagiarism and giving credit to the original source. The Harvard referencing style is one commonly used for citing sources. Here’s how to cite a quote in Harvard style:

In-Text Citation

In-text citations should include the author’s last name, the publication year, and the page number (if applicable) within parentheses. Place this citation immediately after the quote or paraphrased content.

Example: (Smith, 2020, p. 45)

Reference List

In your reference list or bibliography, provide a full citation for each source you’ve quoted or referenced. The Harvard format typically includes the author’s name, publication year, title of the work, publisher, and other relevant information.

Example: scss

Smith, J. (2020). The Art of Quoting. Academic Press.

The research done by our experts have:

  • Precision and Clarity
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integrating quotes in research paper

Common Mistakes to Avoid when Quoting Sources

Even knowing how to quote sources effectively, it’s easy to make mistakes. Being aware of common pitfalls can help you avoid them. Here are some mistakes to watch out for:

1. Over-Quoting

Quoting should enhance your work, not dominate it. Avoid the temptation to fill your paper with lengthy quotes. Instead, use quotes selectively to support your arguments or provide evidence.

2. Improper Citation

Only accurate or consistent citations can lead to clarity and allegations of plagiarism. Make sure your in-text citations and reference list entries match the citation style required (e.g., Harvard, APA, MLA) and follow the prescribed format.

3. Lack of Context

Quotes should never stand alone; they should fit seamlessly into your narrative. Provide context by introducing the quote, explaining its relevance, and connecting it to your main argument.

4. Not Verifying Quotes

Refrain from relying on secondary sources that misquote or take original quotes out of context can lead to inaccuracies. Always verify quotes fromprimary sources w henever possible.

5. Overlooking Proofreading

Typos, missing punctuation, or formatting errors can detract from the professionalism of your work. Proofread your quotes, citations, and the surrounding text carefully.

Best Practices for Quoting

To ensure your quoting is impeccable, consider these best practices:

  • Always attribute quotes to their respective authors.
  • Ensure that the quotes you select are relevant and enhance your work’s context.
  • Use quotes sparingly, with your voice and analysis dominating the text.
  • Double-check the formatting style required by your institution or publication for consistency.
  • Proofread to ensure accuracy in quotation marks, citations, and source details.

Online Tools and Resources For Quoting

Consider using online tools and resources to simplify the quoting process and ensure accuracy. Here are a few valuable options:

1. Citation Management Tools

  • Zotero: A free, open-source tool that helps you collect, organise, cite, and share research materials.
  • EndNote: A reference management program that offers advanced features for organising and citing sources..

2. Online Style Guides

  • Purdue OWL: An online writing lab by Purdue University that provides extensive style guides for APA, MLA, Chicago, and more.
  • CiteULike: A free service that helps you create and manage citations in various styles.
  • Citation Machine: An easy-to-use tool for generating citations in APA, MLA, Chicago, and other styles.

3. Plagiarism Checkers

  • Turnitin: A widely used plagiarism detection tool that helps you ensure the originality of your work.
  • Grammarly: Besides grammar and spelling checks, Grammarly also offers a plagiarism checker for academic writing.

Integrating these tools and resources into your quoting process allows you to streamline your work and reduce the risk of errors in citations and quotations.

In conclusion, quoting sources is an integral part of academic and professional writing. Understanding the nuances of quoting, finding credible sources, and citing them correctly will elevate the quality of your work. Always prioritise accuracy, attribution, and context when incorporating quotes into your writing.

By following the guidelines and examples provided in this comprehensive guide, you’ll master quoting and enhancing the credibility of your research, essays, and papers. Remember that quoting is not just about using someone else’s words; it’s about building upon the knowledge of others while giving credit where it’s due.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to quote sources in a research paper.

To quote sources in a research paper, use double quotation marks, include an in-text citation with the author’s name and publication year, and integrate the quote smoothly into your text.

How to Cite a Quote?

To cite a quote, provide an in-text citation with the author’s name, publication year, and page number (if applicable), and include a full citation in your reference list following the required citation style.

What Are the Key Differences Between Primary and Secondary Sources in Quoting?

In the context of quoting, primary sources are firsthand accounts or original works, while secondary sources interpret or analyze primary sources. Explain the significance of these distinctions and their impact on effective quoting practices.

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A credible source can be trusted to provide accurate, reliable, and unbiased information. Credible sources are essential for various purposes, including academic research, journalism, decision-making, and gaining knowledge on various topics.

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UK signals step change for regulators to strengthen AI leadership

The UK is on course for more agile AI regulation, as the government publishes its response to the AI Regulation White Paper consultation today.

integrating quotes in research paper

  • Over £100 million to support regulators and advance research and innovation on AI , including Hubs in healthcare and chemical discovery
  • Key regulators asked to publish plans by end of April for how they are responding to AI risks and opportunities
  • UK government makes case for introducing future targeted, binding requirements for most advanced general-purpose AI systems

The UK is on course for more agile AI regulation, backing regulators with the skills and tools they need to address the risks and opportunities of AI , as part of the government’s response to the AI Regulation White Paper consultation today (6 February).

It comes as £10 million is announced to prepare and upskill regulators to address the risks and harness the opportunities of this defining technology. The fund will help regulators develop cutting-edge research and practical tools to monitor and address risks and opportunities in their sectors, from telecoms and healthcare to finance and education. For example, this might include new technical tools for examining AI systems.

Many regulators have already taken action. For example, the Information Commissioner’s Office has updated guidance on how our strong data protection laws apply to AI systems that process personal data to include fairness and has continued to hold organisations to account, such as through the issuing of enforcement notices. However, the UK government wants to build on this by further equipping them for the age of AI as use of the technology ramps up. The UK’s agile regulatory system will simultaneously allow regulators to respond rapidly to emerging risks, while giving developers room to innovate and grow in the UK.

In a drive to boost transparency and provide confidence to British businesses and citizens, key regulators, including Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority, have been asked to publish their approach to managing the technology by 30 April. It will see them set out AI -related risks in their areas, detail their current skillset and expertise to address them, and a plan for how they will regulate AI over the coming year.

This forms part of the AI regulation white paper consultation response, published today, which carves out the UK’s own approach to regulation and which will ensure it can quickly adapt to emerging issues and avoid placing burdens on business which could stifle innovation. This approach to AI regulation will mean the UK can be more agile than competitor nations, while also leading on AI safety research and evaluation, charting a bold course for the UK to become a leader in safe, responsible AI innovation.

The technology is rapidly developing, and the risks and most appropriate mitigations, are still not fully understood. The UK government will not rush to legislate, or risk implementing ‘quick-fix’ rules that would soon become outdated or ineffective. Instead, the government’s context-based approach means existing regulators are empowered to address AI risks in a targeted way.

The UK government has for the first time, however, set out its initial thinking for future binding requirements which could be introduced for developers building the most advanced AI systems - to ensure they are accountable for making these technologies sufficiently safe.

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Michelle Donelan said: 

The UK’s innovative approach to AI regulation has made us a world leader in both AI safety and AI development. I am personally driven by AI ’s potential to transform our public services and the economy for the better – leading to new treatments for cruel diseases like cancer and dementia, and opening the door to advanced skills and technology that will power the British economy of the future. AI is moving fast, but we have shown that humans can move just as fast. By taking an agile, sector-specific approach, we have begun to grip the risks immediately, which in turn is paving the way for the UK to become one of the first countries in the world to reap the benefits of AI safely.

Meanwhile, nearly £90 million will go towards launching nine new research hubs across the UK and a partnership with the US on responsible AI . The hubs will support British AI expertise in harnessing the technology across areas including healthcare, chemistry, and mathematics.

£2 million of Arts and Humanities Research Council ( AHRC ) funding is also being announced today, which will support new research projects that will help to define what responsible AI looks like across sectors such as education, policing and the creative industries. These projects are part of the AHRC ’s Bridging Responsible AI Divides ( BRAID ) programme.

£19 million will also go towards 21 projects to develop innovative trusted and responsible AI and machine learning solutions to accelerate deployment of these technologies and drive productivity. This will be funded through the Accelerating Trustworthy AI Phase 2 competition, supported through the UKRI Technology Missions Fund, and delivered by the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme.

The government will also be launching a steering committee in spring to support and guide the activities of a formal regulator coordination structure within government in the spring. 

These measures sit alongside the £100 million invested by the government in the world’s first AI Safety Institute to evaluate the risks of new AI models, and the global leadership shown by hosting the world’s first major summit on AI safety at Bletchley Park in November.

The groundbreaking International Scientific Report on Advanced AI Safety which was unveiled at the summit will also help to build a shared evidence-based understanding of frontier AI ,  while the work of the AI Safety Institute will see the UK working closely with international partners to boost our ability to evaluate and research AI models.

The UK further commits to this approach today with an investment of £9 million through the government’s International Science Partnerships Fund, bringing together researchers and innovators in the UK and the United States to focus on developing safe, responsible, and trustworthy AI .

The government’s response lays out a pro-innovation case for further targeted binding requirements on the small number of organisations that are currently developing highly capable general-purpose AI systems, to ensure that they are accountable for making these technologies sufficiently safe. This would build on steps the UK’s expert regulators are already taking to respond to AI risks and opportunities in their domains.

Hugh Milward, Vice-President, External Affairs Microsoft UK said:

The decisions we take now will determine AI ’s potential to grow our economy, revolutionise public services and tackle major societal challenges and we welcome the government’s response to the AI White Paper. Seizing this opportunity will require responsible and flexible regulation that supports the UK’s global leadership in the era of AI ”.

Aidan Gomez, Co-Founder and CEO of Cohere, said:

By reaffirming its commitment to an agile, principles-and-context based, regulatory approach to keep pace with a rapidly advancing technology the UK government is emerging as a global leader in AI policy. The UK is building an AI -governance framework that both embraces the transformative benefits of AI , while being able to address emerging risks.

Lila Ibrahim, Chief Operating Officer, Google DeepMind:

I welcome the UK government’s statement on the next steps for AI regulation, and the balance it strikes between supporting innovation and ensuring AI is used safely and responsibly. The hub and spoke model will help the UK benefit from the domain expertise of regulators, as well as provide clarity to the AI ecosystem - and I’m particularly supportive of the commitment to support regulators with further resources. AI represents an opportunity to drive progress for humanity, and we look forward to working with the government to ensure that the UK can continue to be a global leader in AI research and set the standard for good regulation.

Tommy Shaffer Shane, AI Policy Advisor at the Centre for Long-Term Resilience, said:

We’re pleased to see this update to the government’s thinking on AI regulation, and especially the firm recognition that new legislation will be needed to address the risks posed by rapid developments in highly-capable general purpose systems. Moving quickly here while thinking carefully about the details will be crucial to balancing innovation and risk mitigation, and to the UK’s international leadership in AI governance more broadly. We look forward to seeing the government work through this challenge at pace, and to further updates on the approach to new legislation in the coming weeks and months.

Julian David, CEO at techUK said:  

techUK welcomes the government’s commitment to the pro-innovation and pro-safety approach set out in the AI Whitepaper. We now need to move forward at speed, delivering the additional funding for regulators and getting the Central Function up and running. Our next steps must also include bringing a range of expertise into government, identifying the gaps in our regulatory system and assessing the immediate risks. If we achieve this the Whitepaper is well placed to provide the regulatory clarity needed to support innovation, and the adoption of AI technologies, that promises such vast potential for the UK.”  

Kate Jones, Chief Executive of the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF), said:

The DRCF member regulators are all keen to maximise the benefits of AI for individuals, society and the economy, while managing its risks effectively and proportionately. To that end, we are taking significant steps to implement the White Paper principles, and are collaborating closely on areas of shared interest including our forthcoming AI and Digital Hub pilot service for innovators.

John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager of Amazon said:

Amazon supports the UK’s efforts to establish guardrails for AI , while also allowing for continued innovation. As one of the world’s leading developers and deployers of AI tools and services, trust in our products is one of our core tenets and we welcome the overarching goal of the white paper. We encourage policymakers to continue pursuing an innovation-friendly and internationally coordinated approach, and we are committed to collaborating with government and industry to support the safe, secure, and responsible development of AI technology.

Markus Anderljung, Head of Policy, Centre for the Governance of AI said:

The UK’s approach to AI regulation is evolving in a positive direction: it heavily relies on existing regulators, takes concrete steps to support them, while also investing in identifying and addressing gaps in the regulatory ecosystem. I am particularly pleased that the response acknowledges the need to address one such gap that has become more apparent since the white paper’s publication: how the most impactful and compute-intensive AI systems are developed and deployed onto the market.

The consultation has highlighted the strong support for the five cross-sectoral principles which are the foundation of the UK’s approach and include safety, transparency, fairness, and accountability.

The publication of the AI Regulation White Paper last March laid the foundations for the UK’s approach to regulating AI by driving safe, responsible innovation. This common sense, pragmatic approach will now be further strengthened by robust regulator expertise, allowing people across the country to safely harness the benefits of AI for years to come.

Notes to editors

Read the full government response to the AI White Paper consultation .

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  1. 7 Tips on integrating quotes into a research paper [Updated 2023

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  6. Integrating Quotations in Research Writing: A Lesson for College

    1. Usually, the first-year composition handbook has a sample MLA-style essay. Use this essay and ask students to highlight in four different colors: Quotations, paraphrases, or summaries The part of the sentence that introduces the quotation

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    -This quote includes a signal phrase and a correct citation at the end. Skillfully integrated quote: Oftentimes students use too much quoted material in their research papers. In James D. Lester's book on composing research papers, he argues that word-for-word evidence should be limited to "only about 10%" in the average essay (46-47).

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