How To: Quotations and In-Text Citations in MLA (8th ed.)
Created by Mr. Patrick Jennewein
To use quotations and in-text citations correctly, one must understand the specific context in which they are used. In order
to learn how to do this correctly, we can start with this quote.
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” -Fitzgerald 153
NOTE: If you are quoting a passage, capitalization and most punctuation must be retained! The only time in which a quote
can be changed is when either (a) changes are noted; or (b) the punctuation that ends the quotation is moved outside the
quotation marks to accommodate a citation.
Situation #1: The quotation ends the sentence.
1. Place the quote: Fitzgerald writes, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the
past.”
2. If included, delete the punctuation that ends the quote: Fitzgerald writes, “So we beat on, boats against the
current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”
3. Insert citation after the quotation: Fitzgerald writes, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back
ceaselessly into the past” (Fitzgerald 153)
4. Insert punctuation that you deleted at the end of the whole sentence: Fitzgerald writes, “So we beat on, boats
against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (Fitzgerald 153).
Another Example:
1. Place the quote: Ali once said, “Float like a butterfly; sting like a bee!”
2. If included, delete the punctuation that ends the quote: Ali once said, “Float like a butterfly; sting like a bee”
3. Insert citation after the quotation: Ali once said, “Float like a butterfly; sting like a bee” (Anderson 100)
4. Insert punctuation that you deleted at the end of the whole sentence: Ali once said, “Float like a butterfly;
sting like a bee!” (Anderson 100)!
Situation #2: The quotation ends an introductory phrase.
1. Place the quote: As Fitzgerald writes, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the
past.” he ends the novel.
2. If included, delete the punctuation that ends the quote: As Fitzgerald writes, “So we beat on, boats against the
current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” he ends the novel.
3. Pick Option “a” or Option “b”
a. Insert citation after the quotation and include proper punctuation: As Fitzgerald writes, “So we beat
on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (Fitzgerald 153), he ends the novel.
b. Insert citation at the end of the sentence and add proper punctuation inside the quotation: As
Fitzgerald writes, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past,” he ends
the novel (Fitzgerald 153).
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Situation #3: The quotation is in the middle of the sentence.
1. Place the quote: To write that one is “borne back ceaselessly into the past.” is to truly uncover the fragility of
humanity.
2. If included, delete the punctuation that ends the quote: To write that one is “borne back ceaselessly into the
past” is to truly uncover the fragility of humanity.
3. Pick Option “a” or Option “b” (in this case, both options entail the same result)
a. Place the citation right before the next punctuation mark to follow the quotation: To write that one is
“borne back ceaselessly into the past” is to truly uncover the fragility of humanity (Fitzgerald 153).
b. Insert citation at the end of the sentence: To write that one is “borne back ceaselessly into the past” is
to truly uncover the fragility of humanity (Fitzgerald 153).
Another Example:
1. Place the quote: Whitman described himself by saying that he was both as “bad as the worst and good as the
best.” in order to ultimately highlight a fascinating contradiction, one that is often referenced.
2. If included, delete the punctuation that ends the quote: Whitman described himself by saying that he was both
as “bad as the worst and good as the best” in order to ultimately highlight a fascinating contradiction, one that is
often referenced.
3. Pick Option “a” or Option “b”
a. Place the citation right before the next punctuation mark to follow the quotation: Whitman
described himself by saying that he was both as “bad as the worst and good as the best” in order to
ultimately highlight a fascinating contradiction (Norton Anthology 44), one that is often referenced.
b. Insert citation at the end of the sentence: Whitman described himself by saying that he was both as
“bad as the worst and good as the best” in order to ultimately highlight a fascinating contradiction, one
that is often referenced (Norton Anthology 44).
What to Include in an In-Text Citation
It is very important to find out as much about the source as possible before using it. However, some sources include more
information than others. See this chart to correctly in-text cite.
1. (Fitzgerald 154)
2. (Fitzgerald)
If you know the author/organization and the page number, include both
If you know just the author/organization, but not page numbers, include only the author
3. (The Great Gatsby 154)
4. (The Great Gatsby)
5.
If you know just the title and page number, include both
If you know just the title, but no author or page number, include just the title
If you don’t know this basic information, the source is probably not valid
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Quote “Editing” in MLA (8th ed.)
Brackets, Emphasis, etc.
Brackets are used to edit the quote in order to serve your purposes better. While it is not okay to edit a quote without
implicitly telling the reader, the brackets serve as a signal that the quote has been slightly changed.
Situation #1: Only certain parts of the larger quotation need to be used.
1. Pick the parts of the quote you need: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the
past.”
2. Pick Option “a” or Option “b”
a. Use bracketed ellipses to move past unneeded parts of the passage: “So we beat on […] ceaselessly
into the past.”
b. Split quotation into two quotations: “So we beat on” as we go “ceaselessly into the past.”
Situation #2: A quotation – typically from speech – makes a grammatical error.
1. Place the quote: “The president said that the governor and senator is supposed to arrive shortly.”
2. Pick Option “a” or Option “b”
a. Change the quote (with brackets): “The president said that the governor and senator [are] supposed to
arrive shortly.”
b. Add [sic] to the quote to tell the reader that the error is not a typo: “The president said that the
governor and senator is [sic] supposed to arrive shortly.”
Situation #3: A quotation needs to be slightly changed.
1. Place the quote: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
2. Make all appropriate changes in brackets (changes should be done using your best judgment!)
a. Adding information: “So we beat on, boats against the current, [and are] borne back ceaselessly into the
past.”
b. Deleting information: “So we beat on [,] borne back ceaselessly into the past.” or “So we beat on […]
borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
c. Changing person: “So [one] beat[s] on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
d. Changing tense: “So we [have beat] on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
e. Clarifying: “So we [the characters] beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the
past.”
f.
Change in capitalization: “[s]o we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the
past.”
g. Etc.
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Situation #4: A quotation needs emphasis.
1. Pick the part of the passage that needs emphasis: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back
ceaselessly into the past.”
2. Pick Option “a” or Option “b”
c. Emphasize the appropriate portion and add [emphasis added] within the quote: “So we beat on,
boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly [emphasis added] into the past.”
d. Emphasize the appropriate portion and add (emphasis added) outside the quote, next to the
citation: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (emphasis added)
(Fitzgerald 154).
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