How to Place a Quote in an Essay

If you are no stranger to essay writing, you are already familiar with quotations. Using quotations smartly makes the essay seem more credible. But don’t look elsewhere if you are unsure how to place one in an essay. This post will discuss how to place a quote in an essay like a pro.

Before we delve into the steps to place a quote, we should know what a quote is. A quote refers to repeating the author’s words. Usually, you add a single or a double quotation mark before starting a quote. You can alter the type of the quotation mark according to the circumstance. For example, you should use a single quotation mark when using a quote within a quote. For more such examples, you can hire a scholarship essay writing service.

Now, is it illegal to write someone else’s college essay? When hiring essay-writing service providers, you are not always asking them to write for you. Treat them like your private tutors and get guidance to clear your concepts. Moreover, they also have several examples that you can refer to. By referring to these examples, you can know –

• How a quote can support or highlight your arguments.
• How quotes can provide detailed insights about the topic you are writing.
• How to incorporate them seamlessly in a sentence.

However, no matter how much you learn, you must be prudent enough to understand its usage. Follow these tips, and you will have a better idea about how to use quotations intelligently in an essay –

1. Introduce the Quote

Before inserting a quote, provide some context or introduce it. Explain how it is relevant to your argument or topic. This makes the purpose of the quote clear to your reader.

2. Use Quotation Marks

Always enclose the quoted material in double quotation marks (” “). This distinguishes the quoted text from your writing.

3. Citation

After the quote, include the author’s name and the page number (if applicable) in parentheses. If it is a web source, include the name of the author and the publication date. The specific format depends on the citation style you are using.

4. Punctuation

Punctuation related to the quote should be included within the quotation marks. However, if it’s your sentence, the punctuation should be outside the quotation marks.

5. Block Quotes

For longer quotes, consider using a block quote. In this case, indent the entire quote, omit the quotation marks, and cite it similarly.

6. Ellipsis

If you need to omit some words from a quote to fit your context, use an ellipsis within square brackets ([…]) to indicate that you’ve removed text. Be careful not to change the original meaning.

7. Brackets

Use square brackets if you want to add your own words within a quote to clarify or modify the meaning. This shows that the added text is not part of the original quote.

8. Maintain Clarity

Ensure that the quote fits seamlessly into your writing. Your readers should be able to understand how the quote relates to your argument without confusion.

9. Signal Phrases

Often, it’s helpful to use a signal phrase before a quote to attribute it to the source. For example, “Smith argues that…” or “According to Johnson…”

10. Quote Selection

Choose quotes that support your argument and add value to your essay. Don’t use quotes as a crutch; they should enhance your points.

11. Explanation

After the quote, provide an analysis or explanation. Explain how the quote supports your thesis or argument. This demonstrates your understanding of the material.

12. Quote Integration

Integrate quotes smoothly into your sentences. Avoid dropping quotes into your essay without proper context or explanation.

13. Consistency

Be consistent with the citation style you are using throughout your essay. Using multiple citation styles within the same essay makes the reading more confusing and difficult to comprehend.

14. Overuse

Avoid overloading your essay with quotes. Your essay should primarily include your ideas and analysis with quotes to support or illustrate key points.

15. Originality

Your essay should reflect your thoughts and analysis. Quotes should enhance your ideas, not replace them.

16. Final Check

Before submitting your essay, review it to ensure you’ve properly integrated quotes, cited sources correctly, and maintained clarity and coherence.

Following these steps should help you to correctly use quotations within an essay. Moreover, you may follow these simple rules while using quotes –

Avoid using long quotes

Using extremely long quotes does more harm than good. For example, “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” is a famous quote by Friedrich Nietzsche. Using these types of long quotes breaks the readability of the readers. The audience will have to go back multiple times to understand the quote, which dilutes the essay’s objective.

So, always try to use short quotes that do not exceed a single sentence. For example, a quote like, “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” can convey the message perfectly without confusing the readers.

Match Quotes with Explanations and Examples

Do not use random quotes in your essay just because they seem relevant. You should be able to back the quotations with adequate explanations and examples. Using the quote mentioned above, you can use examples of “Colonel Sanders of KFC.” You can explain how he failed at multiple businesses before striking gold with KFC when he was 70. Using relevant explanations ties everything together and makes the essays look more coherent.

Do Not Use Too Many Quotes

Many students get carried away while using quotes. However, using too many quotes in an essay can also hamper the readability. You can follow this rule as a golden rule – Use a maximum of 2 quotes for a 1500-word essay. If required, you may increase the number of quotes. However, you should limit the quotations to 2 while writing an essay of 1000 to 1500 words.

Use Page Numbers While Citing Quotes

Citing quotes is not as easy as one thinks. You have to mention all the parts you have cited in the final section of the essay. So, always number the pages. That way, it will be easy to track all the citations you have made.

Avoid Italicizing Quotes

Use quotation marks to start or end the quotes. Using italics to highlight the quotes is unnecessary, and you can always avoid doing that. However, there are a few things that you must remember to avoid confusion –

• Use quotation marks to quote poems, chapters, or song titles
• Use Italics to quote books, movies, and newspaper titles
• Even if you italicize books, the chapters should be within quotation marks
• The names of the TV shows must be in italics. However, the episode names should be within quotation marks.

Avoid Quotes within Quotes

Using quotes within a quote only creates a labyrinth of quotation marks. This increases the confusion among the readers. Hence, if you feel that you need to add quotes within a quote, rewrite the sentence instead.

Now that you are well aware of how to add quotes in essays, let’s check how to add them in various citation styles –

1. APA Citation

To add a quote in APA style, follow this step –

• Last name of the author
• Date
• Page Number

Example – Jack Gill (2020) said, “For a long time, the legal system of the society favored the rich.” (p. 30). I feel this statement to be thought-provoking.

2. MLA Citation

• Add a quote in the MLA style by following this sequence –
• Last name of the author
• Page Number

Example – He stated, “For a long time, the legal system of the society favored the rich.” (Gill 30). I feel this statement to be thought-provoking.
However, the rules slightly differ when you are citing a long quote. Follow these tips while citing long quotes –

• When using APA style, a quote should be considered long if it exceeds 40 words.
• In MLA style, it is a long quote if the quote has more than four to five lines.
• Write the citations after closing the punctuations of the block quotation.
• Write the long quotes on a free-standing block. There must be a half-inch gap from the left margin.
• Always add the author’s name, publication date, and page number.

Final Reflections

In this blog, we have explained everything you should know about inserting a quote in an essay. Follow these steps and tips, and you should be able to place quotes like a seasoned expert.