Using Quotation Marks Correctly

QUOTATION MARKS

USING QUOTATION MARKS CORRECTLY

 Any words, phrases, or sentences taken word-for-word from a source must be placed in quotation marks to avoid plagiarism. The quotation must be cited correctly, with the author named either in the sentence or in the citation.  Using quotation marks around information from a source while changing or omitting information from that source is also a serious error unless you correctly note the changes with brackets or ellipsis marks.  Direct Quotes: o Typical typing formula: . Author + introductory verb + comma + space + start quote + capitalized first word of the quote … last word + end quote + space + parenthetical citation + period.

o Please note: . If the first word of the direct quote is not capitalized in the original context, you can capitalize it in your sentence by placing brackets around the letter – see the example below. Use brackets whenever you alter something in the original quote. . Jessica Degrassi notes, “[M]ost college students admit the feel the temptation to cheat” (89). o Please Note: . Do not use “that” for direct quotes; “that” implies paraphrasing. . For example, it would be inappropriate to write – . Jessica Degrassi notes that “most college students admit the feel the temptation to cheat” (89). o Please Note: . Not all Direct Quotes need to begin with a capital letter. . Direct Quotes that are complete sentences or independent clauses (see the example above) need to begin with a capital letter. . However, if you borrow only words or phrases, then such material does not need to begin with a capital letter. . Degrassi calls this the “everybody’s doin’ it excuse” (89). o Please note: . Use commas after introductory verbs only, to set up a direct quote (see example 1). . If, as in example 2, no introductory verb is employed, then no comma is necessary. o Please note: . If the lead-in is used to break up the quote (see below), then the punctuation varies: the comma is placed within the quotation marks at the first break and then outside the before the quote resumes. Also, the first letter of the continuation does not need to be capitalized, unless it begins an independent clause. . “While it’s true that some others may be cheating,” Degrassi explains, “that does not give license for everyone to cheat” (89). EXAMPLES OF PLAGIARIZED AND CORRECT QUOTATIONS

The samples that follow all quote, appropriately or inappropriately, from the following paragraph from page 7 of the book The Metaphysical Club by Louis Menand:

We think of the Civil War as a war to save the union and to abolish slavery, but before the fighting began most people regarded these as incompatible ideals. Northerners who wanted to preserve the union did not wish to see slavery extended into the territories; some of them hoped it would wither away in the states where it persisted. But many Northern businessmen believed that losing the South would mean economic catastrophe, and many of their employees believed that freeing the slaves would mean lower wages. They feared secession far more than they disliked slavery, and they were unwilling to risk the former by trying to pressure the South into giving up the latter.

(Note: The following samples feature MLA-style documentation, but each sample of plagiarism would be equally incorrect if the documentation--if present at all--were APA, CSE, or Chicago style.)

Plagiarism :

People now believe that the Civil War was a war to save the union and to abolish slavery, but before the fighting began most people regarded these as incompatible ideals.

(This quotation, which uses most of the source's sentence without even acknowledging that the idea comes from a source, is plagiarized. Ideas and words from a source cannot be included as if they are your own--you must give credit to the original writer.)

Correct quotation:

According to Louis Menand, people now believe “the Civil War was a war to save the union and to abolish slavery, but before the fighting began most people regarded these as incompatible ideals” (7). ______Plagiarism :

Menand observes that before the Civil War, many Northerners feared secession far more than they disliked slavery, and they were unwilling to risk the former by trying to pressure the South into giving up the latter (7).

(This quotation is plagiarized because it uses the exact words of the source--most of a sentence--without quotation marks.)

Correct quotation:

Menand observes that before the Civil War, many Northerners “feared secession far more than they disliked slavery, and they were unwilling to risk the former by trying to pressure the South into giving up the latter” (7). ______Plagiarism :

According to Menand, the abolition of slavery and the preservation of the union were seen before the Civil War as incompatible ideals (7).

(This is plagiarism because exact words--"incompatible ideals"--from the original source are not acknowledged as borrowed.)

Correct quotation:

According to Menand, the abolition of slavery and the preservation of the union were seen before the Civil War as “incompatible ideals” (7). ______

Misleading quotation:

Menand writes that many Northerners “hoped that slavery would wither away in the states where it persisted” (7).

(This sentence is unacceptable because it claims to be a direct quotation, but the words have been changed.)

Correct quotation:

Menand writes that many Northerners “hoped that it [slavery] would wither away in the states where it persisted” (7). ______

Misleading quotation:

Menand notes that “many Northern businessmen and many of their employees feared secession far more than they disliked slavery, and they were unwilling to risk the former by trying to pressure the South into giving up the latter” (7).

(This sentence is unacceptable because the writer has not used ellipsis marks to indicate where words have been omitted from the quotation.)

Correct quotation:

Menand notes, “[M]any Northern businessmen [. . .] and many of their employees [. . .] feared secession far more than they disliked slavery, and they were unwilling to risk the former by trying to pressure the South into giving up the latter” (7).

* PLEASE NOTE: Whenever you change something in the original (here the ellipses), you must place brackets [ ] around the change to let readers know it was you and not the author who did it.

* PLEASE NOTE: The word “that” is used for indirect quotes; direct quotes should have an introductory verb followed by a comma, space, and then opening quotation mark.