
Use these guidelines and examples to format your MLA-quotes correctly. How to format quotations in MLA styleĪs a rule, the literary essay or analysis is written in the MLA format. To introduce a quote, explain what it is intended to show. Therefore, you have to provide a clear context that sets when, why or under what circumstances the quote was written. The quotation does not tell a story on its own. Here are some instructions for inserting and following up quotations: Your comments are going to serve as a “dough”, a necessary part of each pizza. Imagine that your quotation is the filling in a pizza: it is tasty, but nobody is going to eat it without a pizza dough. Remember, the words and explanations which you include before and after a quote are as important as the quote itself. Once you have decided which quotes you need to use, your next step is to incorporate them into your essay. For instance, literary essay or analysis should include direct quotes from the original text you are analyzing while Sociology or Political Science papers may rely on statistics and paraphrasing. Obviously, you should consider the discipline and audience for which you are writing. As distinct from the literary essay, scientific writing relies on summarizing more than direct quotes. Paraphrasing: convey the information from the passage in your own words.ĭepending on what type of paper you are writing, you can also use other types of evidence like statics, paraphrasing, or data.Summarizing: sketch only the key point in the passage.If you find an argument which is relevant to your topic, but it is not one of those four cases described above, consider: The third point is especially useful in literary analysis essay. When you want to analyze and evaluate a someone’s work.When you want to include a passage that is worthy of analysis.When you need to include information that is not generally known.When you want to include particularly important words from an authoritative source to highlight the credibility of your argument. You should use quotes at selected moments because the major part of your essay should be your own thoughts (it is your essay, isn’t it?). However, randomly used quotes will hardly strengthen your idea. Your tutor has probably told you to back-up your thesis statement with arguments.
HOW TO INTRODUCE A QUOTE IN MY PAPER HOW TO
This guide will help you understand how to quote effectively. However, when used incorrectly, quotations can only bring mess in your essay and ruin your arguments. When inserted correctly, quotes support your arguments and bring the necessary background to your writing. Quotes in literary essays serve as textual evidence used to strengthen your interpretation of the text.
