Using Quotations

You should try to use your own words (citing appropriately) whenever possible. In scientific writing, it is not as necessary to use a previous researcher’s original words as it is in other types of writing. Your own ideas and integration of previous findings is more important. Therefore, you should use quotations sparingly, if at all.

Short Quotations

Formatting short quotations is covered on pages 95-99 and 245-246 in the Publication Manual.

To indicate direct quotations of fewer than 40 words in your text, enclose the quotation within double quotation marks. Provide the author, year, and specific page citation in the text, and include a complete reference in the reference list. Punctuation marks, such as periods, commas, and semicolons, should appear after the parenthetical citation. Question marks and exclamation points should appear within the quotation marks if they are a part of the quotation but after the parenthetical citation if they are a part of your text.

Examples:

She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style," 

(Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not offer an explanation 

as to why. 

According to Jones (1998), "Students often had dificulty 

using APA  style, especially when it was their first 

time" (p. 199).

Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using 

APA style"  (p. 199); what implications does this have 

for teachers?

If you are citing a work that has no author, no date, and no page numbers, use the first few words from the title, then the abbreviation n.d. (for "no date"), and then use paragraph numbers (if available) or simply leave out any reference to pages.

Example:

In another study of students and research decisions, it was 


discovered that students succeeded with tutoring 


("Tutoring and APA," n.d.). 

Long Quotations (block quotes)

Formatting long quotations is covered on pages 117-118 and 292-293 in the Publication Manual.

Place direct quotations longer than 40 words in a free-standing block of typewritten lines, and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented five spaces from the left margin. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation five spaces from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.

Example:

Jones's 1993 study found the following:          

Choosing double or single quotation marks

If you are using a quotation that uses quotation marks as a short quotation, use single quotation marks to set off the material that was originally enclosed in quotation marks. If you are using a quotation that uses quotation marks in a block quote, use double quotation marks to set off the material that was originally in quotation marks.

For more about in-text references in general, see the University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center's page on citations or visit the links in our additional resources section for more information.