What is considered a long quote?
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- Long quotations are more than four lines for prose,
- and more than three lines for poetry (University of Mary Washington, 2022).
What is the style?
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- It must start on a new line.
- The entire quote must have a one-inch left indentation.
- Note: When citing multiple paragraphs, indent the first line by an additional quarter inch.
- It must be double-spaced as your entire essay.
- Line breaks must be maintained.
- The citation must be placed after the closing punctuation (University of Mary Washington, 2022).
Examples:
Long quote. More than four-line prose (University of Mary Washington, 2022).
Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration: They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw’s door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house. (Bronte 78)
Long quote. More than three-line poetry (University of Mary Washington, 2022).
In his poem “My Papa’s Waltz,”
Theodore Roethke explores his childhood with his father:
The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.
We Romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother’s countenance
Could not unfrown itself. (quoted in Shrodes, Finestone, Shugrue 202)
Note: If you cite two or more paragraphs, write them as a block quote even if the passage from the paragraph is less than four lines.
Adding and omitting words in a quotation
- For adding words use brackets []
Jan Harold Brunvand, in an essay on urban legends, states, “some individuals [who retell urban legends] make a point of learning every rumor or tale” (78).
- For omitting words use ellipsis …
Jan Harold Brunvand notes that “some individuals make a point of learning every recent rumor or tale . . . and in a short time a lively exchange of details occurs” (78).
Note: In poetry, when omitting words, use the three-dot ellipsis, but when omitting one or more full lines, use several periods to the length of a complete line.
Example (University of Mary Washington, 2022).
These beauteous forms,
Through a long absence, have not been to me
As is a landscape to a blind man’s eye:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart;
And passing even into my purer mind,
With tranquil restoration . . . (22-24, 28-30)
References
University of Mary Washington. (2022). MLA in-text citations: The basics. Academics. https://academics.umw.edu/writing-fredericksburg/files/2011/09/MLA.pdf
