ORDER YOUR PAPER

15% off today

from a verified trusted writer

total: $11.23

Editing a Paper with Direct Quotes: Things You Should Remember

Along with paraphrase and summary, quotation denotes specific language that has come from someone else. Used in essay writing, it protects authors from accidental plagiarism and gives credit where credit is due. Unlike the quotation marks that are used to indicate speech in fiction, journalism, and other forms of writing, there are different rules when it comes to quoting another person's exact words in an academic essay.
The following guidelines cover the standard usage of direct quotation marks in academic essay writing. The difference between direct and indirect quotations is that direct quotations incorporate passages that were taken verbatim from a source, while indirect quotations are rephrased (paraphrased) or summarized passages that were altered by the paper's author.

General Rules for Use

  1. Like ordinary quotation marks, those that are used to quote sources always come in pairs. When editing your paper, make sure you never open a quotation and neglect to close it.
  2. When quoting a complete sentence, make sure that the first letter of the quote is capitalized.
  3. There is no need to use a capital letter when the source material is a fragment or a partial quote.
  4. When you interrupt a direct quotation in the middle of the sentence and then return to it, there is no need to capitalize the second half of the quotation.
  5. All concluding punctuation, whether comma, period, question mark, etc., must appear before the final, closed quotation mark. (Punctuation rules may vary based on the style guide you are using.)
  6. When you encounter a text with an obvious spelling or grammatical error, do not correct it. All direct quotes must be added exactly as written; instead, insert the word sic after the error and enclose it in square brackets. A Latin terms that means "thus," so" or "just as that," sic lets readers know that the quote is identical to the original and that the error is not yours.
  7. Do not use too many direct quotations in your paper, as they will limit the amount of original material, which is what your instructors want to see. They do not want to read reports that rely too heavily on the thoughts and ideas of others. Therefore, you should use direct quotations sparingly, and keep them short when you do.
  8. Instead of direct quotations, paraphrase or summarize long passages that contain several salient points. This will give you greater control over your paper and allow you to state things as you want them without being constrained by the original text.
  9. Use direct quotations when an author says something better than you ever could. But always make certain that the quote is relevant to your topic. In other words, don't just add quotations because you think you have to. That's surefire way to end up with a poorly-focused paper.
  10. The best time to use a direct quotation is after you've made an important point. Adding a quote from a luminary in the field can strengthen what you have to say. Just make sure you introduce them and that your sentences flow smoothly from your words to ones quoted.

Rules for Long Quotations

Before you include a quotation that runs more than two sentences long, you must find out which style manual you must use-APA, Chicago, MLA, etc. Some instructors may prefer single line spacing for long quotations, and all will insist that you leave out the quotation marks.
  • APA standards: When a quotation is longer than 40 words, indent each line of the quotation five spaces, and double-space it.
  • Chicago standards: When a quotation is two or more sentences and longer than four typed lines, indent each ling four spaces from the left margin, and use single spacing within the quotation.
  • MLA standards: When a quotation is longer than four typed lines, indent a full ten spaces from the left margin, and use double-spacing within the quotation. The end of the last sentence should be marked with a colon, which denotes the end of the quotation and the continuation of your own writing.

How to Alter Direct Quotations

There are many instances where, if added without alteration, a direct quotation wouldn't make any sense. For example, when a quotation refers to a person, but uses a pronoun such as "he" or "she" in place of their name, there's no way the reader can know who the author is talking about. Fortunately, the rules allow you to make minor changes and enclose them in square brackets.
Here's an example
"America has had many fine presidents, but [Lincoln] may be the finest of them all." (Doe)
In the original quote, the author most likely used "he" to refer to Abraham Lincoln, the subject of his work, whose name had almost certainly been mentioned previously. It is also important to note that for quotations within quotations, you must use single quotation marks instead of double ones.
For example,
if Lincoln were described as "The Great Emancipator" within a quotation, we would have to change it to 'The Great Emancipator.'

How to Use Parts of Quotations

Even in long research papers, it is fairly uncommon for writers to use full and complete quotations. More often than not, they select certain parts of a passage, including fragments, phrases, and incomplete sentences. Breaks in quoting must be marked with ellipsis points, which may be used differently depending on the style manual. In general, however, writers must use a blank space, three ellipsis points, followed by another space when material is omitted from the middle of a sentence. When skipping between sentences, use three ellipsis points followed by four blank spaces to indicate that material has been omitted.
Here's an example
America has had many fine presidents, but [Lincoln] may be the finest of them all....Known as 'The Great Emancipator,' Lincoln freed the slaves...he ended the Civil War...Lincoln helped move the country forward. (Doe 42)
photo

Kevin Demlon

writer

Kevin writes helpful articles to share his knowledge with students in need. He enjoys writing articles on new subjects and does his best to create each post showing writing tips in a clear way. writer

Our TOP writers

TOP 10
Writer 99423
ID 99423

Master's in Project Management, PMP, Six Sigma

Rating 98.5%
(98.5%)
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (8) about writer 99423

7196 written pages

2401 orders

2257 a+ papers

My Master’s degree and comprehensive writing experience allow me to complete any order fast and hit the nail on the head every time.

hire writer
TOP 10
Writer 155864
ID 155864

MBA, PMP, ITIL

Rating 97.2%
(97.2%)
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (7) about writer 155864

934 written pages

314 orders

283 a+ papers

I am experienced writer with an MBA, PMP, ITIL, that consistently delivers unique, quality papers. I take pride in my experience and quickness.

hire writer
TOP 10
Writer 103589
ID 103589

MS in Human Resource Management

Rating 97.2%
(97.2%)
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (9) about writer 103589

1791 written pages

600 orders

552 a+ papers

I hold a MS degree in Human Resource and my goal is to help students with flawless, unique papers, delivered on time.

hire writer
TOP 10
Writer 128170
ID 128170

RN, MSN, PCN, PHN

Rating 99.5%
(99.5%)
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (6) about writer 128170

4536 written pages

757 orders

719 a+ papers

As Registered Nurse (RN, PCN), I can quickly deal with any medical paper. My expertise and writing skills are perfect for this job.

hire writer
TOP 10
Writer 85466
ID 85466

MPA, MHA

Rating 97.6%
(97.6%)
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (8) about writer 85466

22869 written pages

2287 orders

2104 a+ papers

I have MPA, MHA degrees but, most importantly, experience and skills to provide unique, well-written papers on time.

hire writer
TOP 10
Writer 127980
ID 127980

DNP, BA, APN, PMHNP-BC

Rating 99.2%
(99.2%)
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (9) about writer 127980

4142 written pages

415 orders

365 a+ papers

I can write about multiple areas and countless topics, as I have a DNP and BA degrees. High-quality writing is my second name.

hire writer
TOP 10
Writer 99022
ID 99022

PhD in American History

Rating 97.1%
(97.1%)
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (8) about writer 99022

6271 written pages

896 orders

824 a+ papers

A PhD in American history comes handy. Unique papers, any topics, swift delivery — helping with academic writing is my passion.

hire writer
TOP 10
Writer 47072
ID 47072

MA, PsyD, LMFT

Rating 99.2%
(99.2%)
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (7) about writer 47072

15458 written pages

3867 orders

3635 a+ papers

Incredibly fast PsyD writer. Efficient paper writing for college. Hundreds of different tasks finished. Satisfaction guaranteed.

hire writer
TOP 10
Writer 121526
ID 121526

MEd, NCC, LPC, LMFT

Rating 99.3%
(99.3%)
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (9) about writer 121526

2029 written pages

509 orders

484 a+ papers

Top-ranked writer with tons of experience. Ready to take on any task, and make it unique, as well as objectively good. Always ready!

hire writer
TOP 10
Writer 106387
ID 106387

MSW, LICSWA, DSW-C

Rating 99%
(99%)
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (8) about writer 106387

5609 written pages

561 orders

539 a+ papers

Experienced Social Work expert focused on good writing, total uniqueness, and customer satisfaction. My goal — to help YOU.

hire writer

Buy your papers from the best writing service

Have your tasks done by our professionals to get the best possible results.

total: $11.23
Confidentiality

NO Billing information is kept with us. You pay through secure and verified payment systems.

Quality

All papers we provide are of the highest quality with a well-researched material, proper format and citation style.

Communication

Our 24/7 Support team is available to assist you at any time. You also can communicate with your writer during the whole process.

Authorship

You are the single owner of the completed order. We DO NOT resell any papers written by our expert

Originality

All orders are done from scratch following your instructions. Also, papers are reviewed for plagiarism and grammar mistakes.

Samples

You can check the quality of our work by looking at various paper examples in the Samples section on our website.

Special price $11.23/page
Place an order
63,000
more than 63,000 times students trusted us to write their papers
9/10
9 out of 10 customers recommend us*
92%
92% of our customers have placed more than 7 orders
*data is based on 6,568 customers' feedback received from Jan 1, 2017 till Jan 1, 2018.
Special price $11.23/page
Place an order
Customer #5079

I love history - that's why I'm majoring in it, but I don't have time to put together a whole thesis about it. I mean, at first I tried doing it myself, but why sweat over it when I can just pay and have it done in a few days? I had to ask for a minor revision for the references page, but otherwise, everything's ok. My writer did everything quickly, I liked it.

Customer #4939

Thank you for saving my grade! Completely forgot about that damn report, and you were a real lifesaver!

Estimated Deadline: Sunday, Mar 31 6:37 AM in Your timezone
Total price: $11.23
Price starts from $11.23
Regular discounts and offers
Excellent results guaranteed
Professional 24/7 support

Free samples of our work

There are different types of essays: narrative, persuasive, compare\contrast, definition and many many others. They are written using a required citation style, where the most common are APA and MLA. We want to share some of the essays samples written on various topics using different citation styles.

services
Hey, you...Yes, you! Don’t you want to get your Discount?
binder1
binder2
Your discount will be
sent to the email!

I have read and agree to the Terms of Use, Money Back Guarantee, Privacy and Cookie Policy of BestCustomWriting.com

  • dmca_logo
  • safecharge
  • trustpilot

Use your opportunity to get a discount!

To get your special discount, write your email below

  • dmca_logo
  • safecharge
  • trustpilot

Best papers and best prices!

Want to get quality paper done on time cheaper?

  • dmca_logo
  • safecharge
  • trustpilot