Quoting Texts and Source Information

Use quotation marks to show word-for-word quotations. Consider the following example:

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm,” says Emerson.

For long quotes (four lines or more), indenting replaces the use of quotation marks. Consider the following example:

Loren Eiseley once described the difficulty of knowing where we are in the universe in this way:

So relative is the cosmos we inhabit that, as we gaze upon the outer galaxies available to the reach of our telescopes, we are placed in about the same position that a single white blood cell in our bodies would occupy, if it were intelligently capable of seeking to understand the nature of its own universe, the body it inhabits.

Single spacing is not necessary for quotes of four lines or more; indenting alone is sufficient. Also, the act of indenting signifies quoted material; therefore, no quotation marks are used.

Writers occasionally use ellipses [ . . . ] to indicate that some words are omitted from a direct quotation. An ellipsis is a series of three periods separated by spaces. (Do not use three periods without spaces.) The following example uses ellipses to shorten the above quotation from Loren Eiseley:

“As we gaze upon the outer galaxies . . . we are placed in about the same position that a single white blood cell in our bodies would occupy. . . .”

Keep the following facts in mind to help you determine when to use ellipses:

1) An ellipsis is not used to indicate words omitted at the beginning of a quotation.
2) The ellipsis within the quotation is a series of three periods with spaces before, between, and after the periods.
3) A period (not preceded by a space) indicates the end of the sentence; this period is followed by the ellipsis (three spaced periods).
4) Notice that none of the omitted material changes the meaning of the author’s original material. To do so would be unethical.

Which sentence is correct? . . . The city skyline became more complex, with spires and “tall” buildings. Terrace houses proliferated. Victorian decorum and social behavior . . . flourished. . . .” [quoted from guidebook to Sydney, Australia] “I had seen a herd of elephant traveling through dense native forest . . . pacing along as if they had an appointment at the end of the world.” [quoted from Isak Dinesen’s Out of Africa]