Easy MLA Citation

Prose, 4+ lines long, 2+ characters speaking, non-Shakespeare
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General Tips & FAQ's

You will need to block quote your quotation.

 

STEPS:
  1. Introduce the quotation in your paragraph.
  2. INDENT twice to start copying the quotation.
  3. Copy the quotation exactly as it appears in the text, but you do not have to worry about line breaks--just let the text flow according to the program you're using.
  4. If you are block quoting from more than one paragraph, INDENT in the same place(s) that occur in the original text.
  5. Make sure to copy the punctuation marks EXACTLY as they appear in the original text: DO NOT ADD QUOTATION MARKS when you block quote, but copy the ones that are in the text.
  6. After you've completed copying the quotation, make sure that the entire block quote is indented ("tabbed") twice from the left margin.
  7. When you get to the end of the quotation, include the information about where the quotation occurred in the text. Here's the formula for that:

Open parentheses + author's name + page number(s) + Close parentheses

Example: (Golding 32-33) = Golding's book, pages 32-33

8. Place a period at the END of the quotation after the close parentheses.

9. Continue your paragraph with analysis of the quotation, but DO NOT INDENT. What you say next should be at the LEFT MARGIN of the page.

See below for examples!

Another example of George and Lennie’s friendship is when George decided to tell Slim the farmer why George and Lennie needed a job in a new place:

                     “Well, he seen this girl in a red dress. Dumb bastard like he is, he wants to touch ever’thing he likes. Just wants to feel it. So he reaches out to feel this red dress an’ the girl lets out a squawk… He was so scairt he couldn’t let go of that dress. And he’s so God damn strong, you know.”

                     Slim’s eyes were level and unwinking. He nodded very slowly. “So what happens?”

                     “Well, that girl rabbits in an’ tells the law she been raped. The guys in Weed start a party out to lynch Lennie. So we sit in a irrigation ditch under water all the rest of that day… An’ that night we scrammed outa there” (Steinbeck 41).

 

During this incident, George could have easily thrown Lennie to the angry mob so he could go out and succeed in the world. But George does not desert Lennie. He works through the tough situation with Lennie, just as true friends should do.

Giving Credit to Authors is COOL!

Works Cited! Go HERE!

Works Cited! Try HERE if the first one doesn't help!