Enclose the lines and important punctuation like question marks and exclamation points within a set of quotation marks if they are part of the cited text. Less important punctuation like commas, semicolons and periods go outside of the quotation marks along with punctuation you add for your own sentence. Don't forget to specifically list the author's name either within the portion of the sentence you've written or within the parentheses with the page number. For example: According to John Smith, "dolphins are the smartest creatures in the sea" (133). Or: The main character reacted suddenly, claiming that "there is no such thing as ghosts!" (Smith 144).
Add or leave out a comma before the quotation based on the flow of the sentence. However, generally include one when using phrases such as 'according to.'
Indicate lines of verse by adding a forward slash between line breaks and line numbers in parentheses. Make sure the slash is single spaced on each side. For example: he finishes by saying that, "The trees were blowing in the wind / I can never forget" (Jones 25-26).
Include block parentheses and ellipses when adding or leaving out something from a quote. For example: Marge said that, "she just wouldn't do it [referring to the drawing] if she wasn't paid...in full" (Smith 9).
Use block quote formatting for longer lines and leave out quotation marks with the entirety of the quotation indented one inch from the left margin. Start the quote on a new line without indention unless you'll be quoting multiple paragraphs within the same citation. Leave the spacing of poetry the same as it appears in the original text. For example:
He goes on to state that:
Dolphins are the most lovable and yet strangest creatures in the ocean. They swim in the sea but breathe like mammals. They give live birth where most fish lay eggs. Dolphins are truly magnificent mammals with a passion for socialization not dissimilar to humans. The sonar they use to communicate is every bit as varied and expressive as any human language. The Dolphin remains one of the most complicated animals in the world. (Smith 23)
Leave the spacing of poetry the same as it appears in the original text. For example:
Jones continues in this theme when he writes:
I am no longer among the living;
I have no home,
No place to live or breathe
No tree to call my own. (54)
Make sure to format the Works Cited page properly at the end of your paper. Use italics for book, magazine and film titles and quotation marks for articles, short stories and poems. Alphabetize the list by the author's last name or the editor's if the book is a collection of pieces by various authors (include Ed. after the name to note editor). Indent every line after the first in a single entry and include where the book was published, the publisher and the year. For example:
Smith, John. Dolphins in the Wild. New York: Penguin Publishing, 2004.
Include the page number at the end for poetry items on the Works Cited list. For example:
Jones, Mike. "Blowing Wind." The Poems of Mike Jones. London: Oxbridge Publishing, 1985. 77-80.