How to Quote Properly

Paraphrasing:
If you summarize or paraphrase a passage from a novel (or any text) you must include a citation at the end of the paraphrase

Quotations – part of your own sentence!
All quotations must be linked to an introductory phrase or be part of your sentence
A quotation CANNOT be a sentence on its own!
Quotations should be followed by a comment explaining how that quotation supports your ideas – never end a paragraph with a quotation

Quotations – condensing a passage or changing words in a passage:
If you would like to condense a passage, replace the words with … (an ellipsis) to indicate that words have been omitted. When you omit a full sentence or more, use a period before the three ellipsis dots
Do NOT put an ellipsis at the beginnings or ends of short quotations (single words or brief phrases), since they are self-evidently incomplete
ALWAYS use an ellipsis when you omit a word or words from WITHIN a quotation or if a quoted fragment is reasonably lengthy
Use an ellipsis to introduce a long quotation that does not begin with a sentence capital. An ellipsis is also necessary at the end of a long quotation which does not end with a period in the original
If you must insert words of your own (for example, change the word “he” to “Michael” for clarification; or change the verb tense in the quotation so that it matches your own in the essay) you must enclose the changes in square brackets

Quotations – Short – 3 lines or less FROM the text you’re quoting:
When you quote three lines or less (in the text) of prose, the quotation is part of your sentence. For example—

One sign of More’s integrity is when says to Richard Rich: “’A man should go where he won’t be tempted’” (4). This advice reflects More’s philosophy about honesty and one’s responsibility to be truthful to one’s self.

In the above example, note the following: 1) the entire quotation is enclosed by quotation marks; 2) to identify that the quotation is speech, an apostrophe is used around the speech. If there was both speech and narration, the entire quotation would be enclosed by quotation marks but only the speech would be enclosed by apostrophes; 3) the period goes AFTER the citation

Quotations – Long – 4 lines or more FROM the text you’re quoting:
When you quote more than three typed lines (in the text) of prose, set off the quotation by indenting it from the left margin. Long quotations should be introduced by an introductory sentence, usually followed by a colon. For example—

The steward predicts More’s dilemma when he states at the beginning of the play:

“My master Thomas More would give anything to anyone.