DIRECT QUOTES of 40 WORDS or MORE
- Use long quotes sparingly. Use them only if the essence of the idea cannot be captured any other way.
- The ability to break down an idea, to put it into your own words, is very important in research writing.
Direct quotes that are 40 words or more should be set off in an independent block paragraph, indenting it half an inch from the left margin. The quote should be double-spaced along with the rest of the paper; do not use quotation marks. Here are examples of a narrative citation and a parenthetical citation. Remember to introduce the quotation.
Narrative citation
Salama (2014) of Rolling Stone reports the following:
Last year, London-based forensic psychologist Peter Schaapveld presented research he'd conducted on the
psychological impact of drone strikes in Yemen to a British parliamentary sub-committee. He reported that 92
percent of the population sample he examined was found to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder – with
children being the demographic most significantly affected. (para. 5)
Parenthetical citation
One reporter for Rolling Stone writes the following:
Last year, London-based forensic psychologist Peter Schaapveld presented research he'd conducted on the
psychological impact of drone strikes in Yemen to a British parliamentary sub-committee. He reported that 92
percent of the population sample he examined was found to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder – with
children being the demographic most significantly affected. (Salama, 2014, para. 5)
Note the placement of the ending period mark in both examples. It is placed immediately after the quote rather than after the
parentheses. This is different from short quotes (under 40 words), which requires the ending period mark to go after the
parentheses.
