In academic writing and professional communication, quoting is the practice of including someone else’s words in your work to support your points and add credibility to your arguments. It is essential to ensure that you correctly quote these sources to avoid plagiarism and maintain the integrity of your work. Sometimes, you might come across a quote within another source that is relevant to your work. In this case, you will need to quote a quote. Here are four ways to do so:

1. Double Quotation Marks and Single Quotation Marks

Double quotation marks are used for quoting full sentences or passages of text from other sources, while single quotation marks are used for quotes within quotes. The proper format when quoting a quote is as follows:
According to Johnson, “Smith said, ‘Do not underestimate the power of words,’ in 2016.” Note the use of double quotation marks for Johnson’s words and single quotation marks for Smith’s words.

2. Block Quotes

If the quoted material itself exceeds four or five lines, it is considered a block quote where no quotation marks are required at all. Instead, simply indent the entire quoted passage one inch from the left margin on a new line. Here’s an example:

Sally Newton (2021) discusses an interesting observation made by John Lewis:

I remember Lewis once said during his speech: ‘In our modern era,

being compassionate towards others’ well-being has become increasingly

important in order to achieve lasting happiness.’

In this instance, both Lewis’ statement and its context in Newton’s work are quoted as a block quote.

3. Ellipses and Square Brackets

Sometimes, you may need to alter the quoted material slightly for clarification or brevity. In this case, you can use ellipses (…) to indicate omitted sections or square brackets ([ ]) for inserted texts:

William James states, “John said ‘[(we)] cannot […] rely on our intuition […],’ and insisted on empirical evidence to support our beliefs.”

In this example, ellipses indicate the removed portions of John’s quote to enhance clarity, and square brackets are used to change the pronoun “I” to “we” for context.

4. Parenthetical Citations

When mentioning the original author of a quote within another source, it is important to use parenthetical citations in accordance with your formatting style (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago). This is necessary to correctly attribute both sources:

As mentioned in Smith’s book (quoted in Johnson, 2017), “The human mind has infinite potential.”
In this case, Smith is the original author of the quote found within Johnson’s work. Parenthetical citations help readers track your sources and verify the quotes themselves.

Conclusion

When correctly quoting a quote, you can use these four methods: double quotation marks and single quotation marks, block quotes, ellipses and square brackets, as well as parenthetical citations. By following these guidelines, you can maintain an accurate representation of your sources while ensuring integrity and credibility in your work.