Educational Research
APA Format for Quotations

Anytime you use another author's work word-for-word, it must be quoted or you are plagiarizing the author's work. If you quote at length from copyrighted material (typically more than 500 words) and intend to publish your work, you need to obtain written permission from the owner of the copyright.

If the quotation is less than 40 words, then the quotation is incorporated into the text and enclosed with double quotation marks. For example, the APA Manual states that "Material directly quoted from another author's work or from one's own previously published work, material duplicated from a test item, and verbatim instructions to participants should be reproduced word for word" (American Psychological Association, 2001, p. 117).

If the quotation is 40 words or more, then the quotation should be a freestanding block of typewritten lines without quotation marks. The block quotation should be started on a new line and indented about 1/2 inch from the left margin. For example, the APA Manual states:

Psychologists do not claim the words and ideas of another as their own; they give credit where credit is due. Quotation marks should be used to indicate the exact words of another. Each time you paraphrase another author (i.e., summarize a passage or rearrange the order of a sentence and change some of the words), you will still need to credit the source in the text...The key element of this principle is that an author does not present the work of another as if it were his or her own work (American Psychological Association, 2001, p. 349).

In addition to the quotation marks or indentation, the source of the quotation must also be cited. In this case, you cite the authors and year exactly as was described previously for APA Citation with the addition of the page number. Notice from the quotations above that as with typical citations, the author is listed first, then comma, then the publication year. With quotations, add a comma after the year, p. for page number, and then list the page that the quotation is taken from. Just as with citations, the full stop is put at the end of the sentence.

Practice
Quote each statement below as if you were incorporating the quotation into your paper. The beginning of the reference is listed below.

  1. Self-regulation is not a mental ability or an academic performance skill; rather it is the self-directive process by which learners transform their mental abilities into academic skills.
    • Zimmerman, B. J. (2002). Becoming a self-regulated learner...page 65.
  2. It is essential, therefore, that in their early years all children are exposed to an abundance of language in their everyday lives.
    • Roskos, K. A., Tabors, P. O., & Lenhart, L. A. (2009). Oral language and early literacy in preschool...page 2.
  3. In point of fact, the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that extrinsic rewards are ineffective at producing lasting change in attitudes or even behaviors. Moreover, they typically do not enhance - and often impede - performance on tasks that are any more complex than pressing a bar.
    • Kohn, A. (1993). Rewards versus learning...page 123.
  4. Each of our students creates personal images and explanations of events and ideas in science. These personal conceptions are often dramatically incorrect and quite resistant to change. Yet, as teachers, our goal is to help students develop new, more accurate conceptions to replace their old ones.
    • Penick, J. E. (1996). Questions are the answer...page 29
  5. Children become fluent readers when they have opportunities to practice reading. Without appropriate access to books, children will be taught to read, but will not develop the habit of reading.
    • International Reading Association. (1999). Providing books and other print materials for classroom and school libraries...page 2.

Answers

  1. "Self-regulation is not a mental ability or an academic performance skill; rather it is the self-directive process by which learners transform their mental abilities into academic skills" (Zimmerman, 2002, p. 65).

  2. Oral language development is important. "It is essential, therefore, that in their early years all children are exposed to an abundance of language in their everyday lives" (Roskos, Tabors, & Lenhart, 2009, p. 2).

  3. When teachers give rewards, it can be damaging to the students.
    In point of fact, the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that extrinsic rewards are ineffective at producing lasting change in attitudes or even behaviors. Moreover, they typically do not enhance - and often impede - performance on tasks that are any more complex than pressing a bar (Kohn, 1993, p. 123).

  4. A teacher's role is to help students develop an adequate understanding of the environment. For example, Penick states:
    Each of our students creates personal images and explanations of events and ideas in science. These personal conceptions are often dramatically incorrect and quite resistant to change. Yet, as teachers, our goal is to help students develop new, more accurate conceptions to replace their old ones (Penick, 1996, p. 29).

  5. Reading books aloud to children is the most important way to improve children's reading skills. The International Reading Association states, "Children become fluent readers when they have opportunities to practice reading. Without appropriate access to books, children will be taught to read, but will not develop the habit of reading" (International Reading Association, 1999, p. 2).

NEXT

Return to APA Format Homepage