Parenthetical Citation Punctuation
Here are the rules for the correct way to punctuate your direct quotation using parenthetical citation:
Rule #1: The end quotation marks go at the end of the direct quotation from the text:
Leonce Pontellier comments on his wife’s appearance, stating, “You are burnt beyond recognition” (2).
NOT
Leonce Pontellier comments on his wife’s appearance, stating, “You are burnt beyond recognition (2).”
Rule: #2: The period goes at the end of the parentheses:
In Chapter three of the novella, Edna feels “an indescribable oppression” (6).
NOT
In Chapter three of the novella, Edna feels “an indescribable oppression.” (6)
OR
In Chapter three of the novella, Edna feels “an indescribable oppression”. (6)
Rule #3: This is how you punctuate when you insert a direct quotation into the middle of an original sentence:
When Chopin comments that Edna “was not a mother-woman,” she is stating that Mrs. Pontellier was not like other women during that time period, mothers who doted upon their children (8).
Rule #4: When giving the page number of the direct quotation in the parentheses, you ONLY need to give the number:
When Chopin comments that Edna “was not a mother-woman,” she is stating that Mrs. Pontellier was not like other women during that time period, mothers who doted upon their children (8).
NOT
When Chopin comments that Edna “was not a mother-woman,” she is stating that Mrs. Pontellier was not like other women during that time period, mothers who doted upon their children (p.8). or (pg. 8)
EXCEPTIONS TO THE ABOVE RULES:
1. This is how you punctuate your direct quotation if you direct quotation is ended by a question mark or an exclamation mark:
Leonce Pontellier questions Edna on neglecting her duties as a wife and mother, directly asking her, “Will you continue to neglect your children?” (17).
2. If you have a quotation that runs LONGER THAN 4 TYPED LINES, you need to put it in a block quote format:
All the organs of his body were working—bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming—all toiling away in solemn foolery. His nails would still be growing when he stood on the drop, when he was falling through the air with a tenth of a second to live. (47)
*Just as your paper is double-spaced, block quotations should also be double-spaced.
*Notice that a block quotation is set off 5 spaces from the left-hand margin, thus it also DOES NOT NEED quotation marks!
*Notice the placement of the period at the end of the direct block quotation. This is the ONLY TIME when the period goes in this place!