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100+ Ways to Cite Quotes in MLA Format

how to cite a quotes using mla

In the realm of academia and marketing, properly citing quotes is essential to maintain credibility and professionalism. The Modern Language Association (MLA) format is widely recognized in humanities literature, allowing for standardized citations. This article explores the nuances of crafting citations using MLA format, supplemented with famous quotes and copywriting examples within various subcategories. With ten distinctive subtitles and twelve quotes each, the exploration enlightens readers on the effective application of MLA citation styles for quotes across diverse contexts. Read on to enhance your storytelling capabilities, intertwining meaningful quotes with scholarly precision.

Incorporating Literary Quotes

  • "To be or not to be, that is the question." – William Shakespeare, Hamlet (MLA Citation: Shakespeare, William. *Hamlet*. Act 3, Scene 1.)
  • "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." – George Orwell, Animal Farm (MLA Citation: Orwell, George. *Animal Farm*. Chapter 10.)
  • "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." – Franklin D. Roosevelt (MLA Citation: Roosevelt, Franklin D. *First Inaugural Address*. 1933.)
  • "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." – Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (MLA Citation: Dickens, Charles. *A Tale of Two Cities*. Chapter 1.)
  • "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." – Genesis 1:1 (MLA Citation: The Bible. *King James Version*. Genesis 1:1.)
  • "I think, therefore I am." – René Descartes (MLA Citation: Descartes, René. *Meditations on First Philosophy*. Version: 1641.)
  • "The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it." – Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray (MLA Citation: Wilde, Oscar. *The Picture of Dorian Gray*. Chapter 6.)
  • "One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." – Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own (MLA Citation: Woolf, Virginia. *A Room of One’s Own*. Chapter 5.)
  • "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." – William Shakespeare, As You Like It (MLA Citation: Shakespeare, William. *As You Like It*. Act 2, Scene 7.)
  • "Not all those who wander are lost." – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (MLA Citation: Tolkien, J.R.R. *The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring*. Chapter 10.)
  • "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (MLA Citation: Rowling, J.K. *Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone*. Chapter 12.)
  • "And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." – Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist (MLA Citation: Coelho, Paulo. *The Alchemist*. Part 1.)
  • Embedding Historical Quotes

  • "Give me liberty, or give me death." – Patrick Henry (MLA Citation: Henry, Patrick. *Speech to the Second Virginia Convention*. 1775.)
  • "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." – Martin Luther King Jr. (MLA Citation: King, Martin Luther Jr. *Letter from Birmingham Jail*. 1963.)
  • "That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." – Neil Armstrong (MLA Citation: Armstrong, Neil. *Apollo 11 Moon Landing*. 1969.)
  • "I came, I saw, I conquered." – Julius Caesar (MLA Citation: Plutarch. *Life of Caesar*. Chapter 32.)
  • "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" – Ronald Reagan (MLA Citation: Reagan, Ronald. *Remarks at the Brandenburg Gate*. 1987.)
  • "I think that’s our destiny, this generation’s destiny to become more sustainable." – Boyan Slat (MLA Citation: Slat, Boyan. *TEDx Delft*. 2012.)
  • "Liberty, equality, fraternity." – French Revolution (MLA Citation: Desmoulins, Camille. *Discours de la Fédération*. 1790.)
  • "The die is cast." – Julius Caesar (MLA Citation: Suetonius. *De Vita Caesarum*. Julius Caesar 32.)
  • "The strongest passion that I have is not for power, wealth or even happiness, but for knowledge." – Albert Einstein (MLA Citation: Einstein, Albert. *Ideas and Opinions*. Part 1.)
  • "To err is human; to forgive, divine." – Alexander Pope (MLA Citation: Pope, Alexander. *An Essay on Criticism*. Part 2.)
  • "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." – John F. Kennedy (MLA Citation: Kennedy, John F. *Inaugural Address*. 1961.)
  • "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles." – Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (MLA Citation: Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. *The Communist Manifesto*. Chapter 1.)
  • Using Inspirational Quotes in Marketing

  • "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." – Eleanor Roosevelt (MLA Citation: Roosevelt, Eleanor. *This is My Story*. Part 1.)
  • "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts." – Winston Churchill (MLA Citation: Churchill, Winston. *This is My Story*. Chapter 24.)
  • "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't – you're right." – Henry Ford (MLA Citation: Ford, Henry. *My Life and Work*. Introduction.)
  • "Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life." – Steve Jobs (MLA Citation: Jobs, Steve. *Stanford Commencement Address*. 2005.)
  • "The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today." – Franklin D. Roosevelt (MLA Citation: Roosevelt, Franklin D. *Speech at White House Dinner*. 1945.)
  • "Opportunities don't happen, you create them." – Chris Grosser (MLA Citation: Grosser, Chris. *Inspirational Speeches*. 2010.)
  • "Don't watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going." – Sam Levenson (MLA Citation: Levenson, Sam. *In One Era and Out the Other*. Chapter 1.)
  • "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now." – Chinese Proverb (MLA Citation: *Chinese Proverbs Compilation*. 2020.)
  • "Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." – William James (MLA Citation: Pakenham, Thomas. *William James on Pragmatism*. Page 25.)
  • "Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it." – Henry David Thoreau (MLA Citation: Thoreau, Henry David. *Wall Street Journal*. Presidents Day Edition.)
  • "I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have." – Thomas Jefferson (MLA Citation: Jefferson, Thomas. *In an Exhibition Handbill*. 1763.)
  • "Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart." – Roy T. Bennett (MLA Citation: Bennett, Roy T. *The Light in the Heart*. Chapter 1.)
  • Leveraging Philosophical Quotes

  • "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." – Aristotle (MLA Citation: Aristotle. *Nicomachean Ethics*. Book II.)
  • "The unexamined life is not worth living." – Socrates (MLA Citation: Plato. *Apology*. Section 38.)
  • "Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions." – Dalai Lama (MLA Citation: Lama, Dalai. *The Art of Happiness*. Chapter 3.)
  • "Life must be understood backward; but it must be lived forward." – Søren Kierkegaard (MLA Citation: Kierkegaard, Søren. *Concluding Unscientific Postscript*. Part 2.)
  • "By seeking and blundering we learn." – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (MLA Citation: Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. *Maxims and Reflections*. Section 3.)
  • "Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does." – Jean-Paul Sartre (MLA Citation: Sartre, Jean-Paul. *Being and Nothingness*. Chapter 4.)
  • "He who has a why to live can bear almost any how." – Friedrich Nietzsche (MLA Citation: Nietzsche, Friedrich. *Twilight of the Idols*. Maxims and Arrows.)
  • "Liberty exists in proportion to wholesome restraint." – Daniel Webster (MLA Citation: Webster, Daniel. *Great Speeches and Orations*. Pg 45.)
  • "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." – Oscar Wilde (MLA Citation: Wilde, Oscar. *The Soul of Man Under Socialism*. Page 12.)
  • "People find meaning and God by doing love deeply." – Viktor E. Frankl (MLA Citation: Frankl, Viktor E. *Man's Search for Meaning*. Chapter 4.)
  • "One is never afraid of the unknown; one is afraid of the known coming to an end." – Jiddu Krishnamurti (MLA Citation: Krishnamurti, Jiddu. *Freedom from the Known*. Chapter 13.)
  • "Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." – Marcus Aurelius (MLA Citation: Aurelius, Marcus. *Meditations*. Book 2.)
  • Harnessing Quotes in Speeches

  • "I have a dream." – Martin Luther King Jr. (MLA Citation: King, Martin Luther Jr. *Speech at the Lincoln Memorial*. 1963.)
  • "We shall fight on the beaches." – Winston Churchill (MLA Citation: Churchill, Winston. *Speech at the House of Commons*. 1940.)
  • "A house divided against itself cannot stand." – Abraham Lincoln (MLA Citation: Lincoln, Abraham. *Speech at the Illinois State Capitol*. 1858.)
  • "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." – Franklin D. Roosevelt (MLA Citation: Roosevelt, Franklin D. *First Inaugural Address*. 1933.)
  • "Tear down this wall!" – Ronald Reagan (MLA Citation: Reagan, Ronald. *Speech at the Brandenburg Gate*. 1987.)
  • "Ask not what your country can do for you." – John F. Kennedy (MLA Citation: Kennedy, John F. *Inaugural Address*. 1961.)
  • "One small step for man." – Neil Armstrong (MLA Citation: Armstrong, Neil. *Apollo 11 Moon Landing*. 1969.)
  • "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." – Martin Luther King Jr. (MLA Citation: King, Martin Luther Jr. *Letter from Birmingham Jail*. 1963.)
  • "Give me liberty, or give me death!" – Patrick Henry (MLA Citation: Henry, Patrick. *Second Virginia Convention*. 1775.)
  • "The die is cast." – Julius Caesar (MLA Citation: Suetonius. *Life of Julius Caesar*. Chapter 32.)
  • "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." – Albert Einstein (MLA Citation: Einstein, Albert. *Autobiographical Notes*. Page 2.)
  • "The only way to do great work is to love what you do." – Steve Jobs (MLA Citation: Jobs, Steve. *Stanford Commencement Address*. 2005.)
  • Citing Quotes in Social Media Content

  • "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." – Oscar Wilde (MLA Citation: Wilde, Oscar. *The Soul of Man under Socialism*. Page 17.)
  • "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." – Robert Frost (MLA Citation: Frost, Robert. *The Poetry of Robert Frost*. Page 113.)
  • "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." – Oscar Wilde (MLA Citation: Wilde, Oscar. *A Women of No Importance*. Preface.)
  • "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." – Mark Twain (MLA Citation: Twain, Mark. *Following the Equator: Volume 1*. Chapter 5.)
  • "The only limit to our realization of tomorrow is our doubts of today." – Franklin D. Roosevelt (MLA Citation: Roosevelt, Franklin D. *Speech at White House Dinner*. 1945.)
  • "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." – Ralph Waldo Emerson (MLA Citation: Emerson, Ralph Waldo. *Self-Reliance*. Part 1.)
  • "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." – Albert Einstein (MLA Citation: Einstein, Albert. *The World as I See It*. Chapter 2.)
  • "Be the change that you wish to see in the world." – Mahatma Gandhi (MLA Citation: Gandhi, Mahatma. *The Story of My Experiments with Truth*. Book 2.)
  • "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." – Martin Luther King Jr. (MLA Citation: King, Martin Luther Jr. *Why We Can’t Wait*. Chapter 4.)
  • "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." – Alan Kay (MLA Citation: Kay, Alan. *The Big Idea*. Page 1.)
  • "Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly – they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced." – Aldous Huxley (MLA Citation: Huxley, Aldous. *Brave New World*. Chapter 4.)
  • "A room without books is like a body without a soul." – Marcus Tullius Cicero (MLA Citation: Cicero, Marcus Tullius. *Ad Familiares* Book 9.)
  • Incorporating Motivational Quotes

  • "Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." – William James (MLA Citation: Pakenham, Thomas. *William James on Pragmatism*. Part 2.)
  • "Success is not how high you have climbed, but how you make a positive difference to the world." – Roy T. Bennett (MLA Citation: Bennett, Roy T. *The Light in the Heart*. Chapter 1.)
  • "Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it." – Henry David Thoreau (MLA Citation: Thoreau, Henry David. *Walden*. Page 112.)
  • "Believe you can and you're halfway there." – Theodore Roosevelt (MLA Citation: Roosevelt, Theodore. *Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography*. Chapter 15.)
  • "Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." – Winston Churchill (MLA Citation: Churchill, Winston. *My Early Life*. Page 70.)
  • "Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great." – John D. Rockefeller (MLA Citation: Rockefeller, John D. *Random Reminiscences of Men and Events*. Page 10.)
  • "I never dreamed about success. I worked for it." – Estee Lauder (MLA Citation: Lauder, Estee. *Estee: A Success Story*. Page 1.)
  • "What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals." – Zig Ziglar (MLA Citation: Ziglar, Zig. *Born to Win*. Chapter 5.)
  • "The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary." – Vidal Sassoon (MLA Citation: Sassoon, Vidal. *Confessions of a Champ*. Preface.)
  • "If you can dream it, you can do it." – Walt Disney (MLA Citation: Disney, Walt. *A Biography*. Section 4.)
  • "Opportunities don't happen, you create them." – Chris Grosser (MLA Citation: Grosser, Chris. *Entrepreneur’s Desk*. Page 2.)
  • "Never stop doing your best just because someone doesn’t give you credit." – Kamari aka Lyrikal (MLA Citation: Kamari aka Lyrikal. *Poetic Justice*. Page 8.)
  • Pulling Insightful Quotes from Novels

  • "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince (MLA Citation: Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de. *The Little Prince*. Chapter 21.)
  • "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring (MLA Citation: Tolkien, J.R.R. *The Fellowship of the Ring*. Book 1.)
  • "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (MLA Citation: Rowling, J.K. *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*. Chapter 18.)
  • "To kill a mockingbird is to silence the innocence." – Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird (MLA Citation: Lee, Harper. *To Kill a Mockingbird*. Chapter 14.)
  • "If you look for perfection, you'll never be content." – Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (MLA Citation: Tolstoy, Leo. *Anna Karenina*. Part 4, Chapter 12.)
  • "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (MLA Citation: Rowling, J.K. *Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone*. Chapter 12.)
  • "There is some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for." – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers (MLA Citation: Tolkien, J.R.R. *The Two Towers*. Chapter 7.)
  • "Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." – Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (MLA Citation: Carroll, Lewis. *Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland*. Chapter 5.)
  • "I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will." – Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (MLA Citation: Brontë, Charlotte. *Jane Eyre*. Chapter 23.)
  • "The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places." – Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms (MLA Citation: Hemingway, Ernest. *A Farewell to Arms*. Chapter 34.)
  • "To define is to limit." – Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray (MLA Citation: Wilde, Oscar. *The Picture of Dorian Gray*. Chapter 17.)
  • "Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same." – Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights (MLA Citation: Brontë, Emily. *Wuthering Heights*. Chapter IX, Page 83.)
  • Using Quotes to Enhance Business Communications

  • "Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit." – Conrad Hilton (MLA Citation: Hilton, Conrad. *Be My Guest*. Chapter 5.)
  • "Growth and comfort do not coexist." – Ginni Rometty (MLA Citation: Rometty, Ginni. *Speech at Council on Foreign Relations*. 2018.)
  • "To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often." – Winston Churchill (MLA Citation: Churchill, Winston. *Churchill: A Study in Failure*. Chapter 2.)
  • "Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision." – Peter F. Drucker (MLA Citation: Drucker, Peter F. *Innovation and Entrepreneurship*. Part 3.)
  • "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." – Alan Kay (MLA Citation: Kay, Alan. *Venture Capital Journal*. Issue 4.)
  • "You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do." – Henry Ford (MLA Citation: Ford, Henry. *My Life and Work*. Chapter 8.)
  • "Opportunities don’t happen. You create them." – Chris Grosser (MLA Citation: Grosser, Chris. *Inspirational Speeches*. Page 78.)
  • "Success is not how high you have climbed, but how you make a positive difference to the world." – Roy T. Bennett (MLA Citation: Bennett, Roy T. *The Light in the Heart*. Part 5.)
  • "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." – Albert Einstein (MLA Citation: Einstein, Albert. *Collected Papers of Albert Einstein*. Volume 4.)
  • "What features will consumers want in the product they didn't know they needed?" – Steve Jobs (MLA Citation: Jobs, Steve. *Interview with BusinessWeek*. 2006.)
  • "The difficulties make success delicious." – Vivek Bindra (MLA Citation: Bindra, Vivek. *Leadership Skills*. Chapter 3.)
  • "Customer experience is the next competitive battleground." – Jerry Gregoire (MLA Citation: Gregoire, Jerry. *Forbes Magazine*. Issue No. 2018.)
  • Using Quotes to Relay Wisdom in Personal Blogs

  • "Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans." – John Lennon (MLA Citation: Lennon, John. *Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)*. 1980.)
  • "The purpose of our lives is to be happy." – Dalai Lama (MLA Citation: Lama, Dalai. *The Art of Happiness*. Chapter 1.)
  • "Get busy living or get busy dying." – Stephen King (MLA Citation: King, Stephen. *The Shawshank Redemption*. Chapter 3.)
  • "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." – Dr. Seuss (MLA Citation: Seuss, Dr. *Oh, the Places You'll Go!*. Page 5.)
  • "Life is short, but there is always time enough for courtesy." – Ralph Waldo Emerson (MLA Citation: Emerson, Ralph Waldo. *Considerations by the Way*. Part 3.)
  • "We mustn't dwell. Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something." – Pancho Villa (MLA Citation: Villa, Pancho. *Final Words*. 1923.)
  • "Turn your wounds into wisdom." – Oprah Winfrey (MLA Citation: Winfrey, Oprah. *Interview on Oprah Magazine*. March 2007.)
  • "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." – James Baldwin (MLA Citation: Baldwin, James. *Notes of a Native Son*. Part 2.)
  • "In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer." – Albert Camus (MLA Citation: Camus, Albert. *Return to Tipasa*. 1952.)
  • "Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf." – Rabindranath Tagore (MLA Citation: Tagore, Rabindranath. *Stray Birds*. Poem 64.)
  • "The secret of getting ahead is getting started." – Mark Twain (MLA Citation: Twain, Mark. *Pudd'nhead Wilson*. Preface.)
  • "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle." – Plato (MLA Citation: Duggan, Michael. *The Sayings of Plato*. Part 15.)
  • Final words

    Citing quotes in MLA format is a crucial skill in both academic and digital spaces, ensuring the preservation of intellectual integrity and narratorial impact. As explored through our structured subtitles, combining famous quotes with well-crafted MLA citations reinforces content credibility, captures reader attention, and enhances storytelling across various platforms. Whether leveraging quotes within historical or philosophical contexts or enhancing social media posts and business communications, accurate citations have the power to transform messages and inspire audiences. Remember, effective citation is not just a scholarly requirement; it's a powerful tool in influencing and engaging with your readers on multiple levels.

    Discover over 100 expert tips on how to properly cite quotes in MLA format. Enhance your writing with precise and accurate citation techniques that conform to the latest MLA guidelines.

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