how do you quote a movie in an essay

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APA Style (7th Edition) Citation Guide: Films/Videos/TV Shows

• Introduction
• Journal Articles
• Magazine/Newspaper Articles
• Books & Ebooks
• Government & Legal Documents
• Biblical Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Films/Videos/TV Shows
• How to Cite: Other
• Additional Help

Table of Contents

Film or Video

Streaming Video From a Website (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)

Streaming video from a subscription media website (netflix, amazon prime, hulu, etc.), streaming video from a library database, television series episode.

Note: All citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent in a Reference List.

A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

This Microsoft support page contains instructions about how to format a hanging indent in a paper.

Who to Credit - Film or Video

The director should be credited as the author of a film. If the director is unknown, someone in a similar role, such as a producer and/or writer, can be credited. To clarify what role the person has in the production, their job title such as Director is put after their name in round brackets if the job title is known.

Who to Credit - Streaming Video from a Website

For videos from websites such as YouTube or Vimeo, credit the person who posted the content. If a real name is provided, use that followed by the person's user name in square brackets. If the real name of the person who posted the content is not known, just use their user name without brackets.

Note : It is not necessary to specify how you watched a film or video (e.g. motion picture, DVD, streaming online). 

In the Body of a Paper

Books, Journals, Reports, Webpages, etc.: When you refer to titles of a “stand-alone work,” as the APA calls them on their APA Style website, such as books, journals, reports, and webpages, you should italicize them. Capitalize words as you would for an article title in a reference, e.g., In the book Crying in H Mart: A memoir , author Michelle Zauner (2021) describes her biracial origin and its impact on her identity.

Article or Chapter: When you refer to the title of a part of a work, such as an article or a chapter, put quotation marks around the title and capitalize it as you would for a journal title in a reference, e.g., In the chapter “Where’s the Wine,” Zauner (2021) describes how she decided to become a musician.

The APA Sample Paper below has more information about formatting your paper.

• APA 7th ed. Sample Paper

Film or Video

When the Director, Producer and/or Writer is known:

Director/Producer/Writer's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Job Title). (Year film was produced).  Title of film: Subtitle if any  [Film]. Production Company.

Note: If not produced in the United States, list the city name and the country.

Hallam, J. (Producer, Writer), & Lam, K. (Producer, Director). (2010).  Staff relations in healthcare: Working as a team  [Film]. Insight Media.

• When you have more than one producer, writer and/or writer to credit, separate the names with a comma and put an ampersand (&) before the last person's last name.
• Serling, R. (Executive Producer). (1959–1964). The twilight zone [TV series]. Cayuga Productions; CBS Productions.

In-Text Paraphrase:

(Producer/Director/Writer's Last Name, Year)

Example: (Hallam & Lam, 2010)

Note: This example has two people to credit, so both last names are given)

In-Text Quote:

(Producer/Director/Writer's Last Name, Year, Timestamp)

Example: (Hallam & Lam, 2010, 2:30)

Note: Because the timestamp serves the same purpose in a video as page numbers, paragraph numbers or section headings, you include it in the in-text citation. Include only the beginning timestamp.

When the Director, Producer and/or Writer is not known:  Start the citation with the film title.

Title of film: Subtitle if any  [Film]. (Year film was produced). Production Company if Known.

Era of viruses  [Film]. (2006). Films for the Humanities and Sciences.

( Title of Film , Year)

Example: ( Era of Viruses , 2006)

Note: Italicize the title of the film and capitalize the words for the in-text citation.

( Title of Film , Year, Timestamp)

Example: ( Era of Viruses , 2006, 40:00)

When the Poster's Name is known: 

Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. of person who posted the video if known. [User name that posted the video]. (Year video was posted, Month Day).  Title of video  [Video]. Website Name. URL

Note: According to APA, for citing purposes the person who posted the video is credited as the author.

Nye, B. [TheRealBillNye]. (2009, April 8).  Bill Nye the science guy on energy  [Video]. YouTube. http://youtu.be/0ASLLiuejAo

(Creator's Last Name, Year)

Example: (Nye, 2009)

(Creator's Last Name, Year, timestamp)

Example: (Nye, 2009, 0:55)

When the Poster's Name is not known: 

User name that posted the video. (Year video was posted, Month Day).  Title of video  [Video]. Website Name. URL

All Aces Media. (2012, January 19).  Often awesome the series  [Video]. Vimeo. http://vimeo.com/35311255

(User name, Year)

Example: (All Aces Media, 2012)

Example: (All Aces Media, 2012, timestamp)

Producer's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Producer). (Year of Publication).  Title of Video  [Video]. Website Name. URL

Note:  When you have one producer (Producer) is used after the producer's name. If you have more than one producer use (Producers) instead.

Allen, T., et. al. (Producers). (2017). The story of Diana  [Video]. Netflix. http://www.netflix.com

(Producer Last name, Year)

Example: (Allen, et. al., 2017)

(Producer Last name, Year, Timestamp)

Example: (Allen, et. al., 2017, 6:45)

Name of Company/Organization that Provided Content or Creator's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. if known. (Year video was created, Month Day if known).  Title of video  [Video]. Database Name.

National Film Board of Canada. (2014).  Making movie history: The women  [Video]. NFB Campus. 

(Name of Company/Organization, Year)

Example: (National Film Board of Canada, 2014)

(Name of Company/Organization, Year, Timestamp)

Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Job Title) if known. (Year the episode was originally aired). Title of episode (Season No., Episode No.) [TV series episode]. In Executive Producer's First Initial. Last Name (Executive producer) if known,  Television series name . Production Company.

Note: For other countries, list the city name and the country.

Young, R. (Writer, Producer, Director). (2010). Flying cheap (Season 2010, Episode 2) [TV series episode]. In  Frontline . American University School of Communication's Investigative Reporting Workshop.

(Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, Year)

Example: (Young, 2010)

(Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, Year, Timestamp)

Example: (Young, 2010, 15:38)

Television Series Episode Viewed on a Subscription Media Website 

Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Job Title) if known. (Year the episode was originally aired). Title of episode (Season No., Episode No.) [TV series episode]. In Executive Producer's First Initial. Last Name (Executive producer) if known,  Television series name . Streaming Video Site. URL

Attenborough, D. (Writer). (2001). Ocean world (Season 1, Episode 1) [TV series episode]. In A. Fothergill (Executive producer),  Blue planet: A natural history of the oceans . Netflix. http://www.netflix.com

Example: (Attenborough, 2001)

 (Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, Year, Timestamp)

Example: (Attenborough, 2001, 10:12)

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• Last Updated: Apr 30, 2024 1:29 PM
• URL: https://libguides.up.edu/apa

How to Cite a Movie: MLA, APA, and Chicago Style

• Posted on January 28, 2022

Writing a research paper doesn’t mean limiting your sources to books and articles. You might use a movie, and if you do, you need to know how to cite it properly. Since there are different citation guides , you must follow the directions specific to your paper style.

The most popular formats are MLA style, APA format, and Chicago style. Each style guide has unique, yet very specific guidelines for spacing, punctuation, italics, and more.

Creating a movie citation for a motion picture you’re referencing protects you against plagiarism. When you’re using other people’s ideas or words, you have to credit them in your work. Otherwise, it looks like you’re passing the information off as your own. If you write anything that isn’t an original idea, you need to credit the person who said it first or you are plagiarizing.

Referencing a movie in your paper can take many different forms. You might mention the film in passing. You might compare it to other films or works of literature. You could also dedicate a whole paper to discussing one specific movie and its impact on popular culture.

You can quote lines from films in your paper just as you’d quote a researcher. Put the sentence in quotation marks and include an in-text citation. You’ll find out how to do that when you learn how to cite a movie in MLA, APA, and Chicago Style.

Common Movie Citation Formats

To cite a motion picture, you’ll need some basic information. Having these details on hand will help whether you’re using MLA, APA, or Chicago style for the film citation. All citation guides require information like:

• Title of the movie
• Name of the director
• Production company
• Film distributor
• Year of release

There are certain instances to use each format, so below are citation examples for MLA style, APA style, and Chicago style.

The  Modern Language Association  created MLA style. The handbook has undergone many changes over the years and is now in its ninth edition. It’s updated as technology and research change. The original handbook had information about citing books and papers, yet the modern edition tells you how to cite song lyrics, social media posts, and more.

You’re likely to use MLA style when writing papers for the humanities, such as language arts or cultural studies. Writing a film critique or using movies to comment on society falls under the humanities umbrella, and you are likely to use MLA style for such projects.

MLA Style Movie Citations

Citing a movie in MLA style is very similar to citing other sources. Start with the movie title in italics, then identify the director or directors. You can list a few stars if you mention them in your paper. This level of detail helps readers find the exact citation in your MLA Works Cited page.

Most of the punctuation in a movie citation using MLA format is a comma. This punctuation differs from other MLA citations that use a lot of periods or put information in parenthesis. Here is an example of a movie formatted for an MLA citation:

Movie. Directed by Bob Action, performances by Ima Star, Big Name, and Too Famous, Movie Studios, 2020.

It’s a straightforward process with room to specify what version you’re referencing if there are multiple versions of the film. In that case, you would add the version after the director’s name. For example:

Movie. Directed by Bob Action, extended version, Movie Studios, 2020.

If you watched the movie on a streaming service, you should indicate that information. Just as when you’re citing journal articles found online with a URL or DOI, the streaming service helps the reader find the exact film.

Most streaming services upload the regular version of the movie, but including this detail erases all doubt.  Netflix  and other streaming services change up their inventory periodically, so cover your bases by including the date you watched the movie. Otherwise, a reader might think you’re making up information because the film isn’t currently available through the service.

Maybe the service censored the line you quoted, and people who own the DVD know the real language. They might think you got the information wrong in your paper. When they go to your reference page, they’ll see where you accessed the movie and understand how your experience could differ. Here is an example of a movie formatted for an MLA citation if it was on a streaming service:

Movie. Directed by Bob Action, Movie Studios, 2020. Netflix, 13 May 2021.

You can also cite movies you watched on  YouTube . The format is similar to that of a streaming service, except you include the name of the user who uploaded the film and the specific URL. For example:

Movie. Directed by Bob Action, Movie Studios, 2020. Movie. Directed by Bob Action, performances by Ima Star, Big Name, and Too Famous, Movie Studios, 2020. YouTube, uploaded by Film Appreciation Community, 13 May 2021, http://www.youtube.com/specificvideo .

When you compile your works cited list, you’ll put the movie citation in alphabetical order according to the movie title.

MLA Style In-text Citations

You need to include an in-text citation whenever you mention the film in your paper. If you paraphrase anything from the movie, you need to show the reader what you’re referencing. Text citations are easy to figure out once you have the reference completed for your works cited page.

Use parentheses to signal that you’re citing a source in the body of your paper. After the opening parenthesis, put the movie title in italics. For example:

However, there are other times when you’ll need in-text citations. If you use a direct quote from the movie, close the quotation marks of the passage, and include the text citation before the ending punctuation. This citation will include the title of the movie and the timestamp of when the character speaks the specific line. You still put the movie title in italics inside of the parenthesis. Follow the title with the timestamp and duration of the line using a semicolon to show the time. For example:

(Movie 15:10-35)

If the quote goes beyond one minute, clarify the time range with more details, such as:

(Movie 15:10-16:07)

You can also mention the movie title in your text using general context without needing an in-text citation. For example:

In Movie, the viewer goes on a wild adventure that spans just two hours.

If you mention a specific part of the movie, you’ll need to add an in-text citation with the time stamp. For example:

In Movie, the viewer first visits the graveyard at night (1:03-50).

If the movie title is long, you can shorten it to the first few words, so your in-text citations are concise.

The  American Psychological Association  created the APA style guide. It has detailed parameters for academic and research papers. You use the APA format when working in the social sciences, like psychology, sociology, economics, and related fields.

APA Style Movie Citations

While a movie citation in MLA style is very basic, there is more specific formatting for an APA citation. Instead of starting with the movie title, you list the director starting with the last name, then the first initial. Specify that the person is the director in parentheses. Documentaries would have a producer instead of a director, so you’d use that job title instead.

Next, you put the year the company produced the movie, then the title. In square brackets, specify that it’s a film because TV shows use a similar style, and last is the name of the production company. Here is an example of a movie formatted for an APA citation:

Action, B. (Director). (2020). Movie [Film]. Movie Studios.

You might refer to the special features included on a DVD version of the film, so you’ll add this information to your citation. For example:

Action, B. (Director). (2020). Movie [Film; DVD release]. Movie Studios.

If you watched the film on a streaming service, the citation includes those details as well. For example:

Action, B. (Director). (2020). Movie [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.netflix.com

When you compile your reference list, you’ll put the movie citation in alphabetical order according to the director’s last name.

APA Style In-text Citations

In-text citations for APA format are similar to those of MLA style. As always, you use parentheses to offset the information from the body of your paper and the citation goes inside of the ending punctuation of a sentence.

While MLA uses the movie title, APA calls for the director’s last name and the year of the movie. For example:

(Action, 2020)

If you’re quoting the film or mentioning a specific scene, include the timestamp after the director’s name and year. For example:

(Action, 2020, 0:15:10)

Chicago Style

The University of Chicago created  Chicago Style  for use in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. This format differs from both MLA and APA by having a bibliography instead of works cited or reference pages. Some papers using Chicago Style ask for you to create endnotes as well.

Chicago Style Movie Citations

Chicago Style has two options: author-date or notes-bibliography. Your professor will tell you what to use for a student paper. If you’re writing an article to submit to a journal, the submission guidelines will clarify which format you need to use.

The author-date format is similar to APA citations. You start with the director’s last name, then their first name, then the job title of the director. This detail is to clarify the person’s role in the movie because a documentary would have a producer instead of a director.

Next is the year the production company released the movie, followed by the movie’s title in italics. Check out this citation example to see how similar it is to APA format:

Action, Bob, director. 2020. Movie. Movie Studios.

If you watched the movie online, you would add the streaming service and direct URL to the movie. Here is an example:

Action, Bob, director. 2020. Movie. Netflix. http://www.netflix.com/movieaddress

If you’re using the notes-bibliography style instead of author-date, you need all the same information but the order is different. Here is an example:

Action, Bob, director. Movie. Movie Studios, 2020.

If you watched the movie online through a streaming service, you add that information in slightly different places as well. For example:

Action, Bob, director. Movie. Netflix, 2020. http://www.netflix.com/movieaddress

Chicago Style In-text Citations

The author-date in-text citation format is also similar to APA’s text citation, without a comma. In Chicago Style, an author-date in-text citation example is:

(Action 2020)

If you’re referencing a specific quote or scene, you’d include the timestamp of the duration. Instead of using a dash like in MLA format, you write the word “to.” Here is an example:

(Action 2020 0:15:10 to 0:15:35)

The in-text citations for author-date style are the same whether you watched the movie on DVD or on Netflix. The reader can find that information when they look for the citation in your bibliography.

When you’re using the notes-bibliography style, in-text citations are understandably different. You number the note and include all the information from the bibliography citation for the first note. Later, you can use a shortened note to reference each movie version because you’ve already given the entire information in the first note.

Considerations for Citing Movies

Citing a movie isn’t too different from citing a book across various style guides, but you must pay attention to the details. Streaming services like Netflix and Hulu  changed the TV industry . It’s very simple to access movies and TV series you might not find otherwise.

When you watch movies online, make sure to cite if it came from Netflix or if it’s a YouTube video. While this article focused on movie citations, there are also differences when citing a TV show or podcast.

Easy Ways to Cite a Movie

Once you learn the basic information needed for a citation, it’s relatively simple to follow the specific formats for MLA, APA, or Chicago Style.

Doing large amounts of research can make it hard to focus on your references. Using the  Quetext citation generator  simplifies the process for you. Whether you’re working on an academic paper, a professional article, or checking your students’ work, Quetext helps with the citations while also checking for any sign of plagiarism.

Take out the stress and confusion of punctuation and parentheses, and let Quetext do the work for you.

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How do I create an in-text citation for a film?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

The in-text citation for a film should key to a works-cited-list entry. If you list a film under its title, you must refer to the title in your writing or cite it parenthetically:

Point of No Return , a remake of Nikita , deviates from the original French movie in several ways. Luc Besson ( Nikita ) and John Badham ( Point ) approach the figure of the femme fatale differently in their films. Works Cited Nikita. Directed by Luc Besson, Gaumont / Les Films du Loup, 1990. Point of No Return . Directed by John Badham, Warner Bros., 1993.

If you list a film under the director’s name, you must discuss or cite the director:

Luc Besson and John Badham approach the figure of the femme fatale differently in their films. Point of No Return (Badham), a remake of  Nikita (Besson), deviates from the original French movie in several ways. Works Cited Badham, John, director. Point of No Return.  Warner Bros., 1993. Besson, Luc, director. Nikita . Gaumont / Les Films du Loup, 1990.

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How to Cite a Film or Documentary in MLA Referencing

3-minute read

• 4th December 2020

If you’re writing an essay, you may need to cite a film or documentary. But how does this work in MLA style ? In this post, we’ll show you how to format both in-text citations and the Works Cited list entry for a film.

How to Cite a Film in MLA Referencing

When citing a film or documentary as a whole in MLA style , simply cite its title. This can be either in the text or in parentheses. For instance:

Another crime film, Goodfellas , depicts the making of a mafia boss.

The film depicts the making of a mafia boss ( Goodfellas ).

However, if you’re focusing on a particular contributor to the film, such as the director or an actor, you should cite the surname of that contributor:

Scorsese’s direction is notably dynamic.

The film is directed with great dynamism (Scorsese).

In addition, if you are referring to a particular scene, you may want to include a time stamp with the timing or range of times for the scene cited:

The scene in this version of the film shows us the brutality of mafia life, but arguably risks glamorizing it ( Goodfellas 00:58:06-01:08:21).

Here, for instance, the time stamp shows us that the citation is for a scene that lasts from 58 minutes and 6 seconds to 1 hour, 8 minutes and 21 seconds into the film. The reader will then know exactly where to look for it.

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Films in an MLA Works Cited List

The entry for a film in an MLA Works Cited list should include all the information required for readers to find the version cited. When citing the film as a whole, this will usually include the following core elements :

Title . Contribution by Main Contributor’s Name (usually the director or creator), other contributors (if relevant to your discussion), version (if more than one version is available), publisher, year.

You won’t always need to include all this information (e.g., if there is only one version of a film available, you can ignore the ‘version’ section), but make sure to include as much detail as needed to identify the exact source.

In practice, for instance, we could reference Goodfellas as follows:

Goodfellas. Directed by Martin Scorsese, performance by Paul Sorvino, Warner Bros., 1990.

If you have cited the name of a contributor – rather than the film title – in your essay, start the entry with the surname of that contributor:

Scorsese, Martin, director. Goodfellas . Performance by Paul Sorvino, Warner Bros., 1990.

This ensures that readers can match the citations to the full reference.

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We hope this explains how to cite a film or documentary in MLA style! If you’d like an expert to make sure your MLA referencing is clear, consistent and error free, though, why not upload a document for proofreading today ?

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How to Cite Movie Lines in MLA in an Essay

Movie lines can provide relevant punch to an essay. But if you quote a film, be sure to cite it just as conscientiously as you would cite a novel or poem. The first requirement is to quote the movie precisely; any words in quotation marks must be identical to the actual lines spoken in the movie. You also need to know the basic details about the movie in order to cite it in MLA style.

Movies in the “Works Cited” List

Movies are listed alphabetically in “Works Cited,” along with any other sources. Put the title first, alphabetizing by the first major word and italicizing the title. Next list, in order, director(s), main performer(s), distribution company, year of release and, finally, format. This is what such a listing should look like: The Last Unicorn. Dir. Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr. Perf. Alan Arkin, Mia Farrow, Jeff Bridges and Christopher Lee. ITC Films, 1982. DVD.

Movies and In-Text Citation

When a source is not listed by author in the “Works Cited,” you must cite it in the text by whatever element comes first instead. In the case of movies, that means the title, italicized. Because movies do not have page numbers, you only need the title, either in a single phrase or in parentheses following the quote. This example shows correct MLA parenthetical citation: The unicorn laments, “I can feel this body dying all around me” (The Last Unicorn).

Need help with a citation? Try our citation generator .

• Purdue University Online Writing Lab: MLA Works Cited, Other Common Sources
• Purdue University Online Writing Lab: MLA In-Text Citations, the Basics

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Everything You Need to Know about How to Quote a Movie in Academic Writing

Updated 19 Jun 2024

It is clear that our intentions of putting a quote in an essay may differ. Even though most research papers focus on print or online sources, a lot of modern university courses implement audiovisual materials for their research. Regardless if you are writing a movie review essay or want to include a short movie in an Engineering presentation, knowing how to quote a movie is essential. It is especially relevant in Arts, Engineering, Programming, Sound Recording, and 3D Design degrees. Since such type of citing mostly deals with knowledge regarding print sources or using various YouTube videos for short presentation projects, college students get vulnerable to plagiarism risks by simply inserting some quote or referencing their source without due credibility. After all, working with any research paper requires relevant citing where every claim is always backed up with a reference.

Types of Citations in Academic Writing

The most challenging part about how to quote a film is knowing what has to be included and what are the differences between academic writing formats. A reason for this confusion might be publisher information depending on if it is a Youtube or DVD source. As most universities request APA, MLA, or Chicago academic format, which is close to Turabian style, yet represents separate formatting, it becomes essential. The most popular is classic MLA format, which is why college students always ask about how to cite a movie quote MLA way. While no citing format is easier or more complex, MLA can be told apart by using in-text citations and Works Cited for Bibliography reference. The APA format will have a References word on the final page. Now Chicago format differs because of its use of footnotes, endnotes, and Bibliography in a particular styling.

In simple terms, you will use two general citation types, which are essential in knowing how to cite a movie in an essay, both in text and Bibliography. The in-text citation will contain your relevant quote itself with a brief reference to an existing source, so it can be found at the end of your paper. Any mistake made through the text will reflect in your Bibliography page as well if the numbering or contributors list is incorrect.

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Correct audiovisual citation by style with examples.

• MLA Citation Guidelines

Let’s start with how to cite a movie MLA 8 format before moving on to the other audiovisual citations.

If some movie quote is taken as verbatim, the quotation marks are necessary. Here is how to quote when you include a direct phrase:

      "May the Force be with you." (Star Wars)

Now there is a Works Cited page (Bibliography) where you have to include directors, studio, and the year where it was filmed if required by formatting. Our example becomes this:

      Lucas, George, dir. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Twentieth Century Fox, 1977. Film.

As we can see, you have to list films (if it is in theaters) by their title, including the director's name, movie studio where it was filmed, or distributed, ending up with mentioning film release year.

Now that we have learned how to quote a movie in an essay MLA style, we will continue with audio recording citing. For example:

     “ The spectral analysis made in Icelandic caves has been higher in the low frequencies, compared to what the North American explorations have shown. ” (Wilders).

There is no need to specify production year, if it is unavailable, mentioning the author of relevant recording is sufficient.

Now our Works Cited page requires the full name of your performer or a band, followed by relevant content title, year, release year, and studio's name.

For example:

      Wilson, Steven. The Raven That Refused to Sing. 2013. Kscope Music Records, 2013. CD.

When you require MLA in-text citation for some radio broadcast, there is no need to place a timestamp as it is done for in-text citation film template. Just mention the quote with the name of your broadcast as done below:

      “ The Cold War became an emotional turmoil for both superpowers, especially the children. ” ("The Cold War Childhood")

Works Cited page citing becomes a bit longer:

      "The Cold War Childhood". Conservative Talk Theater. Seattle KTTH 770. KTTH, Seattle. 13 May 2018. Radio.

Regarding how to cite a movie in text If you have found your source on some website, use the following template:

      Last name, First name of the creator. “Title of the film or video.” Title of the website , role of contributors and their full name or username, Version, Numbers, Publisher, Publication date, URL.

The Youtube video example:

      Talks at Google. “Kelly Jones: Stereophonics Lead Singer in Conversation.” YouTube , May 7, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w9TBxKXWYo.

In-text citation example:

      Talks at Google 00:00:04 - 00:00:13)

Now if there is no author listed, in-text citation movie rules require citing a relevant title of your video instead. 

Streaming services or databases use this template:

      Last name, First name of content creator. Title of the film or video . Role of contributors and their First name Last name, Version, Numbers, Publisher, Publication date.  Database name , URL.

If you feel lost in MLA, remember you can always use the MLA citation generator to help you with any kind quote for free.

• APA Formatting examples 

The in-text citation may include relevant movie scenes with a timestamp or a direct quote. It also applies both for fiction films and this formatting explains how to cite a documentary in text if necessary.

Both movies and Netflix documentaries citing follow this example:

      “ My mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get .” (Zemeckis, 1994).

The References page will have to include all the people who produced the film with their respective roles, following each other, then placing an obtained release year. Any movie title comes with formatting in square brackets, country of origin, and the studio name.

See this example:

      Finerman, R. (Producer), & Zemeckis, R. (Director). (1994). Forrest Gump. [Motion Picture]. The United States. Paramount Pictures. 

• Audio Recording Citing in APA

For an in-text citation, you have to include the name of the author (speaker), then paraphrase your content, and state the year of a given recording. See here:

      " The majority of praise and worship ceremonies revolve around Biblical scriptures. " (Morley,  2011).

      In a challenging conversation about religious practices, Morley (2011) states that "...(your quote)".

The References page must include the last name of a speaker with relevant initials, mention specific roles in the brackets, then a year, title, and format of our recording in the brackets. Then specify your source, a web page, or a place where the recording can be accessed or downloaded. Follow this example:

      Morley, N. (Speaker). (2011). Modern Religious Practices (CD Recording Vol. 3). Miami, FL: Praise & Worship Library Archives.

• Radio Broadcast Citing in APA

An in-text citation includes broadcast's name in the brackets with the year after your quote:

      " In most cases, mechanical engineers turned to additional education courses to catch up with technology. " (Jones, 2015)

The same rules apply to Podcast recordings, yet you must include a radio station, creator's name, date, and location.

Our Bibliography page goes as follows:

    Jones, K. (Narrator). (2015, February 4). The Mechanical Engineering Versus Machine  Learning [Radio broadcast episode]. In W. Carlton (Producer), Evening Edition. Seattle, WA: KTTH AM 770.

If you have a film or DVD in another language, use this template:

      Director, D. D. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of a motion picture in original  language [Translated title] [Film]. Production company.

Now our in-text citation both for MLA in-text citation movie quote or Youtube video remains the same:

      According to (“Star Wars”, 1975), the characters…

YouTube video has this format:

      Person or group who uploaded a video. (Date of publication). Title of video [Video]. Website host. URL

The Podcast goes as follows: 

     Executive Producer, E. P. (Executive Producer). (Range of publication). Title of podcast  [Audio podcast]. Production company. URL

Once again, you can use a free APA citation generator to simplify the process and save your time.

• Chicago Citing Rules

If you do not know how to cite a quote from a movie in Chicago format, there is no need to fear once you learn some basic rules. Let's start with a motion picture reference rules. Since Chicago makes it possible to use notes, it ends up in three formatting styles. See below:

      First footnote/endnote: August Rush , DVD, directed by Kirsten Sheridan. (2007; Chicago, IL: Warner Bros. Pictures, 2008).

      Subsequent notes: August Rush .

     Bibliography page: August Rush . DVD. Directed by Kirsten Sheridan. 2007; Chicago, IL: Warner Bros. Pictures, 2008.

•  Audio recording

      First footnote/endnote: Nirvana, Nevermind , Geffen Records, 1991, Compact disc.

      Subsequent notes. Nirvana, Nevermind .

      Bibliography page: Nirvana, Nevermind . Geffen Records. 1991. Compact disc.

• Radio recording

   First footnote/endnote: " Tom Sawyer's principles ," Morning Broadcast, Radio Disney (Riverside, CA: Radio Disney, February 7, 2011).

       Subsequent notes. " Tom Sawyer's principles ".

      Bibliography page: " Tom Sawyer's principles. " Morning Broadcast, Radio Disney Riverside, CA: Radio Disney, February 7, 2011.

Chicago format is often considered as the most confusing, which is only partially true. Check out our Chicago style citation website generator to try and fill in available information. This AI system will provide you with examples free of charge, so you can learn how this particular formatting works.

How to Make Sure that My Video Source is Credible?

It may seem easy to find a good reference, yet not all sources are approved by college professors. The most important part is to keep within the basic citing rules that will help you to stay safe.

• Finding the original author or writer's credits.

If you want to include something in a research paper, avoid using blogs or unreliable websites when citing a video because it is not a published paper or a reference that can provide statistical data or clear reasoning. Use Google Scholar or scientific journals that have authors with a decent background. If it is not possible to use anything credible, look for information about the author to find out their expertise level.

• Secondary Source Danger.

If you need a primary source, check similar scientific papers or Bibliography pages to find out whether your information is a secondary or a primary source. Every journal article, including your own paper, will appear as a secondary source unless it is your own argumentation. The primary sources stand for credibility, which is why a movie quote or an audio recording is like a first-hand experience.

• Visit the local library.

If you cannot find a particular video on Youtube or do not have the required information to quote a movie or an audio recording, visit college’s local library as such information is usually listed in the notes. Alternatively, you can ask the college librarian for information, which will help you to cite and specify the source.

• Do not use too much multimedia referencing.

While it is good for some projects to include movie or audio citing, do not overdo it because it will make the paper hard to read and will keep the bias away from your own opinion. Even when you write a non-technical, creative paper, it is still necessary to include some analysis among the videos that only seem natural. It will make your sources fit in a much better way!

How to Make My Essay Perfect?

Citing a movie or any other source is crucial if you want to receive good marks and deliver a credible paper. Considering all existing citation challenges, it is not surprising that even good essays still receive low grades because of minor omissions. Thankfully, there are ways to check your paper before you submit it. A safe approach to get things right is EduBirdie where you can double-check your paper, correct the formatting issues when you need to cite a video, eliminate grammar mistakes, and process your project for plagiarism risks among other things, such as an option to  pay someone to write my research paper . Do not wait any longer because there are safe and affordable ways to receive an excellent essay!

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / Harvard Referencing / Harvard Referencing Style Examples / How to Reference a Movie in Harvard Referencing Style

How to Reference a Movie in Harvard Referencing Style

This article will help you learn the correct way of citing a film based on the Harvard style of referencing. Specifically, you’ll need to cite your source in two places:

• In your paper via an in-text citation
• In your reference list via a full reference

An in-text citation is when you refer to the source material within the body of your work or text. The reference list is usually placed at the end of your work. It has a full reference for every source that has an in-text citation. The reference list goes beyond the in-text citation and gives a complete list of information about the works you have cited, so that the reader can find and read the original source.

If you are trying to cite a source that was posted on YouTube, you’ll instead need to know how to cite a YouTube video in Harvard style .

Here are some examples of how to reference films in Harvard style:

Film seen at the cinema

To reference a film seen at a cinema, you’ll need the following information:

• Title (in italics)
• Release year (in round brackets)
• Director name
• [Feature film]
• Place of distribution: Distributor

The Help (2011) Directed by Tate Taylor. [Feature film]. Burbank, CA: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

For the in-text citation, the title of the film is used, followed by the release year separated by a comma, if the film title is not mentioned already. If the title is mentioned in the text, then only the year should be given, in round brackets.

The characters in The Help (2011) reveal…

The film showcases race relations during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi ( The Help , 2011).

Film from a streaming service

If you are referencing a film you viewed via a streaming service, here’s the information you’ll need for your reference:

• Name of the streaming service or DOI
• (Accessed: date)

Changeling (2008) Directed by Clint Eastwood. Available at: Netflix (Accessed: 22 September 2020).

For the in-text citation, the title of the film and date are used, separated by a comma, if the film title is not already mentioned. If it is, then only the date is necessary.

In Changeling (2008), Angelina Jolie plays the character…

Angelina Jolie ( Changeling , 2008) plays the character of a mother whose…

Film from a physical copy (DVD/Blu-ray)

If you want to reference a film you viewed on DVD or Blu-ray, you’ll need the following information:

• [DVD, catalogue number] or [Blu-ray, catalogue number] (in square brackets)

The BFG: Big Friendly Giant (2016) Directed by Steven Spielberg. [Blu-ray, 8042180]. Burbank, CA: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

The in-text citation method is the same as in the previous two examples.

Key takeaways

• The methods for referencing films and videos differ according to the mode of viewing.
• The name of the film and year suffice for in-text citations of films viewed at the cinema, on DVD or through a streaming platform.

Published October 29, 2020.

Harvard Formatting Guide

Harvard Formatting

• et al Usage
• Direct Quotes
• In-text Citations
• Multiple Authors
• Page Numbers
• Writing an Outline
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Step-by-Step Instructions on How to Cite a Movie Quote

At first sight, it seems easy to write a movie essay, where you can place movie quotes. Other than the simplicity of converting your topic into a description of film ideas, it can be complicated for students when it comes to the process of quoting a movie.

Photo from Depositphotos

When you want to find out the secret of proper citation style, which cheap essay writing services use, we propose you to learn the citation rules that match with different formatting styles. This article brings knowledge on how to quote a film in such popular formats as MLA and APA.

How to Cite a Quote From a Movie MLA Format

The Modern Language Association (MLA) has its own standard rules for formatting quotes from films. When you want to make your argument stronger, you can use a film quote by paraphrasing or using a direct quotation.

When you place a citation in the references list with MLA formatting, use this template:

Name of the Film. Directed by Name of Director, Performances by Name of Main Actors, Name of film studio, year of film.

If you need to include a direct quote from a film, you can use this example:

“Every time I see you, you’re buying a chicken” (9½ Weeks ).

Sometimes, students need to know not just how to quote a film, but a television show, a movie on DVD, and a YouTube video as well.

How to form a citation from a television show:

“Name of Episode.” Name of TV Series , written by First name Last name, directed by First name Last name, Name of the film studio, year of release.

How to include a citation from the film on DVD:

Surname, Name (Director). Name of the Film [Name of the Genre]. Country: Name of the film studio, original release year. DVD.

How to place a citation from a YouTube video and similar online platforms:

Name of the creator. (Date video was released). “Name of the Video.” Name of Platform , Uploaded by Uploader, date of publication, URL link of the video.

How to Quote a Movie in APA Format

American Psychological Association (APA) citation style for movie quotes represents basic formatting requirements for books, documents, articles, and other forms.

For the 7th edition of the APA style guide, referencing a film is simpler than ever. APA recommends omitting the parenthetical citations if possible in most instances, but the director(s) and date are necessary to place in the citation if they cannot be fit into the sentence. Here is an example:

Tom Hanks’s character, Forrest Gump, said, “My Mama always said you’ve got to put the past behind you before you can move on” (Zemekis, 1994).

When you cite the movie for the first time in the body of the text, don’t forget to include all last names of the directors (if there are multiple), and the year of release. For this example, we will list the producers instead of director:

“Mama always said, dying was a part of life” (Finerman, Starkey, & Tisch, 1994).

The following citations include only the last name of the first credited author and the “et al.” abbreviation for subsequent citations of the movie if it has multiple directors:

“I never thanked you for saving my life” (Finerman, et al., 1994).

When the author of the essay wants to direct the reader to a specific part of the movie, they can add a time-stamp:

“Run, Forrest! Run!” (Zemekis, 1994; 1:52:41).

To include a source for your citation in the references, please, follow this guide:

Last name, First in abbreviation. (Director). (Release year). Title of motion picture [film]. Name of distributor or format of the movie [DVD]. Country of origin: the name of the film studio.

Now you know a couple of basic rules on how to quote a movie or video and insert citations in your papers properly, or ask an expert who helps you to satisfy your “ write my essay for me cheap ” request . These citations allow your readers to find out more about their favorite movies and look behind the scenes in the world of cinema.

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Library FAQs

How do i cite a movie scene or quotation in the body of my paper.

First, read the assignment carefully or ask your teacher if they have specific suggestions or requirements for in-text citations to videos.

Otherwise, if you have included a quotation or referred to a particular scene, you would put the time-stamp that is displayed in your media player in parentheses after your reference. Your goal is to help your reader find whatever it is that you're writing about.  First your reader would find the movie in your list of references, and then they could find the exact spot within the movie.

For the MLA , include the specific time-stamp (in the case of a quotation) or include the time-stamp range (if you refer to a scene or section).  Include the hours, minutes and seconds.  Separate the numbers with colons without any spaces.  Your sentence punctuation would go after and outside the parentheses.  

Example: ( Blade Runner , 00:15:33-00:18:45).

For the APA , include only the time-stamp, not a range.  Even if you are referring to a scene, all that's required is the start time.

Example: (Scott, 2010, 3:12).

More Information

• General information about MLA in-text citations from the Excelsior Online Writing Lab
• General information about APA in-text citations from APA Style
• Videos, Movies, DVDs
• Last Updated Jul 20, 2022
• Views 14482
• Answered By Susanna

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Do I need to cite a movie if I'm explaining scenes throughout my paper?

Yes, cite any movie you are discussing in your paper.  

• If using exact lines from the film, treat these in-text as a quotation.
• If explaining what happened in the movie or other ideas from the film (in other words, paraphrasing), then this is an in-text paraphrase.
• See below for examples of in-text quotations and in-text paraphrases.

Visit the APA Help guide to see an example.

• Click on References and In-text Citation Examples
• Select Other and see Film/TV .

Film / Motion Picture

Richter, J. (Producer), & Hausmann, J. (Director). (1985).  Cezanne: The man and the mountain  [Motion picture]. United States: Home Vision.

In-text Paraphrase : (Richter & Hausmann, 1985).  Quotation : (Richter & Hausmann, 1985, Timestamp)

Thank you for using ASK US. For more information, contact your  Campus Library/ARC .

• Last Updated Oct 17, 2019
• Views 65396
• Answered By Baker Librarians

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Comments (2)

• What if the purpose of the paper is to analyze the movie? If I'm explaining scenes from the movie for most of the paper, do I need to have an in-text citation on almost every sentence? by Kevin on Jul 31, 2019
• If you are paraphrasing a few different sentences in the same paragraph, but they are not all in a row or together, you would have to cite after each sentence. You may also want to take a look at the following ASK US question/answer (http://askus.baker.edu/a.php?qid=1177498). It deals with whether one citation should be used at the end of a multiple sentence paragraph or after every sentence. If you are concerned about citing a lot from the same source, you may want to take a look at Section 6.11 One Work by One Author (p. 174) of the APA Manual, 6th edition. It provides examples where author's name appears multiple times in a single paragraph. The fact that there is a rule suggests that, even though it may seem like it is excessive, it is still necessary to have the in-text citations. by Kelly Bayee on Aug 02, 2019

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How to Cite a Movie Quote

When you are caught up in writing an essay , paper, or article, you may need to throw in a direct quote here and there. The purposes may vary depending on the type of quote you're using or the effect you want to achieve. You may wish to add emphasis, authority, or clarity to your work. A quote can accomplish things that a paraphrase or summary simply cannot. A clear and direct voice can easily drive a point home better than the best group of sentences you can come up with.

Wait a minute. Here's your essay - we put some excellence in it!

And along with this, in the process of sorting out your notes and research data, you may find that the quotes you'd like to include in your paper are not all from books and journal articles. Considering that your information can come from many sources, whether they be print, online, or audiovisual, it's a good chance that you can have sources ranging from books and government documents to mp3s, YouTube films and videos, and motion pictures. All of which need to be correctly cited a formatted. Which inevitably begs the question - how to cite a movie?

Referencing is always the most annoying part about creating academic papers. So many formats and requirements - you can easily get lost on a regular day, let alone quoting a movie! How to quote a film? Is citing movie quotes even allowed in college? How to cite movie quotes? How to quote a movie in an essay? How to cite a movie quote in MLA? Should you include the movie name? We answer all that and more in our article - read on to learn!

The improperly cited quote is a big problem. That's why we decided to help students and post this guide. You should be extremely careful when formatting your quotes because one mistake and you'll be accused of plagiarism. Assisting students in improving their writing skills is only one part of our work. Another and even more important one is online writing assistance.

Our name suggests that we are the  best custom writing service , and the fact that we share such valuable information for free proves it.

Formatting and Citation Styles Overview

A prerequisite to citing anything is a format and guideline to follow. It usually comes about from the three basic styling guides, APA , MLA, and Chicago Manual of Style (the Turabian styling guide is also popular but closely resembles the Chicago manual in many respects, the two are sometimes categorized together). A professor or publisher will usually request one of the three types of formatting styles, for both in-text and bibliographic listings.

These are the two main types of citations: one that appears in the text of a work and one that appears at the end. The in-text is how you indicate the source of your quote in the lines of the text of your paper and the work cited, bibliography or reference pages are where your source will show up at the end of your document.

It will be helpful to become familiar with all the styling guides to make things easier for you in the long run, but typically, you'll just need to know the details of the one being requested of you.

These are just the basics of formatting, but they can be confusing for inexperienced students or those who always ignore formatting rules. If you belong to one of these categories, our service is ready to lend you a helping hand. BestCustomWriting.com is more than just a website where you can get your essay or any other academic paper written by a professional writer.

If you face the need to use a movie quote in your essay and don't know how to cite it properly - we can help you. We help clients write their papers and guide them from the very beginning to the end. It means that we can create an essay from scratch and deliver a fully finished and formatted paper.

Audiovisual Citations

In most cases, since mostly the written word is used in research (whether online or in print), the chances of you using audiovisual material for research may be minimal. So this type of citing is usually not as common as the rest. But it still needs to be addressed to ensure that no traces of plagiarism in any fashion were found on a work of yours.

The following list is categorized by medium and provides details of both in-text citations and also ones that appear in a list at the end of the document.

APA (American Psychological Association)

Audio recording.

Let's say you've found a perfect podcast where someone brings up an argument that will prove your essay point. To create an in-text citation for this, include the name of the speaker in the parenthetical citation brackets followed by a comma and the year of the airing. When you want to include the name(s) of the speaker(s) into the text itself, paraphrase their quote and state the author with the year in brackets.

• [Quote] (Krasdale, 2010)
• In the discussion, Krasdale (2010) states that [paraphrased quote].

For the reference listing, state the last name of the speaker with their initials following after a comma and place a period before noting their role and the year of the airing in brackets after another period. Then comes the title of the material and its format in square brackets, with the name of website pages (or a web page) or a place where it can be accessed. The next sentence is the place of the recording's origin.

• Krasdale, S. (Speaker). (2010). The way money works (Cassette Recording No. 17). New York, NY: Education Plus Inc.

Film/Motion Picture

To quote films, you have to possess enough information about them and their creators. When you go with the in-text citation movie, the drill is the same as with the audio materials. Note the names of the producer and the director in parenthetical brackets, with the year the film came out included after a comma. Here's how to quote movies in APA:

• "We all have secrets: the ones we keep... and the ones that are kept from us." (Arad & Webb, 2012)

When referencing the film or a movie, type out the people who produced the film with their roles in brackets following each other, then goes the year of the movie release. The title comes with the format in square brackets, and then the country of origin along with the studio. It will look like this:

• Arad, A. (Producer), & Webb, M. (Director). (2012). The Amazing Spider-Man [Motion Picture]. United States: Columbia Pictures

Radio Broadcast

Radio quotes are used quite rarely these days, but you never know what awaits you around the corner!

If you're focused on carrying across the paraphrased point, meaning when you're providing the in-text citation, the scheme is usual.

• [Quote] (Lopez, 2013)

When listing, this goes similar to the podcast referencing, but you also need the radio studio and the creators to be placed after the name of the broadcast apart from just date and location.

• Lopez, P. (Narrator). (2013, March 1). The harms of secondhand smoke amongst children [Radio broadcast episode]. In E. McDonnell (Producer), Morning Edition. Washington, DC: National Public Radio.

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MLA (Modern Language Association)

Here, you don't need the year of the airing to provide a quote from a podcast. The name of the composer that produced the audio is enough.

• [Quote] (Kent)

Work cited listing goes a bit differently. Don't forget to write the full name of the performer followed by the name and the year of recording and the year of release following the name of the studio. Then goes the format.

• Kent, Abdullah. The diseases of the heart. 1995. True Audio, 1999. Audiocassette.

To quote a movie in MLA, just write its name in the brackets. Be advised to include the quotes from a movie in quotation marks if you're taking it word-by-word.

• "We all have secrets: the ones we keep... and the ones that are kept from us." (The Amazing Spider-Man)

For the work cited listing mention the director of the film and the studio, plus the year and the format.

• The Amazing Spider-Man . Dir. Marc Webb. Columbia Pictures, 2012. Film.

For in-text citation, the name of the broadcast is to be included in brackets.

• [Quote] ("Fun with marriage")

Work cited listing is an expanded version of the movie format but for radio and without the name of the creator.

• " Fun with marriage". Morning Digest. Philadelphia-Delaware Radio. WXKF, Philadelphia. 12 June 2002. Radio.

MLA basic rule of thumb. When providing in-text citations for MLA, you may notice that the in-text citation matches the beginning of the work cited listing. This is the basic setup for MLA referencing . To make finding a source relatively easy, the in-text citation will simply mirror the beginning of the listing that is found at the end of the paper.

Chicago Manual of Style

In Chicago, you only need to mention and give credit to someone if they actively participated in the creation of the work. You may also notice that Chicago allows you to make notes, which results in three formats as opposed to MLA/APA's two. Apart from that, there are quite a few similarities with previously mentioned styles, as you will see from the examples we provide below.

• First foot/endnote. Randolph Klein, Understanding French , Knowledge Productions 1678-CD, 2012, Compact disc.
• Subsequent notes. Klein, Understanding French .
• Bibliography. Klein, Randolph. Understanding French . Knowledge Productions 11678-CD. 2012. Compact disc.
• First foot/endnote. The Life of the Ruler , DVD, directed by Tod Lewis (1982; New Orleans, LA: Castle Light Productions, 2000).
• Subsequent notes. The Life of the Ruler .
• Bibliography. The Life of the Ruler . DVD. Directed by Tod Lewis. 1982; New Orleans, LA: Castle Light Productions, 2000.
• First foot/endnote. " Cleaning up after the tsunami ," Morning Digest, WXKF Philadelphia-Delaware Radio (Philadelphia, PA: WPKT, January 10, 2005).
• Subsequent notes. " Cleaning up after the tsunami "
• Bibliography. " Cleaning up after the tsunami ." Morning Digest. WXKF Philadelphia-Delaware Radio. Philadelphia, PA: WPKT, January 10, 2005.

Citing Tips

Citing using any manual of style can be a tedious process. When obtaining a movie or film quote, save some time by not watching anything at all. You can venture into the whole watching process until the point of no return, but all the videos found on YouTube can prove to you how much time you can save!

Tons of video recording, films, and motion pictures have transcripts available for them (as well as audio recordings). This is a tremendous help when providing direct quotations. Instead of struggling to decipher and record an exact statement, a keyword search in the work's transcript can just as easily provide the same results.

Please note that for some citation guidelines (such as MLA film or video recording citations), there is no one-size-fits-all method of citing. There are a few different methods citing based on what you would like to emphasize in your referencing (for example, the director or the people involved). Your citation would be changed because of that.

Also, your citation may be altered based on whether you provide a signal phrase or include the full reference in the text of your paper as opposed to using parenthetical citations. The default method for all the in-text citations above is parenthetical, with no signal phrases. And finally, there is no in-text citation format for the Chicago manual of style because footnotes and endnotes are utilized with this guide instead.

There is an even easier way to organize your references than manually. Look up citation generators and machines and thank us later!

We hope our guide on how to cite a quote from a movie and other audio sources in a paper helped you gain a little confidence.

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How to Properly to Cite Dialogue in MLA

Last Updated: February 13, 2024 References

This article was reviewed by Gerald Posner and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 71,617 times.

When you're writing a paper about a work of literature, such as a play or story, you might need to quote from the dialogue. If you're using the citation style of the Modern Language Association (MLA), your Works Cited entry will be the same as it would be for any book, play, or other source. However, the format and in-text citation of dialogue can be a little tricky, especially when you're quoting several lines of dialogue directly.

In-Text Citation

Use this method if your quote is short (3 lines or fewer) and only includes speech from one character. [1] X Research source

• For example, you might write: Nick, the narrator of the story, clearly has class insecurity: "'You make me feel uncivilized, Daisy,' I confessed on my second glass of corky but rather impressive claret. 'Can't you talk about crops or something?'" (Fitzgerald 15)

• For example, you might write: Tom brings his racism full center when he exclaims that "civilization's going to pieces." (Fitzgerald 15)
• For example, you might write: Tom describes a book he's been reading and asserts "The idea is if we don't look out the white race will be — will be utterly submerged. It's all scientific stuff; it's been proved" (Fitzgerald 16).

Block Quotes

Use this method for quotes that are longer than 3 lines or include speech from more than one character.

• For example, you might write: "You don't have to read far into Fitzgerald's book to encounter outright racism:" and then follow with a block quote about Tom discussing his white supremacist thoughts.

• With dialogue from a novel or short story, retain the paragraph format that appears in the original source and use double quotation marks around the spoken dialogue.
• If you're quoting dialogue from a play, the margins are different. The entire quote is set off 1 in (2.5 cm) from the text of your paper. Each subsequent line beyond a character's first is indented an additional 0.25 in (0.64 cm) (about 3 spaces). [7] X Research source

• Don't use quotation marks anywhere in the dialogue when block-quoting dialogue from a play.
• For example, you might quote the dialogue before Romeo and Juliet's first kiss: ROMEO. Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too? JULIET. Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer. ROMEO. O then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do. They pray: grant thou, lest faith turn to despair. JULIET. Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake. ROMEO. Then move not while my prayer's effect I take. (Shakespeare 1.5.112-117)

• For example, the last lines of your block quote might look like this: And I hope she'll be a fool — that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool." (Fitzgerald 19-20)

Works Cited

Use this method to organize information about the source in your Works Cited entry.

• Example: Fitzgerald, F. Scott.
• If there are 2 authors, list them in the order they appear on the title page of the book. Place a comma after the first author's first name, then type the word "and," followed by the second author's first and last name. (Example: Smith, John and Sally Ride)
• If there are 3 or more authors, list only the first author's name, add a comma after their first name, then type the abbreviation "et al." (Example: Smith, John, et al.)

• Book example: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby .
• Short story example: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz."

• Short story example: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz." The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald , edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli,
• For literary journals or other periodicals , include the volume and issue numbers as well.

• Book example: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby . Scribner, 2004.
• Short story example: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz." The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald , edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli, Scribner, 1995.

• Book example: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby . Scribner, 2004. gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200041h.html.
• Short story example: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz." The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald , edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli, Scribner, 1995. public-library.uk/ebooks/28/56.pdf.

Template to Cite Dialogue in MLA

Expert Q&A

• If you're quoting Shakespeare , use the act, verse, and line numbers, rather than the page numbers of the specific edition you're using. With other plays, use the page number, as you would with any book. [15] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• This article describes how to cite dialogue using MLA 8th edition (2016). If your instructor or supervisor has you using a different edition, the format might be different. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.monmouth.edu/resources-for-writers/documents/mla-citing-drama.pdf/
• ↑ https://style.mla.org/citing-dialogue-from-a-novel/
• ↑ https://libguides.msjc.edu/c.php?g=498977&p=3416596
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_books.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_basic_format.html
• ↑ https://style.mla.org/works-cited-a-quick-guide/
• ↑ https://dcc.libguides.com/c.php?g=904157&p=6508010
• ↑ http://msweinfurter.weebly.com/uploads/5/4/3/7/5437316/mla_in_text_citation_of_poetry_and_drama_godot_and_auden.pdf

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• How to Quote | Citing Quotes in APA, MLA & Chicago

How to Quote | Citing Quotes in APA, MLA & Chicago

Published on April 15, 2022 by Shona McCombes and Jack Caulfield. Revised on May 31, 2023.

Quoting means copying a passage of someone else’s words and crediting the source. To quote a source, you must ensure:

• The quoted text is enclosed in quotation marks or formatted as a block quote
• The original author is correctly cited
• The text is identical to the original

The exact format of a quote depends on its length and on which citation style you are using. Quoting and citing correctly is essential to avoid plagiarism which is easy to detect with a good plagiarism checker .

Table of contents

How to cite a quote in apa, mla and chicago, introducing quotes, quotes within quotes, shortening or altering a quote, block quotes, when should i use quotes, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about quoting sources.

Every time you quote, you must cite the source correctly . This looks slightly different depending on the citation style you’re using. Three of the most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

Citing a quote in APA Style

To cite a direct quote in APA , you must include the author’s last name, the year, and a page number, all separated by commas . If the quote appears on a single page, use “p.”; if it spans a page range, use “pp.”

An APA in-text citation can be parenthetical or narrative. In a parenthetical citation , you place all the information in parentheses after the quote. In a narrative citation , you name the author in your sentence (followed by the year), and place the page number after the quote.

Punctuation marks such as periods and commas are placed after the citation, not within the quotation marks .

• Evolution is a gradual process that “can act only by very short and slow steps” (Darwin, 1859, p. 510) .
• Darwin (1859) explains that evolution “can act only by very short and slow steps” (p. 510) .

Complete guide to APA

Citing a quote in mla style.

An MLA in-text citation includes only the author’s last name and a page number. As in APA, it can be parenthetical or narrative, and a period (or other punctuation mark) appears after the citation.

• Evolution is a gradual process that “can act only by very short and slow steps” (Darwin 510) .
• Darwin explains that evolution “can act only by very short and slow steps” (510) .

Complete guide to MLA

Citing a quote in chicago style.

Chicago style uses Chicago footnotes to cite sources. A note, indicated by a superscript number placed directly after the quote, specifies the author, title, and page number—or sometimes fuller information .

Unlike with parenthetical citations, in this style, the period or other punctuation mark should appear within the quotation marks, followed by the footnote number.

Complete guide to Chicago style

Scribbr Citation Checker New

The AI-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:

• Missing commas and periods
• Incorrect usage of “et al.”
• Ampersands (&) in narrative citations
• Missing reference entries

Make sure you integrate quotes properly into your text by introducing them in your own words, showing the reader why you’re including the quote and providing any context necessary to understand it.  Don’t  present quotations as stand-alone sentences.

There are three main strategies you can use to introduce quotes in a grammatically correct way:

• Add an introductory sentence
• Use an introductory signal phrase
• Integrate the quote into your own sentence

The following examples use APA Style citations, but these strategies can be used in all styles.

Introductory sentence

Introduce the quote with a full sentence ending in a colon . Don’t use a colon if the text before the quote isn’t a full sentence.

If you name the author in your sentence, you may use present-tense verbs , such as “states,” “argues,” “explains,” “writes,” or “reports,” to describe the content of the quote.

• In Denmark, a recent poll shows that: “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• In Denmark, a recent poll shows that support for the EU has grown since the Brexit vote: “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• Levring (2018) reports that support for the EU has grown since the Brexit vote: “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (p. 3).

Introductory signal phrase

You can also use a signal phrase that mentions the author or source, but doesn’t form a full sentence. In this case, you follow the phrase with a comma instead of a colon.

• According to a recent poll, “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• As Levring (2018) explains, “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (p. 3).

Integrated into your own sentence

To quote a phrase that doesn’t form a full sentence, you can also integrate it as part of your sentence, without any extra punctuation .

• A recent poll suggests that EU membership “would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” in a referendum (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• Levring (2018) reports that EU membership “would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” in a referendum (p. 3).

When you quote text that itself contains another quote, this is called a nested quotation or a quote within a quote. It may occur, for example, when quoting dialogue from a novel.

To distinguish this quote from the surrounding quote, you enclose it in single (instead of double) quotation marks (even if this involves changing the punctuation from the original text). Make sure to close both sets of quotation marks at the appropriate moments.

Note that if you only quote the nested quotation itself, and not the surrounding text, you can just use double quotation marks.

• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: “ “ Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, ” he told me, “ just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had ” ” (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: “‘Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had ” (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: “‘Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had’” (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway begins by quoting his father’s invocation to “remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” (Fitzgerald 1).

Note:  When the quoted text in the source comes from another source, it’s best to just find that original source in order to quote it directly. If you can’t find the original source, you can instead cite it indirectly .

Often, incorporating a quote smoothly into your text requires you to make some changes to the original text. It’s fine to do this, as long as you clearly mark the changes you’ve made to the quote.

Shortening a quote

If some parts of a passage are redundant or irrelevant, you can shorten the quote by removing words, phrases, or sentences and replacing them with an ellipsis (…). Put a space before and after the ellipsis.

Be careful that removing the words doesn’t change the meaning. The ellipsis indicates that some text has been removed, but the shortened quote should still accurately represent the author’s point.

Altering a quote

You can add or replace words in a quote when necessary. This might be because the original text doesn’t fit grammatically with your sentence (e.g., it’s in a different verb tense), or because extra information is needed to clarify the quote’s meaning.

Use brackets to distinguish words that you have added from words that were present in the original text.

The Latin term “ sic ” is used to indicate a (factual or grammatical) mistake in a quotation. It shows the reader that the mistake is from the quoted material, not a typo of your own.

In some cases, it can be useful to italicize part of a quotation to add emphasis, showing the reader that this is the key part to pay attention to. Use the phrase “emphasis added” to show that the italics were not part of the original text.

You usually don’t need to use brackets to indicate minor changes to punctuation or capitalization made to ensure the quote fits the style of your text.

If you quote more than a few lines from a source, you must format it as a block quote . Instead of using quotation marks, you set the quote on a new line and indent it so that it forms a separate block of text.

Block quotes are cited just like regular quotes, except that if the quote ends with a period, the citation appears after the period.

To the end of his days Bilbo could never remember how he found himself outside, without a hat, a walking-stick or any money, or anything that he usually took when he went out; leaving his second breakfast half-finished and quite unwashed-up, pushing his keys into Gandalf’s hands, and running as fast as his furry feet could carry him down the lane, past the great Mill, across The Water, and then on for a mile or more. (16)

Avoid relying too heavily on quotes in academic writing . To integrate a source , it’s often best to paraphrase , which means putting the passage in your own words. This helps you integrate information smoothly and keeps your own voice dominant.

However, there are some situations in which quoting is more appropriate.

When focusing on language

If you want to comment on how the author uses language (for example, in literary analysis ), it’s necessary to quote so that the reader can see the exact passage you are referring to.

When giving evidence

To convince the reader of your argument, interpretation or position on a topic, it’s often helpful to include quotes that support your point. Quotes from primary sources (for example, interview transcripts or historical documents) are especially credible as evidence.

When presenting an author’s position or definition

When you’re referring to secondary sources such as scholarly books and journal articles, try to put others’ ideas in your own words when possible.

But if a passage does a great job at expressing, explaining, or defining something, and it would be very difficult to paraphrase without changing the meaning or losing the weakening the idea’s impact, it’s worth quoting directly.

If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• ChatGPT vs human editor
• ChatGPT citations
• Is ChatGPT trustworthy?
• Using ChatGPT for your studies
• What is ChatGPT?
• Chicago style
• Paraphrasing
• Critical thinking

 Plagiarism

• Types of plagiarism
• Self-plagiarism
• Avoiding plagiarism
• Academic integrity
• Consequences of plagiarism
• Common knowledge

A quote is an exact copy of someone else’s words, usually enclosed in quotation marks and credited to the original author or speaker.

In academic writing , there are three main situations where quoting is the best choice:

• To analyze the author’s language (e.g., in a literary analysis essay )
• To give evidence from primary sources
• To accurately present a precise definition or argument

Don’t overuse quotes; your own voice should be dominant. If you just want to provide information from a source, it’s usually better to paraphrase or summarize .

Every time you quote a source , you must include a correctly formatted in-text citation . This looks slightly different depending on the citation style .

For example, a direct quote in APA is cited like this: “This is a quote” (Streefkerk, 2020, p. 5).

Every in-text citation should also correspond to a full reference at the end of your paper.

A block quote is a long quote formatted as a separate “block” of text. Instead of using quotation marks , you place the quote on a new line, and indent the entire quote to mark it apart from your own words.

The rules for when to apply block quote formatting depend on the citation style:

• APA block quotes are 40 words or longer.
• MLA block quotes are more than 4 lines of prose or 3 lines of poetry.
• Chicago block quotes are longer than 100 words.

If you’re quoting from a text that paraphrases or summarizes other sources and cites them in parentheses , APA and Chicago both recommend retaining the citations as part of the quote. However, MLA recommends omitting citations within a quote:

• APA: Smith states that “the literature on this topic (Jones, 2015; Sill, 2019; Paulson, 2020) shows no clear consensus” (Smith, 2019, p. 4).
• MLA: Smith states that “the literature on this topic shows no clear consensus” (Smith, 2019, p. 4).

Footnote or endnote numbers that appear within quoted text should be omitted in all styles.

If you want to cite an indirect source (one you’ve only seen quoted in another source), either locate the original source or use the phrase “as cited in” in your citation.

In scientific subjects, the information itself is more important than how it was expressed, so quoting should generally be kept to a minimum. In the arts and humanities, however, well-chosen quotes are often essential to a good paper.

In social sciences, it varies. If your research is mainly quantitative , you won’t include many quotes, but if it’s more qualitative , you may need to quote from the data you collected .

As a general guideline, quotes should take up no more than 5–10% of your paper. If in doubt, check with your instructor or supervisor how much quoting is appropriate in your field.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

McCombes, S. & Caulfield, J. (2023, May 31). How to Quote | Citing Quotes in APA, MLA & Chicago. Scribbr. Retrieved June 24, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/how-to-quote/

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How do I quote film dialogue in MLA format in an essay?

I am reading the OWL website and I am absolutely confused. Can anybody help me? It makes no sense to me. Do I just make a little section for the dialogue or something else? I am confused.