Answered By: Victoria Ganguli MCC
Last Updated: Apr 24, 2025     Views: 34220

Whenever you can, use the original source for a quotation, rather than an "indirect source". If you can't find the original source, then create a full citation for your indirect source (the source where you found the quote) in the Works Cited or References list. Then, for the in-text or parenthetical citation use the formats below for MLA or APA style: 

MLA: (qtd. in [last name of author of your indirect source] [page number of quotation]).
For example:
According to Alexander Pope, “A little learning is a dang’rous thing” (qtd. in Damrosch 239). 
*Adapted from the MLA Style Center.

APA: (as cited in [last name of author of your indirect source], [year])
For example:
(Rabbitt, 1982, as cited in Lyon et al., 2014) *Adapted from the APA Style Guidelines

For more examples visit the MLA Style Center or the APA Style Guidelines

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