Start with the speaker’s exact words
Use quotation marks around the quoted text
Capitalize the first word of the quote if it begins a full sentence
Place punctuation inside the quotation marks in American English
Use the original wording exactly
Add an attribution tag if needed, such as “she said” or “he wrote”
Use a comma before the quote if introducing it with a signal phrase
Use an ellipsis to show omitted words
Use brackets to show added or changed words
Use single quotation marks for a quote within a quote
Cite the source if required