The Limits of Fidelity: What to Reproduce (and What Not to Reproduce) in a Quotation

When you are deciding whether to reproduce certain formatting or design elements (e.g., italics or all capital letters) in a source you are quoting, apply the following rule of thumb: reproduce such elements only if they serve an essential purpose.

Consider the example of a dedication set entirely in italic font. In this instance, the font is a design element—that is, its function is purely ornamental, and it does not serve an essential purpose. Hence, it should not be reproduced in your text.

Source

For my grandkids headed deeper into the Anthropocene

Quoted in Your Work

James C. Scott dedicates his book to his “grandkids headed deeper into the Anthropocene.”

Work Cited

Scott, James C. Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States. Yale UP, 2017.

If, however, the text you are quoting uses italic font alongside roman font (i.e., for emphasis or to distinguish a term in a language other than the primary language of the text), reproduce the formatting when you are quoting the text. In the following example, italics are used to distinguish a Spanish-language term (i.e., reducciones) from the surrounding English-language text. Hence, the italics serve an essential purpose and should be reproduced. 

Source

The reducciones or concentrated settlements (often forced) of native peoples around a center from which Spanish power radiated were seen as part of a civilizing project, but they also served the nontrivial purpose of serving and feeding the conquistadores.

Quoted in Your Work

In Against the Grain, James C. Scott writes, “The reducciones or concentrated settlements (often forced) of native peoples around a center from which Spanish power radiated were seen as part of a civilizing project, but they also served the nontrivial purpose of serving and feeding the conquistadores” (151).

Work Cited

Scott, James C. Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States. Yale UP, 2017.

Apply the same rule of thumb when you are deciding whether to reproduce all capital letters in a source you are quoting—in other words, reproduce them only when they serve an essential purpose. The below example shows a chapter title rendered in all capital letters. Because in this instance the capital letters are purely decorative, you would convert them to uppercase and lowercase letters were you to refer to the chapter title in your text.

Source

DOWN THE RABBIT-HOLE

Quoted in Your Work

Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland begins with a chapter titled “Down the Rabbit-Hole” (1).

Work Cited

Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Illustrated by John Tenniel, William Morrow, 1992. 

Sometimes, however, it may be appropriate to retain all capital letters—for instance, when capital letters are intended to emulate the typography of a newspaper headline, a sign, a label, or the like. Consider the following example, also from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which uses all capital letters to represent two emphatic words Alice discovers on a cake:

Source

Soon her eye fell on a little glass box that was lying under the table: she opened it, and found in it a very small cake, on which the words “EAT ME” were beautifully marked in currants.

Quoted in Your Work

“Soon,” however, Alice’s attention was drawn to “a little glass box that was lying under the table: she opened it, and found in it a very small cake, on which the words ‘EAT ME’ were beautifully marked in currants” (Carroll 13).

Work Cited

Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Illustrated by John Tenniel, William Morrow, 1992.

The rule of thumb described above can be applied to other types of formatting and design elements (e.g., boldface or drop caps). When deciding whether to reproduce such elements in your text, ask yourself whether such elements serve an essential, nonornamental purpose. If they don’t, refrain from reproducing them in your text. See section 6.68 of the MLA Handbook for other types of material that should not be reproduced from your source.

Work Cited

MLA Handbook. 9th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2021. MLA Handbook Plus, 2021, mlahandbookplus.org/.