How do you correctly cite a quote in your college application essay?
So I'm working on my Common App essay right now and I really want to include a quote from a famous author that really inspired me. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to actually cite it, though. Is it okay to just put the quote in quotation marks and mention the person's name, or do I need to cite it formally with an MLA or APA style citation?
I don't want to come off as if I'm plagiarizing, but at the same time, I feel like putting a bibliography at the end of an admissions essay seems weird. Has anyone else dealt with this and figured out the right way to do it? I'd really appreciate some advice. I just don’t want admissions officers to think I’m trying to take credit for someone else’s words.
I don't want to come off as if I'm plagiarizing, but at the same time, I feel like putting a bibliography at the end of an admissions essay seems weird. Has anyone else dealt with this and figured out the right way to do it? I'd really appreciate some advice. I just don’t want admissions officers to think I’m trying to take credit for someone else’s words.
4 months ago
•
39 views
Camille Luong
• 4 months ago
Advisor
Including a quote in your college application essay is a great way to show inspiration or illustrate a point, but it’s totally normal to wonder about how you should cite it. In college essays, admissions officers aren't expecting formal citations like you would use in an English class paper (so, no need for MLA or APA style, and definitely no bibliography at the end).
The standard approach for application essays is to use quotation marks around the quote and clearly attribute it in the text. This means you simply mention the author's name either before or after the quote. For example:
As Maya Angelou once said, "We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated."
Or if you want to weave the citation in:
"We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated," inspired me during a particularly tough year. Every time I reread those words from Maya Angelou, I found motivation to keep going.
This type of informal citation is all you need. The key thing is to make it obvious that these are someone else’s words, not your own, and to mention whose words they are. This shows integrity and prevents any appearance of plagiarism.
Lots of students do this in their essays, and it’s perfectly acceptable. Just don’t overdo it with long or multiple quotes—admissions officers want to read your own voice above all. Use the quote sparingly to support your narrative or make a meaningful connection.
So, go ahead and include the quote. Quotation marks plus a clear attribution in the text is enough for admissions essays!
The standard approach for application essays is to use quotation marks around the quote and clearly attribute it in the text. This means you simply mention the author's name either before or after the quote. For example:
As Maya Angelou once said, "We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated."
Or if you want to weave the citation in:
"We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated," inspired me during a particularly tough year. Every time I reread those words from Maya Angelou, I found motivation to keep going.
This type of informal citation is all you need. The key thing is to make it obvious that these are someone else’s words, not your own, and to mention whose words they are. This shows integrity and prevents any appearance of plagiarism.
Lots of students do this in their essays, and it’s perfectly acceptable. Just don’t overdo it with long or multiple quotes—admissions officers want to read your own voice above all. Use the quote sparingly to support your narrative or make a meaningful connection.
So, go ahead and include the quote. Quotation marks plus a clear attribution in the text is enough for admissions essays!
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Camille Luong
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Stanford University, BAH in Urban Studies
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