Sources that Cite other Sources
MLA:
Hoy, Pat C. II. “The Narrow, Rich Staircase in Forster’s Howard’s End.”
[author of article.] [“title of article.”]
Twentieth Century Literature 31 (1985): 221-235.
[title of journal.] [volume number] [(year):] [full page numbers for article.]APA:
Hoy, P. C. II. (1985). The Narrow, Rich Staircase in Forster’s Howard’s End.
[author of article.][(year).] [title of article, no quotation marks.]
Twentieth Century Literature 31, pp. 221-235.
[title of journal] [volume number,] [full page numbers for article.]Chicago:
35. Forster, Howard’s End, quoted in Hoy, “Narrow, Rich Staircase,” 224.
[fn. #.] [quoted author, title,] [“quoted in” accessed author, “shortened title,” page number.]
[Shortened Chicago reference; see More Notes on Chicago Style for more information.]
The example above is from a critical article where Pat C. Hoy II quotes sections of the novel Howard’s End, written by E.M. Forster. If the source you’re reading quotes another text, and you want to use that quoted material in your own essay, you must give credit to the author who originally selected the quotation. So if Pat Hoy quotes E.M. Forster, and you want to use the same Forster quotation, you must give Hoy credit. You can acknowledge this several ways: add the phrase “Pat Hoy quotes Forster’s…” before your quotation; add the phrase “qtd. in Hoy” in parentheses after the quotation; or add what’s called a discursive footnote at the bottom of the page explaining that Hoy’s work led you to the Forster selection. For more information about these different methods, see How To Quote. In each of these cases, you would also include the bibliographical information necessary to help the reader find Hoy’s piece.
Some writers try to bypass this obligation by looking briefly at the original source (in this case Forster), either online or by checking the book out of the library. If you end up using different material and making a different argument, you may still want to credit Hoy for leading you to consult Forster. See Sources that Other People Suggested for more information. If you quote the same language Hoy did, even after consulting the original work yourself, it’s dishonest to pretend that Hoy did not lead you there. And, as discussed in Why Use Sources, it’s also usually a mistake. There’s every chance that your discussion of Forster can be enhanced by incorporating Hoy’s attention, especially if you’re careful to extend or respond to his insights. You may be surprised how effective it can be both to give credit and also to differ with an author in the same gesture: “In his attention this passage, Hoy suggests…. But looked at in light of my previous argument, it seems clear that….”
BIBLIOGRAPHY PADDING
Besides wanting to claim credit for finding the significant passage, some writers might disguise their debt to Hoy as a way to pad their bibliographies. If you quote Hoy in one place, but then quote Forster as if you read that text yourself, you can make it look as if you used two sources and not just one. Please resist this temptation. For one reason, you misrepresent the work you’ve done. But perhaps more damaging, if you quote without acknowledgment the exact passage another writer discussed, there’s a very good chance that your argument will be subtly turned in an unintended direction. You are much more likely to develop your own ideas—and therefore to grow as a writer and thinker—if you acknowledge the second author and respond to his or her use of the passage. See Why Use Sources for more discussion about entering the ongoing conversation about a topic.
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