Quick Answer
No, MLA style does not italicise direct quotations. Short quotes (four lines or fewer of prose, three lines or fewer of poetry) are wrapped in double quotation marks. Longer passages are set as a block quote, indented half an inch, with no quotation marks and no italics.
MLA reserves italics for titles of long works (books, journals, films, albums), names of vehicles, foreign language phrases that are not yet anglicised, and words discussed as words. Quotes themselves stay in roman type, exactly as the original published them.
Short Quotations
For prose quotes of four lines or fewer, MLA (9th edition) says to enclose the passage in double quotation marks and integrate it into your paragraph. The parenthetical citation goes after the closing quote and before the final period: The narrator notes that "the room was empty" (Smith 42).
Block Quotations
Quotes longer than four lines of prose get block format: start a new line, indent the whole quoted passage half an inch from the left margin, double space, no quotation marks. The citation goes after the closing punctuation. Block quotes are still not italicised.
When You Should Use Italics in MLA
- Titles of long works inside the quote or in your prose: novels, full length plays, films, journals, albums, TV series, podcasts, websites.
- Foreign words and phrases not common in English. If a foreign term is fully anglicised (cafe, sushi, ad hoc), do not italicise.
- Words used as words when you are discussing the term itself: The word polysemy describes one word with many meanings.
- Names of vehicles such as ships, aircraft and spacecraft.
- Letters used as letters or mathematical variables.
Adding Emphasis Inside a Quote
If you italicise a word for emphasis inside someone else's quote, MLA requires you to flag the change. Add "emphasis mine" or "italics mine" in your parenthetical citation, like (Smith 42; emphasis mine). If the italics were in the original, you do not need to add anything, although saying "original italics" or "emphasis in original" is good practice when there might be confusion.
Quoting Italicised Text
If the original passage contained italicised words, keep them italicised in your quote so the reader sees the original emphasis. "The verdict was final," the report said. If the original italicised "final," your quote should preserve that italic.
Common Mistakes Graders Catch
- Italicising a quote because it looks important. MLA only italicises titles and the categories above.
- Italicising and adding quotation marks together: choose one, not both. Quotes get quotation marks; titles of long works get italics.
- Forgetting to flag added emphasis. Failing to write "emphasis mine" can read as misquotation.
- Using italics on a block quote. The block format already shows it is a quote. Italics on top is double labelling.
What About Chicago, APA and AP
The rule is the same across the big style guides. Chicago, APA and AP all use quotation marks for short quotes and block format for long ones; none italicise quotations as a rule. The differences across guides concern citation format and punctuation, not whether quoted material is italicised.
Bottom Line
MLA does not italicise quotations. Short quotes go in double quotation marks; long quotes go in indented block format. Italics in MLA are for titles of long works, foreign terms, words used as words and a few specific other categories, not for quoted speech or text.
More context worth knowing
To round out the answer, here is some additional background on formatting quotations in MLA style. Style guides treat this rule as more than a cosmetic choice. It signals to readers that the writer respects the original source, follows a consistent convention, and understands the difference between American and British practice. When you write about quotes italicized mla in any professional setting, that consistency is what separates a polished page from a draft that distracts the reader.
Editors at major publishers, including university presses, trade magazines, and legal journals, run every manuscript through a style check that flags exactly this kind of issue. If the guidance feels picky, remember that search engines and screen readers also rely on consistent punctuation to parse a sentence correctly. A misplaced quotation mark can change how an excerpt is rendered in a featured snippet, an email preview, or an accessibility tool.
Practical tip: keep a one-page cheat sheet next to your keyboard with the three rules you reach for most often. For quotes italicized mla, that usually means the rule about capitalization, the rule about punctuation placement, and the rule about block quotations. Anything more than three rules tends to be forgotten under deadline pressure, so curate ruthlessly.
If you write for a global audience, double check whether your house style follows American English or British English. The two traditions disagree on punctuation placement around quotation marks, on the choice between single and double marks for the outer quotation, and on whether long quotations should be indented or set off with a colon. Picking one tradition and sticking to it across a whole site is more important than picking the "correct" one, because mixed styles confuse readers and weaken trust.
Finally, if you are publishing online, remember that screen readers announce quotation marks differently depending on the user's settings. Curly smart quotes, straight typewriter quotes, and the special primes used for measurements are not interchangeable. Use the correct character for the job so that assistive tech reads your sentence the way you intended, and so that copy-paste into another document preserves your meaning.
