How do I cite an indirect source (source cited within my source)?
Answer
When citing a quote from another author/work within the work that you are reading, the quote then becomes identified as the "primary source" and what you are reading is identified as the "secondary source".
The MLA Handbook 9th edition recommends that you should cite material from a secondary source as little as possible, but there are some scenarios that make access to the primary source impossible. If you're going to cite from an indirect source, the handbook says to add the term "qtd. in" before the secondary source in your in-text parenthetical citation(284).
Example: (qtd. in Boswell 289).
You do not need to add the "qtd. in" abbreviation if in your prose, it's very clear that the source is secondhand and which work it has come from(MLA Handbook 284).
Works Cited
MLA Handbook. 9th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2021.
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