An indirect source — also called a secondary source — is a work you found quoted inside another work. If you read an essay that quotes Albert Einstein, and you want to use Einstein's sentence in your paper, you face a decision: you did not read Einstein yourself, only the essay that quoted him. MLA's answer is "qtd. in" ("quoted in"), which tells the reader exactly where you actually found the material.
(Ravitch qtd. in Weisman 259)
The Rule, Stated Precisely
The MLA Handbook says that for an indirect quotation you write "qtd. in" before the source you actually consulted. The original author's name — the one you are quoting — can appear in your sentence or in the parentheses; the source you read always follows qtd. in.
Compare the two arrangements:
Original author named in the sentence: Ravitch argues that high schools are pressured to act as "social service centers" (qtd. in Weisman 259).
Original author named in the citation: As one education scholar wrote, "schools ... don't do that well" (Ravitch qtd. in Weisman 259).
In the first example the sentence names Ravitch, so the parentheses hold only qtd. in plus the source you read. In the second, Ravitch leads the parentheses and qtd. in follows it. Both are correct — pick whichever reads more smoothly.
What Goes in the Works Cited List
This is the part students get wrong most often: your Works Cited page lists only the source you actually read — the one after "qtd. in." You do not create an entry for the original author's work because you never consulted it. The Works Cited entry for the example above is the essay by Weisman alone:
Weisman, Jonathan. "The Social Services Burden on Public Schools." Education Review, vol. 31, no. 4, 2023, pp. 250-268.
Ravitch's name appears only in your in-text citation and sentence, flagging that the quoted words are hers even though you did not read her work directly.
When Indirect Citations Are Appropriate
Indirect citation is a workaround, not a preference. MLA is explicit: "in most cases, a responsible researcher will attempt to find the original source, rather than citing an indirect source." You typically use an indirect source when the original is:
- Out of print or otherwise unavailable to you
- In another language with no accessible translation
- Paywalled or restricted from your library
- Only accessible through the secondary work you have in hand
Before you settle for an indirect citation, try a quick search for the original — databases like JSTOR exhaustively index older articles, and interlibrary loan can usually find printed works.
Indirect Sources and Paraphrases
The "qtd. in" construction is not limited to quotation marks. If you paraphrase an idea you only encountered inside another source, the same logic applies:
Proust believed that childhood days spent with a favorite book were among the fullest of our lives (qtd. in Wolf 6).
You are still representing another author's idea, so the citation must signal that you read it indirectly.
When You Don't Need "qtd. in"
There are two common situations where you should not use the phrase:
- When your sentence makes the secondhand nature clear. If you write "According to a study summarized in Weisman's article," the reader already understands the material is indirect, and the "qtd. in" addition is optional. Many instructors still prefer it, so when in doubt, include it.
- When you actually found the original. If you tracked down Ravitch's essay and read it, cite it directly: (Ravitch 259), with a normal Works Cited entry. Using "qtd. in" when you have the original is inaccurate.
Examples at a Glance
| Arrangement | Example |
|---|---|
| Original author in prose | Alexander Pope wrote that "a little learning is a dang'rous thing" (qtd. in Damrosch 239) |
| Original author in parentheses | "A little learning is a dang'rous thing" (Pope qtd. in Damrosch 239) |
| Paraphrased indirect source | Proust recalled the children's days with books as the most fully lived (qtd. in Wolf 6) |
How to Find the Original Source
"Qtd. in" is a fallback, not a preference — most instructors expect you to chase the original when you can. Before you settle for an indirect citation, try these moves:
- Search for the original work by title and author — an essay, speech, or study quoted in a secondary account is very often archived online.
- Check scholarly databases for an older edition if the original is a periodical piece.
- Ask your instructor or librarian — many university libraries will locate and scan a chapter or article for you.
- Verify the quote itself in a reliable third source if you cannot reach the original; quoting it secondhand from an unreliable page compounds the risk.
If the original proves genuinely unavailable, use "qtd. in" — and keep the quote short enough that paraphrase was impossible only because you need the exact wording.
Indirect Sources in Footnotes (and When They're Preferred)
MLA's recommended route for a quotation you could not verify in the original is not always an endnote, but the endnote method is worth knowing. When you add a note, the in-text citation can stay simple and the note handles the trail:
The "global turn" in composition studies is traced by Paul Kei Matsuda (16).
Your endnote then reads:
Matsuda's essay is quoted in Ann Johns and Donna S. Johnson, "Myth 1: We Are Honored to Be Able to Meet the Needs of ESL Students" (Myths in Education, edited by ...).
The endnote approach keeps the parenthetical uncluttered, which some instructors prefer when a long secondary source appears repeatedly. Your notes page is part of the assignment, so the rule stays the same: readers must be able to trace the quote back to the secondary work where you found it.
When the Secondary Source Is Not Cited in Text
Use "qtd. in" only when the secondary source is where you actually read the material. If you quote something from an indirect source but have not otherwise consulted the book that contains it, the works-cited entry must still record the source you read — the container, not the phantom original. In practice this means the publisher's metadata you list (title, year, page) belongs to the secondary work. The original appears only as an explanatory phrase inside the citation, not as a full entry.
Indirect Citations in Narrative Form
"Qtd. in" works exactly as it does in the parenthetical — it simply sits outside your quotation marks, because the words belong to the secondary source's author, not to the original:
Marcus observes that the American essay is "a peculiarly national genre" (qtd. in Best and Franks 11).
The distinction to hold onto: the phrase qtd. in describes your access to the material, while the name that follows tells the reader where you read it. Mixing the two up — attributing the quote to the original writer while citing the secondary book — is the most common failure of this rule, because it silently hands the reader a Works Cited entry that does not match the words on the page.
Common Mistakes
- Listing both the original and the consulted source in Works Cited — only the consulted source gets an entry.
- Using "as cited in," "quoted from," or other phrasings instead of MLA's exact qtd. in.
- Citing the original author's page number — you only have the consulted source's pagination.
- Forgetting the parenthetical when the original author is named in prose (unless the consulted-source name is also needed; keep qtd. in + consulted source).
- Using "qtd. in" for a source you did actually read yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I include both authors in the Works Cited entry for an indirect source?
No. Only the source you actually consulted appears in Works Cited. The original author is identified only in your text and in-text citation.
Is it okay to use indirect sources at all in a research paper?
Yes, but sparingly. MLA recommends tracking down the original whenever possible. When you cannot, an indirect citation is the honest, correct way to proceed.
Does "qtd. in" come before or after the original author's name?
After. The sequence is: original author's name, then qtd. in, then the authored name or title of the source you read — for example, (Ravitch qtd. in Weisman 259).
What if the source I consulted has no page number?
Follow the no-page-number rules: drop the locator and keep (qtd. in Weisman). For more, see our MLA citation without page number guide.
Build the Citation for the Source You Consulted
Enter the secondary source into our free MLA Citation Generator and it produces the Works Cited entry you need for the "qtd. in" pattern.
Open Citation Generator