Published on
January 16, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
November 27, 2025
An indefinite article is a type of determiner that goes before a singular, countable noun. The two indefinite articles in English are “a” and “an.” Indefinite articles are for general or unspecified versions of nouns, and the definite article (or another determiner) is for specific versions (e.g., “a book” rather than “the book that I read last week”).
You can use an indefinite article before one of these words:
The noun it modifies (if there are no other modifiers)
The adverb that modifies the noun’s first adjective
When a noun has multiple modifiers, the article or other determiner is always the first modifier.
The choice between “a” or “an” depends on the pronunciation of the next word. Use “a” when the next word begins with a vowel sound and “an” when the next word begins with a consonant sound.
Indefinite article examplesThe neighbor needs to borrow anegg for arecipe.
Jeff wrote abeautifulsong about amountain.
Fatima had anespeciallyproductivemorning at work today.
Published on
January 15, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
January 21, 2026
AMA in-text citations are superscript numbers in the main text that direct readers to numbered entries on an AMA reference page.
Each AMA reference entry begins with a number and includes the author, title, and other publication details. Number these entries in the order that you initially cite each source in the main text.
Each source has only one entry, so if you cite the same scholarly source in multiple places, use the same number for all of that source’s in-text citations.
AMA in-text citation and reference entry example
AMA in-text citation
AMA reference entry
Another recent study explored the common barriers to asthma treatment.5
5. Papi A, Blasi F, Canonica GW, et al. Treatment strategies for asthma: reshaping the concept of asthma management. Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology. 2020;16:1-11. doi:10.1186/s13223-020-00472-8
To cite sources correctly in AMA style, follow the examples and guidelines below, or use QuillBot’s free Citation Generator. To double-check that all sources are correctly cited, you can also run a plagiarism checker before submitting your work.
Published on
January 13, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
October 29, 2025
Endnotes are numbered citations or notes on a separate page at the end of a piece of academic writing. Each endnote begins with a number that corresponds to a superscript number in the main text (often referred to as a callout number).
Each citation style has specific guidelines about when and how to use endnotes. For example, APA and MLA endnotes are for sharing supplemental information, but in Chicago style writing, endnotes are for citations as well as supplemental details.
Chicago style endnotes example
TipWith the QuillBot Citation Generator, you can instantly create accurate Chicago style endnote citations. QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can also help you ensure that APA and MLA endnotes are error free.
Published on
January 9, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
October 29, 2025
Footnotes are numbered citations or notes at the bottom of a page in a piece of academic writing. Each footnote begins with a number that corresponds to a superscript number in the main text.
The citation style you’re using determines when and how to use footnotes. For example, APA footnotes and MLA footnotes are for sharing extra information, but in Chicago style, footnotes are for citing sources.
Chicago style footnotes example
NoteFootnotes are similar to endnotes, and they usually serve the same purpose (e.g., they’re both options for Chicago style citations). Whereas footnotes go in the footer of each page that has the superscript callout, endnotes go on a separate page at the end of the document.TipWith the QuillBot Citation Generator, you can instantly create accurate Chicago citations. QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can also help you ensure that APA and MLA footnotes are error free.
Each APA footnote begins with a superscript number that corresponds to a superscript callout number in the main text—like this.¹ You can place each footnote in the footer of the page with the callout number or on a separate footnotes page after the APA reference page.
APA footnote example
¹ Other general practitioner screening tools for Alzheimer’s include the Mini-Mental State Examination (Folstein et al., 1975) and the General Practitioner Assessment of Cognition (Brodaty et al., 2002).
Published on
December 30, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
January 21, 2026
If you’re writing an essay in Chicago style, there’s a good chance that some of your scholarly sources will be journal articles. Chicago has two citation systems—notes and bibliography and author-date (which is far less common).
In essays using the notes and bibliography system, each journal article that you quote, summarize, or paraphrase needs two forms of citation:
An entry on a bibliography at the end of the document
A numbered footnote for each sentence that has information from the article
Use the examples below to learn about Chicago format for journal articles, or try QuillBot’s free Citation Generator to create in-text citations and Works Cited entries. Additionally, QuillBot’s online Notepad can help you take notes online and keep track of relevant source information.
TipTo ensure that all sources are correctly cited, it is also a good idea to run a plagiarism checker before submitting your work.
How to cite a journal article Chicago examples
Footnotes
Bibliography
3. Guangbin Shi, “From Trap to Memphis Rap: The Incorporation and Reconfiguration of American Southern Hip-Hop Music in China,” Journal of Popular Music Studies 36, no. 4 (2024): 121, https://doi.org/10.1525/jpms.2024.36.4.112.
Shi, Guangbin. “From Trap to Memphis Rap: The Incorporation and Reconfiguration of American Southern Hip-Hop Music in China.” Journal of Popular Music Studies 36, no. 4 (2024): 112–40. https://doi.org/10.1525/jpms.2024.36.4.112.
Published on
December 19, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
January 21, 2026
When you’re writing Chicago style essays for history courses and other disciplines, you may end up using scholarly sources from websites.
Chicago style offers two different citation systems—notes and bibliography (the most common and therefore the main focus of this article) and author-date.
In the notes and bibliography system, Chicago requires two types of citations for websites (and all other types of sources):
A numbered footnote for each sentence that quotes or paraphrases the website
An entry on the Bibliography page at the end of your document
The format for the footnotes and bibliography entry depends on several factors, such as the type of author. Chicago website citations don’t need page numbers unless the source has numbered pages (e.g., a PDF).
The examples and tips below cover a few variations of Chicago website citations. QuillBot’s free Citation Generator can also help you cite websites in Chicago style. Additionally, our Notepad lets you take online notes to keep track of relevant source material.
TipTo ensure that all sources are properly credited and no uncited material remains, it is a good idea to run an online plagiarism checker before submitting your work.
Chicago website citations examples
Full note
Bibliography
3. Manohla Dargis, “‘Wicked’ Review: We’re Off To See the Witches,” New York Times, November 27, 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/21/movies/wicked-review.html.
Dargis, Manohla. “‘Wicked’ Review: We’re Off To See the Witches.” New York Times. November 27, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/21/movies/wicked-review.html.
Published on
December 13, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
December 30, 2025
Quotes about success inspire people to persevere and achieve goals. They can be especially effective in business presentations, email signatures, and team memos. Success quotes can even work well in some types of essays.
Reading success quotes from time to time can boost productivity and reignite motivation.
Whether you’re seeking quotes for work, school, or your own personal development, these 20 examples provide helpful insights about how to succeed. For even more quote options, try out QuillBot’s free AI random quote generator.
Published on
December 13, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
December 30, 2025
Happiness plays an essential role in the overall quality of life, but where does happiness come from and how do people lead happier lives?
The following happiness quotes represent some of the most thought-provoking answers to these questions from scholars and writers of the past and present.
Whether you’re seeking personal inspiration, helping others, or writing about happiness, these 20 quotes provide a variety of insights on how to lead a happier life.
TipMarch 20 is the International Day of Happiness, which the United Nations established to promote the importance of happiness for overall health and well-being.
Sharing a happiness quote through social media or email is a great way to spread awareness and promote a happier and healthier world. If you want even more options, try out QuillBot’s free random quotation generator.
Published on
December 11, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
December 30, 2025
Education quotes are useful in a variety of situations, from classroom posters to teacher emails and teacher appreciation messages. When they’re poignant or insightful, they can be amazing conversation starters at faculty meetings and teacher training sessions.
They’re also ideal for informal writing prompts to help students reflect on their own educational experiences.
For whatever reason you’re seeking education quotes, the following list includes some of the most thought-provoking insights from renowned writers and world leaders.
TipIf you’re seeking creative and sincere ways to observe Teacher Appreciation Day (May 6, 2025), look no further! Many of these quotes will make excellent additions to the cards, letters, or social media posts that you write for Teacher Appreciation Day, Teacher Appreciation Week, or any other time when you want to honor a dedicated teacher.
“Education is the movement from darkness to light.” —Allan Bloom, US philosopher and founder of the Bloom’s taxonomy framework for understanding educational goals.
“I had come to believe that the ability to evaluate many ideas, many histories, many points of view, was at the heart of what it means to self-create.” —Tara Westover, author of the best-selling 2018 memoir Educated
“It’s in the act of having to do things that you don’t want to that you learn something about moving past the self. Past the ego.” —bell hooks, education theorist and writer
“Education is the key that unlocks the golden door of freedom to our people.” —George Washington Carver, early 20th century scientist and inventor
“Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.” —Malcolm Forbes, 20th century US politician and former publisher of Forbes magazine
“The ability to read, write, and analyze; the confidence to stand up and demand justice and equality; the qualifications to get your foot in the door and take your seat at the table—all of that starts with education.” —Michelle Obama, former US first lady
“Without knowledge and understanding, one tends to become a passive spectator rather than an active participant in the great decisions of our time.” —Diane Ravitch, education historian, former US Assistant Secretary of Education
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” —Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid activist and former president of South Africa
“When someone takes away your pens, you realize quite how important education is.” —Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and female education activist
“Great schools don’t just teach you; they change you.” —Melinda French Gates, US philanthropist and former Microsoft product developer
“Surprisingly enough, Quintilian’s recommendation for a lifelong education has never been more relevant than it is in the twenty-first century, as knowledge is increasing and changing so fast that most people must continue to be active learners long after they graduate from college.” —Andrea Lunsford, writing education expert and author of The Everyday Writer and Everyone’s an Author
“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” —Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., US civil rights leader
“I always say that the young people are the future of the world, and if we start with them first, if we educate and develop a sense of tolerance among them, our future, the future of this world, will be in good hands for generations to come.” —Erin Gruwell, teacher and founder of the Freedom Writers Foundation
“The classroom is a place of high drama. You’ll never know what you’ve done to, or for, the hundreds coming and going. You see them leaving the classroom: dreamy, flat, sneering, admiring, smiling, puzzled. After a few years, you develop antennae. You can tell when you’ve reached them or alienated them. It’s chemistry. It’s psychology. It’s animal instinct.” —Frank McCourt, Irish-American Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Angela’s Ashes and Teacher Man
“I think what education gives you is a voice. It gives you a way of talking to a judge. When a policeman pulls you off to the side of the road, you have a voice. When you cross a border, you have a voice. When you are writing to express your opinions, you have a voice.” —Richard Rodriguez, author of Hunger of Memory
“Education is the key to preventing the cycle of violence and hatred that marred the 20th century from repeating itself in the 21st century.” —Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, author of Night, and 1986 Nobel Peace Prize laureate
“… schooling can be about how to make a life, which is quite different from how to make a living.” —Neil Postman, 20th century education and media theorist and author of The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School
“True freedom is impossible without a mind made free by discipline.” —Mortimer J. Adler, 20th century US philosopher and author of How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading
“Every intellectual revolution which has ever stirred humanity into greatness has been a passionate protest against inert ideas.” —Alfred North Whitehead, 19th/20th century British mathematician and philosopher and author of “The Aims of Education”
“From my experience, the most creative minds learn to educate themselves.” —Noam Chomsky, 20th century MIT linguistics professor and political activist
Writing tips for education quotes
The following tips will enhance the impact of education quotes in your writing:
Before each quote, include a signal phrase with the author’s full name and a verb like “wrote” or “explained.”
Use quotation marks to show where the quote begins and ends. This strategy helps readers tell the difference between your ideas and other writers’ ideas.
Put the quote’s end punctuation (e.g., a period or question mark) before the final quotation marks (unless you need a parenthetical citation after the quotation).
Quote on education example Educational theorist Lisa Delpit wrote, “We do not really see through our eyes or hear through our ears, but through our beliefs.”
Some special education quotes include the following words from leaders and educators:
“Part of the problem is that we tend to think that equality is about treating everyone the same, when it’s not. It’s about fairness. It’s about equity of access.” —Judith Heumann, disability rights activist whose work led to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
“There is so much that able-bodied people could learn from the wisdom that often comes with disability. But space needs to be made. Hands need to reach out. People need to be lifted up.” —Alice Wong, disability rights activist and founder of the Disability Visibility Project
“Sometimes the most brilliant and intelligent minds do not shine in standardized tests because they do not have standardized minds.” —Diane Ravitch, education historian, former US Assistant Secretary of Education
“Inclusive education is not a privilege. It is a fundamental human right.” —Ban Ki-moon, former UN Secretary-General
Typically, a period goes before the ending quotation marks in American English.
Periods with quotation marks examples (American English)The principal said the teacher was “an exemplar of the profession.”
She told me, “If I leave, I’m never coming back.”
However, in British English, the period only goes inside the quotation marks if the quotation itself is a full sentence. Otherwise, it goes outside. Additionally, British English typically uses single quotation marks instead of double.
Periods with quotation marks examples (British English)The principal said the teacher was ‘an exemplar of the profession’.
She told me, ‘If I leave, I’m never coming back.’
Try QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker to make sure you’re using punctuation correctly.
Correct use of quotes in an essay can lift it above the normal and attract higher grades. Quotes are vital in backing up your argument or illustrating your point. You should aim to integrate or embed your quotes in your writing.
Consider this comment on The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot:
“Prufrock realizes when he sees ‘the eternal Footman hold his coat,’ that he is approaching death, and he is overwhelmed by a sense of failure and fear. Failure because his achievements are no more than a ‘moment of …greatness’ that has flickered out, and fear because he has ‘seen the eternal Footman …snicker,’ suggesting that what he faces in the afterlife is to be feared. This is confirmed in the last half line of the stanza, ‘in short I was afraid.”
Here, the quotations flow naturally as part of the point that is being made. There’s lots more to be said on the subject of paraphrasing and summarizing which is worth researching.
QuillBot’s Notepad is a great place to note your quotations as you research your essay, making them easy to locate and use. Additionally, QuillBot’s Word Counter tool can help you effectively track the word count of your quotes to ensure your writing doesn’t rely on too many quotations.
Some famous quotes about education include the following:
“Education is the movement from darkness to light.” —Allan Bloom, US philosopher and founder of the Bloom’s taxonomy framework for understanding educational goals
“Education is the key that unlocks the golden door of freedom to our people.” —George Washington Carver, early 20th century scientist and inventor
“Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” —Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., US civil rights leader
“Education means emancipation. It means light and liberty.” —19th century US abolitionist and orator
“When someone takes away your pens, you realize quite how important education is.” —Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and female education activist
