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When you would use the words "quoting" and when "citing" , where "quote" and where "citation"?

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+1 Good question. – Kris Feb 20 '12 at 7:31

4 Answers

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When talking about reporting what someone has said or done, in an academic situation, a citation or citing does not necessarily require a quotation, in which instance a citation is synonymous with a reference.

But there are other differences between a citation and a quotation.

In America, police issue citations for various offences. They do not issue quotations.

A citation is also any form of commendation or award, although I think this is typically American usage.

Contractors will tender quotes or quotations for how much a job will cost. The don't tender citations.

Related to that, stock market prices are called quotations.

For more information see citation and quotation

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Citing is more formal and used when you refer to a source for a section or point in your document. You cite to strengthen your point. Citing need not use the exact words in the source.

Quoting can be both formal or informal. You quote a source to disclaim personal responsibility. Quotes are verbatim to some degree you can strategically leave out parts of the quote (All those protestations of being misquoted in the media arise out of this!)

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Citation: You refer to particular resource. You read a passage from a journal and express it using your own words.
Quotation: Copy Paste. For example common phrases.

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You quote a person, but you cite a work.

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Why can't you cite a person and quote a work? Do you have sources? I've certainly heard other ways of doing it than this. – Daniel δ Jul 5 '12 at 20:26
Huh? When would you EVER use cite a to refer to another person's spoken words (in modern day English)? Cite is short for citation which refers to something written, whether it be a text, award or honor, (or traffic violation!). CAN you interchange these? Of course, but it sounds odd to a native speaker when you do so, and you cause minor confusion and loss of clarity by using the terms outside of their normal use. – Pat P Jul 11 '12 at 14:54
Cite means "to quote (a passage, book, author, etc.), especially as an authority: He cited the constitution in his defense." Quote means "to repeat words from (a book, author, etc.)" or "to cite, offer, or bring forward as evidence or support." Certainly there are cases in which one sounds more natural than the other, but your generalization generalizes too generally. – Daniel δ Jul 11 '12 at 15:24
I think we actually mostly agree then. Admittedly the distinction is somewhat murky. Even if the dictionary uses one word as a synonym for the other, in practical daily use, native speakers do not use the two terms completely interchangeably. This kind of evolving bifurcation in the usage of synonyms happens all the time in languages. Consider 'verdant' and 'green'. Originally synonymous with green, verdant came to be used only for foliage. If you used verdant in some sentences as a synonym for green, it would definitely sound weird, as in "She was turning verdant with seasickness." – Pat P Jul 12 '12 at 15:52
Your answer needs to reflect your stance. – Daniel δ Jul 12 '12 at 15:54

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