Quotations are used to build and lend support to the central argument of the essay. Furthermore, they give authority on the issue at hand and can also serve to elaborate the point being proven, or argued against, by way way of giving the reader a concrete example to deal with.  Overall, among the most effective uses of quotations in the academic essay are supporting the premise of the essay or countering a position contrary to the thesis.

There are guides which advise against use of quotations to end paragraphs as this might often leave the evaluator dangling and not flowing smoothly to the next portion of the essay. Also, some say that it indicates laziness on the part of the author to just rely on the quote alone without giving any explanation or tying into the point being discussed.

There are short quotes and more lengthy ones. Short ones are placed between double quotation marks. However, more lenghty ones have their own special format. Even though there may appear to be no fixed guidelines about distinguishing between a "short" quote and a "long" one, the general rule is that if a quote will spill over to four or more lines, then it should be considered as being long.

In the case of long quotations, quotations marks are not used, but the quote is still distinguishable from the rest of the essay. The main feature of these quotes are that they are indented to the same depth as the beginning of a new paragraph. This indentation takes place on either side of the quote. Some guides specify 8 or 10 spaces for indentation while others state the same level as the paragraph indent. Other issues surrounding long quotes are that some guides advise thaat they be single spaced, while others advise double-spacing. Additionally, there is a noteworthy case when a long quote does begin with or contain quotation marks. This is in the situation when the perosn being quoted is also quoting someone else.

Quotations are useful to the evaluator who would note whether or not the author has cited a relevant and correct instance with respect to the essay topic. As for the author, it teaches them how to use evidence coming from authorities in order to support a thesis. Alternatively, it also teaches them to view the remarks of others in light of a specific context and judge such an assertion by use of other evidence.