Asked by: Tasha Landry

An epigraph is a brief quotation placed at the beginning of a book or at the head of a chapter, article, story, or other work. Most epigraphs are ornamental, helping to set the tone or mood of a work but going unmentioned in the text. They can be thought-provoking and profound or funny and frivolous.

Where does the epigraph go in a thesis?

12. The thesis may begin with an epigraph (a quotation from someone else’s work); if there is an epigraph, it should appear on page 1 of the thesis, with the thesis text beginning on page 2. If the epigraph pertains only to the first chapter, it should appear between the chapter title and the chapter text.

Should epigraphs be centered?

Use single spacing for the epigraph, and center the text on the page. Put quotation marks around the text. On the line below the epigraph, write the speaker’s name, flush right, but still within the margins you set up for the epigraph.

Does an epigraph come before or after the title?

The text of the epigraph is indented from the left margin in the same way as a block quote. On the line below the end of the epigraph, the author’s name (and only the author’s last name if he or she is well-known) and the source’s title should be given.

Does epigraph go before or after abstract?

The abstract is usually placed directly after the title page. It would be better to place the epigraph before the ToC instead.

How do you format an epigraph in APA?

If the rest of the document is formatted according to the APA Style rules, the epigraph must follow those rules as well: “The epigraph should appear before the first line of text and should be indented 0.5 in. from the left margin, like a block quotation, without quotation marks” (APA, 2020, p. 277).

Should an epigraph be italicized?

Epigraphs are treated like block quotations in that quotation marks are not used around epigraphs. Also like block quotations, epigraphs are often set in a smaller typeface and indented from the right or left, and sometimes italicized.

Are epigraphs fair use?

Epigraphs from materials that are in the public domain do not require permission. Epigraphs from copyrighted materials must either qualify as fair use or be used with the permission of the rightsholder. An epigraph must be sufficiently tied to the text that follows in order to qualify as fair use.

Does epigraph go on title page?

An epigraph to a story usually follows the story’s title. The epigraph itself is formatted like a type of block quotation, which means it’s set off from any surrounding text and indented from the left or right (or both).

Can you have two epigraphs?

Epigraphs are most common in longer works, like novels and books of poetry. Some writers love epigraphs so much they put them at the beginning of each chapter. Some books have more than one epigraph, placing two or more quotations in dialogue with one another.

How do you put an epigraph in a paper?

APA Format

An epigraph must be indented by a ½ inch from the left margin and it shouldn’t have quotation marks. In the next line after an epigraph, write an em dash and the author’s name, followed by the title of the source written in italics. This line must be aligned to the right side of the page.

Can an epigraph be at the end of a book?

An epigraph usually appears on the first page of a novel, before the action begins, but it can also make appearances throughout a story. It can be especially powerful at the end of a work, depending on the denouement.

What do you call an epigraph at the end?

epilogue. ODOL: (US epilog) noun. 1 A section or speech at the end of a book or play that serves as a comment on or a conclusion to what has happened.

Why do authors use epigraphs?

The epigraph may serve as a preface to the work; as a summary; as a counter-example; or as a link from the work to a wider literary canon, with the purpose of either inviting comparison or enlisting a conventional context.