I'm quoting something
written by someone else.
What are the rules?

If you're quoting only a few words or a couple of lines, you can insert your quote straight into your own paragraph, enclosed in quotation marks (inverted commas). As with writing conversation, you can choose whether to use double quote marks [ “ ] or single quote marks [ ‘ ], but once you have made your choice, stick to it. It's wise to be consistent. Single quotes are generally preferred by publishers in Australia.

Are you writing an essay? The penalties for plagiarism are heavy. You will need to acknowledge the source, even for a short quote, and the best thing to do is to follow the rules provided by your education institution. These rules will probably be the ones agreed on internationally. If your quote is a whole paragraph or more, it is usual to indent the entire quote so that it is immediately visible and distinct from your main text. You may also decide to use a smaller type or even a different font or type style, like this:

If you're quoting only a few words or a couple of lines, you can insert your quote straight into your own paragraph, enclosed in quotation marks (inverted commas). As with writing conversation, you can choose whether to use double quote marks [ “ ] or single ones [ ‘ ], but once you have made your choice, stick to it. It's wise to be consistent. Single quotes are generally preferred by publishers in Australia.

 

I want to shorten the quote, but I
still need it to read smoothly. How?

You can do this quite easily. Read carefully and choose words, phrases, or perhaps even a whole sentence that can be omitted without affecting the sense of the passage. Replace the omitted words with three dots called an ellipsis [ … ]. Your quote should now read as if nothing has been omitted. The omission can be from the middle of the sentence, or from either end.

Here is a sentence that could be shortened, and a suggestion for doing it.

“The feeling of mystery and great solemnity hanging over the ancient ruins adds to their attraction, indeed their enchantment.”

“The feeling of mystery … hanging over the ancient ruins adds to … their enchantment.”

 

There is another use for quote marks

Can't quite find the word you want? Know another one that's close, or suggestive, or related, or gives a hint? Or one that is a bit unusual? Perhaps it's a foreign word, or a bit of technical jargon, or even just a bit of humour. These examples might help.

 

Her student days were spent in a top-floor ‘apartment’, not much bigger than a large cupboard.

Unfortunately the ‘aid’ wasn't very helpful.

The ‘library’ was a small collection of books in a box in the storeroom.

It was only a trickle down the slope, but for the children it was ‘the waterfall’.

How to misuse quote marks

Here are two places where inverted commas (quote marks) should never, never be used. They are not for emphasis, and they are not for decoration.

Here are some examples for you not to follow. Examples like these are common but not to be copied.

1. Our cakes are “baked daily”.

The bakers evidently don't know that the marks they have used have their own meaning, and it isn't emphasis or decoration. What do the bakers mean? What they have printed in big letters outside the shop actually tells me that:

• The cakes might be baked daily.
• They bake their cakes daily and they want us to know it, and they think this is the way to say it.
• They really only pretend to bake their cakes daily, but they want us to think those cakes are fresh every day without fail.
• They don't really know what these marks mean but they think they look good.

2. Get your “live” worms here.

I'd have some doubts about those worms. Are they really alive? Does the seller simply hope they are alive? Are they pretending to be alive? The shop keeper is trying to assure us that they are really alive and fresh and healthy and wriggling, but that's not what the notice says. The notice simply tells me that the seller wants to emphasise the freshness of the worms, but doesn't know how to do it.

3. Our products are made of genuine “recycled” plastic.

Do the manufacturers know that they are actually saying almost the opposite of what they want to tell us? No doubt the plastic is genuinely recycled, but that is not what the message says. It says, ‘Our products are not really made of genuine recycled plastic, but we want you to think they are’.

How could the writers of these messages have presented them so as to get their meaning across clearly and correctly? One answer for all three would be to leave them alone. Just leave them alone. Please, if you are in the habit of using quote marks as a way of emphasising something or making it stand out or just decorating it, stop. Quote marks are not meant for those purposes. There are other ways, agreed and accepted, for showing emphasis. (See page 76)

4. Joseph J. Bloggs, B.A. L.L.B.
    “Accredited Specialist in Industrial Law”
    Expertise and Understanding

What's wrong here? It's an unnecessary (and wrong) use of inverted commas. This is not a conversation. Inverted commas are not for decoration, and they are not for emphasis. In this example, the inverted commas imply that Joseph J. Bloggs isn't really an accredited specialist in industrial law. There are also four unnecessary capitals used. Here is the example, correctly punctuated:

Joseph J. Bloggs, B.A. L.L.B.
Accredited specialist in industrial law
Expertise and understanding

We could improve it further by making it into a sentence, so that the last three words aren't left hanging mid-air:

Joseph J. Bloggs, B.A. L.L.B.
As an accredited specialist in industrial law,
I work with expertise and understanding.