Leaving curled quotation marks and apostrophes in text intended for the web causes ugly gibberish which will make your writing hard to read. Quotation marks, like capital letters, tend to create a busy, distracting text and therefore should be avoided. There are many instances of how to use quotation marks in our writing, so lets take a look at a few. She smiled and said, son, this is one incident that i will never forget. Within the world of legal writing, there are some cases in which a comma is simply insufficient or excessive, and parentheses are too distracting. Quotation marks have a variety of forms in different. Quotation marks are used for titles of shorter works that are part of a. To include a direct quotation in your writing, enclose the words in quotation marks. Fortunately, modern legal drafters have begun to use punctuation in the same way that ordinary writers use punctuation to give guidance about meaning. In chinese, emphasis in body text is supposed to be indicated by using an emphasis mark, which is a dot placed under each character to be emphasized. Below youll find our 10 favorite legal writing tools that will not only simplify your life but improve your writing as well.
Most forums provide the possibility to provide italics, though lacking that, you need to surround the word with. Its simple to do, effectively draws attention to the words, and tells readers the words are being used in a special way. As a general rule, dont put quotation marks around the titles of books, newspapers, films, or magazines. The rules for using quotation marks around a single word for emphasis have changed since people began using word processors for their writing. After reading various sources and their recommendations, i come down on the side that says you shouldnt use quotation marks for a characters thoughts. If referencing the title of a chapter or smaller section of a larger work, set off the title with quotation marks. She sent a text message, saying, i just sent my manuscript to you. In informal writing, feet and inches are sometimes expressed as, for example, 5.
Use of italics and quotation marks creative writing. As daniels post pointed out, quotation marks can be used to express irony. Use of italics and quotation marks creative writing forums. Quotation marks the exact rules for quotation marks vary greatly from language to language and even from country to country within the englishspeaking world. Jul 19, 20 using quotation marks to indicate one or more words are being used ironically or for emphasis is a timehonored technique. Id like to point out one of the most common misuses of this piece of punctuation. Traditionally, emphasis has always been achieved through italics, but only if you need emphasis on a particular word rather than the entire sentence. Quotation marks are used incorrectly in so much legaland nonlegalwriting that its an epidemic. Quotations marks are used to denote language taken from another author or source. These marks are available in most word processors, though many people simply use single and double quotation marks. How to use quotation marks outside of direct quotes. If you are writing by hand or using a typewriter, you can use quotation. Full stop is the british english term for this punctuation mark, and period is the american english term for it. If a word needs to be emphasized but is not being quoted, you should avoid putting the word in quotes and use italics instead.
Quotation marks, also known as inverted commas, are normally used for quotation, as their american name suggests, or to mark a title book, film, etc, or to enclose a foreign, technical, or otherwise potentially unfamiliar word. In american usage, periods and commas must go inside quotation marks even if what youre quoting isnt a complete sentence. It works instead as a distancing tool, as discussed. In academic writing, quotation marks are used to quote directly from a. An alternative approach is to note the emphasis outside the quotation, in parentheses, either as a separate sentence immediately after the sentence containing the quotation. You may use quotation marks even when you are not capturing a. You can also use quotation marks to signify words used as words. Grammarly based on the name, you wont be surprised to hear that grammarly is an online tool that assists you in avoiding grammatical errors. Quotation marks are often mistakenly used as emphasis techniques in technical text. The pair consists of an opening quotation mark and a closing quotation mark, which may or may not be the same character. They are also used to indicate that the meaning of the word or phrase they surround should. The beauty of quote marks or speech marks is that they indicate speech. Board of directors for the legal writing institute and has served on the editorial board for the journal legal writing.
In typography, emphasis is the strengthening of words in a text with a font in a different style from the rest of the text, to highlight them. Periods and commas always go inside quotation marks. Does a question mark go inside or outside of quotation marks. Just writing, just briefs, just memos, and just research. A direct quotation is an exact account of what someone said or wrote. However, youll often hear that its better to italicize words used as words rather than put them in quotation marksdifferent. The single quotation marks in the above sentence are intended to send a message to the reader that friend is being used in a special way. Jun 12, 2018 however, for a short note or text message, use quotation marks, not italics. The exact rules for quotation marks vary greatly from language to language and even from country to country within the englishspeaking world. Professor enquist is coauthor of the legal writing handbook, 3d edition, and four books. The em dash can be used in a number of different ways, including the creation of a break in thought, a conversational colon, adding emphasis to a concluding phrase, a parenthetical explanation, or indicating a collection of grouped. Many people use quotation marks to convey emphasis.
When a direct quote follows a statement and ends a sentence, it should be preceded by a comma and followed by a period. As daniels post pointed out, quotation marks can be used to express irony, as in the sentence. Not only do you have to follow different rules depending on what other punctuation marks you mix with your quotation marks, but people in different countries also follow different rules, so you may see quotation marks handled differently in highquality. In english writing, quotation marks or inverted commas, also known informally as quotes, talking marks, speech marks, quote marks, quotemarks or speechmarks, are punctuation marks placed on either side of a word or phrase in order to identify it as a quotation, direct speech or a literal title or name. The emphatic use of quotation marks macmillan dictionary. As a technical writer, limit quotation marks to the traditional usage, which includes quoted speech. Indeed, rules of appellate procedure often require that. Quotation marks punctuation academic guides at walden. Supreme courts rule on this point is representative. You do not need to use quotation marks for indirect.
Use quotation marks to show the reader the exact phrase being borrowed wordforword from a source. Nov 19, 2015 quotation marks for internal dialogue after reading various sources and their recommendations, i come down on the side that says you shouldnt use quotation marks for a characters thoughts. When, as here, the plaintiff is a public figure, he cannot recover unless he proves by clear and. This is true whether the quotation is a whole sentence or a fragment. You may use quotation marks even when you are not capturing a direct quote. Lynne truss and wikihow are against using quotation marks for emphasis. The use of quotation marks when nicknames are inserted into the name is common and useful, as it makes it clear that a nickname rather than a middle name is being given. May 19, 2016 if you are writing html for the web, you need to turn off the smart quotes feature in your word processor which curls quotation marks and apostrophes. Therefore, the practice that would match the reality of the situation is to use ending punctuation outside the quotation marks for the surrounding thought, and also correct ending punctuation for the quote inside the quotation marks, if applicable. In american english, all commas and periods go inside the quotation marks. Whenever a specific passage of a work speaks directly and authoritatively to the point for which you cite it, the critical language should be quoted.
The same rule applies to exclamation marks and dashes. Single quotation marks are valid only within a quotation, as per rule 7, above. Previously, they were pretty exclusively used to mark dialogue. Okay, i admit it gets to me more than it should, but abuse of quotation marks really gets my goat. It specifies that the front matter of any brief on the merits include. As im sure you all know, quotation marks either denote a direct quote or to show irony or euphemism. Do not rely on quotation marks to add emphasis to words. In north american usage, you should place double quotation marks before and after directly quoted material and words of dialogue. An indirect quotation is a restatement of what someone said or wrote. But with the introduction of sarcasm and facetiousness into our lives, they have found a whole new purpose. If you want to emphasize the word excellent, you want to do just about anything but put it in quotation marks. However, for a short note or text message, use quotation marks, not italics.
Use quotation marks to enclose the words of the speaker within running dialogue. Use a pair of single quotation marks to enclose a title, direct quotation, or piece of dialogue that appears within another quotation. Quotation marks have gained new responsibilities in writing in the past fifty years. To note added emphasis, put emphasis added in a parenthetical in the citation. Feb 10, 2020 according to ap style, a question mark is inside quotation marks if that part is the question and outside the quotation marks if the whole sentence is a question. When were not talking about direct quotes, things change up a bit.
Quotation marks, also known as quotes, quote marks, speech marks, inverted commas, or talking marks, are punctuation marks used in pairs in various writing systems to set off direct speech, a quotation, or a phrase. In journalism, quotation marks are used to indicate that what is written is a direct quote. If you are writing html for the web, you need to turn off the smart quotes feature in your word processor which curls quotation marks and apostrophes. Quotation marks for emphasis marten veldthuis on august 01, 2007 10. Once the nickname is established its almost invariably unnecessary to use quotes. An indirect quotation does not use the persons exact words. According to ap style, a question mark is inside quotation marks if that part is the question and outside the quotation marks if the whole sentence is a question. The use of italics is standard but you can underline, bold, use a different color do what it takes, if you feel a word needs a little extra oomph. I dont care what your sign says, im not eating your fresh mozzarella. This is still taught in schools but in practice it is not usually done, probably due to the difficulty of doing this using most computer software.
In fiction, quotation marks are used to denote when a character is speaking. Apr 17, 2017 punctuation is perhaps one of the most abused elements of writing in general from professional and scientific writing, to creative and legal writing. Example she said she would consider a very short extension of the deadline, but only under the most extraordinary circumstances. Emphasis it can be tempting to use quote marks in your writing to draw attention to a word or phrase, but its rarely necessary and could even have the opposite effect to what you intended. Quotation marks denote speech, and using them for internal dialogue could confuse your readers. Aug 14, 2019 below youll find our 10 favorite legal writing tools that will not only simplify your life but improve your writing as well. Quotation marks, like capital letters, tend to create a busy, distracting text.
But quoting and emphasizing are two different beasts. Fortunately this only really arises in blogging and diary writing when you are trying to write in a colloquial speechlike. I dont italicize very often, but when i do i dont include the quotation marks but i dont know that ive ever italicized an entire sentence of dialogue like this. Use quotation marks to show the reader the exact phrase being borrowed word for word from a source. The quotation marks show that youre talking about the word itself, not the action of inhaling. Place commas or periods inside the quotation marks, but place all other punctuation outside the quotation marks unless such punctuation is part of the quoted text. Diction, word placement and sentence structure seem to rule the world of writing, while the value of precise punctuation seems to slip through the cracks. Most titles should be italicized, including book titles. When, as here, the plaintiff is a public figure, he. That said, i think i see the italics used for the quotation marks at times.
The em dash is perhaps the most underused mark of legal writing. Quotation marks are used for titles of shorter works that are part of a larger work. The citys mayor explained that the recent tornado leveled entire neighborhoods but miraculously took no lives in its wake. The fourth chapter of the apa 7 manual, writing style and grammar, contains a lot of useful information. Last month, daniel covered some of the basic rules for using quotation marks.
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