Write On!, 0218 WYBJ, Vol. 41 No. 1. 52
| Author | John H. Ridge, J.D., Ph.D. Superior, Colorado |
| Position | Vol. 41 1 Pg. 52 |
Common Writing Rules I Commonly Forget, Part Two
“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.” ~ Ernest Hemingway
John H. Ridge, J.D., Ph.D. Superior, Colorado
In Part One of this series we addressed the use of e.g. and i.e., the use of I and me, and issues arising from subject-verb agreement. This article addresses another grammar problem that continually beguiles me: the use and punctuation of quoted material. I have collected these rules in an easily referenced chart so that none of us has to (or at least I don’t have to) continually peruse grammar books to rediscover them.1
| Rules | Example | |
| 1 | Double quotation marks enclose quoted material; single quotation marks enclose quotes within quotes. (The British rule reverses this order.) | The witness testified, “We were exiting the newly bricked road at 11 a.m. when we heard the defendant scream, ‘I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too.’” |
| 2 | Quoted material in a block quotation is enclosed in double quotation marks. | The witness testified: We were exiting the newly bricked road at 11 a.m. when we heard the defendant scream, “I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too.” |
| 3 | Quotation marks should appear in the same font as the preceding and following text, whether or not the enclosed text is in the same font. | The plaintiff ’s attorney defended his failure to turn over requested documents by stating that he was simply acting as a “zealous advocate” for his client. |
| 4 | A complete quotation begins with a capital letter. | The prosecutor said, “The evidence will show that the defendant struck the victim during the robbery.” |
| 5 | A quotation that begins midsentence and forms a part of the original sentence is not capitalized. | The judge instructed the jury to “take their time and carefully consider the evidence.” |
| 6 | A quote introduced by “thus,” “as follows,” or other similar introductory phrases is preceded by a colon. | The Assistant City Attorney defined the phrase “daily maximum limit” as follows: “The maximum allowable discharge limit of a pollutant during a calendar day.” |
| 7 | A quote introduced by “said,” “stated,” “asked,” or other similar verbs is preceded by a comma. Commas are also used when these same verbs follow |
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