Miscellaneous Explanations for Quotation Rules
Quotations within Quotations
In standard American English, quotations within quotations are enclosed in single quotation marks.
Example: As Ted asserts in How I Met Your Mother, Robin is “not just someone I have loved,
but is ‘the one’ for me.”
Note: When quoting an entire quotation that is within another source, only one set of double quotation
marks needs to be provided.
Editing a Quotation
At times it may be necessary to change material you are quoting from a source. When this is needed,
the changed material must be placed within closed brackets. This should be done when changing
capitalization, tense, or when material needs to be clarified. For example:
Original: “Believe that extra-terrestrial life is out there.”
1) Edited Capitalization: Mulder argues that we must always “[b]elieve that extra-terrestrial life is
out there.”
2) Edited Tense: According to Mulder, “Believ[ing] that extra terrestrial life is out there” is key to
discovering it.
3) Clarified Information: Mulder proclaims, “Believe that extra-terrestrial life is out there
[somewhere in space].”
4) Pronoun Clarification (different from above original): Even though Mulder “encouraged her to
believe, she [Scully] chose not to.”
Citing a Quotation that Contains an Error
When a source contains a spelling or grammar issue, do not correct the issue in your quotation.
Instead, add the word “sic” in italics and within brackets directly after the error. This indicates that you
are reproducing the quotation exactly as you found it and that it is not your mistake.
Example: In his journal, Mulder wrote, “Believe that extra-terresrial [sic] life is out there.”
Ellipsis (A.K.A. “dot, dot, dot”)
When removing a portion of the original text, indicate the removal by including an ellipsis in your
quotation.
Example: As John F. Kennedy once exclaimed, “And so, my fellow Americans . . . ask what you
can do for your country.”
If the first part of your quotation is a complete sentence, include the period and then add the ellipsis
after the sentence and prior to the rest of the quotation to indicate that material has been removed.
Example: Prior to this call to action, President Kennedy explained, “All this will not be finished in
the first one hundred days. . . . But let us begin.”
Note: Do not allow Microsoft Word to create your ellipsis for you. If you simply type “dot, dot, dot”
Microsoft Word will expand the dots after you press the space bar; however, this is grammatically
incorrect. Instead, type: last word  space  period  space  period  space  period  space 
next word. In other words, place a space on each side of each period.
Another Note: Ellipses are not necessary at the beginning or end of quotations even if you are not
including the entire sentence of a source.
© Jalaine Weller, 2015.