Quotations & Direct Speech

Attribute all quotations and direct speech (we don’t distinguish between the two). If quoting from published material, the writer should get copyright approval if necessary.

Consider the following before including a quote:

• Quotes – at a maximum of 50 words – can only be used if they meet the criteria given in the decision tree below.

• Always consider: is the quote/third-party text essential to improve the content? If a quote can be removed without reducing quality, it should be.

• If there is any doubt over the phrasing or source of the quote, it should not be used.

Paraphrasing

If a quote cannot be used because it does not meet the criteria in the decision tree above, it may be possible to paraphrase it instead. Paraphrasing is not editing or tinkering with the quote itself; the expression of the information and ideas gleaned from the quote must be original content. For example:

Direct quote

Cole Porter rhapsodised: ‘I love Paris in the springtime, I love Paris in the fall, I love Paris in the winter when it drizzles, I love Paris in the summer when it sizzles’. And Paris really is a city to visit at any time of year.

Paraphrase

Cole Porter famously wrote of his love of Paris whatever the weather and whatever the time of year, and Paris really is a city you can visit at any time of year.

Short Quotations

When short quotations (four lines of text or less) appear within narrative text, the attribution generally forms part of the sentence. Short quotations should be indicated by using single quotation marks. Quotations or emphasis within a quotation take double quote marks. If it is absolutely necessary to quote a couple of lines of poetry, a solidus should be used to indicate line breaks.

Note: As a rule, do not quote song lyrics or poetry. We cannot publish an entire line (or more) from a song or poem, unless it’s essential. Even a few words quoted from a song require permissions. Obtaining permissions involves considerable costs and delays.

Punctuation with Short Quotations for Text Following British Spelling

See CMoS 6.9, alternative (British) style

All punctuation marks (full stops, commas, semicolons, colons, question marks and exclamation marks) go inside the quotation marks if they belong with the quoted material (or the word or phrase that is given quotation marks for emphasis); they go outside the quotation marks if they do not belong with the quoted material.

In Africa, music is more than a way of life. It’s a force. ‘Politics can be strengthened by music,’ Nelson Mandela once wrote, ‘but music has a potency that defies politics.’

‘Music has a potency that defies politics’, wrote Nelson Mandela.

If you do not know whether the quotation is a complete sentence or not, use your judgment in placing the final full stop. Internal commas in these cases should go outside the quotation marks.

As they say, ‘everybody needs to be kneaded’.

Punctuation with Short Quotations for Text Following US Spelling

See CMoS 6.9 (periods and commas), 6.10 (colons, semicolons, question marks and exclamation points)

Full stops and commas go inside the quotation marks whether or not they belong with the original quoted material (or the word or phrase that is given quotation marks for emphasis). Question marks, semicolons, colons and exclamation marks go inside the quotation marks if they belong with the original quoted material; they go outside the quotation marks if they do not belong with the original quoted material.

‘Music has a potency that defies politics,’ wrote Nelson Mandela.

Long Quotations

In longer quotations (eg from literary works) where the quote takes its own paragraph(s), the attribution appears on its own in the following paragraph. Styling of such quotes depends on the product, but block-quote format is common.

Ellipses (…) may be used sparingly to keep quotes concise, as long as the meaning is not changed.

Specialist Writer Material

Where a whole narrative section or sections are written by someone other than a standard LP writer, a credit and optionally a bio is required.