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quotation marks

Use quotation marks for direct quotes and the titles of articles, papers, and book chapters. In print, use "curly" or "fancy" quotation marks; on the web, use "straight" quotation marks. 

"Let's meet again in 6 months," the chairman said, "to discuss our progress."
She presented a paper titled "Materials Research in Silvered Polymer Reflectors."

Place commas (and periods) inside quotation marks; place semicolons, question marks, dashes, and exclamation points outside quotation marks unless they're part of the quotation.

"The results are in," he said.
"Can you hear me?" she asked.
Did he really say "I don't believe you"?

Use single quotation marks to indicate a quotation within material that is already enclosed in double quotation marks.

"Explain what you mean by 'confidence,'" she said.

When quotations are longer than two or three lines of text, begin them on the next line and indent them on each side (block quotations). You do not need quotation marks around block quotations, and you can use standard double quotation marks for quotes within block quotations. In in-text quotations, place reference numbers, superscripts, and author-date citations outside quotation marks (but before the final punctuation of a sentence). Place them after the final punctuation of the last sentence in a block quotation.

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Last Updated Dec. 9, 2024