How to Format Block Quotations

 

A block quotation is a distinct body of type set off from the default text (also called the running text), usually distinguished by insertion of line spaces above and below and formatting of a narrower margin (and sometimes even type of a different point size or a distinct font).

When reproducing written text from another source, consider setting the quoted material off from the rest of the content in a block quotation if it

• is more than a hundred words long.
• consists of more than one paragraph.
• is made up of a number of shorter passages (so that it would resemble an indented list without numbers or bullets).
• constitutes a letter or other correspondence, complete with salutation, signature, and the like, or another type of templated form.
• requires any special formatting.

However, determine whether it might be better to simply paraphrase a long quotation in one or more normal paragraphs with perhaps some partial quotations when phrases should be reproduced verbatim.

When the first line of each paragraph in the running text is indented, block quotations of a single paragraph, and the first of multiple paragraphs, are not indented, but subsequent ones should be. When paragraphs in running text are distinguished not by indentation but by line spaces, follow the same format in block quotations.

If the block quotation is inserted in a framing paragraph that continues after the quotation, do not indent the first line of the rest of the paragraph. If paragraphs are set off by line spaces, a new paragraph that immediately follows a block quotation should be separated from the quotation by two line spaces so that the new paragraph is not mistaken for a continuation of the paragraph in which the quotation is inserted.

When a block quotation is the continuation of an introductory sentence, use punctuation or capitalization (or a lack thereof) accordingly. In this case, the quotation is a continuation of the introduction, so no punctuation or capitalization is necessary:

“The writer described the apparition as

a tall, thin wraith of diaphanous constitution, as if made of smoke . . . .”

(Note also that a block quotation is not enclosed in quotation marks; it is assumed that such an excerpt is quoted material.)

If the first word of the quoted material had originally been capitalized (“A tall, thin wraith . . .”), silently correct it, as above; it’s not necessary to call attention to the change, as is sometimes done in specialized contexts (“[a] tall, thin wraith . . .”).

A lead-in line consisting of a complete clause, and the first word of the following quotation, should be treated otherwise:

“The writer described the apparition as follows:

It was a tall, thin wraith of diaphanous constitution, as if made of smoke . . . .”

The same rules hold for run-in quotations (those that are assimilated into the running text):

“The sage says that ‘a fool and his money are soon parted.’” (Though the adage, standing alone, would begin with an uppercase a, it is part of the framing sentence here and must be lowercased; alternatively, you could write, “The sage says, ‘A fool and his money are soon parted.’”)

If the writer wishes to amend or comment on a quotation, several strategies are available:

To clarify that a typographical error is in the original, insert sic (Latin for “thus,” or “so,” and meaning “as originally published”), italicized and in brackets, after the offense. Take care, however, not to employ this term as a textual smirk, and if the quotation is full of unconventional, outdated, or variant spelling, an explanatory note before the quotation is preferable to a quotation repeatedly interrupted by [sic].

When you don’t need the entire quotation to illustrate a point, you may delete irrelevant passages and indicate the elision with ellipsis points. However, it is not necessary to precede or follow a passage with ellipses to indicate that you are not reproducing the entire text from which the excerpt is derived; the reader will assume this.

If you must make comment or clarify a point, enclose the note in brackets, but be as concise as possible, or provide a longer explanatory note outside the quotation.

If you wish to emphasize one or more words or phrases, follow the quotation with the parenthesized note “Italics added” or “Emphasis mine,” or vice versa. But a quotation with extant italicization should be treated differently: Insert the comment in brackets immediately following your emphasis.

From: Daily Writing Tips

Proper Use of The Colon

 

The colon is a versatile punctuation mark. Here are its three primary functions, followed by a few other uses:

Definition or Expansion

“But here’s the interesting thing: He hadn’t ever been there before.”

Note the capitalization of the first word after the colon. All usage guides agree that in a sentence like “I want you to tell me one thing: the truth,” the first word should be lowercase because it begins a phrase, not a complete sentence. But handbooks are divided over whether to capitalize complete sentences.

The Chicago Manual of Style advises doing so only when the defining or expanding passage following the colon consists of two or more sentences. Others disagree, and though I usually follow Chicago, I concur with them: It can be difficult in a passage to know when the definition or expansion ends, and the distinction between a single sentence and two or more seems trivial and inconsistent.

Setting up a Quotation

He makes this moral argument: “Taking whatever we need from the world to support our comfortable lives is not worthy of us as moral beings.”

Note that the colon concludes an independent clause that introduces a statement; it brings the reader to a temporary halt. Writers, ignoring the grammatical distinction between this construction and a simple attribution, widely but incorrectly use colons in place of commas, as in this erroneous usage: “He voted against it, declaring: ‘The only thing this bill will stimulate is the national debt.’” In this case, or after “He said” or “She asked” or a similar term, a simple comma suffices.

Introducing a List

When a phrase that introduces a numbered, unnumbered, or bullet list, or a run-in list, syntactically comes to a stop, use the colon as the bumper:

“The two central questions in ethical theories are as follows:
1. What is the good for which we strive or should strive, and what is the evil that we would like to or must avoid?
2. What is the proper or desired course of action, and what is the inappropriate or forbidden course of action?”

But when each item in the list is an incomplete sentence that continues an introductory phrase, omit it:

“For this experiment, you will need electrical wire (at least 3 feet), a pair of wire cutters, a battery, a flashlight bulb, and electrical tape.”

When, in the latter example, the list is formatted with the introductory phrase and each item on its own line, “For this experiment, you will need” remains bereft of a colon, and each item ends with a period.

(Notice that my explanatory introduction to each list type above is closed, with a colon.)

Colons are used in several other ways to clarify relationships between words and numbers: They set off a character’s name from a line of dialogue in a script; separate titles and subtitles of books, films, and other works; distinguish between chapter and verse in reference to books of the Bible and in similar usages; and separate numerals denoting hours, minutes, and other units of time.

In addition, they have specific functions in mathematics, logic, and computer programming, as well as informal roles in setting actions or sounds apart from words in email and online chats (much as parentheses are used in quotations and dialogue) and as a basic character in emoticons (arrangements of punctuation marks and other symbols to simulate a facial expression).

But it is when the colon is employed in one of the three primary purposes that errors are most likely to appear and communication is most likely to be compromised.

From: Daily Writing Tips