A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations, Ninth edition - Kate L. Turabian 2018

Modifying quotations
Quotations
Style

When you do your research, you must record the exact wording, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation of any text you plan to quote, even if they do not follow the guidelines in this manual. When you incorporate the quotation into your paper, however, you may make minor adjustments to fit the syntax of the surrounding text or to emphasize certain parts of the quotation.

Note that disciplines have different standards for issues discussed in this section, such as modifying initial capital and lowercase letters and using ellipses for omissions. For papers in most disciplines, follow the general guidelines. For papers in literary studies and other fields concerned with close analysis of texts, follow the stricter guidelines given under some topics. If you are not sure which set to follow, consult your local guidelines or your instructor.

25.3.1 Permissible Changes

25.3.1.1 SPELLING. If the original source contains an obvious typographic error, correct it without comment.

Original: These conclusions are not definate, but they are certainly suggestive.

Clayton admits that his conclusions are “not definite.”

If, however, such an error reveals something significant about the source or is relevant to your argument, preserve it in your quotation. Immediately following the error, insert the Latin word sic (“so”), italicized and enclosed in brackets, to identify it as the author’s error. It is considered bad manners to call out errors just to embarrass a source.

Original: The average American does not know how to spell and cannot use a coma properly.

Russell exemplifies her own argument by claiming that the average American “cannot use a coma [sic] properly.”

When quoting from an older source or one that represents dialect with nonstandard spelling, preserve idiosyncrasies of spelling, and do not use sic. If you modernize or alter all of the spelling and punctuation for clarity, inform your readers in a note or preface.

25.3.1.2 CAPITALIZATION AND PUNCTUATION. In most disciplines you may change the initial letter of a quoted passage from capital to lowercase or from lowercase to capital without noting the change. If you weave the quotation into the syntax of your sentence, begin it with a lowercase letter. Otherwise begin it with a capital letter if it begins with a complete sentence, with a lowercase letter if it does not. You may also make similar changes when you use ellipses; see 25.3.2.

Original: As a result of these factors, the Mexican people were bound to benefit from the change.

Fernandez claims, “The Mexican people were bound to benefit from the change.”

Fernandez claims that “the Mexican people were bound to benefit from the change.”

Fernandez points out that “as a result of these factors, the Mexican people were bound to benefit from the change.”

“The Mexican people,” notes Fernandez, “were bound to benefit from the change.”

Depending on how you work the quotation in the text, you may also omit a final period or change it to a comma.

Fernandez notes that the Mexicans were “bound to benefit from the change” as a result of the factors he discusses.

“The Mexican people were bound to benefit from the change,” argues Fernandez.

Likewise, if the original passage ends with a colon or semicolon, you may delete it or change it to a period or a comma, depending on the structure of your sentence (see 21.12.2.1).

In literary studies and other fields concerned with close analysis of texts, indicate any change in capitalization by putting the altered letter in brackets. (For the use of ellipsis dots in literary studies, see 25.3.2.3.)

“. . . [T]he Mexican people were bound to benefit from the change,” argues Fernandez.

Fernandez points out that “[a]s a result of these factors, the Mexican people were bound to benefit from the change.”

In any discipline, if you put double quotation marks around a passage that already includes double quotation marks, change the internal marks to single quotation marks for clarity (see 25.2.1.2).

25.3.1.3 ITALICS. You may italicize for emphasis words that are not italicized in the original, but you must indicate the change with the notation italics mine or emphasis added, placed either in the quotation or in its citation. Within the quotation, add the notation in square brackets immediately after the italicized words. In a citation, add the notation after the page number, preceded by a semicolon (see also 16.3.5). In general, avoid adding italics to passages that include italics in the original; if it becomes necessary, you may distinguish these with the notation italics in original or, for example, Flaubert’s italics.

According to Schultz, “By the end of 2010, every democracy [emphasis added] will face the challenge of nuclear terrorism.”¹

Brown notes simply that the destruction of the tribes “had all happened in less than ten years” (271; italics mine).

25.3.1.4 INSERTIONS. If you need to insert a word or more of explanation, clarification, or correction into a quotation, enclose the insertion in brackets. If you find yourself making many such insertions, consider paraphrasing or weaving smaller quotations into your text instead.

As she observes, “These masters [Picasso, Braque, Matisse] rebelled against academic training.”

She observes that Picasso, Braque, and Matisse “rebelled against academic training.”

25.3.1.5 NOTES. If you quote a passage that includes a superscript note number but do not quote the note itself, you may omit the note number. On the other hand, parenthetical text references in the original should usually be retained.

25.3.2 Omissions

If you omit words, phrases, sentences, or even paragraphs from a quotation because they seem irrelevant, be careful not to change or misrepresent the meaning of the original source. Not only must you preserve words whose absence might change the entire meaning of the quotation (such as not, never, or always), but you must also preserve important qualifications. The quotation shown in the following example would be a misrepresentation of the author’s meaning. (See also 4.2.4.)

Original: The change was sure to be beneficial once the immediate troubles subsided.

Yang claims, “The change was sure to be beneficial.”

25.3.2.1 INSERTING ELLIPSES. To indicate the omission of a word, phrase, or sentence, use ellipsis dots—three periods with spaces between them. To avoid breaking an ellipsis over the line, use your word processor’s ellipsis character or, alternatively, use a nonbreaking space before and after the middle dot. You will also need to use a nonbreaking space between the ellipsis and any punctuation mark that follows. (Any mark that precedes the ellipsis, including a period, may appear at the end of the line above.) Since the dots stand for words omitted, they always go inside the quotation marks or block quotation.

How you use ellipses in certain situations depends on your discipline. For most disciplines, follow the general method; for literary studies and other fields concerned with close analysis of texts, follow the textual studies method (see 25.3.2.3). If you are not sure which method to follow, consult your local guidelines or your instructor. See 25.3.1 for adjustments to capitalization and punctuation with omissions.

25.3.2.2 GENERAL METHOD FOR ELLIPSES. You may shorten a quotation such as the following in several different ways.

Original: When a nation is wrong, it should say so and apologize to the wronged party. It should conduct itself according to the standards of international diplomacy. It should also take steps to change the situation.

If you omit words within a sentence, use three ellipsis dots as described above (25.3.2.1).

“When a nation is wrong, it should . . . apologize to the wronged party.”

If you omit material between sentences and the material preceding the omission is a grammatically complete sentence, use a terminal punctuation mark immediately following that sentence. Leave a space between that punctuation mark and the first ellipsis dot. Follow this practice even if the omission includes the end of the preceding sentence as long as what is left is grammatically complete (as in the second example here).

“When a nation is wrong, it should say so and apologize to the wronged party. . . . It should also take steps to change the situation.”

“When a nation is wrong, it should say so. . . . It should also take steps to change the situation.”

If you omit material between sentences so that the material preceding and following the omission combines to form a grammatically complete sentence, do not include terminal punctuation before the ellipsis. To avoid misrepresenting the author’s meaning, however, it is generally better to use one of the shortening options above or to use two separate quotations in this situation.

“When a nation is wrong, it should say so and . . . take steps to change the situation.”

The same principles apply with other types of punctuation marks, which precede or follow an ellipsis depending on where the words are omitted. In some situations, such as the second example below, consider using a more selective quotation.

“How hot was it? . . . No one could function in that climate.”

“The merchant’s stock included dry goods and sundry other items . . . , all for purchase by the women of the town.”

or

The merchant stocked “dry goods and sundry other items” for the town’s women.

Since in many contexts it is obvious when a quotation has been shortened, you need not use ellipsis points in the following situations:

✵ ▪ before or after a quoted phrase, incomplete sentence, or other fragment from the original that is clearly not a complete sentence; if you omit anything within the fragment, however, use ellipsis points at the appropriate place:

Smith wrote that the president had been “very much impressed” by the paper that stressed “using the economic resources . . . of all the major powers.”

✵ ▪ at the beginning of a quotation, even if the beginning of the sentence from the original has been omitted (but see 25.3.2.3 for the textual studies method for ellipses)

✵ ▪ at the end of a quotation, even if the end of the sentence from the original has been omitted

25.3.2.3 TEXTUAL STUDIES METHOD FOR ELLIPSES. The textual studies method uses ellipses more strictly than the general method to represent omissions of material at the beginning and end of quoted sentences. If you use this method, follow the principles of the general method except as noted below.

Original: When a nation is wrong, it should say so and apologize to the wronged party. It should conduct itself according to the standards of international diplomacy. It should also take steps to change the situation.

✵ ▪ If you omit material between sentences but quote the sentence preceding the omission in full, include the terminal punctuation mark from the original. Leave a space between that punctuation mark and the first ellipsis dot, as in the general method, shown in the first example below. However, if the omission includes the end of the preceding sentence (even if what is left is a grammatically complete sentence), put a space instead of a punctuation mark immediately following that sentence. After the space, use three ellipsis dots to represent the omission, followed by a space and the terminal punctuation mark from the original (as in the second example here).

“When a nation is wrong, it should say so and apologize to the wronged party. . . . It should also take steps to change the situation.”

but

“When a nation is wrong, it should say so . . . . It should also take steps to change the situation.”

✵ ▪ If you begin a quotation with a sentence that is grammatically complete despite an omission at the beginning of the sentence, indicate the omission with an ellipsis. If the first word is capitalized in the quotation but not in the original, indicate the changed letter in brackets (see 25.3.1).

“. . . [I]t should say so and apologize to the wronged party.”

✵ ▪ If you end a quotation with a sentence that is grammatically complete despite an omission at the end of the sentence, indicate the omission with a space and a three-dot ellipsis, followed by a space and the terminal punctuation from the original, as you would for an omitted ending between sentences.

“When a nation is wrong, it should say so . . . .”

25.3.2.4 OMITTING A PARAGRAPH OR MORE. The following practice applies to both the general and textual studies methods of handling omissions.

If you omit a full paragraph or more within a block quotation, indicate that omission with a period and three ellipsis dots at the end of the paragraph before the omission. If the quotation includes another paragraph after the omission, indent the first line of the new paragraph. If it starts in the middle of a paragraph, begin with three ellipsis points after the indentation.

Merton writes:

A brand-new conscience was just coming into existence as an actual, operating function of a soul. My choices were just about to become responsible. . . .

. . . Since no man ever can, or could, live by himself and for himself alone, the destinies of thousands of other people were bound to be affected.

25.3.2.5 OMITTING A LINE OR MORE OF POETRY. For both the general and textual studies methods, show the omission of one or more complete lines of a poem quoted in a block quotation by a line of ellipsis points about as long as the line above it.

The key passage reads as follows:

Weep no more, woeful shepherds, weep no more,

For Lycidas your sorrow is not dead,

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

To all that wander in that perilous flood.