<p> THE GOLDEN RULES FOR QUOTATIONS (the short form)i</p><p>RULE 1. If the quotation is short (normally not more than four typed lines of prose, not more than two or three lines of verse), put it in quotation marks and integrate it directly into the text of your paper.</p><p> Seeking reassurance that her beauty remained “sublime,” the Queen asked, “‘Oh Mirror Mirror on the wall,/Who is the fairest of them all?’” </p><p>RULE 2. Avoid long quotations. Readers tend to skip them. Consider carefully whether the quoted material may not be more economically presented by paraphrase, or whether the quotation may be effectively shortened by ellipsis (refer to RULE 9). Readers faced with long quotations may reasonably expect you to examine it in some detail; that is, the longer your quotation, the more you should write about it.</p><p>If you must use a long quotation (normally more than four typed lines of prose, more than three lines of verse), begin it on a new line; double space it (like the rest of your paper); and indent it twice as far from the left margin as you do for a new paragraph. Do not enclose it in quotation marks. </p><p> Upon discovering she had competition from a rival named Snow White, </p><p>The Queen went absolutely wild. She yelled, “I’m going to scrag that child! I’ll cook her flaming goose I’ll skin ‘er! I’ll have her rotten guts for dinner!”</p><p>RULE 3. When quoting verse it is extremely important to preserve the line arrangement of the original. The verse line is a rhythmical unit and thus affects meaning. When more than one line of poetry is quoted, the lines are separated by a slash and capitalization follows the original.</p><p> Due to her great beauty, Snow White had no trouble finding transportation. “She found it easy, being pretty, / To hitch a ride into the city….”</p><p>RULE 4. In general, a sentence containing a quotation is punctuated as it would be if there was no quotation. Do not punctuate before or after a quotation unless it is otherwise called for.</p><p> When Snow White persuaded the Huntsman to change his mind, his heart “melted like a pound of butter.” (Notice that there is no comma after the word “heart” where it often might be included to introduce a quotation.)</p><p>RULE 5. Normal processes of grammar and syntax, like the normal processes of punctuation are unaffected by quotations. Subjects must agree with their verbs; verbs must be consistent in tense; and pronouns must have their normal relation to antecedents.</p><p> The Mirror said that “Queen, you are the cat’s pajamas.” This is an incorrect mixture of direct and indirect quotation.</p><p> The mirror said, “Queen, you are the cat’s pajamas.”</p><p> While she was working “As general cook and parlor maid / With seven funny little men,” Snow White decides to bring in more money. The capitalized “As” does not fit the context of the sentence nor does the tense of the verb “decides”. </p><p> While she was working as “general cook and parlor maid / With seven funny little men,” Snow White decided to bring in more money. RULE 6. Your introductions must supply enough context to make the quotation meaningful. Be careful that all pronouns in the quotation have clearly identifiable antecedents.</p><p> When Snow White’s mother died, the king said, “I’d like to give each one a trial.” The antecedent of “one” is unclear.</p><p> Responding to the overwhelming number of applicants who “begged to be the royal bride,” the king declared, “‘I’d like to give each one a trial.’”</p><p>RULE 7. The words within your quotation marks must be quoted exactly from the original.</p><p>RULE 8. Use brackets (parentheses with square corners) to indicate editorial changes or additions. Avoid excessive use of brackets. Often a paraphrase will serve as well as a quotation.</p><p> Knowing they could make a fortune at the track, “They pawned their watches.” The Antecedent of “they” is unclear.</p><p> Knowing they could make a fortune at the track, “[the Dwarfs] pawned their watches.”</p><p>Your sentences, including bracketed words, must read as if there were no brackets.</p><p> “[Snow White] on tiptoe through the mighty hall,” and then she stole the Mirror.</p><p> Snow White went “on tiptoe through the mighty hall,” and then she stole the Mirror.</p><p>RULE 9. It is permissible to omit words from quoted material, but only if the omission is indicated. Three spaced periods (technically known as an ellipsis) are used to indicate the omission. If there are four periods, one is the normal period at the end of a sentence.</p><p> When the poet introduces Snow White’s newfound friends, he proclaims, “These Seven Dwarfs… / Were guilty of one shocking vice….” As with brackets, your sentences including ellipses must read as if there were no ellipses.</p><p>RULE 10. Single quotation marks are used for quotations within quotations. Thus, when quoting dialogue, change any original double quotation marks to singles and add double quotation marks to the outside of the entire quoted passage.</p><p> Describing the Queen’s jubilant reaction to the Huntsman’s story, the poet writes, “The Queen cried out, “Bravissimo! / I trust you killed her nice and slow.”</p><p> Describing the Queen’s jubilant reaction to the Huntsman’s story, the poet writes, “The Queen cried out, ‘Bravissimo! / I trust you killed her nice and slow.’” **You can check the accuracy of your quotations by counting the number of beginning and ending quotation marks. They should be equal! i Examples taken from the poem Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Roald Dahl.</p>