Quotes

Quotes are used mainly to cite someone else's spoken or written words. Enclose the text you are citing with quote marks, but otherwise format the text as standard body text. There is no need to italicise the text you cite.

Where you are quoting a longer passage of text, you might start on a new line and indent the text. But in that case, don't use quote marks at all. 

Style basics
Use single quote marks for direct quotes in workplace writing, but don't use quotes for indirect speech
‘When will they deliver the report?’ asked the CEO.
The CEO asked when they will deliver the report.

The first style question for quotes is whether to use single or double quote marks. Government and corporate organisations mostly use single quote marks. The media and publishing world more often use double quote marks. 

In either case:

  • always capitalise the first word if it’s speech 
  • keep punctuation inside the quote marks if it’s part of the original quote
  • put the punctuation outside the quote marks if it’s part of the surrounding sentence
  • put the final full stop after the closing quote mark unless the quoted material stands alone as a full sentence.
In its last annual report, the council said there was an ‘8.2% decrease in parking revenue over 12 months’.

The chairman noted, ‘That nomination is not valid. It was not submitted on time.’

‘We are facing an enormous challenge,’ the managing director admitted, ‘which, frankly, might mean the end of our business’.

Don’t use quote marks when you are citing or paraphrasing indirect speech.

The company admitted it would be difficult to meet its growth targets.
Marking a quotation with quote marks is sufficient without other text formatting. In particular, do not put quotes into italics.
Quotes within quotes
Use double quote marks within single ones
The advice says, ‘This is classified as an “Act of God” and excluded under the policy.’
Where you need to quote some text within a quote, use double quote marks to set off the internal quote and single quote marks for the broader text. A quote within a quote will generally show a change of speaker or writer within a broader quote.

The manager explained, ‘Ms Blackwood said, “We’re concerned that the new requirements will slow our processing time”. But she hasn’t seen the new fast-track procedure.’

If your house style is to use double quotes as your standard quote mark, then use single quotes to set off a quote within a quote.
Block quotes
Indent long quotes and introduce them with a colon
The trial found:
     Contraindications with ...

Quotes longer than about 30 words will often benefit from more prominent formatting to distinguish them from the main text. This helps the reader keep track of what is your material and what is quoted.

To create a clear visual break for longer quotes, indent the quoted text on a new line and introduce them with a colon. You can then leave out the quote marks.

The report summarised the help available:

      The Fair Work Ombudsman provides general advice about awards, 
      contracts and employment conditions. For more specific issues,
      the Australian Retailers Association provides expert advice on
      employment law, health and safety measures, and retail management.

As with shorter quotes within a sentence, there is no need to italicise block quotes to set them apart. Standard text is easier to read, and the indent is enough to highlight the quote.

Definitely avoid the over-engineered option of using all 3: quote marks, indenting and italics. In a short sentence, just use quote marks. In a longer text, just use indenting.

Clarifications and errors

Add editorial comments in square brackets, especially ‘[sic]’ to clarify the original

‘They [the staff] must respond accordingly,’ she said.
The agency reports, ‘Numbers has [sic] fallen since 2000.’

When quoting the words of others, generally keep the spelling and punctuation from the original quote. However, if a text isn't clear outside its original context, you can insert an editorial comment or clarification in square brackets.

Chief Medical Officer Stuart White was adamant. He said, ‘It [the data] is inconclusive.’

If there’s an error in the original text, you can add ‘[sic]’ next to it to show that it isn’t your mistake.
The contractor just emailed: ‘We raised this issues [sic] in our March meeting.’

But be careful with using [sic], as it can come across as sarcastic or aggressive. Depending on the content, you might be able to ‘merge’ your editorial comments with the quoted text.

Chief Medical Officer Stuart White was adamant. He said, ‘[The data] is inconclusive’.

The contractor just emailed: ‘We raised [these] issues in our March meeting’.
Omissions
Use an ellipsis (...) to leave words out
‘The film is ... quite remarkable,’ the blog post said.

Use an ellipsis to condense a quote and show that you have removed some of the text. This will often be to save space or to focus on the most relevant content.

The CEO stated, ‘Our focus ... must be on sales growth’.
The CEO stated, ‘Our focus for the year ahead must be on sales growth’.

If you’re leaving out an entire paragraph, you should put the ellipsis on a separate line to flag this.

When shortening any quote, be sure that any words you leave out don't change the meaning or intent of the original.

See also:   Ellipses …,  In-text citations,  Parts of a text,  Quote marks ‘ ’ “ ”,  Square brackets [ ]