Use single quotation marks to indicate a quote within another quote.
When incorporating someone else's words into your own writing, you often need to quote them. However, what happens when the material you are quoting already contains a quotation? The solution is simple: use single quotation marks for the inner quote and double quotation marks for the outer quote.
Here's a breakdown of how to handle quotations within quotations:
-
Outer Quotation: This is the main quote you are using in your writing. It is enclosed in double quotation marks (").
-
Inner Quotation: This is the quote that already exists within the outer quote. It is enclosed in single quotation marks (').
Example:
The professor stated, "The student argued, 'This experiment is flawed,' and then proceeded to explain why."
In this example:
"The student argued, 'This experiment is flawed,' and then proceeded to explain why."is the outer quote (what the professor stated).'This experiment is flawed'is the inner quote (what the student argued).
Key Points:
- Always use double quotation marks for the main quote you are incorporating.
- Use single quotation marks for the quote that appears within the main quote.
- Ensure that your punctuation is correct and that you are properly attributing the quotes.
- If you have a quote within a quote within a quote, you can revert to using double quotation marks, but try to rephrase to avoid this.
By following these guidelines, you can accurately and clearly represent quoted material, even when it contains quotations of its own.
