YAGODA’S RULES FOR QUOTATIONS

A direct quote is the material presented inside of quotation marks. It tells the reader that these are the exact words a speaker said. As long as the source is qualified to speak about the subject, a quote is a good—probably the best—way to get opinionated, emotional, metaphorical, personal, ungrammatical, hyperbolic, and generally colorful language into your story.

Quotes should be short: one or two sentences in a news story, only slightly longer in a feature. Generally speaking, readers will expect a quote before the fifth graf of a story. You often find one in the third graf. Red flags should go up if your story consists of less than 10 percent quotes or more than 30 percent.

Standard form:

“That is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard,” Jones said. (or “he said”) Note: comma rather than period after “heard.”

Two-sentence quotes:

“That is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard,” Jones said. “It’s mind-boggling.” Note: attribution comes after first sentence.

Wrong: “That is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. It’s mind-boggling,” Jones said.

When speaker needs to be identified or described:

“That is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard,” said Alex Jones, a journalism professor.

When appropriate, attribution can come before the quote:

Jones, a journalism professor, said, “That is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard.” Note: uppercase “T” in “That.”

Occasionally, a long or dramatic quote is preceded by a colon, as in:

Smith said: “I deplore everything the president stands for.”

Avoid “orphan” quotes by telling readers who uttered them.

Wrong: Sophomore Bill Kent thought the film wasn’t Tarantino’s best work. “It sucked.”

Right: Sophomore Bill Kent thought the film wasn’t Tarantino’s best work. “It sucked,” he said.

If you are using a relatively long quote, or want to emphasize a short one, give the quote its own paragraph.

Sophomore Bill Kent thought the film wasn’t Tarantino’s best work

“It sucked,” he said.

Partial quotes are quotes of less than a complete sentence. Use them sparingly (no more than two or three per story), and only for vivid words and phrases):

Jones described the proposal as “mind-boggling.” Note: No comma before the partial quote, and if a period or comma us used at the end, it must go inside the quotation marks.

Wrong: Jones said it was, “mind-boggling”.

Use indirect quotes, or paraphrase, for purely factual information that would not lose anything if expressed in “journalistic” language.

Poor use of direct quotes: “The university will be closed tomorrow,” Jones said.

Preferable: The university will be closed tomorrow, Jones said.

Or: Jones said that the university will be closed tomorrow. [Note: no comma after “said.” The word “that” is often unnecessary in an indirect quote. This one, for example, could be made more concise: Jones said the university will be closed tomorrow. Sometimes the “that” is necessary to prevent ambiguity or confusion.]

Quote within a quote:

“The guy said to me, ‘Your money or your life,’” Jones recalled.

Attribution in middle of sentence can be used sparingly, and only at natural pauses: “I did every assignment,” he said, “except for the term paper.”

Wrong: “I did every assignment except,” he said, “for the term paper.”

Avoid brackets [] unless you have a very good reason for using them.

Almost all of the time, you can tell the reader what you would have put into brackets by taking the time and effort to set up the quote.

The brackets ruin this quote:

“Arnold [Schwarzenegger] is a wuss,” said Bustamante.

Instead, write something like:

Bustamante made it clear that for him, Schwarzenegger’s tough-guy image is all hype. “Arnold is a wuss,” he said.

Also avoid ellipses […] to indicate you are leaving out material.

If the transcript of your interview has Bustamente saying, “Arnold is, you know, a wuss,” you don’t need to write it: “Arnold is … a wuss.” It is okay to leave obviously extraneous material out of a quote. It is not okay, however, to string together two sentences someone made five minutes apart into one quote. If you want to use them both, make two separate quotes. It is also not okay to include in a direct quote any word the quoted person didn’t actually say.

Also avoid:

Any verb of attribution other than “said” (e.g., claimed, stated, asserted, gasped, admitted, gasped, smiled, quipped, remarked, etc.). “Asked,” “replied” and “recalled” are okay when appropriate in the context.

Quotes almost always have to be “set up” by a sentence in your own words that introduces the idea of the quote without being too similar too it.

Too similar:

Coach Maurice Cheeks said the 76ers have a considerable distance to travel in order to be a playoff contender.

“This team has a long way to go,” he said.

Set-up doesn’t do enough:

Coach Maurice Cheeks had some comments about the 76ers.

“This team has a long way to go,” he said.

Just right:

Coach Randy Ayers made it clear he wasn’t completely satisfied with the 76ers.

“This team has a long way to go,” he said.

Two quotes can’t come right after each other. Instead they must be separated by material from you, the writer.

Wrong:

“This has been the most beautiful autumn ever,” said Kelly Jones, a sophomore.

“I love it when the leaves change color,” said sophomore Audrey Martin.

Better:

Students have responded to the annual leaf show. “This has been the most beautiful autumn ever,” said Kelly Jones, a freshman.

Sophomore Audrey Martin agreed. “I love it when the leaves change color,” she said.