Editing Encyclopedia:Manual of Style (section)

===Quotation marks===
{{Shortcut|MOS:QUOTEMARKS|MOS:SPEECHMARKS|MOS:"}}
{{See also|Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Quotations}}

In the material below, the term ''quotation'' includes conventional uses of quotation marks such as for titles of songs, chapters, episodes, and so on. Quotation marks are also used in other contexts, such as in [[#Animals, plants, and other organisms|cultivar names]].

====Quotation characters====
{{Shortcut|MOS:CURLY|MOS:CQ|MOS:STRAIGHT}}
*Use {{xt|{{big|<b>"</b>}}straight{{big|<b>"</b>}}}} quotation marks, not {{!xt|{{big|<b>“</b>}}curly{{big|<b>”</b>}}}} ones. (For single-apostrophe quotes: {{xt|{{big|<b>'</b>}}straight{{big|<b>'</b>}}}}, not {{!xt|{{big|<b>‘</b>}}curly{{big|<b>’</b>}}}}.){{efn|name=curlyq}}
*Do not use accent marks, backticks ({{!xt|{{big|'''`'''}}text{{big|'''´'''}}}}), low-high ({{!xt|„&nbsp;“}}), corner brackets ({{!xt|「&nbsp;」}}), or [[guillemet]] ({{!xt|«&nbsp;»}}) marks as quotation marks (except when such marks are {{em|internal}} to quoted non-English text{{snd}}see {{slink||Typographic conformity}}). The symbols {{!xt|′}} and {{!xt|″}} seen in edit window dropdowns are [[prime (symbol)|prime]] and double prime: these are used to designate [[Minute and second of arc|units of angular measurement]], and not as apostrophes or quote marks.
*Quotation marks and apostrophes in imported material [[#Typographic conformity|should be changed]] if necessary to comply with the above.

====Double or single<span id="Double or single quotation marks"></span><span id="Single quotation marks"></span>====
{{Shortcut|MOS:DOUBLE|MOS:SINGLE|MOS:SIMPLEGLOSS}}

Most quotations take double quotation marks ({{xt|Bob said: "Jim ate the apple."}}).{{efn|1=Double quotation marks are preferred to single because they are immediately distinguishable from apostrophes:
*{{!xt|She wrote that 'Cleanthes' differs from the others', but neither opinion may represent Hume's'}} (slows the reader down).
*{{xt|She wrote that "Cleanthes' differs from the others', but neither opinion may represent Hume's"}} (clearer).
}}
Exceptions:
*Plant cultivars take single quotation marks ({{xt|''Malus domestica'' 'Golden Delicious'}}; see [[Wikipedia:Naming conventions (flora)]]).
*[[Gloss (annotation)#In linguistics|Glosses]] that translate or define unfamiliar terms take single quotes; simple glosses require no comma before the definition ({{xt|Turkic {{lang|trk|qazaq}} 'freebooter' is the root of ''Cossack''; ''republic'' comes from Latin {{lang|la|res publica}}, loosely meaning 'public affair'.}}). The {{tl|Gloss}} template can be used for this; e.g. {{tlx|lang|es|casa}} {{tlx|gloss|house}} yields: {{lang|es|casa}} {{gloss|house}}.

====For a quotation within a quotation====
{{Shortcut|MOS:QWQ|MOS:QINQ}}

Use single quotes:
*{{xt|Darwin wrote in his introduction that "the maxim 'de minimis lex non curat' does not apply to science".}}
For deeper nesting, alternate between single and double quotes:
*{{xt|He said, "That book asserts, 'Confucius said "Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.{{" ' "}}}}

For quote marks in immediate succession, add a sliver of space by using {{nowrap|{{tl|" '}}}}, {{nowrap|{{tl|' "}}}}, or (as in the example just given) {{nowrap|{{tl|" ' "}}}}:
*{{xt|He announced, "The answer was 'Yes!{{' "}}}} Markup: <code>He announced, "The answer was 'Yes!{{tl|' "}}</code>
*{{!xt|He announced, "The answer was 'Yes!'"}} (simply jamming things together looks awful in most fonts)
*{{!xt|He announced, "The answer was 'Yes!'{{nbsp}}"}} (a regular space is too much)

====Article openings<span id="Quotation marks in article openings"></span>====
{{Shortcut|MOS:BOLDQUOTE}}
In the bolded text typically appearing at the opening of an article:
*Any quotation marks that are part of the title should be in bold just like the rest of the title.
**From ''[["A" Is for Alibi]]'': {{xt|'''''"A" Is for Alibi''''' is a mystery novel&nbsp;...}}
*Quotation marks ''not'' part of the article title should not be bolded.
**From [[Jabberwocky]]: {{xt|"'''Jabberwocky'''" is a nonsense poem&nbsp;...}}
**From [[Babe Ruth]]: {{xt|'''George Herman''' "'''Babe'''" '''Ruth''' was an American baseball player&nbsp;...}} {{crossref|pw=y|(See also {{section link|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Biography|Nicknames}}.)}}

====Punctuation before quotations====
{{Shortcut|MOS:QUOTEPUNCT}}
If a non-quoted but otherwise identical construction would work grammatically without a comma, using a comma before a quotation embedded within a sentence is optional:
*{{xt|The report stated "There was a 45% reduction in transmission rate."}} ([[wikt:cf.|Cf.]] the non-quotation {{xt|The report stated there was a 45% reduction in transmission rate.}})
*{{xt|The report stated, "There was a 45% reduction in transmission rate."}}
The comma-free approach is often used with partial quotations:
*{{xt|The report observed "a 45% reduction in transmission rate".}}
A comma is required when it would be present in the same construction if none of the material were a quotation:
*{{xt|In Margaret Mead's view, "we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities" to enrich our culture.}}
Do not insert a comma if it would confuse or alter the meaning:
*{{xt|Caitlyn Jenner expressed concerns about children "who are coming to terms with being true to who they are".}} (Accurate quote of a statement about {{em|some}} children{{snd}}specifically those children "who are coming to terms{{nbsp}}...")
*{{!xt|Caitlyn Jenner expressed concerns about children, "who are coming to terms with being true to who they are".}} (Changes the meaning to imply Jenner was expressing concern about {{em|all}} children, while separately observing that children, in general, "are coming to terms{{nbsp}}...")
It is clearer to use a colon to introduce a quotation if it forms a complete sentence, and this should always be done for multi-sentence quotations:
*{{xt|The report stated: "There was a 45% reduction in transmission rate."}}
*{{xt|In a letter to his son, Albert Einstein wrote: "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving."}}
No additional punctuation is necessary for an explicit [[#Words as words|words-as-words]] scenario:
*{{xt|The message was unintelligible except for the fragments "help soon" and "how much longer before".}}

====Names and titles<span class="anchor" id="Quotation marks-Titles"></span><span id="Quotation marks with names and titles"></span>====
{{/titles hatnote include|where=MOS#P-QM-N&T}}

Quotation marks should be used for the following names and titles:
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
*Articles and chapters (books and periodicals italicized)
*Short stories (books and periodicals italicized)
*Sections of musical pieces (pieces italicized)
*Individual strips from comics and webcomics (comics italicized)
*Poems (long or epic poems italicized)
*Songs (albums, song cycles, operas, operettas, and oratorios italicized)
*Individual episodes of television and radio series and [[Serial (radio and television)|serials]] (series title italicized){{efn|1="Series title italicized" is using ''series'' to mean the entire show as a whole. A season (also called a ''series'' in British English) with its own title uses quotation marks for that title, as a sub-work.}}
}}

{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|The Beatles wrote "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" for their album ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''.}}

Do not use quotation marks or italics for:
{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|
*Ancient writings
*Concert tours
*Locations
*Myths and epics
*Prayers
}}

Many, but not all, of the above items should also be in [[#Titles of works|title case]].

====Punctuation inside or outside<span class="anchor" id="LP"></span><span class="anchor" id="LQ"></span><span class="anchor" id="TQ"></span><span class="anchor" id="logical quotes"></span><span id="Punctuation inside or outside quotation marks"></span>====
{{Shortcut|MOS:LQ|MOS:LQUOTE|MOS:INOROUT|MOS:LOGICAL}}
{{See also|Wikipedia:Logical quotation on Wikipedia}}
{{See also|Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Effect on nearby punctuation|label 1=Wikipedia:Manual of Style § Italics: Effect on nearby punctuation}}<!-- Another kind of punctuation "in or out". -->

<!-- EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: Changes to this section may escalate into heated dispute. Please consider raising any proposed changes for discussion and consensus-building on the talk page before editing. -->
Use the [[Quotation marks in English#British practice|logical quotation]] style in all articles, regardless of the variety of English in which they are written. Include terminal punctuation within the quotation marks only if it was present in the original material, and otherwise place it after the closing quotation mark. For the most part, this means treating periods and commas in the same way as question marks: keep them inside the quotation marks if they apply only to the quoted material and outside if they apply to the whole sentence. Examples are given below.
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|Did Darla say, "Here I am"?}} (question mark applies to whole sentence)
*{{em|Incorrect:}} {{!xt|Did Darla say, "Here I am?"}} (incorrect to apply the question mark to the quotation)
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|Darla said, "Where am I?"}} (question mark applies to quoted material only)

If the quotation is a single word or a sentence fragment, place the terminal punctuation outside the closing quotation mark. When quoting a full sentence, the end of which coincides with the end of the sentence containing it, place terminal punctuation inside the closing quotation mark.
*{{xt|Miller wanted, he said, "to create something timeless".}}
*{{xt|Miller said: "I wanted to create something timeless."}}

If the quoted sentence is followed by a [[clause]] that should be preceded by a comma, omit the [[full stop]] (period), and do not replace it with a comma {{em|inside}} the quotation.{{efn|This is the principal way in which logical quotation differs from typical British news punctuation practice, in which many publishers permit such a change to the quoted material, which is antithetical to the accuracy purpose of logical punctuation.}} Other terminal punctuation, such as a question mark or exclamation mark, may be retained.
*{{xt|Livingston then said, "It is done", and turned to the people.}}
*{{xt|Livingston then exclaimed, "It is done!", and turned to the people.}}

If the quoted sentence is followed by a clause identifying the speaker, use a comma outside the quotation mark instead of a full stop inside it, but retain any other terminal punctuation, such as a question mark.
*{{xt|"There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet", said Kennedy.}}
*{{xt|By asking "Who are you?", da Gama prompts Adamastor to tell his story.}}

Do not follow quoted words or fragments with commas inside the quotation marks, except where a longer quotation has been broken up and the comma is part of the full quotation.
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|"I began to change, opening the way to confidence and courage", said Turner.}}
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|"I began to change," said Turner, "opening the way to confidence and courage."}}
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|"I began to change, opening the way", said Turner, "to confidence and courage."}}
*{{em|Incorrect:}} {{!xt|"I began to change, opening the way," said Turner, "to confidence and courage."}}

==== Quotation marks and external links ====
External links to article titles should have the title in quotes inside the link. The [[Help:Citation Style 1|CS1]] and [[Help:Citation Style 2|CS2]] citation templates do this automatically, and untemplated references should do the same.

*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|{{cite news |last1=Kiefer |first1=Francine |title=Clinton: The Early Years |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1998/0529/052998.us.us.3.html |work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]] |date=May 29, 1998 |ref=none}}}} (Using {{tl|cite news}})
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt| Kiefer, Francine (May 29, 1998). [https://www.csmonitor.com/1998/0529/052998.us.us.3.html "Clinton: The Early Years"]. ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]''.}} (Untemplated)
*{{em|Incorrect:}} {{!xt| Kiefer, Francine (May 29, 1998). "[https://www.csmonitor.com/1998/0529/052998.us.us.3.html Clinton: The Early Years]". ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]''.}}  (Untemplated)

==== Quotation marks and internal links ====
Internal links (wikilinks) accompanied by quotation marks should usually have the quotes outside the link. This applies to titles of works in quotation marks (songs, episodes, etc.)
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|Play it, Sam. Play "[[As Time Goes By (song)|As Time Goes By]]".}}  (Using <code><nowiki>"[[ ]]"</nowiki></code>.)
*{{em|Incorrect:}} {{!xt|Play it, Sam. Play [[As Time Goes By (song)|"As Time Goes By"]].}} (Using <code><nowiki>[[" "]]</nowiki></code>.)
However, quotation marks are needed inside wikilinks when the quotation mark is part of the link, or where the linked display text includes quotation marks indicating slang, nicknames, common names, or similar usage.
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|The term ''soccer'' comes from [[Oxford "-er"]] slang, which was prevalent at the [[University of Oxford]] in England from about 1875...}}
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|A Cockney accent [[Rhoticity in English|drops the "r"]] after a vowel.}}
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|The [[Dynamo Sports Club|Proletarian Sports Society "Dynamo"]] was established in Moscow in 1923.}}
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|President Suharto's [[New Order (Indonesia)|"New Order"]] administration received US support for its economic policies.}}
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|Japan's [[Lost Decades|"Lost Decades"]] began in 1991.}}