Editing Encyclopedia:Manual of Style (section)

====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".}}