Quotes And clichés The quote Writers for the mass

Transcript:Quotes And clichés The quote Writers for the mass:
Quotes And clichés The quote Writers for the mass media rely on interviews. These produce quotes. When you refer to what another source has said or written using exact words, it’s a quote. It has quote marks around it. Quote marks Grammar reminder: In the United States quote marks are always outside punctuation, except when using a colon or semicolon. Examples: “Heavy snowfall is forecast for tomorrow,” according to meteorologist Irving Nern. Jenson proposed “an array of solutions to stop high tuition”; the first step is a tax increase. Direct quotes A direct quote uses quote marks (double quotes in the United States) to indicate the exact words a speaker used. Writers or editors are ethically bound to change nothing with quote marks around it. Some editors believe it’s OK to clear up bad grammar in quotes. Direct quotes If a writer or editor prefers to use other words, he or she must remove the quote marks. Example: Nern said, “I plan to run for Congress as long as the people want me.” You can change this, but you need to remove the quotes: Nern said she will consider running for Congress as long as the voters want me. This is called a paraphrase. Partial quotes A writer or editor may use some of the source’s actual words, and some of his or her own. Example: Nern said she will run for Congress “as long as the people will have me.” The first part of that does not use her exact words, so the sentence becomes a partial quote. The paraphrase If a writer or editor prefers to use different words from what the source says, the statement becomes a paraphrase. Example: Nern said if the public support is there, a run for Congress is a possibility. Did she use those words? No, so we can’t put quote marks around them, even if the attribution “said” is there. The paraphrase A paraphrase interprets what a source said. Is the paraphrase accurate? That depends on the writer’s and editor’s judgment. Important note: NEVER add quote marks to paraphrases. You don’t know if those were the exact words. You can remove quote marks if you wish, but consider that mass media stories should have some direct quotes to add interest and color. Attributions Note that attributions (said, says) can be in either the past or present tense, but should be consistent throughout