Double quotation marks are reserved for ‘quotes within quotes’, whereas single quotation marks are used for quotations according to the Style Guide & Cambridge Guide to English Usage.
Example:
He said ‘I don’t like it when you call him “Big Ears”; it’s insulting!’
Nevertheless, except for government publications (where single quotation marks are preferred), it is acceptable to use double quotation marks as a first option if this is your preference. Double quotation marks (in the first instance) are preferred in journalism and the media.
Linguistic slumming
Beware of authors who use quote marks for the linguistic equivalent of slumming, partaking of colloquial vocabulary and sneering at it at the same time. If the use of ‘scare quotes’ is ‘over the top’ it can put the reader ‘off-side’, and in the ‘worst-case scenario’ it’s a real ‘turn-off’.
Source: The Editor’s Companion, 2004.
Quotes and tone
Be sparing with quotes. Direct quotes should be used when either the speaker or what he said is surprising, or when the words he used are particularly pithy or graphic. Otherwise you can probably paraphrase him more concisely. The most pointless quote is the inconsequential remark attributed to a nameless source: ‘Everyone wants to be in on the act,’ says one high-ranking civil servant.
The term ‘inverted commas’ has been used and is still sometimes used (most prevalently in UK English). However, the currently preferred and most commonly used term is quotation marks, or in short, quote marks.
A preposition links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition.
A preposition usually indicates the temporal, spatial or logical relationship of its object to the rest of the sentence as in the following examples:
The book is on the table.
The book is beneath the table.
The book is leaning against the table.
The book is beside the table.
She held the book over the table.
She read the book during class.
In each of the preceding sentences, a preposition locates the noun “book” in space or in time.
Each of the highlighted words in the following sentences is a preposition:
The children climbed the mountain without fear.
In this sentence, the preposition “without” introduces the noun “fear.” The prepositional phrase “without fear” functions as an adverb describing how the children climbed.
There was rejoicing throughout the land when the government was defeated.
Here, the preposition “throughout” introduces the noun phrase “the land.” The prepositional phrase acts as an adverb describing the location of the rejoicing.
The spider crawled slowly along the banister.
The preposition “along” introduces the noun phrase “the banister” and the prepositional phrase “along the banister” acts as an adverb, describing where the spider crawled.
The dog is hiding under the porch because it knows it will be punished for chewing up a new pair of shoes.
Here the preposition “under” introduces the prepositional phrase “under the porch,” which acts as an adverb modifying the compound verb “is hiding.”
The screenwriter searched for the manuscript he was certain was somewhere in his office.
Similarly in this sentence, the preposition “in” introduces a prepositional phrase “in his office,” which acts as an adverb describing the location of the missing papers.
Here’s an example of a sentence that can end with a preposition: What did you step on? A key point, you might say the Quick and Dirty Tip, is that the sentence doesn’t work if you leave off the preposition. You can’t say, “What did you step?” You need to say, “What did you step on?” to make a grammatical sentence.
I can hear some of you gnashing your teeth right now, while you think, “What about saying, ‘On what did you step?’” But really, have you ever heard anyone talk that way? I’ve read long, contorted arguments from noted grammarians about why it’s OK to end sentences with prepositions when the preposition isn’t extraneous (1), but the driving point still seems to be, “Nobody in their right mind talks this way.” Yes, you could say, “On what did you step?” but not even grammarians think you should.
A couple from Georgia and a couple from the Northeast were seated side by side on an airplane.The girl from Georgia, being friendly and all, said, “So, where y’all from?”The Northeast girl said, “From a place where they know better than to use a preposition at the end of a sentence.”The girl from Georgia sat quietly for a few moments and then replied: “So, where y’all from, bitch?” (Joke: Daniel Miessler)
Over the whole document, make average sentence length 15 to 20 words. Muddle is more likely in a long sentence, unless the construction is simple and well-organised. Learning to cut repetition and verbiage, using lists and headings properly, and shortening sentences can make the world of difference to your writing.
For example:
(1) Split and disconnect—Full stops enable readers to digest your latest point and prepare for the next. Compare these two statements:
I understand that some doctors making night calls have been attacked in recent months on the expectation that they were carrying drugs and their caution when visiting certain areas in the south of the city has been very exacting and has even included telephoning the address to be visited from their car when they arrive outside the house.
I understand that some doctors making night calls have been attacked in recent months on the expectation that they were carrying drugs. Their caution when visiting certain areas in the south of the city has been very exacting. It has even included telephoning the address to be visited from their car when they arrive outside the house.
(2) Say less – Sometimes a sentence is lengthened by needless repetition. Compare these two letters:
Dear Sirs
Trial of John Smith and James Jackson
Trade Descriptions Act 1968, Manchester Crown Court, 10.30 a.m.
Tuesday 7 June 2000
The above defendants are to be tried at Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday 7 June 2000 at 10.30 a.m. for several offences under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 concerning the supply of motor vehicles to which false trade descriptions had been applied.
Dear Sirs
Trial of John Smith and James Jackson
Trade Descriptions Act 1968, Manchester Crown Court, 10.30 a.m.
Tuesday 7 June 2000
The above defendants are to be tried for several offences concerning the supply of motor vehicles to which false trade descriptions had been applied.
Some words add instant girth to your writing and slow readers to a crawl. The problem? Noun* Addiction.
Too many nouns:
“The effect of the overuse of nouns in writing is the placing of excessive strain upon the inadequate number of verbs and resultant prevention of the flow of thought.” [29 words]
Nouns changed to verbs: “Using too many nouns in writing strains verbs and prevents the flow of thought.” [14 words]
See how the second one is much clearer, and only half as long? Look anywhere in corporate Australia, and you’ll see nouns not only lurking in people’s writing, but flagrantly flaunting their fleshy rumps. What’s wrong with nouns?
Nouns are things. They sit there lazily, doing nothing. Oh, they seem innocent, but be warned — use too many and your readers will beg for mercy…or press “delete.” The solution?
Verbs. They’re actions. Something’s happening. It’s the difference between a photo and a movie. Nouns make your writing fat (long), boring and vague, while verbs keep it short and lively. So…go the verbs!
Noun: A thing, quality, place or person. E.g. car, happiness, neighbour.
He discussed specific examples of designing analysis tools with consideration of possible future factors that may need to be taken into account so that if such contingencies arise they are easily incorporated into the model being used.
Replace with:
He discussed specific examples of designing analysis tools, with consideration for contingencies and a willingness to incorporate changes.
He may have some difficulty attuning his leadership approach to individual employees, and possibly taking behaviour at face value rather than making an effort to understand underlying motives and feelings.
Replace with:
He may have some difficulty attuning his leadership approach to individual employees. As such, he may at times take behaviour at face value, rather than making an effort to understand underlying motives and feelings.
Here are some examples of cutting the diamond to sparkle more brightly (taken from consultant reports):
Rather than repeating a basic report created for a customer in previous years, he improved the report by including more relevant information based on discussions he had with his wider team regarding the client’s current situation.
His preferred approach is to be able to anticipate likely difficulties and plan ways to avoid them.
He ensured that management was kept remained informed and signed off on the required compromises.
Irrespective of the specific targets Lee sets for himself, his preference to set himself less challenging and stretching objectives may…
He monitors deadline dates, talks with others to check things are on track progress and…
His strong preference for involving others also suggests that, if progress is not being made according to the schedule, he will make contact with customers and inform them of the situation.
As mentioned, he is likely to involve customers in any discussions regarding changes and is likely to feel moderately comfortable instructing others in the way to do things in order to achieve the overall goals.
She instilled a sense of urgency and tackled problems in a practical and pragmatic way…
Peter’s responses to the personality questionnaire indicate that he prefers to behave consistently, rather than preferring to adapt his behaviour. This may indicate that there will be some people with whom he finds it more difficult to build relationships. as a result of his consistent approach.
You do not confront with others, you confront others. But… you consult with others.
Probably the most frequent error is the use of words that aren’t needed. … Watch for extra prepositions, as in head up; beat up on, outside of and watch on; and superfluous nouns, as in weather conditions, bush-fire situation, development process. Pleonasms (phrases that say the same thing twice) are everywhere:
close proximity
significant landmark
two-way dialogue
vital lifeline
surrogate mother-figure
important milestone
personal body language
pre-prepared
If you have trouble spotting them, just try to imagine the implied opposite: distant proximity, for instance, or an insignificant landmark. Make every word tell.
Certain words are often redundant. The leader of the so-called Front for a Free Freedonia is the leader of the Front for a Free Freedonia. A top politician or top priority is usually just a politician or a priority, and amajor speech usually just a speech. A safe haven is a haven. Most probably and most especially are probably and especially. The fact that can often be shortened to That (That I did not do so was a self-indulgence). Loans to the industrial and agricultural sectors are just loans to industry and farming.
Use words with care. A heart condition is usually a bad heart. A near miss is probably a near hit. Positive thoughts (held by long-suffering creditors, according to The Economist) presumably means optimism, just as a negative report is probably a critical report. Industrial action is usually industrial inaction, industrial disruption or a strike. A courtesy call is generally a sales offer or an uninvited visit. A substantially finished bridge is an unfinished bridge. Someone with high name-recognition is well known. Something with reliability problems probably does not work. If yours is a live audience, what would a dead one be like?
In general, be concise. Try to be economical in your account or argument (‘The best way to be boring is to leave nothing out’—Voltaire). Similarly, try to be economical with words. ‘As a general rule, run your pen through every other word you have written; you have no idea what vigour it will give to your style.’ (Sydney Smith) Raymond Mortimer put it even more crisply when commenting about Susan Sontag: ‘Her journalism, like a diamond, will sparkle more if it is cut’.
Some words add nothing but length to your prose. Use adjectives to make your meaning more precise and be cautious of those you find yourself using to make it more emphatic. The word very is a case in point. If it occurs in a sentence you have written, try leaving it out and see whether the meaning is changed. ‘The omens were good’ may have more force than ‘The omens were very good’.
Avoid strike action (strike will do), cutbacks (cuts), track record (record), wilderness area (usually either a wilderness or a wild area), large-scale (big), the policymaking process (policymaking), weather conditions (weather), etc. ‘This time around’ just means ‘This time’.
Shoot off, or rather shoot, as many prepositions after verbs as possible. Thus people can meet rather than meet with; companies can be bought and sold rather than bought up and sold off; budgets can be cut rather than cut back; plots can be hatched but not hatched up; organisations should be headed by rather than headed up by chairmen, just as markets should be freed, rather than freed up. And children can be sent to bed rather than sent off to bed—though if they are to sit up they must first sit down.
This advice you are given free, or for nothing, but not for free.
1–9—write out one, nine, (i.e. single-digit numbers); from then on the number 10, 11 etc.
If a mix of related numbers above and below nine appears in one sentence, use figures:
Unbelievably, only 2 of the 110 people on the train were injured.
Always start a sentence with a word:
Two out of 110 people were injured.
Currencies
For dollars, you can use just the $ symbol if it’s clear that it represents the local currency, but identify all other types of dollar (e.g. CAN$). When using the code and symbol, do not leave a space between the unit and quantity (e.g. US$500).
Examples of currency formats are listed below. You can also refer to the official ISO-4217 website for currency codes for all other countries.
Country
Currency
Symbol
Currency Code
Australia
Australian dollar
AU$
AUD
Canada
Canadian dollar
CAN$
CAD
European Union
euro
€
EUR
United Kingdom
pound/sterling
£
GBP
United States
US dollar
US$
USD
Measurement: symbols
When a number is associated with a unit of measurement, it is normally given as a digit, for example 5 volts, 3 MB. Leave a space between the figure and unit of measurement. However, the money symbol and percent symbol are always closed up. (If a currency code is used rather than a money symbol, leave a space between it and the figure.)
10 MB, 20 kg, $24, 10%, USD 342 million
Abbreviated units of measurements have no full stop and take no s in the plural.
10 MB, not 10 MBs
With abbreviations, capitalisation is important, for example Mb means megabits, but MB means megabytes.
Never allow the unit and amount to be separated over a new line.
Time of day
Generally, spell out even, half and quarter hours:
The meeting continued until half past three.
I’ll be there by ten o’clock.
Use figures for when you want to emphasise the exact time:
6.20 a.m. (Note that in American English a colon is used between hour and minute.)
When a 24-hour clock is required, use the following style:
Are you a short story writer? Or a short-story writer?
Would you rather do business with a pickled herring monger or a pickled-herring monger?
In the first example, the ‘short story writer’ is a writer who is short in stature, while the ‘short-story writer’ is some one who writes stories that are short. We don’t know how tall the second writer is, but we know his stories are short.
… The bottom line is: if you can rearrange the phrase using just the word “of,” you need to use the hyphen. If it takes any more than that for the phrase to make sense, then no hyphen.
Here’s the short rule about hyphens, straight from Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style: “When two or more words are combined to form a compound adjective, a hyphen is usually required.” Here’s the exception: Adverbs ending in -ly are never hyphenated.
Punctuation exists to make our writing clearer and to avoid confusion. Hyphens contribute to both, and they are indeed necessary in compound adjectives.
For example, if you write “a small engine mechanic,” you have just said that he’s an engine mechanic who is small (in stature). If, however, you write “a small-engine mechanic,” then you have indicated a mechanic who works on small engines. If the latter is true, then you need the hyphen. Here are other examples:
Real-time computing
Three-bedroom house
Nine-page document
Two-day vacation
Money-back guarantee
Sydney-based company
Second-rate actor
Once-in-a-lifetime experience
Back to the exception. Never use a hyphen adjoining adverbs ending in -ly to another word:
Naturally occurring event
Overly processed food
Gently ebbing waves
Richly scented perfume
Heavily weighted bookcase
Generally stated observation
It should be noted that over-hyphenating is considered as poor style as failure to hyphenate. Consider whether a hyphen is really needed when attaching prefixes to root words, such as in the following: nontraditional, overuse, pretest and unencumbered. (No hyphen is necessary in any of those words.) Furthermore, don’t hyphenate words that are actually one word; for example, online, wildlife and bellboy.
Hyphens with prefixes
When the last letter of a single-syllable prefix is a vowel and the word that follows begins with the same vowel, a hyphen is often inserted to prevent misreading.
For example:
De-emphasise not deemphasise
Re-enter not reenter
This practice is less crucial if a word is well known, or at least familiar to readers of the particular publication. Thus as both the Australian Oxford and Macquarie dictionaries confirm, cooperate, coordinateand their derivatives are no longer hyphenated.
The combination of two different vowels does not usually require a hyphen—as in prearrange, reallocate and triennial. The only exception is when a hyphen is used to separate the prefix from a single-syllable word beginning with a vowel, to prevent the two parts from being read together as one syllable: de-ice not deice.
Hyphens are used with co- (‘joint’) and ex- (‘former’) in recent formation, whether or not the word attached begins with a vowel:
Co-author, co-worker, ex-alderman, ex-president
For a growing set of words prefixed with e (for electronic), hyphenation is recommended:
Basically, the em rule is used to show emphasis. Here’s how:
Use an em rule/dash to show a sudden change of thought. Example: An archaeologist—of course I don’t mean you—is a person whose career lies in ruins.
Use an em rule/dash before a summary of what is stated in the sentence. Example: Avoiding work, getting liposuction, becoming a finalist in the George Hamilton Cocoa Butter Open—everything depends on that trust fund.
The Hyphen: Short and Sweet
The hyphen, in contrast, is used to show a break in words.
You could make it through life fine and dandy without a dash, but you’d be the poorer for it. Like argyle socks, the dash shows flair and style. It creates rhythm and emphasis in your writing.
The Ellipsis: Dot, Dot, Dot
The ellipsis, in contrast, indicates a break in continuity. Example: Abraham Lincoln said: “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth … a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
Use an ellipsis to show a pause or interruption. Example: “No,” I said. “I … I need my space.”
Regarding using hyphens at the end of a line of text: The dreaded but often hilarious hyp-hen has died. With improved technology, today’s newspapers and magazines rarely break words that used to over-run column width with wrongly-placed hyphens in a way that led to mans-laughter and other typographical leg-ends. (from fun-with-words)
[+ question word]She rang up to inquire when her car would be ready.
[+ speech]“Where are we going?” he inquired politely.
[With] … enquire and inquire, the forms are interchangeable. Some organisations, such as newspapers, tend to standardise on the in- form, but there are also those who make a distinction between, for example, an official inquiry and an informal enquiry.
Ascension Coastal 