Set short quotations in the same size font as the main text and run them on within the text with single quotation marks. If possible, give the source before the quotation rather than at the end:
It was noted in the annual report (GRDC 2012) that ‘2012 was a most successful year for the GRDC’.
If the quote does not have a lead-in phrase, place final punctuation marks within the closing quotation mark:
‘We have developed a new method.’
Where the text before the quotation leads into the quotation, use a comma as a separator, if required, and:
- if the final full stop is part of the quoted text, place it before the closing quotation mark
He said, ‘We have developed a new method.’
not
He said, ‘We have developed a new method’.
- if the final full stop is part of the full sentence that includes the quoted text, place it after the closing quotation mark
He said he was ‘developing a new method’.
not
He said he was ‘developing a new method.’
If an attribution for direct speech follows the quote, place the comma inside the closing quotation mark:
‘We have developed a new method,’ he said.
not
‘We have developed a new method’, he said.
When the quoted material already has a punctuation mark, such as a question mark, retain the mark that is the strongest (to avoid doubling up of punctuation):
He asked, ‘Who discovered DNA?’
or
‘Who discovered DNA?’ he asked.
not
He asked, ‘Who discovered DNA?’.
or
‘Who discovered DNA?,’ he asked.
