Single, ‘smart’ quotation marks (‘ ’) are used:
- to enclose the exact words of a writer or speaker; if quotations occur within quotations, use double quotation marks within the single ones
He said, ‘We have compared our new method with the “gold standard” test’.
- to offset words or letters that would be ambiguous without quotation marks
The term ‘WHO’ is an acronym [Sometimes italics are used for the same purpose – be consistent and sparing in the use of quotation marks or italics in this way.]
If you are quoting another source, make sure you reproduce it accurately and acknowledge it. It is the author’s responsibility to ensure the accuracy of quotations. Spelling, italics and punctuation must follow the original, even when these do not follow the style of the rest of the publication. However, it is acceptable to change the parenthetical dash (eg from a hyphen to an en dash). Retain any misspelt words or other inaccuracies, but identify them as being in the original by placing sic in square brackets immediately after them:
‘The US EPA has developed a new method for detecting chlorfluazone [sic] residues in beef.’
Alternatively, for a misspelling or other minor error in the original, amend the error without using sic; however, take care not to change the substance of the quote.
Indicate any deviation from the original by an ellipsis for omissions and by square brackets for insertions:
‘Vesicular stomatitis is principally a disease of cattle, horses and pigs … with symptoms indistinguishable from those of FMD [foot-and-mouth disease].’
