Direct Quotations & Referencing & 'Your Voice'
Direct quoting is using the exact wording and punctuation contained in the original work.
Quotation marks are required to show the direct quote.
Avoid overusing direct quotes in your piece of writing as this might suggest that you have not understood the information well enough to be able to put it in your own words, that is, paraphrasing or summarising the information. Follow conventions when using direct quotes. For example,
- if you decide to omit some of the words in the middle of a longer quote, an ellipsis (...) should be used, i.e. three dots to indicate words have been omitted on purpose
- if you wish to insert some of your own words, usually one or two to maintain the flow of your essay or clarify a point, place [square brackets] around your own words
- quotes longer than approximately 40 words should be indented on the margin: double quotation marks do not appear at the beginning or end of the block quotation.