Quotations

Short quotes, block quotes, and how to alter or trim quoted words without misquoting.

When quoting a source, your job is to reproduce the original wording accurately while following AGLC formatting rules.

There are two types of quotations: short quotations, which are included within a sentence, and long quotations, which are displayed as an indented block.

Short quotations

A short quotation is three lines or fewer.

It should be incorporated into your sentence using single quotation marks.

If the quoted passage contains another quotation, use double quotation marks for the quotation within the quotation.

Example

The Court described the duty as ‘non-delegable’.¹

Example: a quotation within a quotation

The Court noted that the witness described the agreement as ‘“entirely voluntary”’.²

Long quotations

A long quotation is four lines or more.

Instead of quotation marks, it should:

be indented from the left margin;
be presented in a smaller font (if required by your style guide); and
appear without quotation marks.

The indentation alone shows that the passage is being quoted. If the quoted passage contains another quotation, use single quotation marks within the indented text.

Tip: extracts from legislation and treaties may also be presented as indented quotations, even if they are fewer than four lines long.

When using a block quotation in a footnote, place the citation immediately before or immediately after the quotation.

Introducing a quotation

Introduce quotations using normal grammar.

Don’t automatically add a colon before every quotation. If the quotation flows naturally from your sentence, no colon is needed. Use a colon only where the sentence would normally require one.

If you need to change the first letter of a quotation so that it fits your sentence, place the changed letter in square brackets.

Correct

The Court held that the duty was ‘non-delegable’.

Example: changed first letter

The Court held that ‘[t]he duty could not be delegated’.

Punctuation

For short quotations, punctuation usually goes outside the closing quotation mark.

Keep punctuation inside the quotation marks only if:

the quotation is a complete sentence; or
the punctuation is part of the original wording (such as a question mark).

For long quotations, the punctuation remains within the indented quotation.

Example

The duty was described as ‘non-delegable’.¹

Altering a quotation

You can make limited changes to a quotation so that it fits grammatically into your writing.

However, you must never change the meaning of the original text. Any changes must be clearly shown.

Square brackets

Use square brackets to show words you’ve added or changed.

You should also use square brackets for any explanatory words you insert into the quotation.

Example

‘[T]he Court concluded ...’

Omitting words

If you leave words out of a quotation, use an ellipsis ( ... ). Remember these rules:

Leave a space before and after the ellipsis.
Don’t use an ellipsis at the beginning of a quotation simply because you’ve omitted earlier words.
If the omitted words follow a complete sentence, keep the original full stop before the ellipsis.
Never add a full stop after an ellipsis.

Using [sic]

If the original source contains a significant error, insert [sic] immediately after the error.

This tells the reader that the mistake appears in the original source, not in your writing.

Don’t use [sic] for:

American or British spelling;
unusual capitalisation; or
minor typographical errors that don’t affect meaning.

Emphasis and omitted citations

Sometimes you may need to:

add emphasis to words in a quotation;
remove existing emphasis; or
omit citations that appear within the quoted passage.

These changes must be disclosed in the footnote, immediately after the pinpoint reference. Use the following wording exactly: (emphasis in original), (emphasis added), (emphasis altered), (emphasis omitted) and (citations omitted).

If more than one applies, list them separately, with the emphasis statement first.

18Thornton v Galloway Marine Holdings Pty Ltd (2003) 211 CLR 42, 57 (Harrington CJ) (emphasis added).

19Thornton v Galloway Marine Holdings Pty Ltd (2003) 211 CLR 42, 57 (emphasis added) (citations omitted).

Common mistakes

Using double quotation marks instead of single quotation marks.
Putting punctuation inside quotation marks when it belongs outside.
Using quotation marks for block quotations.
Changing words without using square brackets.
Adding [sic] for American spelling.
Using ‘p.’ before page numbers in footnotes.

Last reviewed 4 August 2026