Quotation marks
Quoted content
Use double quotation marks for quoted text : The Minister said : “ This is absolutely unacceptable behaviour .”
Use single quotation marks for quotes within quotes : “ He shouted ‘ help ’ so I ran to help him ,” she said .
When using a full quote , the closing punctuation goes inside the quotation marks : “ Tertiary education is popular ,” the Vice-Chancellor said .
“ What do you think ?”
If the quote forms a fragment within a longer sentence , the punctuation goes outside the quote marks :
The Vice-Chancellor said the increase in student numbers showed “ tertiary education is popular ”.
Note : Make sure quotation marks are directional ( formatted ) rather than straight ( unformatted ).
If the quotation runs over multiple paragraphs , attribute at the end of the first sentence , then use quotation marks at the beginning of each paragraph to indicate that the quote is continuing . A closing quotation mark is not required until the final paragraph :
“ To really make the business case in the current environment you have to go beyond ‘ we make staff happier ’,” Cogin says .
“ I ’ d like people to see there ’ s an objective business case for doing this .
“ You ’ ve got a lot of organisations that want their employees to be happy at work but when times are tough such initiatives often get cut .”
Call-outs
You can use single quotation marks to call out specialist terms , ironic usage or slang : It is not considered to be ‘ fair dinkum ’.
Semicolons
A semicolon can be used as a ‘ weak full stop ’, joining two sentences to emphasise their linked meaning . Use of semicolons like this is increasingly rare .
Sport is full of upsets ; that ’ s why we love it .
You can also use a semicolon as a ‘ strong comma ’ to give structure to a list containing long , complex items or items with internal commas :
We advise buying shares , particularly in banks and insurance companies ; property , though only in major cities ; and bonds , unless government regulations change dramatically before the end of the year .
Note : Do not use semicolons at the end of each item in a bullet list .
Soliduses
While it may be tempting to use a solidus as an easy filler , this can make writing seem lazy and unfinished . Where possible , replace the solidus with ‘ and ’ or ‘ or ’ – or ‘ and / or ’ if it ’ s important to keep both alternatives . But use a solidus in tables if space is tight .
The maths and science students did not attend .
The maths / science students did not attend .
He was interested in studying arts and / or law .
He was interested in studying arts and / or law .
Titles
Use single quotation marks around titles of articles , essays and lectures .
Writing Style Guide | Punctuation 50 | Back to contents