U. of Calgary Press Information for Authors

Information for Authors

3.3. Quotations

Resist the temptation to quote more extensively than is necessary. Direct quotation is sometimes used as a substitute for reasoned argument. If you can point to some presumed authority who can be shown to have expressed similar views, you often feel somewhat less obliged actually to argue for a position. While there may be many situations in which quotations can be used to clear advantage, ensure that in each case the quotation remains subservient to the main argument of the text. The need for quotation varies according to the subject matter or discipline: a book dealing with geology or chemistry might not use direct quotation at all, whereas one in the arts or humanities (i.e., in disciplines that very often are concerned with texts) may require extensive use of quotation.

Wherever direct quotation is used, you must reproduce exactly the wording, spelling, word division, capitalization, and punctuation of the original, even if inconsistent within the quoted matter itself.

In running text, enclose all quotations within double quotation marks. Quotations over four lines long should be set apart from the text proper in block style with indention on both sides. The relationship between quoted extracts and the surrounding text should be made clear to the reader; it is a common practice to introduce a quotation by using a colon at the end of the preceding text. Do not use quotation marks around indented quotations.

Copyright law: Any author who quotes extensively from a work under copyright is responsible for providing the Press with a "letter of permission to publish" covering all the material used from each copyright source. Authors should not assume that they will not be held responsible for observing copyright because their writing is scholarly. All material on which the copyright symbol © or the word "copyright" appears must be assumed to be under copyright and permission must be requested.

Whether the material you are borrowing from other sources is protected by copyright or not, it will help our copyeditors if you provide photocopies of the originals (illustrations, tables, quoted passages, etc.), each stapled to copies of the title page and the copyright page of the source document.

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