TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Question on direct quotes From:Hannah <to -dot- hannah -at- usa -dot- net> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:24 Jan 2002 12:46:39 EST
<taking out my handy-dandy Chicago Manual of Style>
<quote>
Direct quotations must reproduce exactly not only the wording but the
spelling, capitalization, and internal punctuation of the original,
except....<endquote>
it lists several exceptions but the one that applies to you is:
<quote>
In a passage quoted from a modern book, journal, or newspaper, an obvious
typographical error may be silently corrected, but in a passage from an older
work or from a manuscript source, any idiosyncrasy of spelling should
generally be preserved, although in some cases the author may consider it
desirable to modernize spelling and punctuation for the sake of clarity. The
reader should be informed of any such alterations, either in a note or, in a
book containing many such quotations, by an explanation in the preface or
elsewhere.<endquote>
My suggestion would be to correct the obvious typographical errors and
anything that may assist in clarity. If there are enough changes that make it
obvious to someone referencing the quote, add a note stating that the quote
has been edited for clarity and may not be a direct duplicate of the
original.
hannah Bissell
to -dot- hannah -at- usa -dot- net
> >From: "Logue, Jason" <JLogue -at- lrs -dot- com>
> >Hey, gotta question concerning direct quotes. I am currently working on a
> >proposal where I am quoting specific questions outlined in the RFP. These
> >questions often (and I am being nice) contain grammatical mistakes. Do I
> >correct these mistakes in my quotations or leave them as is? Initially,
my
> >knee-jerk grammar fingers fixed the problems, but then I thought, that's
> >really not a quote then is it? Perhaps I am making much ado about
nothing.
>
____________________________________________________________________
Get free e-mail and a permanent address at http://www.amexmail.com/?A=1
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Attention ForeHelp and Doc-to-Help Users! Upgrade your existing product to
RoboHelp for only $299, through January 31st. RoboHelp can import your
existing Help projects! Learn how else RoboHelp can benefit you. www.ehelp.com/techwr
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
