You do not usually need opening and closing quotation marks to punctuate material set off from the main text as a block quotation. Block quotations are typically either indented or put in a smaller font. Quotations within the block will have double or single quotes, according to the convention being used (British or American). As usual, these different conventions for closing punctuation complicate things.
Compare the following two examples: From the Chicago Manual of Style, The narrator then breaks in: Imagine Bart’s surprise, dear reader, when Emma turned to him and said, contemptuously, ” What ‘promise’? And from Hart’s Rules, ‘The passing crowd’ is a phrase coined in the spirit of indifference. Yet, to a man of what Plato calls ‘universal sympathies,’ and even to the plain, ordinary denizens of this world, what can be more interesting than those who constitute ‘the passing crowd’? I’m writing in a very specialized field; should I use quotation marks for specialized terms? In much specialist writing, including linguistics, philosophy, and theology, terms with particular meanings that are unique to that subject are often enclosed in single quotation marks:
The inner margins of a book are called the ‘gutter. ‘ Many people do not realize that ‘cultivar’ is synonymous with ‘clone. ‘ However, it is still important not to confuse your readers by including too many of these little punctuation marks. Inserting quotation marks may not be essential to your argument.
The names of horticultural cultivars, however, should usually be enclosed in single quotation marks: An example of an apple is ‘Jonathon,’ of a grape, ‘Chardonnay,’ and of the Gallica rose, ‘Rosa Munda. A final word on whether to use double or single quotation marks While quotations are necessary for most types of writing, too many quotation marks, whether double or single quotation marks, can make your writing seem heavy-handed.
Submitting your document to our ESL editing services is the best way to ensure your punctuation is up to the highest standard. If you are interested in learning more, check out GrammarCamp, our comprehensive grammar training course, which covers quotation marks in detail.
