7. Quote and Edit Faithfully

7.1 Preserve meaning and visible wording

A quotation makes a stronger representation than a paraphrase: the words between quotation marks are presented as the source's words, subject to disclosed alterations. Read the surrounding passage before selecting the quotation. A sentence beginning with “however” or referring to “that rule” may depend on context that disappears when isolated.

Compare the final quotation with the source after editing. Do not rely only on a copied excerpt in your notes. Notes may contain your own brackets, omitted words, or an OCR error. The quotation should be checked against the version actually cited.

7.2 Make alterations intelligible

Citation Code uses brackets to identify inserted or substituted explanatory material and ellipses to identify meaningful omissions within a quoted passage. Apply the receiving style's detailed punctuation rules. Regardless of typography, an edit must not change the source's meaning or conceal a limitation.

Fictional source: “The committee may accept a late application if the applicant supplies the missing certification.” A quotation stating that the committee “may accept a late application” omits the condition. If the condition matters to the proposition, include it or explain it in the surrounding sentence. An ellipsis is not permission to suppress a material qualification.

An inserted noun can clarify a pronoun, but confirm that the noun is the pronoun's actual referent. If a passage says “it,” replacing it with “[the agency]” is inaccurate when “it” refers to the reviewing court. Use a paraphrase when too many substitutions are needed for the quotation to make sense.

7.3 Distinguish your emphasis and the source's emphasis

When emphasis is significant, identify whether it appeared in the source or was added. Do the same when omitting a citation or footnote would affect the reader's understanding of where the words originated. Do not describe a court as creating language that it was quoting from an earlier authority.

Read a quotation within a quotation carefully. Determine which speaker owns which words. When the underlying source is important, obtain it and verify the passage directly. When you rely on the intermediary, make that relationship apparent.

7.4 Choose a readable quotation layout

Citation Code recommends setting an extended quotation as a block when its length or structure would make the surrounding paragraph hard to read. This book does not impose a universal word-count threshold for all filings. The receiving rules control indentation, line spacing, quotation marks, type size, and treatment of lengthy quotations.

Introduce the quotation with a sentence that explains its purpose. Follow it with analysis if the connection to the issue is not self-evident. A long quotation should not substitute for explaining why the quoted reasoning applies.

For a short quotation embedded in a sentence, ensure that your sentence remains grammatical without falsely suggesting that the source used your surrounding words. If necessary, rewrite your introduction rather than editing the source into a new grammatical structure.

7.5 Treat quotation review as a separate pass

Check wording, omissions, insertions, emphasis, punctuation, locator, attribution, and context. Then check whether the quotation remains necessary. Some drafts become clearer when a long passage is replaced by an accurate paraphrase and a precise citation. Paraphrasing still requires faithful attribution and support.

Review exercise — fictional. The source says, “We do not decide whether the rule applies to an unsigned notice.” A draft quotes “the rule applies to an unsigned notice.” The defect is not a missing introductory signal. The draft reverses the source's meaning. Restore the limitation or remove the quotation and state what the court actually decided.