The Mechanics of Attribution: Quoting & Paraphrasing

Rules and best practices for serving the sayer and the story well.

Quotes from reliable sources are vital to the credibility of any piece of journalism, and they can elevate any sort of non-fiction writing to a higher tier of credibility. Sure, you also have to cite facts and findings and do a ton of other things well. But unless you are an expert in a topic (with established credentials in the field), readers need to hear directly from others who are.

However, many writers don’t get the basic mechanics of quoting right, managing to ruin a good quote or add distraction and even confusion to what might’ve been a solid story.

You can quote me on this: When a trusted and knowledgeable source offers an insightful, pertinent and succinct quote, use it as-is.

Just as important: Know how to use it. Yes, there are rules (and helpful suggestions). Getting it right will please editors and readers alike. Let’s look at the basic format:

“When a trusted and knowledgeable source offers an insightful, pertinent and succinct quote, use it as-is,” said Robert Roy Britt, a former editor in newspapers and online, a recovered media executive, and founder of the Writer’s Guide newsletter.

Duh, right? But there is an order to this format, plus a few simple rules and some guidelines on its variations, that every writer should embrace before breaking them.

The order of things

Here are the most important rules on the basic format of a quotation:

• A direct quote (verbatim), is enclosed in quotation marks.

• The quote usually comes first, followed by the person who said it.

• The minimum necessary affiliation(s) follows.

That simple formula requires little elaboration. OK, a lot.

• Below I’ll explain when and why you should use direct quotes versus paraphrasing, and exactly how to refer to any source.

• We’ll explore the right way to set off truly great quotes—to give them visual space and gravitas.

• And I’ll explain what to do with necessary but poorly worded quotes, and a whole lot more.

Who knew there was so much to know about simply quoting someone?! (There’s so much to know that I wrote a whole separate article about what form of attribution to use, with “said” being the preferred choice.)

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