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Although in a direct quotation from a source the wording should be reproduced exactly, certain changes to punctuation, capitalization, and spelling are generally allowed when needed to make a passage fit into the syntax and typography of the surrounding text.

This workout centers on paragraph 12.7 of CMOS 18. Of course, any change to a quotation of someone else’s work must be made with extreme care. Even advanced editors might wish to take a look at CMOS before answering the questions.

(Subscribers to The Chicago Manual of Style Online may click through to the linked sections of the Manual. We also offer a 30-day free trial of CMOS Online.)

Note: These questions are designed to test your knowledge of The Chicago Manual of Style. Other style guides may have different rules and guidelines.

Now updated to refer and link to the 18th edition.

Chicago Style Workout 13: Permissible Changes to Quotations

1. Quotations from written sources should be edited for consistency in spelling, hyphenation, and capitalization so that they are consistent with the main text.

True

False

2. Single quotation marks may be changed to double, and double to single, to accommodate quotes within quotes.

True

False

3. The initial letter of a quotation may be changed to uppercase or lowercase.

True

False

4. The final period of a quoted passage may be omitted or changed to a comma if required to fit into the sentence containing the quotation.

True

False

5. In quotations from older works, idiosyncrasies of spelling are generally preserved.

True

False

6. Original note reference marks (and the notes to which they refer) may be omitted unless omission would affect the meaning of the quotation.

True

False

7. Authors may add note references of their own within quotations.

True

False

8. Typographic errors in the original source must be preserved in a quotation.

True

False

9. Spelling, capitalization, and punctuation may be modernized or altered for clarity if readers are informed in a note, a preface, or elsewhere.

True

False

10. An en dash or a hyphen used as a dash in the source text may be changed to a Chicago-style em dash, with any space before or after the dash eliminated as needed.

True

False

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Photo: Miss Susanne Lenglen, George Arents Collection, New York Public Library Digital Collections.

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