QUOTES When   quoting,   wait   for   a   striking   phrase   or summary of a key point. Use quotes in a speech story to give the flavor of the speaker’s talk. With quotes you can convey to the reader what the talk was like. To do this, the writer need not quote whole paragraphs because they make the copy dull. A few good quotes scattered throughout the story are enough. To  use  quotes,  you  must  understand  the  basics  of quoting. A quotation must consist of the speaker’s exact words.  The  writer  should  not  change  one  word.  You must use quotation marks at the beginning and end of the quote as in the next example: “I think, therefore, I am.” You must use a comma to set off the quoted part of the following sentence: He said, “That did it.” To add the words “he said” at the end of the sentence, put the comma  after  the  quoted  matter  and  before  the  quote marks: “That did it,” he said. When quoted matter does not make a sentence, use no comma and no capital letter to introduce the quote as in the following example: He did not “purge them.” Note the  periods  and  commas  are  always  inside  the  quotation marks.  No  comma  is  needed  after  a  quote  if  it  asks  a question  such  as  in  the  following:  “Did  you  go?”  he asked.  Also,  no  comma  is  needed  with  a  quoted exclamation  point  as  in  the  next  example:  “What  a view!” yelled the astronaut. On occasion, a speaker may make an error he does not acknowledge during a speech or news conference. If  you  must  use  this  particular  quoted  material,  insert [sic]  immediately  after  the  error.  This  shows,  for  the record, that the speaker made the error and not the writer. Consider the following example: said  the  following:  “Considering  all  factors,  and  my speaker's  sentence,  leave  four  dots  —  three  for  the “NASA  has  experienced  a  very good safety record since the Challenger disaster   in   early   January   [sic]   1986. During this time frame. ...” Handling   Long   Quotes Consecutive   paragraphs   of   quotations   do   not require quotation marks at the end of each paragraph. These are required only when the entire quote ends. You do,  however,  begin  each  new  paragraph  with  quotes. Nevertheless,  as  stated  earlier,  you  can  write  more effectively   by   not   using   long   quotes. The  ellipsis  is  a  device  of  punctuation  used  in quoting. It consists of three spaced periods ( . . . ) used to show  omission  of  a  word  or  words  necessary  to complete a statement or quotation. If a quote is long and a  writer  wants  to  use  it,  the  writer  can  delete  the unnecessary words by using the ellipsis. However, too many beginners go wild with the ellipsis. They overuse it, sticking the three dots in every sentence. If you must use several ellipses to convey the message, it is better that you paraphrase the sentence. If  the  writer  starts  a  quote  in  the  middle  of  a speaker’s sentence, the ellipsis need not be used before the quoted words. For example, the speaker may have staff has done that for many months, I feel the trainee would be ready for  duty in a combat zone after 20 weeks of basic training instead of the present eight.” A JO’s sentence may read like the following:  General Needam said, “The trainee would be ready for duty in a combat zone  after  20  weeks  of  basic  training  instead  of  the present eight.” Then, if you want to end a quote in the middle of the ellipsis and one for the regular period as follows: “The trainee would be ready for duty in a combat zone after 20 weeks of basic training.  ...” Quoting is only a part of writing the speech story. The writer must still identify the speaker no later than the second paragraph. Many times the speaker will be identified  in  the  lead. Even when you think a person is well-known, you must still include a frill name and full title in the story. That  way  the  reader  will  know  exactly  who  you  are quoting and will not confuse that person with someone else with the same name or similar position. If someone is relatively unknown, you may use a general  job  title  for  the  first  identification,  such  as  a college  president  or  a  city  administrate.  Include  the speaker’s name in the second paragraph. Quote-Summary  Method Combining  the  guidelines  concerning  quotes  and the material covered earlier about identification, a lead and  the  second  paragraph  for  a  typical  speech  story should read in the following way: President   Roland   Coaster   has asked   the   Defense   Department   to revise   its   training   and   education systems  so  every  man  and  woman  in service   will   come   out   with   a   skill marketable in the civilian economy. In his annual manpower report to Congress,  the  president  said,  “There are  some  military  specialists  whose training   does   not   lead   directly   to civilian employment. To help them, I 3-10