Monday, January 18, 2016

style - How to emphasize a quote is written, not spoken?


In a similar question on EL&U, I asked about suggestions for indicating that a quote is written instead of spoken.


Robusto's answer suggested several possible approaches:




  • For longer quotes of written text, use a form of block quote





  • Shorter sections can be highlighted in a special font or all caps



    DO NOT ENTER, the sign seemed to scream at me as I approached.





My first thought was to simply italicize the quoted text:



I know who the killer is, she wrote, but she never managed to send her message.




I wanted to pose this question to this community, as it relates to writing style more than the formal conventions of English.


What approach would you recommend?



Answer



I like the italics. No justification of that, just - a vote. It seems clearest to me.


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