Quotation Marks at Each New Paragraph of Continuous Quoted Material
The Quotation Mark
Rulebase Summary
When quoted material continues across multiple paragraphs, use opening quotation marks at the beginning of every new paragraph but use closing quotation marks only at the conclusion of the entire passage. This shows that the quote is continuous without prematurely closing it at each paragraph break.
Examples
A. I will read from page 8: 'QUESTION: Did he pay you?' 'ANSWER: No.' 'QUESTION: Are those records before you?' 'ANSWER: They are.'
A. I will read from page 8: 'QUESTION: Did he pay you?' '
ANSWER: No.' '
QUESTION: Are those records before you?'
'ANSWER: They are.'
Open quote on each new paragraph; closing quote only at the end of the whole passage.
Transcript Notes
Practices vary for spacing lengthy quoted passages. Because transcript pages are ruled for double-spacing, keeping the quoted passage consistent with the rest of the text makes locating or citing the passage easier.
Style Guide References (1)
Morson's