The quote above is an example of a "offset." When using quotations in your writing, use quotation marks if they are less than four lines long, or offset them if they are longer. Longer quotations often affect the whole sentence in which they appear.
An offset quotation begins at the point within the text where the quotation appears and continues for the entire length of the quotation. The offset quotation tool allows you to easily create these types of quotations in Microsoft Word.
The first step is to select the quotation tool from the toolbox. You can do this by clicking on the Toolbox icon, then scrolling down to find the quotation tool. Click on it to activate it.
Now, you need to decide where you would like the offset quotation to appear in your document. To do this, position the cursor inside the paragraph or article section where you want the quotation to begin, then click once. A black box will appear around the selected text, showing you exactly where the offset will be placed.
Once you have clicked inside the desired location, a menu will appear with three options: Start, Middle, End. Select End as the starting point for your quotation, then scroll down to see the different offset styles that Word offers.
Each option represents a different way of positioning the offset quotation.
More than four lines of cited text constitute a lengthy quotation. After the beginning to the quotation, add a comma and indent the entire quotation one inch from the left side. These quotations can be single- or double-spaced and should not include quotation marks unless they appear in the original text. Long quotations can be difficult to read onscreen; consider using block quotes instead.
B Inset or block quotations: When quoting four or more lines of text (or lines of poetry), use an inset quotation, which is a distinct block of double-spaced text indented from the left margin (the right-hand margin of an inset quotation is not indented). An example of an inset quotation is shown below.
Inset quotations are used to quote long passages of text. Because these passages are quoted in their entirety, including both content and formatting, they can be easily incorporated into your own writing by simply inserting the appropriate citation. These quotations also help to maintain the flow of the essay by providing relevant information without disrupting the narrative line of the piece.
When quoting multiple sources, it is important to give credit where it is due. For articles that include quotes from several authors, provide attribution by listing each author's name along with the source such as "Quotations from John Smith, American poet, 1791-1864." Include page numbers if available.
In addition to citing sources, it is important to provide accurate information when using others' words. If you copy and paste information from another source, make sure you attribute it properly or risk being accused of plagiarism.
When quoting a single line (or part of a line) from a poem, just place it in quotation marks as you would any other quote. When quoting two or three lines, use a forward slash to indicate line breaks. Before and after the slash, add a space. Multiple lines can be quoted by placing each line in its own set of quotation marks.
Thus, "Lines are made up of words," "Words are the tools of thought," and "Thought is invisible to the naked eye" could all be quoted accurately from classical poet John Milton.
Modern poets may also use ellipses (...), which are three or more consecutive spaces or punctuation marks (...) that together make one unit - much like the period (.) at the end of a sentence makes one full stop. An example from Robert Frost is "The woods are lovely, dark and deep. / I have been there often, but always new." With this technique, Frost tells us that the woods are beautiful but that we should go someplace else if we want to explore them deeply or even see them with our eyes alone. The same could be said for many poems where the author leaves certain details out because they think them unnecessary or might even hurt the feeling they are trying to express.
Finally, some poets include a parenthetical remark within their quotes. These are sentences that are not part of the main text but are included for clarification or explanation.
A quote (or "quotation") is often a document containing a defined price for a work....
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