Quoting from text or speech

What punctuation marks to use if you're including a quote in your writing.

Sometimes we need to show that we're quoting from something or someone. For example:

  • a report, policy or other piece of writing
  • a speech, taken word for word

' and " are both quotation marks. We use them differently on our website.

Quoting from writing

We use ' for quoting from writing. 

For example: Our council plan notes that 'we are an ambitious council, and we will place people at the centre of everything we do as we look to deliver the best possible outcomes'.

Quoting from speech

We use " for speech.

For example: The councillor said "this is a great scheme for our community".