Q
QE2, QM2
The only acceptable abbreviations for the liners Queen Elizabeth 2 and Queen Mary 2. They may be used at first reference. The QE2 is due to end active service in late 2008.
quadriplegia
The paralysis of all four limbs as opposed to paraplegia, the total or partial paralysis of both legs.
quadruped
Quakers
Permissible in stories about the Religious Society of Friends. Spell out the full name if the story is about the religious movement or its activities.
quandary
quantum leap
Avoid. It means a sudden and spectacular advance, which is clearer than quantum leap. Strictly quantum simply means a quantity or a specified portion, and in physics the smallest amount of a physical quantity that can exist independently.
quarter-final
Hyphenated.
queen
Queen Elizabeth at first reference and the queen or Queen Elizabeth at second reference.
question marks
Do not use question marks in headlines where, if they are accidentally dropped, the meaning can be changed from a possibility to a fact.
quip
The president/prime minister quipped... is a phrase almost invariably followed by something that is not funny. Avoid both quip and third-rate humour.
quite
Avoid. It can be expressed more clearly and it is ambiguous. In American usage it means very and in European usage it can mean just a little or only moderately.
quotations
Quotes are sacred. Do not alter anything put in quotation marks other than to delete words, and then only if the deletion does not alter the sense of the quote. Quotes personalise stories and give them immediacy. Try to inject a quote into the first three paragraphs of any story where it is appropriate.
Before starting a quote, use a colon. He said: "I don't think so", not He said, "I don't think so".
Delete routine obscenities.
Show deletions from a quoted text with three full stops with a space before and after, e.g. He said: “We will win by fair means or foul ... and the devil take the hindmost.”
If the words omitted are at the end of a sentence and are followed by another sentence in quotation marks, then the next word is capitalised to show the start of a new sentence. “We will fight and we will win ... We will never surrender.” You may drop words in this way only if the deletion does not alter the sense of the quote.
To background or explain a quote, do so in a separate paragraph or by bracketing a phrase into the quoted remarks, e.g. He said: “They (the Khmer Rouge) are bound to fail.”
When quoting the same source for a lengthy statement there is no need to repeat the source paragraph by paragraph as long as there is no doubt who is speaking.
Do not run one person’s quote into another’s. Use a bridging sentence or phrase to make the transition from one source to the next clear to the reader e.g. “The world is round,” said Smith, but Jones disagreed: “It is round,” Jones said.
Avoid quotes in colloquial or parochial language not easily translated or understood in other countries. If you do give such quotes, explain what they mean, e.g. He said: “Clinton is behind the eight ball (in a difficult situation).”
In a quote spell out what is actually spoken rather than using customary style abbreviations. It is better to write “The president does not think that Doctor Williams needs to resign,” he said, rather than “The president does not think that Dr Williams needs to resign,” he said.
When translating quotes from another language into English, do so in an idiomatic way rather than with pedantic literalness. However, give a literal translation if a statement is tendentious and likely to be the subject of close analysis.
Avoid excessive use of direct quotes in English when a speaker has spoken in another language.
The full stop goes inside the quotation marks when the quotation is a complete sentence. "The president told us 'I will not raise your taxes'. But he did". It goes outside the quotation marks when the quotation is the final part of the sentence. "The president told us 'I will not raise your taxes'."
When the quotation precedes the source put the comma inside the quotation marks. “We have no choice but to increase taxes,” the president said.
Quote the titles of films, plays and books but not of ships, aircraft, newspapers or magazines.
Category: The Reuters General Style Guide
This page was last modified 12:20, 10 November 2010.