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Fri 16 Dec, 2016 04:51 pm
I have read that square brackets can be used when writers want to insert or alter words in a direct quotation.
Therefore, if there is a sentences like this:
"Overall, all the above authors leave it unclear how far such an analogical approach can reach."
And I want to turn the "how far..." part into a question, should I do it in the following way:
"One might ask, "[H]ow far such an analogical approach can reach[?]"
As you can see, I changed lower to upper case and add a quotation mark.
This is how square brackets should be used if I introduce some small changes?
I don't see why you need any square brackets at all.
@Nat093,
Well, I'm an editor and I'm not sure I could let that go without commenting to the author. The implication with the brackets is that the meaning hasn't changed and the original comment was not a question. The first bracket would not be necessary, since, as I recall, it is okay to make slight changes in punctuation as long as it in no way whatsoever changes the original meaning; however, the question mark, I believe in this case, should be placed outside of the quotation mark, since the question is obviously yours and not the author of the statement you are quoting. My humble opinion.
@dupre,
Thank you very much. I would do it as you suggested.
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