wzsmartypants
Active Member
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2020
- Messages
- 434
- Gender
- Male
- HSC
- 2024
I am very confused. I think my English teacher follows the American way. Can somebody explain? I'm gonna be writing essays soon on important exams soon.
From https://www.eliteediting.com.au/avoiding-americanisms-when-using-australianbritish-english/
Quotation marks:
This is one of the most common mistakes made by writers in Australian English.
American English uses double quotation marks, and only uses single quotations marks when quoting inside a quotation; for example:
According to Lines (2010), “these soldiers served as models of the ‘New Woman.’”
In Australian English, single quotation marks are used, with double quotation marks only used to quote within quotations:
According to Lines (2010), ‘these soldiers served as models of the “New Woman”’.
Punctuating quotations:
You will also notice in the example quotations above that the punctuation at the ends of the sentences are different.
In American English, the punctuation mark (i.e., the full stop or comma) always comes before the closing quotation mark. Conversely, in Australian English, the punctuation mark will usually come after the closing quotation mark, unless the quotation is also a complete sentence. Compare the following two examples. (Both use Australian English).
The salsola is a salt marsh plant. ‘It stores the salt in its leaves, so is a naturally seasoned plant.’
The salsola is a salt marsh plant. As salt is stored in its leaves, it is ‘naturally seasoned’.
Note that in the first example, the quotation and the complete sentence (from capital letter to full stop) are one and the same. Therefore, in Australian English, the punctuation mark is placed inside the quotation marks. In all other instances, the punctuation mark is placed outside the quotation marks.
By keeping just these few differences in mind while writing, you will dramatically reduce the number of stylistic errors in your text caused by confusion between the conventions of American and Australian English.
However, we additionally recommend having your document edited by a professional editing service such as Elite Editing. A comprehensive edit to remove stylistic errors and ensure consistency in language use is just part of the service we provide.
From https://www.eliteediting.com.au/avoiding-americanisms-when-using-australianbritish-english/
Quotation marks:
This is one of the most common mistakes made by writers in Australian English.
American English uses double quotation marks, and only uses single quotations marks when quoting inside a quotation; for example:
According to Lines (2010), “these soldiers served as models of the ‘New Woman.’”
In Australian English, single quotation marks are used, with double quotation marks only used to quote within quotations:
According to Lines (2010), ‘these soldiers served as models of the “New Woman”’.
Punctuating quotations:
You will also notice in the example quotations above that the punctuation at the ends of the sentences are different.
In American English, the punctuation mark (i.e., the full stop or comma) always comes before the closing quotation mark. Conversely, in Australian English, the punctuation mark will usually come after the closing quotation mark, unless the quotation is also a complete sentence. Compare the following two examples. (Both use Australian English).
The salsola is a salt marsh plant. ‘It stores the salt in its leaves, so is a naturally seasoned plant.’
The salsola is a salt marsh plant. As salt is stored in its leaves, it is ‘naturally seasoned’.
Note that in the first example, the quotation and the complete sentence (from capital letter to full stop) are one and the same. Therefore, in Australian English, the punctuation mark is placed inside the quotation marks. In all other instances, the punctuation mark is placed outside the quotation marks.
By keeping just these few differences in mind while writing, you will dramatically reduce the number of stylistic errors in your text caused by confusion between the conventions of American and Australian English.
However, we additionally recommend having your document edited by a professional editing service such as Elite Editing. A comprehensive edit to remove stylistic errors and ensure consistency in language use is just part of the service we provide.
