Call
+61 7 4631 2589
1800 063 632 (free call within Australia)
Virtual Help Desk (Zoom)
The quotations format in the Australian Guide to Legal Citation ('AGLC') rule 1.5 is used for words/information that you copy exactly word for word from another source. This includes extracts from case judgments and legislation. You must always include a pinpoint reference in the citation accompanying a direct quote.
A quotation may be introduced using a colon : if the quotation does not flow seamlessly from the preceding sentence (rule 1.5.2). The format of direct quotes differs depending on the length of the quote.
Short quotes are three lines or less in length. A short quote appears within the text enclosed by single quotation marks.
Research is vital because ‘what you learn in law school, or in your years as a lawyer, can easily change and become outdated or superseded’.¹
See AGLC rule 1.5.1 for more examples.
¹ Jay Sanderson, Drossos Stamboulakis and Kim Kelly, A Practical Guide to Legal Research (Lawbook, 5th ed, 2021) 1.
Long quotes are more than three lines in length. A long quote appears as a separate paragraph indented from the left side in smaller font size. No quotation marks are used.
The legal research process is an important part of law study and legal practice:
Legal research is crucial for law students, lawyers and other legal professionals. It is essential to success in legal studies and throughout professional careers. There are a number of reasons why developing your legal research skills is so important. One of these is that there are too many practice areas and cases, and too much legislation for you to learn all of them at law school. It is often hard enough to remember what we did three months ago, let alone two or three years ago! Another reason why legal research is essential is that what you learn in law school, or in your years as a lawyer, can easily change and become outdated or superseded.²
See AGLC rule 1.5.1 for more examples.
² Ibid.
See AGLC rule 1.5 for other quotation formatting rules such as: