Good practice when using direct quotations in the Vancouver style

Quotations longer than two lines should be inserted as a separate, indented paragraph.

Example of reference showing indentation

Or

Example of a reference showing indentation

If you want to insert a long quotation (over two lines) but do not to want include all of the text, you can remove the unnecessary text and replace with ‘ . . .'.

Example of a reference showing ellipses

You should only do this when you use a quotation taken from one paragraph.

When you use quotations within your text, sometimes you may want to insert one or two words in the quotation so that your complete sentence is grammatically correct. To indicate that you have inserted words into a quotation, these have to be enclosed in square brackets.

Example of a reference showing square brackets

At your academic level you will be expected to develop your writing skills, and this includes being able to discuss and demonstrate an understanding of other people's work and ideas in your own words. This is called paraphrasing. It is much better to paraphrase than to use many quotations when you write.