October 17, 2002: Issue 40
SIM STYLE: How do I handle attribution on pull quotes?
All direct quotes used as pullouts must be attributed. All attributions should be treated the same way throughout an issue. If the attribution is grammatically separate from the quote, a full identification (including professional title or homeowner status) must follow the first usage in a pull quote. On subsequent references, the same speaker may be identified by full name only.
correct first reference:
“The old beams give the new space a sense of history.”
—kitchen designer Susan Serra
correct second reference:
“We wanted to honor the home’s past.”
—Susan Serra
If attribution is grammatically part of the quote, the speaker must be identified fully in the first usage and may be identified by only a first or last name, as appropriate, on subsequent references.
correct first reference:
“Old beams give the new space a sense of history,” kitchen designer Susan Serra says.
correct second reference:
“Fine details create new interest with an old-world charm,” Serra says.
A direct quote should never be used as a pullout without attribution. If you cannot include attribution for design reasons, paraphrase the quote into third person.
GRAMMAR: Feliz Navidad
It’s one of the most common grammar errors of the holiday season (read the Sunday circulars as Christmas approaches; you’ll see): The traditional Mexican Christmas lantern—a candle set inside a paper bag partially filled with sand—is a luminaria, not a luminary. The plural is luminarias, not luminaries. Luminaries are, of course, particularly bright people who never misspell luminaria.
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