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I understand that there is no universal rule regarding the use of single or double quotation marks or use of italics, however I wasn't sure whether scare quotes need to follow same format one has ascribed to. Could I use different inverted commas to differentiate scare quotes?

If I’m consistent, would it be acceptable to use the following style in a British PhD thesis (interdisciplinary approach).

Italics: foreign words, first appearance of specialist terms, discussion/emphasis of a specific word/term, titles of books and papers.

Single inverted commas: literary quotes, extracts from interviews.

Double inverted commas: scare quotes, quotes within quotes.

My reasoning for this was that I wanted to make a clear distinction between my regular use of inverted commas (direct quotes), italics (terms being discussed) and scare quotes (terms questionable usage).

KillingTime
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Xueshe
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  • You probably shouldn't be using scare quotes in formal writing, as they are an informal or humorous device. – Stuart F Dec 07 '22 at 13:56
  • Use double quotes all around. Use so-called in front of questionable usage — with or without quotes. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/so-called – Tinfoil Hat Dec 07 '22 at 15:07
  • @StuartF Thanks for reply. I understand your sentiment however in cases where irony and skepticism is intended does one need to keep to one standard of inverted commas? – Xueshe Dec 07 '22 at 15:43
  • @TinfoilHat Thanks for reply. Why use double inverted commas all around rather than single? Or are you merely saying just stick to one standard e.g. single inverted commas for both quotes and scare quotes? Yes - may also be feasible to incorporate so-called good suggestion. – Xueshe Dec 07 '22 at 15:46
  • Yes, use the same quote style all around. Use words to help differentiate square-quoted material. – Tinfoil Hat Dec 07 '22 at 16:03
  • @StuartF Scare quotes get used, and commented upon, in formal writing, if journal articles count as formal writing. – John Lawler Dec 07 '22 at 16:12
  • @StuartF okay thanks. was hoping for an easier option. will have to re-work text using words to clearly indicate intended use of scare-quotes so they are not mistaken for for terminology. – Xueshe Dec 07 '22 at 16:29
  • @JohnLawler thanks. agreed. Though I couldn't recollect (now trying to find) an example whereby the author uses regular quotes and scare quotes in same article. hence this query regarding style format. – Xueshe Dec 07 '22 at 16:39

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