How and When to Use Sic in a Quotation
Have you ever seen the term sic used in a quotation and wondered what it meant? Or perhaps you’ve thought about whether you are using it correctly in your writing? Many people misuse this term or use it when there’s a more suitable alternative. This is why proofreaders and editors should make sure they know how and when it’s appropriate to use sic in a quotation.
To bring you up to speed, in this blog post, we explore:
- What sic means
- When (and when not) to use it
- Alternatives to using sic
- How to present sic according to various style guides
- How to proofread documents with quotations
Read on to learn everything you need to know about using sic in quotations, with examples to show you it in action.
What Does Sic Mean?
Sic is short for the Latin phrase sic erat scriptum, which means thus it was written. As this suggests, writers use sic to show that a quote has been reproduced exactly from the source, including any spelling or grammatical errors, nonstandard spellings, or unconventional phrasing.
It is a way of signaling to the reader that the quote is accurate as it stands, even if it appears incorrect or unusual. This is particularly useful in academic, legal, or journalistic writing, where the accuracy of quotations is crucial.
When to Use Sic (with Examples)
There are several reasons you might use sic in a quotation, so let’s explore each in turn.
To Show a Copied Error
This is the most common way to use sic. The goal is to show that you have copied an error in a quotation from the original text, rather than having introduced it accidentally. You simply put sic in square brackets after the word that is misspelled. Unless your style guide says otherwise, it is not usually italicized. For instance:
“They started there [sic] company in 1992.”
Here, we have added sic in square brackets to show we know there is incorrect – it should be spelled their. If we didn’t highlight this mistake, a reader might think we’ve misquoted the source and introduced an error.
For Archaic Spellings
Archaic spellings are older variations of words we use today, and these could be interpreted as errors when read in a quote. Certain historical texts, including nonfictions works, novels, and plays, may include these old-fashioned spellings. In these cases, sic helps clarify that the seemingly incorrect spelling is intentional:
The first page of Defoe’s work gives the full title, beginning with “The Life and Strange Surprizing [sic] Adventures of Robinson Crusoe” and continuing for another 59 words.
To Show Irony
Although this is less common, some writers use sic to indicate something ironic in a text. This is similar to using scare quotes. It might be to tease the original writer, indicate a statement that turned out to be incorrect, or even highlight a deliberate “error” in their own writing. For example:
“The Titanic is unsinkable [sic].”
Here, the use of sic draws attention to the inaccuracy of the statement after the fact.
When Not to Use Sic (with Examples)
While sic can be incredibly helpful for maintaining the authenticity of a quotation, it is not always necessary or appropriate for the situation. Here are a few instances when you might be tempted to use sic but should consider another approach.
Trivial Typos
If the error is obviously a typo, instead of inserting sic, consider paraphrasing or using square brackets to replace the mistake:
Original: The report stated that “the compnay [sic] has certainly learned from its mistakes.”
Corrected: The report stated that “the [company] has certainly learned from its mistakes.”
Paraphrased: The report stated that the company has learned from the errors made.
Intentional Nonstandard Spellings
In creative writing, poetry, or written dialogue, nonstandard spellings are often stylistic choices. Therefore, marking them with sic would be unnecessary and interrupt the flow of the text. This is particularly relevant when it comes to dialogue:
“I ain’t [sic] gonna [sic] do it, guvnor [sic], even if you sez [sic] so!” cried the Artful Dodger.
The reader can understand the words, despite the colloquial spellings, and this stylized language helps build the character.
Dialect or Regional Spellings
If a text is written in a particular dialect or uses regional variations, quotes drawn from it may include different spellings to what you might expect. However, these are not typically classed as errors, so sic is generally unnecessary.
For instance, if an essay written in US English quotes a UK English source, there would be no need to highlight a dialect spelling with sic:
Of the political leadership at the time, it was colorfully said that “He couldn’t organise a bun fight in a bakery.”
The slight difference of organise instead of organize is a location-based preference rather than an error. Similar differences include -or vs. -our endings, such as in color and colour, and –g and –gue endings, such as inn catalog and catalogue.
Repeated Use in Long Passages
In longer quotations or ones that include multiple spelling errors, inserting sic repeatedly can be distracting and disrupt the flow of the writing. In these cases, it may be better to include a disclaimer before the quote so the reader is aware that the source is being quoted verbatim. For example:
The following text is reproduced exactly as it appears in the original document.
This way, the reader will understand that any errors in what comes next are not the fault of the writer presenting the quote.
Alternatives to Using Sic
Writers use sic to show that they have reproduced the text as it was written in the original document. But sic isn’t the only way to do this. In fact, there are three other ways – let’s take a look at the options.
1. Paraphrase Instead
Paraphrasing means taking a quote that comes directly from a source and writing it in your own words. In academic writing, this adds stylistic variety and ensures that there isn’t an overuse of direct quotes. Furthermore, it helps show that the writer understands their topic. And when working with texts that include a lot of archaic or nonstandard spellings (or errors!), it also avoids the disruptive repetition of sic.
Original: According to Councillor Jameson (2024), “The goverment [sic] failed to address the housing crisis” (p.4).
Paraphrased: Councillor Jameson (2024) argues that the government failed to adequately respond to the housing crisis.
As you can see above, it is important to properly attribute the original text by including a citation whether you are quoting from or paraphrasing the source.
2. Replace the Error
Instead of drawing attention to an error with sic, you can simply correct the mistake by inserting a replacement word in square brackets. This approach is especially helpful when:
- The error is minor
- There’s no scholarly reason to preserve the original wording
- You want to ensure the reader understands the intended meaning without confusion or distraction
In academic essays, journalistic articles, or other similar types of formal writing, clarity is key, and this can take precedence over absolute fidelity to a source. This is especially relevant when the quote comes from an informal or self-published text:
Original: Jameson posted, “We must address the problem of low-income ranters [sic] first.”
Corrected: Jameson posted, “We must address the problem of low-income [renters] first.”
As you can see, the typo ranters is marked out with sic in the original, but there is no value in preserving this error. Instead, it is better to simply replace it with the correct spelling in square brackets, which are used to show the quote has been modified.
3. Use Recte Instead
A far less common but still valid way to highlight and amend a mistake is to use recte. This is a Latin word that means correctly or rightly, and it is used in a similar way to sic. However, with recte, it can be used to highlight factual errors (e.g., an incorrect year) as well as typos, and the correction is included as well:
“The envoy was instructed to precede [recte proceed] with caution into the new territories.”
Note that recte is not used in most modern contexts, so you won’t find it in journalism, and it doesn’t get a mention in most style guides. It tends to be used for ancient texts or specialist subjects.
Proofreading Quotations in Documents
As a proofreader, it is not your responsibility to add sic to a quotation if you spot an error, and doing so could cause problems for your client. After all, unless you have the quoted source to hand, you won’t know if the error was in the original version. But if you see sic used in a quote, you may need to:
- Make a correction accompanied by a comment if you see the term being misused
- Leave a comment for the client if you’re unsure about the use of sic
- Suggest alternative ways to address errors in quotations
This last point is key, as sic is most useful when an author needs to preserve an error in quoted text (e.g., if they’re analyzing typos in a body of writing). If this isn’t necessary, it is often simpler for the author to correct the error. As noted earlier, this may involve marking the correction with square brackets to indicate the change:
“They started [their] company in 1992.”
However, different style guides have different rules for how to treat typos in quotations, so you will need to check your client’s chosen style guide on this matter before making any changes or suggestions.
Style Guides on Sic
As mentioned above, different style guides have different rules on how to approach errors in quotations. And this includes how they use the word sic. To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of what a few of the major style guides say to do:
- AMA style says to use sic in square brackets to indicate an error in spelling or grammar in a quotation but not typically archaic spellings.
- Example: “The patient was addmited [sic] to the hospital.”
- APA style uses sic to indicate a typo in a quotation, but it does not use it for archaic or regional spellings. This style italicizes sic but not the surrounding square brackets.
- Example: “The experiment occured [sic] over three days.”
- The AP Stylebook suggests paraphrasing text that contains errors rather than quoting it exactly, thereby sidestepping the need to mark out mistakes.
- Original: A witness said, “I seen [sic] someone run from the accident”
- Paraphrased: The witness said they saw someone run from the accident.
- The Chicago Manual of Style says to use sic (italicized and in square brackets) to mark out an error in a quotation. However, unless it is important to preserve the error, this style allows the correction of minor errors in quoted text.
- Original: “The treaty was sighned [sic] in 1865.”
- Corrected: “The treaty was signed in 1865.”
- MLA style uses sic to highlight spelling or grammar errors in quoted text, italicizing the term and placing it in square brackets.
- “The author’s persistance [sic] was remarkable.”
Becoming A Proofreader
Want to learn more about working with this kind of writing? Our comprehensive Becoming A Proofreader course contains an entire module dedicated to academic proofreading – so you can learn everything about proofreading quotations and using sic. The course will take you from complete beginner to confident, trained professional, able to proofread any business, creative, or academic document to a professional standard. Request some free lessons today to get started!
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