How Do You Use Sic Correctly?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Sic is usually found in brackets or parentheses, and it can also be italicized. If you want to quote someone or something in your work, and you notice the source material contains a spelling or grammatical error, you use sic

to denote the error by placing it right after the mistake

.

How do you use sic example?

Sic is usually italicized and always surrounded by brackets to indicate that it was not part of the original. Place [sic] right after the error. Example:

She wrote, “They made there [sic] beds.

” Note: The correct sentence should have been, “They made their beds.”

Is sic in parentheses or brackets?

Sic usually

appears in parentheses or brackets

, sometimes with the letters in italics.

Is using sic rude?

Adding a “[sic]”

is even more distracting to the reader

, is a bit harsh towards the original authors (drawing attention to a trivial mistake they made), and may be read as intentionally disrespectful to them.

How do journalists use sic?

Enter [sic]. From the Latin for “so” or “thus,” [sic] indicates that the text was so written originally. [Sic] (sometimes rendered in italics, with or without the brackets), allows

a publication to tell readers that this is what the original writer wrote

; we're merely repeating it, so don't blame us.

Do you use sic for punctuation?

The Latin adverb sic (“thus”, “just as”; in full: sic erat scriptum, “thus was it written”) inserted after a quoted word or passage indicates that

the quoted matter has been transcribed

or translated exactly as found in the source text, complete with any erroneous, archaic, or otherwise nonstandard spelling, …

What does sic mean in brackets?

Sic—What Does It Mean? The sic you see in quoted text marks a

spelling or grammatical error

. It means that the text was quoted verbatim, and the mistake it marks appears in the source. It's actually a Latin word that means “so” or “thus.”

What is the opposite of sic?

‘[sic]' means ‘thus' or transcribed verbatim intending that one hasn't changed things (because of a mistake or old wording or things other than mistakes). The opposite is

to not use it

. You can emphasize it by saying something like ‘to paraphrase' or ‘loosely', but often nothing is said at all.

Why is sic used in a sentence?

Sic is also used to indicate a sentence

includes an error

, which sometimes must be reproduced in text, usually for the sake of accuracy. Writers often use sic when they're quoting material with spelling or grammatical errors from another source. The use of sic lets the writer off the hook.

How do you end a quote with sic?

Place the word

“sic” after the misspelled word

. If there are multiple misspelled words within one quote, place “sic” at the end of the phrase but within the marks.

What does sic mean in text messaging?

The sic you see in quoted text marks a

spelling or grammatical error

. It means that the text was quoted verbatim, and the mistake it marks appears in the source. It's actually a Latin word that means “so” or “thus.”

Why do journalists put words in brackets?

When writers insert or alter words in a direct quotation, square brackets—[ ]—are

placed around the change

. The brackets, always used in pairs, enclose words intended to clarify meaning, provide a brief explanation, or to help integrate the quote into the writer's sentence.

What does sic mean in social media?

sic (adv) –

Intentionally so written

(used after a printed word or phrase). You may observe this on chat and social media in the context wherein the opposite person writes it intentionally though knowing that the word is misspelled.

How do you do sic with multiple errors?

If any incorrect spelling, punctuation, or grammar in the source might confuse readers,

insert the word “[sic],” italicized and in brackets

, immediately after the error in the quotation. Nowak (2019) wrote that “people have an obligation to care for there [sic] pets” (p. 52).

What does it mean to sic a dog on someone?

: to order (an animal, such as a dog) to attack (someone or something) He

sicced his dog on me

.

How do you indicate a typo in a quote?

If there's a typo in a quotation, you

use [sic] to show the reader that the error is in the original source and that you're faithfully quoting it just as it appeared

.

Amira Khan
Author
Amira Khan
Amira Khan is a philosopher and scholar of religion with a Ph.D. in philosophy and theology. Amira's expertise includes the history of philosophy and religion, ethics, and the philosophy of science. She is passionate about helping readers navigate complex philosophical and religious concepts in a clear and accessible way.