How does sic work

Real-time suggestions, wherever you write. What Does Sic Mean? Marko Ticak. Sic can be one of several things: An adverb denoting that something is quoted as is, including mistakes.

A Scottish word with the same meaning as such. Grammar What Are Modal Verbs? It is not acceptable to change any wording in a direct quote, even to correct a grammatical or spelling error. Quoted text has to stay in its original form. Perhaps because it is often mistakenly perceived to be an acronym, people sometimes say that sic stands for spelled in context.

While [sic] usually appears in brackets, that is not the only option for writing this term. It can also appear in parentheses or simply appear in italicized text. They all mean the same thing. In addition to there being multiple ways to write [sic] in text, there is an alternative. To avoid having to use [sic], writers can simply paraphrase source text with proper attribution rather than quoting it directly.

This way, the information can be presented in a grammatically correct manner that reads well, without the need to point out an error in the original text.

Writers often do this, unless there is a specific reason that information must be presented in text as a direct quotation. Unless the work is a document where readers expect to see [sic] notations and know what they mean, avoiding using this notation can help prevent avoidable confusion.

It also shows up frequently on social media posts. Transcriptions of legal proceedings, such as depositions, court proceedings or testimony before Congress, must be recorded verbatim. Your email address will not be published. Note: With this meaning, the word is not italicized or enclosed in brackets. Pop Quiz Place [ sic ] where needed. Pop Quiz Answers 1. Eb Roell says:. August 17, , at am. Jane says:. August 18, , at pm. Michael Richmond says:. June 7, , at pm. June 9, , at am. July 17, , at am.

July 26, , at pm. Rob says:. November 6, , at pm. Catherine S. January 29, , at am. Cathy Smith says:. February 6, , at pm. March 23, , at am.

Janusz Peters says:. January 6, , at pm. Cynthia says:. April 19, , at pm. May 31, , at pm. April 1, , at pm. April 3, , at pm. ATO says:. August 20, , at pm. July 30, , at pm. Charles says:. January 13, , at pm. January 14, , at pm. Haley says:. February 4, , at am. February 5, , at pm. April 26, , at pm. ShadyJ says:. November 10, , at pm. Bo says:. May 8, , at am. May 9, , at pm.

Teresa says:. December 7, , at pm. December 14, , at am. Richelle says:. March 27, , at pm. March 28, , at pm. David says:. September 25, , at pm. September 27, , at am. Gay says:. December 29, , at am. December 31, , at am. May 17, , at am. May 22, , at am. Rich Brown says:. January 28, , at am. January 29, , at pm. Hope says:. February 15, , at pm. February 17, , at pm. Fergo says:. November 2, , at pm. November 9, , at am.

Paul says:. March 19, , at am. March 21, , at am. Katie says:. March 26, , at pm. March 28, , at am. Nick says:. May 28, , at pm. April 4, , at pm. April 6, , at pm. Di says:. May 2, , at pm. May 4, , at am. Beth says:. July 9, , at pm. July 11, , at pm. Dara says:. August 23, , at am. August 25, , at pm. August 7, , at pm. Gordie says:. September 27, , at pm. JC says:. December 22, , at pm. December 26, , at pm. Fred says:. October 22, , at pm.

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December 9, , at am. December 12, , at am. S says:. May 1, , at pm. K v Subbarao says:. April 28, , at pm. C says:. May 3, , at pm. Drew Murray says:. June 6, , at pm. Sara says:. December 16, , at pm. HPenton says:. January 27, , at am. January 31, , at pm. Bob says:. February 13, , at pm. M says:. March 4, , at pm. March 10, , at pm. Jill Madison says:. February 12, , at pm. February 21, , at pm.

Raghav Gupta says:. March 26, , at am. May 29, , at am. June 7, , at am. Michael says:. June 17, , at pm. Adam says:. September 28, , at pm. October 3, , at am. Jim says:. October 1, , at am. October 7, , at pm. Crystal T says:. January 18, , at pm. January 22, , at pm. March 11, , at am. March 16, , at pm.

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August 27, , at pm. Tessa says:. December 29, , at pm.