Paraphrasing is indicated with brackets. Newspapers cut and paste quotes to make them fit into their pieces. This is used by the author to indicate that the error was not his or her own, but that of the person referenced. For example, if I wanted to quote George Washington saying, "I cannot tell a lie", I would write, "Washington could not [or would not] tell a lie". Brackets are also used to introduce an excerpt from a longer work. In this case, the brackets will be placed around several sentences or a paragraph. The reader is then informed that what follows is an excerpt from a longer work. This can be useful for avoiding copyright issues when reporting on other people's words-only excerpts are usually fair use. Newspaper editors often have to make difficult decisions about what should and shouldn't be included in their stories. Using paraphrase boxes helps them communicate these decisions effectively to their writers.