Template:Interp/doc

This is a simple template used to identify and correctly format interpolations in quoted material. These interpolations add to or replace portions of a quote (frequently pronouns, or some other unclear referent) to make clear to readers information that is supplied by the context of the quote. For instance, the original quote might be:


 * "It's a complete trainwreck of a film. The director can't even come close to matching the genius of his obvious inspiration, Hitchcock."

With interpolations, the quote could be:


 * "[Strangers on a Segway is] a complete trainwreck of a film. [Alan Smithee] can't even come close to matching the genius of his obvious inspiration, [Alfred] Hitchcock."

The same effect could be achieved without interpolation by breaking up the quote into pieces, for instance:


 * Critic Bodger Leebert called Strangers on a Segway a "complete trainwreck of a film," and said that Alan Smithee "can't even come close to matching the genius of his obvious inspiration, Hitchcock" (presumably Alfred Hitchcock).

However, in many cases interpolation may be preferable as a way of clarifying ambiguous referents, since it keeps the flow of the quote intact.

Usage
The usage is very simple; simply use the words to be interpolated as the only argument to the template call:


 *   produces  [ Alan Smithee ] 

Further development
There might be an argument for including an optional parameter that would record the actual words being replaced; thus making it possible to reproduce the original quote and lessening fears that the interpolations actually claim more than the context supports (a form of misquotation.) It's unclear, however, where or how that parameter would be rendered.