Legal Definitions - emphasis added

The phrase emphasis added is a signal used in legal, academic, and journalistic writing to inform the reader that a specific word or phrase within a quoted passage has been highlighted (typically italicized, bolded, or underlined) by the person *quoting* the text, rather than by the original author of the text.

It serves to clarify that the emphasis was intentionally introduced by the writer to draw particular attention to certain words for their own analytical, argumentative, or illustrative purposes, ensuring the reader understands that the highlighting is not present in the original source material.

• Example 1 (Legal Brief):

  A lawyer is drafting a legal brief arguing that their client acted in self-defense. They quote a previous court ruling to support their argument:

  Original court ruling: "The right to self-defense is contingent upon an immediate and credible threat."

  Lawyer's quote in the brief: "The court clearly stated that self-defense is contingent upon an 'immediate and credible threat' (emphasis added)."

  Explanation: The lawyer italicized "immediate" to underscore that the threat their client faced was indeed immediate, directly aligning with the court's precedent. By adding "(emphasis added)," the lawyer makes it clear to the court that the original ruling did not italicize "immediate," but the lawyer chose to do so to highlight its critical relevance to their client's case.

• Example 2 (Academic Research Paper):

  A political science researcher is analyzing a historical document and wants to highlight a specific nuance in a leader's statement about public policy.

  Original document: "Our primary objective is to ensure the welfare of all citizens through sustainable economic growth."

  Researcher's quote in their paper: "The leader's statement prioritized 'welfare of all citizens through sustainable economic growth' (emphasis added), indicating a long-term environmental consideration often overlooked by contemporaries."

  Explanation: The researcher italicized "sustainable" to draw the reader's attention to this particular word, which they believe reveals a deeper, perhaps forward-thinking, aspect of the leader's policy. The "(emphasis added)" notation informs the reader that the original document did not italicize "sustainable," but the researcher did so to highlight this specific term for their analytical discussion.

• Example 3 (Journalistic Report):

  A journalist is reporting on a company's public announcement regarding a new product and wants to draw attention to a specific disclaimer.

  Original company announcement: "The new device offers unparalleled performance, subject to optimal network conditions."

  Journalist's quote in their article: "The company boasted 'unparalleled performance, subject to optimal network conditions' (emphasis added), a crucial caveat for consumers in areas with poor connectivity."

  Explanation: The journalist italicized the phrase "subject to optimal network conditions" to emphasize the limitation of the product's performance, which might be easily overlooked by consumers. The "(emphasis added)" clarifies that the journalist, not the company, chose to highlight this specific part of the statement to provide a more critical or complete picture for their readers.