When incorporating direct quotations into writing, what is the function of brackets?

Where is the main header supposed to be placed, when formatting a transcript ? how many spaces before the body of the dialogue ? two three or four ?

When mrs. jameson says "it (the desert) won't leave you cold," what does she mean?

Read the sentence. the great wave was inexpensive to purchase, costing only about the same as a double of noodles. since lots of copies could be printed and still look good, it made loads of money. which best revises this sentence to create a more formal style and tone? *the great wave was as cheap as buying a double of noodles. since lots of copies could be made and still look great, people started making piles of money. *the great wave was inexpensive to purchase, costing about the same as a double of noodles. since mass quantities could be produced and still look exquisite, it became highly profitable to sell. *the great wave cost next to nothing, practically the same as a double of noodles. since mass quantities could be produced and still look awesome, it became highly profitable to sell. *the great wave was inexpensive to purchase, similar to buying a double of noodles. since lots of copies could be made that still looked amazing, those who sold it made tons of money.