Quotation Rules - Video Notes

Vocabulary flashcards covering quotation punctuation rules, quoting from sources, and editorial practices (ellipsis, brackets, short quotes, and the that-exception).

Quotation marks

Punctuation marks used to enclose direct speech or quoted text.

Dialogue tag

A phrase like says, said, asked that identifies who is speaking and accompanies a quotation.

Comma before a quotation (tag precedes quote)

When the dialogue tag comes before the quoted material, place a comma after the tag and before the opening quotation mark (e.g., Susan said, "I think we'd better leave now.").

Break up a quote

Inserting a dialogue tag inside a quoted sentence, splitting the quote (e.g., "Didn't you know," asked John, "she was your grandmother?").

Quoting from a source

Citing text from a source; punctuation rules apply, with the period typically outside the final parenthetical citation.

Parenthetical citation

The source citation placed in parentheses after a quote, e.g., (Smith 63).

Period after citation rule

The period that ends a sentence goes after the closing parenthesis of the citation (not inside the citation).

Verbatim quotation

Quoting exactly as the original source words appear, without paraphrase or changes.

Ellipses (omission)

Three dots (…) used inside a quotation to indicate omitted material.

Brackets (additions)

Square brackets [ ] inserted into a quotation to add clarifying words or make it grammatically correct.

Short quotation

A quotation that is only a word or two long, often embedded within a sentence.

That-exception

If the introducing word is that, you typically do not place a comma before the quote (e.g., John Smith feels that "the First World War ushered in the twentieth century" (63)).