quotation marks 

Quotation Marks: Functions and Rules

• Usage of Quotation Marks

  • Quoting Material:

  • Quotation marks are used to indicate words that are quoted from other sources.

  • Used to denote exact language either written by an author or spoken by a character.

  • Titles of Short Works:

  • Employed in writing titles of short artistic works such as poems, songs, essays, and short stories.

• Quotation Marks Must Be Used in Pairs

  • If there is an opening quotation mark, there must be a closing quotation mark at the end of the quoted material.

• Application in Dialogue

  • In narrative literature, quotation marks delineate dialogue between characters, e.g.:

  • "Brady glanced up from his book to find the stranger staring intently at him. 'Can I help you with anything, sir?' he asked, a little unnerved. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, the man said, 'It's been so long.'"

• Research and Quotation Marks

  • In academic writing, quotation marks must indicate information that is directly quoted from an author or a published work.

  • Any sentence or paragraph copied verbatim from any source (e.g., Internet site, book, article) must be enclosed in quotation marks.

  • Failure to use quotation marks with verbatim information constitutes plagiarism.

• Understanding Plagiarism

  • Plagiarism is equated with theft, as it involves taking another's words and presenting them as one's own.

  • To prevent plagiarism, students must either:

  • Summarize or paraphrase the information in their own words.

  • Enclose the information in quotation marks and provide proper citation of the source.

• Punctuation with Quotation Marks

  • When introducing quoted material, additional punctuation may be required:

  • If the quote follows a verb (e.g., says, said), at least one comma is usually necessary.

  • The first word of the quote must be capitalized.

  Example:

  • "The nurse at the pediatrician's office always says, 'My, you've really grown.'"

• Fragmented Quotes

  • If the quoted material is a phrase integrated into your own sentence, commas and capitalization may not be required:

  • Example:

  • "Stevie's doctor said teething has caused a temporary strain on his gums, and Stevie's dad was so relieved the problem was minor that he said he could just kiss the doc."

• Interrupted Quotes

  • If a quote is interrupted, a comma should follow the unquoted material:

  • Example:

    • "Weight training," she warned, "requires inner strength as well as outer strength."

  • For longer interruptions that span more than one sentence, a new sentence should begin after the interruption.

  • Example:

    • "Don't injure yourself more," said Daniel. "Take it easy until you heal."

• Introducing Quotes with Colons

  • Quoted material may be prefaced with a colon, given it is preceded by an independent clause.

  • Example:

    • "My trainer has said it many times: 'Suffer the pain of discipline or suffer the pain of regret.'"

• Punctuation Placement

  • Placement of punctuation in relation to quotation marks:

  • Periods and commas: Inside the quotes.

    • Example: "Bring the ladder," he called over his shoulder.

  • Semicolons and colons: Outside the quotes.

  • Example:

  • "Misty cries whenever she hears the song 'The Ladder.' It reminds her of Dimitri."

• Handling Question Marks and Exclamation Points

  • These punctuation marks are placed inside the quotation marks when part of the quoted material:

  • Example:

    • "You brought a ladder?" she asked.

  • They are placed outside if not part of the quoted material:

  • Example:

    • "Did he actually say bring two ladders?"

• Titles of Works

  • Quotation marks should be used for titles of shorter artistic works:

  • Short poems, essays, songs, short stories, articles, etc.

  • For titles of longer works, italics are preferred:

  • Books, movies, magazines, plays, TV programs, etc.

  • Example:

    • "The short story 'Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa' inspired the baseball movie 'Field of Dreams.'"