Quotation Marks: how to use them with other punctuation
The Basics:
1. Quotation marks always come in pairs. Always begin and end each set of quotation marks. 2. Indirect quotations are not placed in quotation marks because they are paraphrased. However, it is still necessary to cite them. 3. Do not place quotation marks around a word or phrase for emphasis or to indicate irony (use italics *Quotation Marks and instead). Capitalization 4. Quotations are most effective when they are kept short -When the quoted material is and used sparingly. a complete sentence, capitalize the first letter of the
direct quote. Quoting with Periods, Commas, Exclamation Marks, and Question Marks: -Do not use a capital letter when the quoted material is a In most cases, these punctuation marks are placed inside of fragment or a piece of the the quotation marks. original sentence.
EX: “I usually study in the library during lunch,” he - When a quote is interrupted said. mid-sentence, do not capitalize the second part of EX: Sally shouted gleefully, “Christmas is my favorite the quotation. holiday!”
EX: Shakespeare once stated in his play Romeo and Juliet, “What’s in a name?”(II, ii, 1).
The Exception:
Question marks can also sit outside of quotation marks depending on the intention of the direct quote. If a quotation within a sentence is not a question but the sentence itself is, the question mark sits outside of the quotation marks.
EX: Do you know who said, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”? Single Quotation Marks:
When a direct quote sits inside of another quote, single quotation marks are used within the quotation marks. Single quotation marks are also applied when citing the titles of poems, stories, or articles within a direct quote.
Ex: “I will always remember Mom’s warning, ‘Never swim right after you eat!’” recalled Jack.
EX: Before class ended Professor Robins said, “You must use the poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost as a source for the paper.”
Using [sic]:
In some cases, when citing direct quotations you may come across a sentence that has a grammatical or punctuation error. Because direct quotations are expected to be cited exactly as written, this error must not be corrected. Instead, place the word Sic in italics and brackets immediately after the error in the quotation.
EX: “I love to where [sic] my APU t-shirt!”
Using Brackets:
Even if a quotation does not have a grammatical or punctuation error, it still may not fit with the sentence surrounding it. If this is the case, brackets are used to add a missing word, prefix, or suffix. Brackets can also be used to change the tense of a quotation or add clarification.
EX: Yesterday Lisa confessed that she couldn’t stop “think[ing] about the final paper for biology.”
EX: “I met a lot of [friendly] students during the APU orientation,” answered Eric. Note:
A quote must always flow grammatically ** This sheet is intended to be a quick reference for common citation situations. For in-depth information on citation styles, please refer to writing manuals, take with the sentence to advantage of resources offered by the on-campus libraries, or come to the which it is Writing Center for more information. connected. The Purdue Owl. Purdue U Writing Lab,
2010. Web. 7 Nov 2011.
Created by the APU Writing Center 2011