Using Quotation Marks

1. Using Quotation Marks

2. Short Quotations • Quotation marks are used to indicate the exact words of an author. • For classes that use MLA, short quotations are quotations that are less than four typed lines long. • These quotations are simply handled in the standard way, with regular quotation marks at the beginning and ending of the quotation. • Example: Oscar Wilde once said, “One should either be a work of art or wear a work of art.”

3. Long Quotations • Long quotations are quotations that are four or more typed lines of text. • These quotations are put into block format, meaning they are indented within the paragraph and have no quotation marks.

4. Long Quotation Example • According to Silko, • An individual woman may be terrorized by her spouse, but women are not so severely terrorized that we avoid marriage. Yet, many women I know, including myself, try to avoid going outside their homes alone after dark. Big deal, you say; well yes, it is a big deal since most lectures, performances, and films are presented at night; so are dinners and other social events. This shows that women are often taught to be careful with their surroundings, although they are not often careful about marriage.

5. Quotations Within Quotaions • Often, students use sources that themselves use the quotations of others and are confused about how to handle quotations within other quotations. • Generally, the internal quotation is set off with single quotes instead of double quotes. • Example: According to Calahan, “When Martin Luther King said, ‘I have a dream,’ it was an important moment in American history.”

6. Direct and Indirect Discourse • Use quotation marks when dealing with direct discourse (directly stating what someone else said). • Example: I wondered “Did I turn off the lights before I left the house?” • Do not use quotation marks with indirect discourse (when not stating the exact words). • Example: I was wondering if I turned the lights off before I left the house.

7. Titles of Short Works • Put quotation marks around the titles of short works such as essays, articles, songs, and poems. • The article “What is Poverty?” lets the reader know what it is like living in poverty.

8. Using Words used as Words • The idea of using words as words may sound funny, but when speaking of a word as an object, put quotation marks around the word. • I frequently confuse “accept” and “except.”

9. Quotation Marks and other forms of Punctuation • Commas and periods that are grammatically necessary are always placed inside the quotation marks. • Bill said, “I think this is going to be a good day.” • Semicolons and colons always go outside quotation marks unless it is part of the quotation. • Bill said “I can’t meet you”; I think he was just making an excuse, though. • Question marks, exclamation marks, and dashes go outside the quotation marks unless they are a part of the quotation. • Have you read Nikki Giovanni’s poem “Knoxville, Tennessee”?

10. Practice: Add Quotation Marks where Necessary • 1. Have you been to the bookstore yet? Monica asked. • 2. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is a poem by Robert Frost. • 3. I was wondering if you were going to the dance. • 4. Peter said, Albert is very tired, and he said I’m going to bed. • 5. The word groovy has gone out of style, but the retro movement is trying to bring it back.

11. Answers: • 1. “Have you been to the bookstore yet?” Monica asked. • 2. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is a poem by Robert Frost. • 3. I was wondering if you were going to the dance. (No quotation marks needed) • 4. Peter said, “Albert is very tired, and he said ‘I’m going to bed.’” • 5. The word “groovy” has gone out of style, but the retro movement is trying to bring it back.