quotation marks

The (Quiet) Quotation Marks Page: "

One of my favorite things about quotation marks is how one of their latest uses is for sarcasm.

Putting quotation marks around certain words in certain contexts has the meaning of "Isn't this a dumb word?"

We have even evolved a special sign language: raise your hands, hook down the first two fingers and say the word you wish to point to as dumb.

Oh well. Better get back to the "official" uses of the quotation mark.

Quotation marks are used to indicate a quote. A quote being the exact words of someone other than you in your writing.

That's pretty much it, except for indicating the titles of short, written works.

The above sentence says, "Quotation marks are used to indicate a quote. That's pretty much it, except for indicating the titles of short, written works."

"A Clean Well Lighted Place" is one of my favorite Ernest Hemingway short stories.

Hey! You only put quotation marks around titles of short works.

Hey, again! When it's your title sitting there on top of the page you're about to hand in to your English teacher, do not put quotation marks!

The fact that the words are at the top of the page is all the punctuation you need.

Now you know.

But the clinker in quotation marks, the thing that screws us up the most, is using quotation marks with other punctuation.

Here are the most troublesome ones:

Long Quotes.

A quote more than a sentence or two long is traditionally set off from the rest of text by using double indentations, and by using single space even if the rest of the paper is double spaced. Find some examples of this in any handbook about research papers. The deal is, setting off the quote in this way is all the punctuation you need. Do NOT use quotation marks.

When you break a quote, a comma goes before the second quotation mark.

"Hey, kid," the old man said, "get off my lawn!"

End marks, such as periods, that are part of the quotation come inside the quote.

"Hey, kid," the old man said, "get off my lawn!"

Look at something you have written.

Offset a few places by pretending they are quotes and play around with various ways to use quotation marks.

If your writing contains quotations, notice how well you have used them and buy yourself a treat for being so intelligent.

One more thing. If your writing contains a conversation between or among people, every time the speaker changes, create a new paragraph.

Even if the quote is only one word.

It's "traditional." It's "standard."

To return to Step Two, click here.

The Wonderful Writing Skills (Un)Handbook
		The (Quiet) Quotation Marks Page: " One of my favorite things about quotation marks is how one of their latest uses is for sarcasm. Putting quotation marks around certain words in certain contexts has the meaning of "Isn't this a dumb word?" We have even evolved a special sign language: raise your hands, hook down the first two fingers and say the word you wish to point to as dumb. Oh well. Better get back to the "official" uses of the quotation mark. Quotation marks are used to indicate a quote. A quote being the exact words of someone other than you in your writing. That's pretty much it, except for indicating the titles of short, written works. The above sentence says, "Quotation marks are used to indicate a quote. That's pretty much it, except for indicating the titles of short, written works." "A Clean Well Lighted Place" is one of my favorite Ernest Hemingway short stories. Hey! You only put quotation marks around titles of short works. Hey, again! When it's your title sitting there on top of the page you're about to hand in to your English teacher, do not put quotation marks! The fact that the words are at the top of the page is all the punctuation you need. Now you know. But the clinker in quotation marks, the thing that screws us up the most, is using quotation marks with other punctuation. Here are the most troublesome ones: Long Quotes. A quote more than a sentence or two long is traditionally set off from the rest of text by using double indentations, and by using single space even if the rest of the paper is double spaced. Find some examples of this in any handbook about research papers. The deal is, setting off the quote in this way is all the punctuation you need. Do NOT use quotation marks. When you break a quote, a comma goes before the second quotation mark. *"Hey, kid," the old man said, "get off my lawn!"* End marks, such as periods, that are part of the quotation come inside the quote. *"Hey, kid," the old man said, "get off my lawn!"* Look at something you have written. Offset a few places by pretending they are quotes and play around with various ways to use quotation marks. If your writing contains quotations, notice how well you have used them and buy yourself a treat for being so intelligent. One more thing. If your writing contains a conversation between or among people, every time the speaker changes, create a new paragraph. Even if the quote is only one word. It's "traditional." It's "standard." To return to Step Two, click here.
	To the top Home \| Information \| Dialogues \| Directions \| Ideas \| Learnatron \| MOP With your questions, ideas, comments and/or pitiful cries into the night, email who holds the copyright to all of this.