See Below For Notes

8/31/04

Basic English Composition

"10 Rules for Writing Quotes"

Dialogue is conversation.  It is the words that people or story character say to one another.

A quotation is a passage containing someone's exact written or spoken words.  Place quotation marks at the beginning and end of the speaker's exact words.

Rule 1        Put quotation marks around the speaker's exact words.

Example    "Where are you going?" asked Amber.

Rule 2        Capitalize the first word of a quotation.

Example    Eliza answered, "Now I'm going to lunch."

Rule 3        You may identify the speaker at the beginning of the quotation.  Use a comma to separate the speaker from the quotation.  Use an end punctuation mark at the end of the quotation.

Example    Amber said, "I will see you later."

Rule 4        You may identify the speaker at the end of the quotation.  Use a comma to separate the speaker from the quotation.  Put the comma inside the closing quotation marks.

Example       "I'll see you at the bus stop," said Eliza.

Rule 5        If the quotation is a question, use a question mark at the end of the quotation.  If the speaker's sentence expresses strong feeling, use an exclamation mark.

Example    "Will you be on time?" asked Amber.  "Of course, I will?"  Eliza said.

Rule 6        Put the punctuation mark at the end of the quotation inside the closing quotation marks.

Example    "I want to see the steer-wrestling event?"  "I want to see the broncs," said Eliza.     Amber asked, "How long will we be there?"

Rule 7        Start a new paragraph with each new speaker.  You do not always need to identify the speaker.

Example       "Here we are at last!"  said Eliza.  "I am glad we came to the rodeo," said Amber.  "Me, too!"

Rule 8        The speaker may say several sentences.  Use quotation marks only at the beginning and end of the entire speech.

Example    "Just think, only yesterday we were back home in Springfield.  Now we are in Centerville.  soon we will be seeing a rodeo,"  Amber said to Eliza.

Rule 9        When there are quotation marks inside a direct quotation, use single quotation marks for the inside quotation.  You also use single quotation marks around a title when it is inside a quotation.

Example    "That man said, "Don't miss the first event," Eliza told Amber.  "The name of that song is "Home on the Range,"  Amber said.

Rule 10      You can identify a speaker within a quotation.  Begin the second part of the sentence with a small letter.  If the second part of a quotation is a new sentence, begin it with a capital letter.

Example       "Maybe we'll see the bronc-riding event first,"  suggested Amber. "or the calf-roping event."  "We want to see every event," she added.  "We should stay longer."

                    "