How do you punctuate a quote within a sentence?
MLA is the second most popular citation style (Smith and Morrison 1719). It is more popular than Chicago style, but less popular than APA (21).In these cases the period appears outside the quotation marks, whereas if there were no citation it would appear inside them. So for example, if "speaking out against discriminatory pricing" is the quote, the sentence might look like this: In the above example, both the comma and period were enclosed in the quotation marks. The main exception to this rule involves the use of internal citations, which always precede the last period of the sentence. For example: Like other quotations, block quotes should always be integrated into your text with an introduction that makes it clear why the quote has been included. To learn more, read the full guide on how to block quote. It can be confusing when you start combining quotation marks with other punctuation marks.
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For example: You can use single inverted commas or double quotation marks to punctuate the quotation. Just make sure you stick to the same punctuation mark and dont swap between the two. Question marks and exclamation points go outside of the final quotation mark if the punctuation mark is part of your sentence--your question or your exclamation ("like this"?). Those marks go inside of the final quotation mark if they are a part of the original--the writer's question or exclamation ("like this!"). The above sentence might be spoken with a pause between the words life and when in orderto provide dramatic effect, but a comma is the wrong form of punctuation to capture a pause. Instead, an ellipsis () would be appropriate: In American usage, periods and commas typically go inside of quotation marks. When youre quoting someones exact words, introduce the quote with open quotation marks, and end the quote with a period or comma and closing quotation marks. In these examples, the words within scare quotes are widely accepted terms with clear meanings that cant be attributed to a specific person or source.
So, an ellipsis in this sentence would look like . . . this.
There are a few rules to follow when using ellipses: Comma UseUse
commas to separate independent clauses when they are joined by
any of these seven coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, or,
nor, so, yet. Use commas after introductory a) clauses, b)
phrases, or c) words that come before the main items
Quotation marks have several uses in writing. As their name
suggests, theyre often used to mark the beginning and end of
quotes or dialogue. They can also be used to set off titles of
certain works or to indicate slang, mottos, single letters, and
translations. While scare quotes have their uses in academic
writing for example, when referring to controversial or contested
terms they are best avoided wherever possible. Inappropriate use
of scare quotes can create ambiguity in your writing. How you use
exclamation points and question marks with quotes will depend on
what youre writing. Overall, you can stick to this basic rule:
question marks and exclamation points go inside quotation marks
if they are a part of the quoted matter.
- A quotation is a phrase taken directly from a text or speech.
- In critical essays, the points you make about a text should be supported by short quotations from the text.
- There are different ways of using a quotation within the structure of an essay sentence or paragraph.
- Its important to carefully punctuate your quotations, so that the meaning is clear.
Note that you can probably also make this citation more concise
by shortening the title included to just "'Float'"; MLA
recommends shortening titles where possible in in-text citations
(though not in the Works Cited list, where the full title should
be displayed). Sentence-ending punctuation is a whole different
story. In the United States, the rule of thumb is that commas and
periods always go inside the quotation marks, and colons and
semicolons (dashes as well) go outside: There was a storm last
night, Paul said.
Also, would I have to put two citations if I had two quotes in
one sentence or would I just put one after the second quote? In
US English,commas and periods are placed within the quotation
marks. Other punctuation marks should be placed outside (unless
they are part of the original quotation). An ellipsis is a
punctuation mark of three dots in a row that shows
something is missing from the sentence. An ellipsis in a
quotation can be used if you want to leave out a section. This
might be useful if you want a shorter and more precise quotation:
Whenever you want to leave out material from within a quotation,
you need to use an ellipsis, which is a series of three periods,
each of which should be preceded and followed by a space.
If they punctuate the sentence as a whole, they go outside of the quotation marks. Heres a quick guide to using punctuation with quotation marks like a pro, and you can quote us on that. It is common to begin quotes with a comma before the opening quotation mark; however, this is not required in all writing styles. The most important thing is to keep your writing consistent. If youre splitting a quote into two separate parts, youll end the first section with a comma inside of the quotes and begin the second section with another comma inside the quotes:The problem is, Rachel said, no one wants to listen to anyone elses opinion. It's OK in MLA style if your in-text citation doesn't appear at the end of the sentence. They specify only that it should appear somewhere where it doesn't disrupt the flow of your argumentso it's best if it appears before some kind of punctuation, e. g. a comma or semicolon. So as long as your quotation is followed by some kind of punctuation, the citation can appear directly after it, before the punctuation mark.
If you go a paragraph or two without citing the source and then cite it again, or if you've cited something else in between, include the title again to avoid ambiguity. If it is especially important that you formulate a counterargument to this claim, then you might wish to quote the part of the statement that you find questionable and establish a dialogue between yourself and John Doe: There will be times when you want to highlight the words of a particularly important and authoritative source on your topic. For example, suppose you were writing an essay about the differences between the lives of male and female slaves in the U. S. South. One of your most provocative sources is a narrative written by a former slave, Harriet Jacobs. It would then be appropriate to quote some of Jacobss words: A parenthetical citation in the text comes outside any quotation marks but before a following period or other punctuation mark.
As a general rule, you should use a comma to introduce quoted
material or dialogue. Thats because in most types of dialogue,
the quoted material stands apart from the surrounding text. In
grammatical terms, its syntactically independent.
Remembering just a few simple rules can help you use the correct
punctuation as you introduce quotations. There are some
exceptions to the rules below, but they should help you use the
correct punctuation with quotations most of the time. These rules
oversimplify the use of punctuation with quotations, but applying
just these few rules should help you use the correct punctuation
about 90 percent of time. In academic writing, its important to
integrate quotations into your own writing avoid placing them in
sentences of their own. Sometimes it is necessary for clarity and
flow to alter a word or words within a quotation. You should make
such changes rarely. In order to alert your reader to the changes
youve made, you should always bracket the altered words. Here are
a few examples of situations when you might need brackets:
Remember to close the punctuation marks at the end of the
quotation.
You should consult a style manual for complicated situations, but the following two rules apply to most cases: You should use a comma to separate your own words from the quotation when your introductory or explanatory phrase ends with a verb such as "says," "said," "thinks," "believes," "pondered," "recalls," "questions," and "asks" (and many more). You should also use a comma when you introduce a quotation with a phrase such as "According to Thoreau. " While Americans place periods and commas inside of quotation marks, those in the UK do the opposite. In British English, all punctuation marks go outside of the quotation marks unless the punctuation is a part of the material being quoted. You're about to see how misusing punctuation not only confuses readersbut also marks you as someone who doesnt pay attention to detail.
Place all other punctuation marks (colons, semicolons, exclamation marks, question marks) outside the quotation marks, except when they were part of the original quotation.
The boys ran to school, forgetting their lunches and books. Even though they were out of breath, they made it on time.
Only use a capital letter in a quotation, if one appears in the original text. Notice that there are only two punctuation marks that are used to introduce quotations: the comma and the colon (:). Note that a semicolon (;) is not used to introduce quotations. There are different ways to use a quotation in an essay. For example, you could embed a quotation into your sentence or separate the quotation with a colon after your point. Please I ned to know with examples if possible how to punctuate in-text citation in quotations whose sentence has not finished with a period but using specifiacally (,) and (;)? Do I put these punctuation marks inside the quotation continuing the sentence or out sid the quotation? Sometimes, in order to have a clear, accurate discussion of the ideas of others, you need to quote those ideas word for word. Suppose you want to challenge the following statement made by John Doe, a well-known historian: Place the parenthetical citation directly after the relevant quote or paraphrase, and before the period or other punctuation mark (except withblock quotes, where the citation comes after the period). Whether you need to keep including the title depends on whether it's clear from the context what you're citing. If you cite the same source repeatedly in a paragraph without citing anything else in between, you can just put the timestamps in citations after the first one.
Jane Doe grappled with grief and disbelief. She had viewed JFK, not just as a national figurehead, but as someone who represented the hopes of young people everywhere.