Quote and Dialogue Rules
Effectively Using
Direct
Quotations
Use a Quotation:
•
•
•
To emphasize a point you've made.
To provide an example.
To show an author's intention.
Remember the Rule of Three: TAG quote, QUOTE the quote, and
EXPLAIN/EXTENT the quote.
Using and Framing Direct Quotations
When used properly, quotations can add authority, persuasion, and strength to your argument. However,
quotations should only supplement your argument. Don’t make an argument of only quotations – then it’s not
your argument. Getting the hang of using quotations correctly can be tricky. The guidelines below will help you.
Remember that all quotes must be properly cited.
Quote a person who:
• Is an authority in a field related to your issue. For example, if you were writing a paper about Jane Austen,
you could quote another well-respected author.
Example: “Jane Austen is the pinnacle to which all other authors aspire,” according to international bestselling
author J.K. Rowling.
• Is in a position that would strengthen your argument. For example, if you were examining how the people in
New Orleans felt when Hurricane Katrina hit, any person who was there would be a credible source.
Example: New Orleans resident Ihsan Mahdi said, “Now I have a taste of what people in war ravaged countries
go through.”
• Uses vivid or memorable language that would lose power if paraphrased.
Example: “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a day which will live in infamy – the
United States was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of
the empire of Japan.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s speech after the Pearl Harbor
attack.
• Has a unique idea or point of view.
Example: Karl Marx famously wrote, “Religion is the opiate of the masses.”
Framing is a fancy name for fitting quotations into your writing. It is almost always
a good idea to frame your quotes and provide analysis. The most straightforward
method of framing quotes is to use speaker tags (also called attributive tags or
lead-in verbs) at the beginning, middle, or end of a quote. As the name implies,
these tags tell your reader about the speaker.
• As actress Mae West quips, “Too much of a good thing is wonderful.”
Another option is to embed the quote into the sentence:
• Roald Dahl believes that “a little nonsense now and then is relished by the
wisest men.”
Short Quotations:
•
•
Use quotation marks.
Make sentences smoothly flow from your words to those quoted, as in
these examples that follow MLA format:
As Coach Clark explained, "We lost the game because we were
overconfident and failed to take the other team's defense seriously
enough" (32).
The coach notes that "most of the guys on State's team have much
less experience than our players, but they certainly have talent and a
desire to win" (33).
Long Quotations:
Double-space your quote.
Do not use quotation marks for long quotations.
Place parenthetical documentation after end mark.
•
For MLA: --For quotations of more than four typed lines, indent ten
spaces from the left margin, and double-space within the quotation.
How to Alter Quotations or Use Parts of Quotations:
•
Indicate alterations with square brackets. For example, if you need to
supply a character's name where a quotation has a personal pronoun,
or a pronoun for a noun.
•
Here's an example using the MLA system: "Rome had several 'mad
emperors.' [Nero] was the maddest of them all" (Smith 32). The
original might have read, "He was the maddest of them all," but you
need to specify Nero since you're not using more lines from your
source.
Also note that for quotations within quotations, we go from double to
single quotation marks ('mad emperors' above).
•
•
◦
Indicate breaks in quoting with ellipsis points. In general, however,
use a blank space, three points, then another space when you omit
material in the middle of a sentence, and four when skipping between
sentences. If you break at the end of a sentence and then move to
another, include the final punctuation mark from the first sentence.
"Rome had several mad emperors. [Nero] was the maddest of
them all. . . . Legend has it . . . he played his harp while the city
went up in flames" (Smith 32)
Notes on Fairness:
•
You should not abbreviate quotations so they misrepresent their
author's original meaning. For example, if you cited the quotation
above as a fact rather than a legend about Nero, you'd be
misrepresenting the original author's intention. Check the context!
•
Double-check the original. A direct quotation must exactly follow the
wording of the original, except where you use ellipsis points or square
brackets (see above).
Block quotes are quotations of four or more lines. They should be used rarely and
only when omitting part of the quote would hurt its power.
In MLA style, block quotes should be double-spaced and indented one inch on the
left (10 spaces). Sentences preceding a block quote should introduce the speaker
and context.
The sentence immediately preceding a block quote is punctuated with a colon.
Slakjdfjsdfjsjfljsfjsljflkjfjlajlkdjfsaj argues this essential point:
Skjdfsdjfjsdlfjsdlkjf;sjdfkjsd;jflsakjdlfkjsl;dfjl;sjlfja;sljfl;jsld;kjfl;asj;lfjal;sjfl;js;ldf
j;alsdjfkjsakj;kjsajfl;sakjfl;sdkjfl;kjsal;fjl;asjf;lsajlfkjsal;fjl;ajkfl;ajfl;aj;laj;ljal;jl;jf;l
aj;lfj;lfjljk;lakjfjasljfkfjgsjdlfjsdl;jf;lksajdf;lkajs;ldfja;lskjf;lasj;lfjas;lkjfla;ksjf;lakj
dfl;sjl;fkjas;ljkfl;askjfl;aksj;lfjal;kjjdfl;akjfl;aj;lkajsd;lakjfl;jkasfl;jka;ljal;fjl;asjka;j
f;kajf;k. (3)
Using quotes is a cool thing to do if you keep them on ICE!
INTRODUCE
COPY/CITE
EXPLAIN
• An introduction lets the reader know that a quote is coming. Some examples
are seen above. However, you can also use the following:
• This is depicted in the following quote: “____________________”(name #).
• An example is when _________ states, “ _______________” (name #).
Avoid direct quotes if the language or idea is mundane or ordinary.
• Chuck Norris said, “My name is Chuck Norris.”
• “The American Revolution began in 1776.”
• “There are 435 members of the House of Representatives and 100 members of
the Senate.”
RECAP for Poetry and Prose Quotes
Rule 1: One to three lines, incorporate into sentence.
Rule 2: Four+ lines, indent ten spaces from margin on left side only.
No quotation marks for indented quotes.
Rule 3: Use a comma if tag is an incomplete sentence. (Jones argues, )
Rule 4: Use a colon if tag is a complete thought. (Jones argues a valid point: )
Rule 5: Use a virgule (/) between lines of poetry; one to three lines only.
Rule 6: Include parenthetical documentation after quote. (5) (Smith 5) (l. 2) (ll. 2-5)
Framing a Quote Recap
Introduce paragraph.
Introduce context of quote.
Tag the quote.
Quote the quote.
Add parenthetical documentation after quote.
Explain the quote. Extend the quote.
Continue with paragraph development until you are ready to write the paragraph
clincher.
Let’s practice!
Thoreau asks "If the bell rings, why should we run?"
A.
B.
C.
D.
Thoreau asks "If the bell rings, why should we run?" (no punctuation)
Thoreau asks, "If the bell rings, why should we run?"
Thoreau asks; "If the bell rings, why should we run?"
Thoreau asks: "If the bell rings, why should we run?"
Thoreau says that "We are determined to be starved before we are hungry."
A.
B.
C.
D.
Thoreau says that "We are determined to be starved before we are
hungry." (no punctuation)
Thoreau says that, "We are determined to be starved before we are
hungry."
Thoreau says that; "We are determined to be starved before we are
hungry."
Thoreau says that: "We are determined to be starved before we are
hungry."
Thoreau explains why he decided to live in the woods "I did not wish to live what
was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was
quite necessary."
A. Thoreau explains why he decided to live in the woods "I did not wish to live
what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation,
unless it was quite necessary." (no punctuation)
B. Thoreau explains why he decided to live in the woods, "I did not wish to live
what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation,
unless it was quite necessary."
C. Thoreau explains why he decided to live in the woods; "I did not wish to live
what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation,
unless it was quite necessary."
D. Thoreau explains why he decided to live in the woods: "I did not wish to live
what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation,
unless it was quite necessary."
Thoreau explains why he decided to live in the woods when he says that "I did
not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise
resignation, unless it was quite necessary."
A. Thoreau explains why he decided to live in the woods when he says that "I
did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to
practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary." (no punctuation)
B. Thoreau explains why he decided to live in the woods when he says that, "I
did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to
practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary."
C. Thoreau explains why he decided to live in the woods when he says that; "I
did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to
practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary."
D. Thoreau explains why he decided to live in the woods when he says that: "I
did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to
practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary."
Thoreau explains why he decided to live in the woods when he says "I did not
wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise
resignation, unless it was quite necessary."
A. Thoreau explains why he decided to live in the woods when he says "I did
not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise
resignation, unless it was quite necessary." (no punctuation)
B. Thoreau explains why he decided to live in the woods when he says, "I did
not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise
resignation, unless it was quite necessary."
C. Thoreau explains why he decided to live in the woods when he says; "I did
not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise
resignation, unless it was quite necessary."
D. Thoreau explains why he decided to live in the woods when he says: "I did
not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise
resignation, unless it was quite necessary."
Thoreau summarizes how he thinks we can improve our lives "Simplify,
simplify."
A. Thoreau summarizes how he thinks we can improve our lives "Simplify,
simplify." (no punctuation)
B. Thoreau summarizes how he thinks we can improve our lives, "Simplify,
simplify."
C. Thoreau summarizes how he thinks we can improve our lives; "Simplify,
simplify."
D. Thoreau summarizes how he thinks we can improve our lives: "Simplify,
simplify."
Pointers for Dialogue Writing
Dialogue must be in conflict to create interest and move the writing forward.
Everyday conversations are fine, but do they serve a greater purpose. It drives
the plot forward. Dialogue also characterizes characters. That’s indirect
characterization. It can also be used to provide information. That is good when a
work starts in medias res. It fills in the details of the exposition for a reader. Vary
your dialogue tags as well as their length. Be concise as well.
Basic Rules
1. Keep Punctuation Inside the Quotation Marks
Like this...
"Hello," said John. "How are you?"
Not like this...
"Hello", said John. "How are you"?
2. Use Dashes and Ellipses Correctly
Use ellipses to indicate a character's words trailing off. Like this...
"The reason I wanted to talk to you, Frank, is to ask you..."
You would do that if the speaking character was distracted or forgot what they
wanted to say.
But if they were cut off, use a dash...
"The reason I wanted to talk to you, Frank, is to ask you-"
"Yeah, well I don't want to talk to you."
3. Start a New Paragraph for a New Speaker
Why? Because it makes life so much easier for the readers of your novel to follow the dialogue (and doing
that is the whole purpose of good punctuation).
Starting a new paragraph whenever the speaker changes looks like this...
"Hello," said John. "How are you?"
"Can't complain," said Eleanor. "Well, I could, but nobody listens to a word I say."
"I'm just on my way to the coffee shop. Want to join me?"
"I'd love to, John, but I'm already running late."
The same thing applies even if one of the characters doesn't speak...
"Hello," said John. "How are you?"
"Can't complain," said Eleanor. "Well, I could, but nobody listens to a word I say."
"I'm just on my way to the coffee shop. Want to join me?"
"I'd love to, John, but I'm already running late.
John smiled. He couldn't stand Eleanor, and he was certain she hated him. But with John's brother
being engaged to Eleanor's best friend, they at least had to pretend.
"How about next time?"
"Looking forward to it already," said John.
3. Omit Quotation Marks in a Long Speech
The art of writing dialogue is to keep most of it short and sharp and punchy. Occasionally, though, a character
will say something that simply can't be said in a single paragraph, much less in a sentence or two.
When this happens in your novel, punctuate the dialogue like this...
"The usual way of punctuating dialogue," he said, "is to start the speech with quotation marks and to
close the marks when the character stops speaking a sentence or two later. However, if it is a long
speech then you will want to break it up into paragraphs.
"Like this. Notice that there are no quotation marks at the end of the previous paragraph, but that they
do appear at the start of this new one. It's only when you reach the end of the final paragraph of the
speech that you close the quotation marks. Like this"
Rule #1
When someone is speaking, put his/her words in quotation marks.
Rule #2
A new paragraph begins each time the speaker changes.
Rule #3
The first word within quotation marks is capitalized except for when a sentence is interrupted by a tag (he
said, she said) and then picks up again after the tag.
Rule #4
Punctuation marks vary with dialogue. Commas are used before tags (whether the tag is placed in the
middle or the end of a sentence). A period is used at the end of sentences without tags. Question marks
and exclamation points are used in occasions when they are appropriate. The tag that follows them is not
capitalized.
Rule #5
Description that accompanies dialogue should be placed in the same paragraph as the dialogue.
Which sentence has perfectly punctuated dialogue?
A)
B)
C)
D)
"I wonder" he thought to himself "why the sky is blue."
"I wonder," he thought to himself, "why the sky is blue."
"I wonder," he thought to himself "why the sky is blue."
"I wonder" He thought to himself "Why the sky is blue."
Which sentence has perfectly punctuated dialogue?
A) "In third grade, we learned about Egypt?" Dan said.
B) "In third grade, we learned about Egypt". Dan said.
C) "In third grade, we learned about Egypt", Dan said.
D) "In third grade, we learned about Egypt," Dan said.
Which sentence has perfectly punctuated dialogue?
A) Ben exclaimed "Your feet stink!"
B) Ben exclaimed, "Your feet stink"!
C) Ben exclaimed, "Your feet stink!"
D) Ben exclaimed, "your feet stink!"