Quotation marks allow you to use another person’s words in your writing. When you use another person’s words in your writing, it is called a Direct Quote!

Do not use quotation marks for an Indirect Quotation- a rewording of a direct quotation.

DIRECT QUOTATION: Tom predicted, “It will be a close game.” INDIRECT QUOTATION: Tom predicted the game could be a close one.

1. A direct quotation generally begins with a capital letter. 2. Place the punctuation inside of the closing quotation mark. REMEMBER: Punctuation BEFORE quotation! Example: Mrs. Smith rushed into the store and said, “The neighbor’s dog just ran into the street!”

3. In a broken quotation, the quote is divided by the identification of the speaker. The second part of a broken quotation begins with a lowercase letter. Example: “My dear,” Mrs. Smith exclaimed, “that is a lovely tie you have on!” 4. Direct quotations must be set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma, exclamation point, or question mar. NOT a period. Example: “I like Language Arts the best,” Casey said. “Is Mrs. Walters nice?” Billy asked. “I’ll say she is!” Caroline exclaimed.

When you write a dialogue (a conversation), begin a new paragraph every time the speaker changes. EXAMPLE: “What kind of dog do you have?” Lisa asked her friend. “A poodle,” Jane replied. “She is the best dog in the world.” “No way,” Lisa disagreed. “My dog is the best.”

1. Unscramble the paragraph. 2. Add quotation marks where needed with a dry erase marker. 3. Indent any new paragraphs.