Strategies: dialogue

1. Use quotation marks to begin and end a direct quotation. Separate the quoted material from the dialogue tag by commas. Do not use quotation marks to set off an indirect quotation.

I said, “The fable by James Thurber will surprise you.”

I said that the fable by James Thurber would surprise you.

2. If a question mark or an exclamation point occurs where one of the separating commas should be used, omit the comma and use the question mark or exclamation point to separate the quoted material.

“Don’t be late!” Bill warned.

3. The speaker’s words are set off from the rest of the sentence with quotation marks, and the first word of the quotation is capitalized. When the end of the quotation is also the end of the sentence, the period falls inside the quotation marks.

He said, “We’ll discuss the fable in one hour.”

4. Both parts of a divided quotation are enclosed in quotation marks. The first word of the second part is not capitalized unless it begins a new sentence.

“This fable,” our teacher said, “is a twist of an old tale.”

5. When writing only a part of a quoted sentence, do not begin the quotation with a capital letter unless the person you are quoting capitalized it or it is the first word in your sentence.

A film critic has called the movie “a futile attempt by the director to

trade in his reputation as a creator of blockbusters,” (Anderson 74).

6. Quotes within quotes: If you need to have one character directly quoting another character, then use double quotes for your main dialogue and single quotes for the quote-within-a quote.

“And then he said, ‘Mind your own business.’ The nerve!” she said.

7. Other rules

  a. Periods and commas ALWAYS go inside quotation marks.

“I think you’re wrong,” Dan said.

b. Colons and semicolons ALWAYS go outside quotation marks.

Dan said, “I think you’re wrong”; he was asking us to re-examine our information.

c. Question marks and exclamation marks go EITHER inside or outside the quotation mark depending on the situation. They go inside when the question or exclamation is part of what is quoted.

She asked, “Who did it?” or Did she say, “I’m quitting”?

d. When the sentence, as well as the quotation at the end of the sentence, needs a question mark (or an exclamation point), use only ONE question mark (or exclamation point), and place it inside the closing quotation marks.

Did she ask, “Is this fair?”

If you are questioning an exclamation, do it like this:

Is it true he yelled, “No!”?

8. When you write dialogue, begin a new paragraph whenever the speaker changes.

“Videotape is the wave of the future,” declared Clarissa. “There’s no doubt about it! Not

only is it a popular medium for today’s artists, but it has practical applications as well.”

“You’re right,” Angela agreed. “Video has been a boon to us on the swimming team—even when we don’t like what we see! When we see ourselves on tape, however, we see immediately where our shortcomings are: a kick that’s uneven or too much time lost at the turn.”

“I work with emotionally disturbed children,” mused Carmen,“and, now that you mention it, perhaps videotaping the teachers at work would be helpful. It would give us a chance to study our interaction with the children and see where we might improve or change our approach.”

“Well, I guess we have our work cut out for us,” Clarissa said. “If we all become masters of the video camera, we’ll be on the road to success.”

9. Use a pair of dashes (or a long dash) to indicate an abrupt break in thought or speech or an unfinished statement or question.

“First of all,” he said, “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better

with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his

point of view—”

“Sir?”

“—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

10. ELLIPSIS POINTS: Use three spaced ellipsis points (. . .) to indicate a pause in written dialogue. Ex. “Well, . . . I don’t know,” Sarah answered. When someone’s words “trail off,” you also use 3 ellipsis points. (Be sure to space in between each one.) If the ellipsis points appear at the end of a sentence, you will need a fourth “dot” for the sentence period.

“Mr. Ewell shouldn’t do that—”

“Of course, he shouldn’t, but he’ll never change his ways. Are you going to take out your

disapproval on his children?”

“No, sir,” I murmured and made a final stand: “But if I keep on goin’ to school, we can’t

ever read any more. . . .”

        “That’s really bothering you, isn’t it?”

        “Yes, sir.”

        When Atticus looked down at me, I saw the expression on his face that always made me expect something. “Do you know what a compromise is?” he asked.