A quote for any occasion
Quotation mark rules If you’re quoting a phrase or a part of a sentence , don’t start the quote with a capital letter: If you’re splitting a quote in half to interject a parenthetical, you should not capitalize the second part of the quote : If they apply to the quoted material, they go within the quotation marks.
Direct Quotations Capitalize the first letter of a direct quote when the quoted material is a complete sentence . If a direct quotation is interrupted mid – sentence , do not capitalize the second part of the quotation .
Use ellipses to make a quote say something other than what the author originally intended. Include the sentence’s ending punctuation followed by the ellipsis points when the dots are inserted after a complete sentence. Leave out the spaces before and after the ellipsis points or between them.
Rule: Use single quotation marks inside double quotation marks when you have a quotation within a quotation . Example: Bobbi told me, “Delia said, ‘This will never work. ‘ ”
The exclamation point (inside the closing quotation mark) ends the sentence ; no additional exclamation point. Her letter of resignation was a single sentence : “I’m out of here!” Rule: The sentence ends with a single period inside the closing quotation mark.
Use an ellipsis in the middle of a quotation to indicate that you have omitted material from the original sentence , which you might do when it includes a digression not germane to your point. However, take care when omitting material to preserve the original meaning of the sentence .
Dialogue begins with a capitalized word, no matter where in the sentence it begins. (Interrupted dialogue , when it resumes, is not capped.) Only direct dialogue requires quotation marks.
In the American system, periods and commas always go inside quotation marks (i.e., single AND double). Thus, sentences 1, 2, and 3 should look like this: The suspect told the arresting officer, “I was nowhere near the crime.” “Walk to the corner,” she explained to the child, “and turn left.”
Long quotations Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented ½ inch from the left margin while maintaining double-spacing. Your parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark. When quoting verse, maintain original line breaks.
The rule: Indicate that you have skipped material within a quote by placing three periods (an ellipsis) in place of the missing material. Do not place an ellipsis at the beginning or end of a quote , ever: only to indicate skipped material in the middle of a quote .
Three Dots for Missing Text To show readers that part of a quotation is missing , a writer can use three dots (like this ) to replace the missing words. (These three dots are called an ellipsis.) An ellipsis is usually written or in square brackets [].
‘” When multiple quotation marks are used for quotations within quotations , keep the quotation marks together (put periods and commas inside both; put semi-colons, colons, etc., outside both).
Citing a quote in APA Style In a parenthetical citation, you place all the information in parentheses after the quote . In a narrative citation, you name the author in your sentence (followed by the year), and place the page number after the quote .
Of course, you can start a sentence with a quote . As long as the quote is grammatically correct you can use it. The real question is one of style. If you have a good reason, then there is no problem with starting with a quote .
It is usually best not to begin or end your introductory paragraph with a quotation . You weaken your argument by relying on someone else’s words so early on in the paper. If you do quote in the first paragraph , make sure it is short and to the point.