Lesson 12 — Activity 6:

Using Quotation Marks



The main use for quotation marks in your writing is to show when someone is speaking.

This is important to help your writing be clear to your reader. Quotation marks let the reader know that you are writing what someone is saying or has said.

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In general, the rule for quotation marks is to place double quotation marks (") before and after a direct quotation.

Consider the example below.

  • Ozzy Osbourne said, "I never actually bit the head off a bat."

The other most common use for quotation marks is to show that you are writing the title of a short work such as a short story, poem, essay, magazine article, or song. (Titles of novels or books, magazines, movies, long poems, plays, CDs, and TV or radio shows are usually written in italics — or underlined in handwriting).

Consider the example below.

  • "Crazy Train" is a classic Ozzy Osbourne song from the album Blizzard of Ozz.

When using quotation marks to write dialogue, you also need to use other punctuation to make it very clear to the reader what is being said. The main point to remember is that the quotation is included inside the quotation marks.

Here are some examples of the most common ways to include other punctuation marks when you are using quotations.

  • "My favourite Ozzy Osbourne album is Under Cover," said Jonah.

  • "My favourite album," added Ashiq, "is Speak of the Devil."

You can see in these examples that the comma or period at the end of the quotation goes inside the quotation marks.

Other end punctuation such as question marks and exclamation marks are also included inside or between the quotation marks if they are part of what is being said.

Consider the following example of the above statement.

  • "Can you believe that Jonah's favourite Ozzy Osbourne album is Under Cover?" Ashiq asked.

  • My mother was shocked when Jonah said, "My favourite Ozzy Osbourne album is Under Cover." She had bought that album when she was a teenager!

One more way that you can use quotation marks to make your writing more clear is to use single quotation marks inside a quotation when you are quoting somebody else. You can also use single quotation marks when the title of a short work is included inside a quotation.

Here are some examples of those situations:

  • "Are you sure you heard her correctly? I thought she said, 'I bought that album when I was twenty.'"

  • "My favourite Ozzy Osbourne song is 'Mississippi Queen,'" Sarah said.



Digging Deeper!

Click on the link below to watch a short video on how to use quotation marks correctly.