LEO: Literacy Education Online Punctuating Quotations

There are various ways to punctuate quotations, depending on their placement in the sentence, their purpose, and the purpose of the sentence. The key is to be consistent with your punctuation. This page highlights rules and examples that should help you when punctuating quotations within your papers. Click on the punctuation that most closely matches your situation.

• Brackets
• Single Quotation Marks
• Block Quotations
• Comma/Period
• Colon/Semicolon
• Ellipses
• Slash Mark
• Exclamation Point/Question Mark

• Sometimes you may want to insert something into a quotation for clarification. Place any additional information within square brackets [ ].
  Author Elliot Would argues that, "They [Western doctors] are too intenton medicating and not intent enough on fixing them [ailments] " (Heveronian 29).

• Use single quotation marks to enclose a quotation within a quotation.
  Dave Anderson believes that "there is no saying less true than 'it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game.'"

• When a quote is three lines or longer, it should be offset in a block. In a block quotation, no quotation marks are used and the period comes before the parenthetical citation.
  There was no day more important than this one for him. He hadbeen planning for weeks now, and wasn't going to let anyone stop himnow. Except, maybe, for the policeman pounding at his front door. (72)

• The comma and period always go inside the closing quotation mark when there is no parenthetical reference.
  "Really, there is no excuse for aggressive behavior," the supervisor said. "It sets a bad example."

• The comma and period always go inside a quotation within another quotation when there is no parenthetical reference.
  According to the film critic, "One of the most widely acclaimed actors in history, Humphrey Bogart, is quoted as saying, 'I don't like acting.'"

• The period goes outside of the quotation mark when using a parenthetical reference.
  "Animals have a variety of emotions similar to human's" (Erikson 990).

• The colon and semicolon always go outside the closing quotation mark.
  He referred to this group of people as his "gang": Heidi, Heather Shelley, and Jessie.
  Marx did not believe that "a single nation should have a single leader"; nevertheless, he became a leader singled out.

The ellipses, three spaced dots ( . . . ), indicates that part of a quotation has been left out. Ellipses are useful when you want to include only the most relevant words of a quotation; however, any omission must not distort the quotation's original meaning.

• For omissions in the middle of a sentence, use an ellipses.
  The character of Sammy was soft-spoken, but he believed strongly in "respect for women, love of country . . . and a bright, sunny day" (87).

• For omissions at the end of a sentence, use an ellipses followed by a period.
  According to Zephron Cochran, "Warp drive is a creation that willchange multitudes of lives . . . ."

• If a parenthetical citation follows an omission at the end of a sentence, place the period after the final parenthesis.
  Of the many fruits available, Abraham Lincoln thought "apples to be the most nutritious . . . " (47).

• When omitting a long passage (stanzas, paragraphs, pages), use a single line of spaced dots as long as the preceding line.
  There were many people vying for the president's attention,

  but he seemed immune to their pleas. It was as if he was standing

  alone in a huge room, without the distractions of voices.

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  By the time he finally noticed her, she had forgotten what her

  question was. She stared at him blankly.

• Omissions immediately following an introductory statement do not need an ellipses.
  In Harris' book, one-to-one conferences are "one of the most importantaspect of teaching" (2).

• The slash mark (/) is used to separate lines of poetry. Unless the original poetical form is retained for effect, quotations of one to three lines should be enclosed by quotation marks.
  In "Driving to Devil's Tower, Wyoming," Heidi Gomez becomes closer to the land as the land comes closer to being alive: "Heat from the highway / Rises from my skin" (28).

• When the whole sentence except for the section enclosed in quotation marks is a question or exclamation, the question or exclamation mark goes outside the quotation mark.
  Which British writer wrote, "Ask not for whom the bell tolls"?

• When only the unit in quotation marks is a question or exclamation, the mark goes inside the closing quotation mark.
  The mediator asked, "What have you learned from this experience?"

• When both the whole sentence and the unit enclosed in quotation marks are questions or exclamations, the question or exclamation mark goes inside the closing quotation mark.
  What does Joseph Campbell believe happens when you "Follow your bliss?"

• When using a parenthetical reference with a quote that ends in an exclamation point or question mark, keep the original punctuation inside the quotation and place a period after the parenthetical reference.
  Kurt Koffka, a Gestalt psychologist, asked "Why do humans see their minds in terms of elementary parts?" (Gray 74).

© 1996. 2000 The Write Place

This handout was written and html-coded by Jessica Lourey for the Write Place, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN. This handout may be copied for educational purposes only. If you copy this document, please include our copyright notice and the name of the writer; if you revise it, please add your name to the list of writers.

URL: http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/research/puncquote.html

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