When do quotation marks go

Longer quotations should be set off from the main text, and are referred to as block quotations. Because the quoted material is set off from the main text, it is not necessary to use quotation marks. Style varies, but at a minimum a block quotation should have a bigger left-hand margin than the main text. In contrast to the main text, a block quotation might also have a bigger right-hand margin, be in a smaller or otherwise different font, or have reduced line spacing.

How do you determine if your quotation is short allowing it to be incorporated into the main text or long requiring a block quotation? It depends. For academic writing, the MLA Handbook requires block quotations whenever the quoted material exceeds four lines, while the American Psychological Association APA requires block quotations for anything exceeding forty words.

The Chicago Manual of Style suggests words or more as a general rule, but offers many factors other than length to be considered.

A colon should be used when the text introducing the quoted material could stand as a sentence on its own. It is also the mark most commonly used to introduce a block quotation.

Not too much. Place a question mark or exclamation point within closing quotation marks if the punctuation applies to the quotation itself. Place the punctuation outside the closing quotation marks if the punctuation applies to the whole sentence.

General Writing Punctuation Quotation Marks. Nachas explains, "The gestures used for greeting others differ greatly from one culture to another. But do not include an additional full stop after the closing quotation mark for the carrier sentence. In the final example, the question mark belongs to the carrier sentence and not the quotation; for this reason, it is placed outside the quotation marks. Another exception is if the quoted material is a full sentence and stands alone i.

In the first example, there is no carrier sentence so the full stop belongs within the quotation marks. In the second example, the full stop applies to the whole sentence—not just the part contained within quotation marks—and falls outside the quotation marks. To receive informative articles and tailored advice for academics and students, as well as updates about our exciting grant and scholarship opportunities, please subscribe to our blog.

Share this article. Where do I place closing sentence punctuation? The Style Manual states p.