Introducing Quotes in Literature

What are the three methods of introducing a quote?

• Use a verb of reporting (says, thinks, screams, proclaims, etc.), but not a complete sentence, separated from the quote with a comma.

• Use baby quotes or snippets (only a few words), thus incorporating the quote as part of your own sentence.

• Introduce the quote with a complete sentence and a colon.

• Insert the quote as its own sentence.

Which of the following are examples of verbs of reporting?

• says

• writes

• dances

• screams

Which of the following quotes has been introduced properly?

• Meg screams at Charles Wallace, "I love you!" (197).

• Meg screams at Charles Wallace I love you!

• Meg screams at Charles Wallace, I love you" (197).

• Meg Screams at Charles Wallace. "I love you."

A quote can never stand

What is the best correction for the following sentence?: After arriving on Camazotz, Meg immediately knows that something is wrong. "There is something rotten in the state of Camazotz."

• After arriving on Camazotz, Meg thinks to herself, "There is something rotten in the state of Camazotz" (190).

• After arriving on Camazotz, Meg immediately knows that something is wrong: "There is something rotten in the state of Camazotz" (190).

Which of the following sentences includes a quote that has been properly introduced and cited?

• Meg is disappointed in her father who "doesn't understand anything about Charles" (234).

• Meg doesn't like that her father isn't "omnipotent" (258).

• Meg finds her father. "Everything keeps getting worse."

• "Meg teetered on the seesaw of love and hate." She doesn't understand why he doesn't do more to help Charles Wallace.

When should you use single quotation marks (')?

• To form possessives.

• Never.

• To quote within a quote.

• They are the same as double quotation marks (").

Which of the following citations is punctuated correctly?

• Meg asks her mother, "What is a tesseract?" (58).

• Meg asks her mother, "What is a tesseract" (58)?

• Meg asks her mother, "What is a tesseract" (58).

• Meg asks her mother, "What is a tesseract?" (58)