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Use of Quotation Marks in English Punctuation ("__") - Part 1

Part 2 | Part 3

Mark It up with Quotation Marks

Congratulations ! You have reached the right place to know more about the use of quotation marks ("__") in English writing. This article will look at the basic ways in which you can use quotation marks as a punctuation mark in your writing. For accurate proofreading of quotation mark use and other punctuation or grammar rules, the artificial intelligence of the WhiteSmoke online English writing and grammar software will give you perfect results every time. Even the best writers use an English editor to make their work shine.

Enjoy your reading and start using those quotation marks correctly.

Getting into Quotation Marks

"According to recent educational surveys, it is largely accepted that English has now become so widely spoken around the world that it can easily be regarded as the 'international language' (1) of the 21st century ," says leading language expert Prof. Mathew Smith. He further maintains, "It is estimated that about 25% of the world's population is currently using or studying English at various levels of proficiency. Although many English speakers regard themselves as 'Native Speakers ' (2), only about 400 million of them can rightfully do so, having been raised and educated in a fully English speaking environment ." (The Clauseville Times, 25.2.2007)

The above text includes two quoted segments from Prof. Smith, both enclosed in double quotation marks which indicate that the words enclosed are brought as they were originally said in direct speech. Quotation marks are also used to indicate words used as special terms (1), words used ironically (2) and more. As these last two instances of quotation marks occur within a text already enclosed in double quotation marks, these "internal" cases are enclosed in single quotation marks. Note that the source of the quote appears at its end, stating the name and date of the published source.

Quotation Marks – What Are They ?

Quotation marks are important punctuation marks in English that have four different uses. Whenever you quote words, ideas or texts taken from an external source, whether spoken or appearing in print, you have to set them off with quotation marks. This accredits the source to being the origin of the text, a compulsory practice in academic writing, and a recommended one in virtually any type of writing. In standard academic writing, from an essay to a thesis, you must also provide a reference to the actual source of the quote, detailing how the reader may track back to it. This bibliographic referencing should be performed according to strict rules provided in various documentation style guides, such as the MLA, APA, etc.

It is both unprofessional and unethical to take credit for ideas that are not your own. Therefore, quotation mark usage is a sign of developed writing, created by writers who are well read and able to have their text communicate with ideas from other texts, in an ever-growing web of information. This article will follow MLA style conventions regarding the usage of the quotation marks in English writing.

The 4 uses of quotation marks are:

1. Setting off quotations
2. Setting off dialog and poetry
3. Setting off special text
4. Setting off titles

In addition, the following section is important to consider
5. Quotation marks style conventions

Uses of Quotation Marks in English Writing

1. Setting off Quotations

1. When you quote directly from a printed or non-printed source, you must enclose the quoted text, be it a fragment or a full statement, in quotation marks, both in the beginning and end of the quoted text. In MLA style, if a quotation is no more than 4 lines long, it is considered short and thus incorporated into the text. Documentation information (reference to the origin of the quote) is given before the sentence's ending period.
Whenever I learn a new language, I am always reminded of my high-school French teacher who always used to say that "practice makes perfect ."
[fragment in a short quote incorporated into the general text body]

Text body...After surveying a large corpus of research, Smith contends that" according to recent educational surveys, it is largely accepted that English has now become so widely spoken around the world that it can easily be regarded as the 'international language' of the 21st century " (Smith, 2005) . Other researchers further support this notion by...
[full statement in a short quote of three lines incorporated into the general text body]

2. In MLA style, if a quotation is more than 4 lines long, it is considered long and is not incorporated into the text. Instead, indent the long quote as a separate block of text. Documentation information (reference to the origin of the quote) is given after the quote's ending period. You do not use quotation marks with indented block quotations. If the block quotation is part of the introductory sentence (as in the below example), it does not begin with a capital letter. If the block quotation starts with a separate sentence, not grammatically related to the introductory sentence, then it does begin with a capital letter.
After surveying a large corpus of research, Smith contends that

3. In MLA style, quotation marks appearing within quotation marks have to be distinguished from one another. In short quotations of prose, use single quotation marks for internal quotations. In long quotation marks, keep the double quotation marks as they appear in the original text from which you are quoting.
For short quotes with internal singular quotation marks inside double quotation marks, please see "Getting into Punctuation Marks" above, in (1) and (2).

For quotation marks in long quotes, please see note 2 above this note.

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Quotation Marks: Summing it up

As our brief article will show, those tiny 6s and 9s – the quotation marks – turn out to have quite a few usages in addition to just indicating quotation. It is important for good writers to be able to make use of the wide range of quotation mark usage, as it is the small details that give your writing the final polishing touches. As we cannot all be expected to know the rules of English grammar and punctuation, tools like WhiteSmoke English Writing Software can ensure that our use of quotation marks and other punctuation marks is always correct. With WhiteSmoke technology checking your grammar, punctuation and spelling, your writing will always be perfect.


You are now ready to read part 2 of our review of quotation marks in English writing.