1. Quotation Marks:
* Double Quotation Marks (" ") enclose the spoken words. In American English, they are used for both single and double quotations.
* Single Quotation Marks (' ') are used for quotations within quotations (nested quotes). For example: "He said, 'I'm not sure what to do.' "
2. Punctuation Within Dialogue:
* Periods (.) and Commas (,) go *inside* the closing quotation mark if they are part of the quoted sentence.
* Question Marks (?) and Exclamation Points (!) go *inside* the closing quotation mark if they are part of the quoted sentence, but *outside* if they apply to the whole sentence.
Examples:
* "I'm going to the store," she said.
* "Are you coming with me?" she asked.
* He exclaimed, "Wow, that's amazing!"
* "I read the book," she said, "and I loved it."
3. Attribution:
* Attribution (who is speaking) is typically placed after the closing quotation mark and separated by a comma.
* "I'm going to the store," she said.
* He asked, "Are you coming with me?"
4. Dialogue Tags:
* Dialogue tags are phrases like "he said," "she asked," "they shouted," etc. They help clarify who is speaking.
5. Multiple Speakers:
* When multiple speakers are involved, use a new paragraph for each new speaker.
Examples:
* "I'm going to the store," she said.
* "Are you coming with me?" he asked.
* "Sure, let's go!" she replied.
6. Interruptions:
* If a speaker is interrupted, use a dash (-) to indicate the interruption.
* "I'm going to the—" She stopped mid-sentence.
7. Ellipses:
* Use an ellipsis (...) to indicate a pause or trailing off in speech.
* "I don't know... maybe."
8. Other Punctuation:
* Colons (:) and Semicolons (;) are placed outside the closing quotation mark unless they are part of the quoted material.
* Parentheses () are placed outside the closing quotation mark unless they are part of the quoted material.
Important Note: These guidelines are for American English. British English may have slightly different conventions.