Show Dear APA, I’m quoting from a couple of different sources in my APA Style paper, and I can’t figure out what to do with all the quotation marks and periods and commas. Do I put the period inside or outside the quotation marks? What about question marks and quotation marks? I’ve been told so many different things over the years that the answers have just blurred together. Please help! —Quizzical in Queens Dear Quizzical, We’re not surprised that you have been told different ways to punctuate over the years, because there do indeed exist different practices in the world. On the upside, if you are writing an APA Style paper, we have some nice, straightforward solutions for you. To begin, let’s take a brief look at the two punctuation systems you’ve probably encountered, which are called American style (or North American Style) and British style. Here is a quick chart of the differences:
*Place other punctuation inside quotation marks when that punctuation is part of what is being quoted, such as a quoted question. As you might guess from our name, APA Style uses American style punctuation (see p. 92 of the 6th ed. Publication Manual), as do several other major style guides (such as AP, Chicago, and MLA). The table below elaborates, with examples for each punctuation mark.
As a final note, we’d like to say that we realize APA Style is used in many places across the world that may not usually follow American style punctuation rules and that not all fields or publishers in the United States and Canada use American style punctuation. Does this mean that you should change to American style punctuation when you’re writing an APA Style paper? If you’re writing for publication with APA or you’ve been told to “follow the APA Publication Manual,” then the answer is yes. However, if you typically use British style punctuation (or some other style) and you have doubts about what to do, check with your publisher or professor to find out their preference. We hope that this clears up how to punctuate around those quotation marks in your APA Style paper. Quotably yours, Chelsea Lee Where do you put punctuation when using quotation marks?Commas and colons can be used before the start of a quote. ... . Short punctuation (periods, commas) that is part of the sentence stays inside the quotation marks. ... . All punctuation marks that are part of the original quote stay inside the quotation marks.. Where does the period go before or after quotation marks?When a comma or period is needed after a quotation, publishers in the United States typically put the punctuation mark before the closing quotation mark. The reason for this convention is to improve the appearance of the text. The convention goes back at least to the nineteenth century.
What are the 3 rules for using quotations?Direct quotations involve incorporating another person's exact words into your own writing. Quotation marks always come in pairs. Do not open a quotation and fail to close it at the end of the quoted material. Capitalize the first letter of a direct quote when the quoted material is a complete sentence.
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