Grammer Post

Proper use of quotations. This is something we touched on in clas a little bit but I thought it would be interesting to find all the rules regarding proper quotation.
According to "The Owl at Purdue" http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/577/01/
the rules for using quotations are as fallows:

How to Use Quotation Marks
Using Quotation Marks
The primary function of quotation marks is to set off and represent exact language (either spoken or written) that has come from somebody else. The quotation mark is also used to designate speech acts in fiction and sometimes poetry. Since you will most often use them when working with outside sources, successful use of quotation marks is a practical defense against accidental plagiarism and an excellent practice in academic honesty. The following rules of quotation mark use are the standard in the United States, although it may be of interest that usage rules for this punctuation do vary in other countries.

The following covers the basic use of quotation marks. For details and exceptions consult the separate sections of this guide.

Direct Quotations
Direct quotations involve incorporating another person's exact words into your own writing.

1. Quotation marks always come in pairs. Do not open a quotation and fail to close it at the end of the quoted material

2. Capitalize the first letter of a direct quote when the quoted material is a complete sentence.

3. Do not use a capital letter when the quoted material is a fragment or only a piece of the original material's complete sentence.

4. If a direct quotation is interrupted mid-sentence, do not capitalize the second part of the quotation.

5. In all the examples above, note how the period or comma punctuation always comes before the final quotation mark. It is important to also realize that when you are using MLA or some other form of documentation, this punctuation rule may change.

When quoting text with a spelling or grammar error, you should transcribe the error exactly in your own text. However, also insert the term sic in italics directly after the mistake, and enclose it in brackets. Sic is from the Latin, and translates to "thus," "so," or "just as that." The word tells the reader that your quote is an exact reproduction of what you found, and the error is not your own.

6. Quotations are most effective if you use them sparingly and keep them relatively short. Too many quotations in a research paper will get you accused of not producing original thought or material (they may also bore a reader who wants to know primarily what YOU have to say on the subject).

Indirect Quotations
Indirect quotations are not exact wordings but rather rephrasings or summaries of another person's words. In this case, it is not necessary to use quotation marks. However, indirect quotations still require proper citations, and you will be commiting plagiarism if you fail to do so.

*Use direct quotations when the source material uses language that is particularly striking or notable. Do not rob such language of its power by altering it*
*Use an indirect quotation (or paraphrase) when you merely need to summarize key incidents or details of the text.*