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Punctuation within and without quotation marks
by compound complex 73 Replies latest social physical
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compound complex
The child of American missionaries in China, [Pearl] Buck spent the first half of her life in Asia. Her most famous book, 1931’s “The Good Earth,” humanized Chinese characters for Western audiences and won the Pulitzer Prize. She won the 1938 Nobel Prize for Literature “for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces.”
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Diogenesister
Looks fantastic, I shall order the book, too.
Have you read it yourself CO Co?
Hi, by the way, hope you are well😘
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compound complex
Greetings, Diogenesister:
I'm doing very well, thanks, and I hope you are, too!
Yes, I have The Good Earth, 1931 edition, the very copy I grew up with -- Mom's copy.
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compound complex
Words, phrases, and sentences that are being spoken must be contained inside quotation marks. Be sure to place quotation marks around everything that is coming out of a person’s mouth. If a character is quoting something that another person/character spoke, a single quotation mark is used (inside the double quotations).
“I am going to the basketball game on Saturday if you would like to come along,” she said.
“Robbie, she asked me if I, ‘Would like to come along.’ Is this a date?”
In American English grammar, periods and commas go inside the quotation marks. Other punctuation marks such as semicolons, question marks, dashes, and exclamation points, go outside unless they pertain to the conversation in quotations.
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jp1692
Lately I've been discussing with some of my 9th and 11th grade students the role of punctuation in written communication.
It's interesting to see the wheels turning in their brains when they realize the significance of the fact that punctuation is ONLY a feature of writing. You'd think they'd know that, but it's generally not explicitly taught, and -- if it ever was -- it was so long ago for them that they've forgotten.
For most people, punctuation is just one of those things that is "there." In my experience, most high school students are proficient with only the most basic aspects of punctuation: how to begin and end a sentence. That's it. Beyond that, it's all guess work for them.
En dash, em dash, semicolon ... forget it!
Furthermore, since a lot of "the rules" of punctuation are little more than conventions (which often vary from place to place and over time), most people just wing it -- if they even give it much thought at all.
I'm pretty good at these kinds of things and I still have to look a lot of it up. And I kind of hate that because -- even though I recognize the importance in clear, understandable writing -- it breaks the flow.
Knowing that CoCo (who is an acknowledged Jedi/Zen master in these areas) will probably be reading this post, I find myself very self-conscious of every aspect of my punctuation, grammar and syntax! LOL
BTW: Yes, I'm aware I did not use an Oxford comma in the previous sentence. I've never been a fan. I'm not a pedantic prig about it, I just don't like it much. As long as people are consistent with their usage (or lack thereof), I don't really care.
It all comes down to two things:
- Does it make sense?
- Does it have style?
Everything else is just filler.
YMMV
PS: I kind of hate that I can't do a proper em dash on this forum when I use my laptop to post. Oddly enough, it works fine when I post on my phone but not when I use my laptop. The idiosyncrasies of software and technology only further complicate punctuation matters.
Go figure!
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compound complex
As long as people are consistent with their usage (or lack thereof), I don't really care. -- jp1692
Nice waking up to this, jp! Your writing and its attention to detail is impressive, btw.
Does it make sense and does it have style? Good points, along with one's text and all the doo-dads being consistent in their usage.
Double hyphens are acceptable, but em dashes would be nice.
More later, when I'm awake.
Thanks!
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humbled
jp1692–
- Does it make sense?
- Does it have style?
I appreciate that remark. I do value good writing and struggle toward it though it is often beyond me.
Your comment indicates something that touches on a subject thread Coco brought up a day or so ago on the art of debate-ln my mind without a little goodwill on the side of the person you are trying to communicate with one’s best efforts to express thought will inevitably fail due to one’s lack of expertise in the art of written words. In written conversation the desire to understand what another person is trying to express can either be revealed as an examination of a subject or as ...something else entirely.
As quite an aside and yet somewhat related, I used to most enjoy watching the sign language interpreters . “sense and style” through body and facial expression beyond commas and grammars’ reach. I love it.
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compound complex
It's interesting to see the wheels turning in their brains when they realize the significance of the fact that punctuation is ONLY a feature of writing. You'd think they'd know that, but it's generally not explicitly taught, and -- if it ever was -- it was so long ago for them that they've forgotten. -- jp1692
[ . . .] a little goodwill on the side of the person you are trying to communicate with one’s best efforts to express thought will inevitably fail due to one’s lack of expertise in the art of written words. In written conversation the desire to understand what another person is trying to express can either be revealed as an examination of a subject or as ...something else entirely. -- humbled
Brings to mind my classes in creative writing, where I work with both special needs children and senior citizens. Challenges on both fronts, in ways you can probably imagine. I put your word written in bold to link it with oral instruction, which I employ in juxtaposition with the former. When I do dictation, I allow the student to fill in the punctuation, that without the printed page as a visual aid.
The point is comprehension, and children and old folks are smart -- certainly -- but the teacher must be able to get through where the lesson's point could easily become lost in a maze of details.
Well, your great comments made me think of my recent lessons. To see the improvement in students' getting the point and enjoying the "story" is priceless. Today's essay is The Ides of March -- Good News or Bad?
Thanks.
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humbled
Teaching people how to write—now that’s a wonderful thing to do.
Do your students ever have impediments to clear writing because they can’t identify a thought or a feeling?
My thoughts first appear back to front and l have to reassemble them nearly every time. I see others write clear statements and they are well ordered. Thoughts pelt me and l have to sort them with great care.
It sounds as though your creative writing students learn better speech as a bonus.
