Quotation Marks

Learning Objectives

  • Demonstrate the appropriate use of quotation marks

Quotation marks are essential in academic writing whenever you use someone else’s exact words. Failing to use them correctly can be considered a violation of academic integrity (plagiarism), so it’s important to understand how to use them properly.

When to Use Quotation Marks

You must use quotation marks whenever you directly quote a source—i.e., when using the exact wording from another text.

Example: direct quotes

“Quotation marks serve primarily to tell the reader the exact words someone used” (Hope, 2010, p. 21).

This citation tells us that Hope (2010) wrote this sentence on page 21.

If you paraphrase a source (put the idea into your own words), you do not use quotation marks, but you must still cite the source.

Example: Paraphrasing

Quotation marks indicate to the reader the specific words originally written by someone else (Hope, 2010, p. 21).

Here, we’ve restated Hope’s idea in our own words, so we omit quotation marks but retain the citation.

Key Takeaway: Using quotation marks

Any words or ideas from another source must be acknowledged. If you’re using the exact wording, put it in quotation marks and provide a citation. If you’re putting the idea into your own words, you don’t need quotation marks, but you do still need to cite the source.

Think of quotation marks as a signal to your reader: “These words aren’t mine, but I’m using them exactly as they were written.” When you paraphrase, you’re still borrowing the idea, so you need to give credit, but you’re showing that you’ve processed and restated it in your own way.

Other Uses of Quotation Marks

Quotation marks have additional functions beyond direct quotations.

Quoting Speech

Use quotation marks when reproducing someone’s exact words:

Example: reproducing speech

  • She said, “I’ll meet you at the library after class.”
  • As Dr. King famously stated, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

However, quotation marks are not needed for paraphrased speech, which summarizes what someone said without repeating it exactly:

Example: Paraphrased Speech

  • She told me she would meet me at the library after class.
  • Dr. King argued that injustice in one place affects justice everywhere.

Highlighting Words

Quotation marks can be used to call attention to a specific word, but italics are preferred in formal writing.

Example: Highlighted words

For example:

  • I can never say “Worcestershire” correctly.
  • How do you spell “definitely”?

Note: It is this course’s preference to use italics in these instances:

  • I can never say Worcestershire correctly.
  • How do you spell definitely?
PRO TIP: While we recommend using italics in these instances, using quotes is also an accepted practice.

Scare Quotes

Scare quotes signal irony, skepticism, or that a term is being used in a non-standard or questionable way:

Examples

  • The “fresh” sushi had clearly been sitting out for hours.
  • The company claims they offer “unlimited” data, but there are hidden restrictions.
  • Employees “must” wash their hands before returning to work.
PRO TIP: Use caution! Scare quotes should be used with caution because they can imply irony, doubt, or skepticism, which may unintentionally change the meaning of a sentence. If overused or misapplied, they can weaken your argument, make your writing seem sarcastic, or create confusion about whether a term is being questioned or simply emphasized. 

Titles of Short Works

Use quotation marks for the titles of short works, such as articles, poems, chapters, and songs:

Examples: Titles of Short works

  • Articles – I just read the New York Times article, “The Science of Learning.”
  • Poems – One of my favorite poems is “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost.
  • Chapters – The chapter “Understanding Quotation Marks” helped clarify the topic.
  • Songs – Have you heard “Let It Be” by The Beatles?

For larger works, such as books, magazines, newspapers, and movies, use italics:

Examples: Larger works need italics

  • Books – I’m reading To Kill a Mockingbird for my English class.
  • Magazines – I read an interesting article in The Atlantic about climate change the other day.
  • Newspapers — Did you read The New Yorker article, “How to Make Yourself Useful to Our New Robot Overlords”? (Notice that the journal, The New Yorker, gets italics because it is the title of a larger body of work, but the title of the article published in the journal, gets quotation marks.)
  • Movies — Have you seen Inception?

Where Do Quotation Marks Go?

Despite what you may see practiced, the fact is that the period and comma always go inside the quotation marks. (The rules in British English are different, which may be where some of the confusion arises.)

Examples: periods and commas

Periods go inside the quotation marks:

  • Correct: The people of the pine barrens are often called “pineys.”
  • Incorrect: The people of the pine barrens are often called “pineys”.

Commas go inside the quotation marks:

  • “Let’s grab some coffee,” Mark suggested, “before heading to the library.”
  • “Let’s grab some coffee”, Mark suggested, “before heading to the library.”

The semicolon, colon, dash, question mark, and exclamation point can fall inside or outside of the quotation marks, depending on whether the punctuation is a part of the original quote:

Examples: Other punctuation

  • This measurement is commonly known as “dip angle”; dip angle is the angle formed between a normal plane and a vertical.
  • Built only 50 years ago, Shakhtinsk—“minetown”—is already seedy.
  • When she was asked the question “Are rainbows possible in winter?” she answered by examining whether raindrops freeze at temperatures below 0 °C. (Quoted material has its own punctuation.)
  • Did he really say “Dogs are the devil’s henchmen”? (The quote is a statement, but the full sentence is a question.)

Try It

 

Single Quotation Marks

Now that you know what quotation marks are used for, you may wonder about the single quotation marks—the one that looks like ‘this.’ Single quotation marks are used for quotes within quotes:

Example: Single Quotation marks

  • The article read, “When the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers was interviewed, he said he was ‘upset’ about the call that affected the game.”

You may even encounter situations where you’ll close single quotation marks and double quotation marks at the same time, leaving you with “something like ‘this.’” Don’t worry if this happens. It is correct. It just means the quote within the quote ended at the same time the main quote ended. And remember, the punctuation goes inside. Note the placement of the period in the three examples below:

  • Correct: this.’”
  • Incorrect: this’.”
  • Incorrect: this’”.

Try It