WRITING DIALOGUE

RULES, EXAMPLES, AND EXERCISES

USING QUOTATION MARKS

Quotation marks (“/”) are used at the beginning and ending of words, phrases, or sentences. They are used to show which words belong to you (the writer) and which belong to someone else.

The most common use of quotation marks is to show the reader the EXACT words a person said, in the EXACT order the person spoke them. This is called a direct quotation.

DIRECT QUOTATION EXAMPLES The bank robber said, “Hand over the

money.”

The startled teller replied, “I don’t have any money.”

INDIRECT QUOTATION EXAMPLES The bank robber said to hand over the

money. The startled teller said she didn’t have

any money.

QUOTATION RULES

#1 Every time you change speakers, indent and make a new paragraph.

When the telephone rang, Nick picked up the receiver and said, “Hello.”

Nora screamed into her end of the phone, “Who is this?”

“Nick.” “Nick who?” “Well, who is this?” “You know who this is! You’ve sure called me

often enough to know the sound of my voice!” “Huh?” “That’s right. I’m so aggravated and you

know why.”

#2 If you’re quoting more than one sentence, put the closing quotation marks at the end of the speaker’s last sentence.

At the diner, Mark said, “ I’ll start with a cup of coffee and a large juice. Then I want scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast for breakfast. May I get home fries with that?”

#3- A direct quote begins with a capital letter

Ex. Jimmy shouted, “See you at the game!”

Ex. “Is it true?” asked Cindy.

#4- When a quote is interrupted into two parts , the second part begins with a lowercase letter.

Ex: “What are some of the things,” Mrs. Small asked, “that make school so much fun?”

Ex: “One thing I like,” Ali replied, “is recess!”

#5 Punctuating Dialogue Look at the following quotations. Each

is correctly punctuated. “My math class is hard,” replied Tom. “That’s my favorite class!” yelled Monica. Jon replied, “Didn’t we go there last

weekend?” Did Martha say, “You must have fallen

asleep”?

TIME TO WRITE YOUR OWN QUOTES!

FollowThe

Rules!!

Write the dialogue correctly on a sheet of lined paper. Follow all of the rules given in

class.

Teach me how to play chess said Devon. What are these eight small pieces called he questioned. Those pieces, Sarah answered, are called pawns. They are the weakest pieces on the chessboard. How about the queen asked Devon. Now, the queen is a different story. She can move in any direction until her path is blocked Sarah explained. So Devon reasoned if your queen is captured, I guess you’re in real trouble. Not necessarily Sarah replied. I’ve won games with only two bishops and a rook.

Dialogue Answers “Teach me how to play chess,” said Devon.

“What are these eight small pieces called?” he questioned.

“Those pieces,” Sarah answered, “are called pawns. They are the weakest pieces on the chessboard.”

“How about the queen?” asked Devon. “Now, the queen is a different story. She can

move in any direction until her path is blocked,” Sarah explained.

“So,” Devon reasoned, “if your queen is captured, I guess you’re in real trouble.”

“Not necessarily,” Sarah replied. “I’ve won games with only two bishops and a rook.”