"THEORY OF QUOTATIONS"
PART I
A.
Definition Of Quotation
Quotations
are a big part of writing. People use quotations when something is well-said. A
quotation from someone famous or smart can help make your own point sound
better. When you use a quotation, always remember to put it in quotation marks
and give proper credit. Also, don't change any of the words: a quotation should
be exactly what the person said or wrote. A "quotation" is the exact
word or words that a person speaks. Exact quotations are used in many kinds of
writing, such as newspaper, articles, stories, and novels, and academic papers.
When we quote a speaker’s words, we use quotation marks.
The
reason for this is that although your own ideas and opinion are valid, quoting
and authority who agrees with you makes your arguments more convincing.
There are three basic
functions of quotations marks:
1.
In direct quote
Use
quotation marks to enclose a direct quotation that is shorter than three lines.
A direct quotation states the exact words of a speaker.
Punctuation
with quotation marks can be a little tricky. Here are some rules to follow:
a.
Periods and commas go inside quotation marks.
“I
thought he was responsible,” he said, “but he isn’t.”
b.
Colons and semicolons go outside quotation marks.
“Give
me liberty or give me death”: these are immortal” words.
c.
Exclamation point (!) and question marks (?) go inside
quotation marks if they are a part of the quotation; otherwise, they go
outside.
“Is
it eight o’clock?” she asked.
Did
she say,” It’s eight o’clock”!
d.
When a quoted sentence is divided into two parts, the
second part begins with a small letter unless it is a new sentence.
“I
thought he was responsible,” he said, “but he isn’t.”
“I
think he is responsible,” he said. “look at his fine work.”
e.
Use single quotation marks (‘…’) to enclose a quotation
within a quotation.
As
John F. kennedy reminded us in his inaugural address, ”We should never forget
the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., who said, ‘I have a dream.’”
2.
Unusual words
Use
quotation marks to enclose foreign words or words that are used in a special or
uncommon way.
-
A lot of people talk about “machismo” these days, but
few people really know what it means.
-
The “banquet” turned out to be no more than hot dogs
and soft drinks.
3.
Titles
Use
quotation marks to enclose the titles of (a) articles from periodical journals,
magazines, and newspapers; (b) chapters of books; (c) short stories; (d) poems;
and (e) songs.
-
In the article “The future of Space,” published in the
July 19, 1974 issue of Scientific America, the authors explore the possibility
of manned space stations.
-
The New York Times recently published an article
entitled “Space Stations: Dream or Reality?” in which the potential of space
cities in orbit was discussed.
B.
Types Of
Quotation
It's good to understand the difference between a direct
quotation, the words you hear from someone speaking, and an indirect quotation,
which are the words that someone else uses to describe another speaker. "An
indirect quotation reports
someone's words without quoting word for word.
The rules for punctuations can become very complex.
For general purposes, the rules are as follows:
1. Place a comma after the reporting phrase, and put
quotation marks before and after the actual words quoted. Capitalize the first
word of the quotation as well as the first word of the sentence.
Example:
He said,” Since 1980, famine has killed 3 million people around the
world.”
2. If you break a quotation into two parts, enclose both
parts in quotation and separate the parts with commas. Capitalize only the
first sentence.
Example:
“Sentence 1980,”famine has killed 3 million people around the world.”
Type
of Quotation and Examples
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1.
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Direct
quotation with quotation marks
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Indirect
quotation: no quotation marks
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2.
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Direct
quotation with first person pronoun
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Indirect
quotation: change to pronoun
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3.
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Direct
quotation with command
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Indirect
quotation: verb + to
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4.
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Direct
quotation with expressions of time and place.
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Indirect
quotation: expressions of time and place not related to speaker's perspective
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5.
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Direct
quotation with conversational words and phrases
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Indirect
quotation: omit or rephrase conversational words and phrases
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PART II
A.
Conclusion
Quotations
are essential in academic writing. In all kinds of academic writing term papers
to doctoral dissertations, you are expected to use quotations to support our
ideas. There are two kinds of quotations: direct and indirect. In direct
quotation, we use quotation marks but in indirect, we don’t use quotation
marks. Quotation marks have three basic functions in direct quote, unusual
words, and titles.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Oshima, Alice.
Dkk.1981.Writing Academic English.America:Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
