Cave Writing: Friday, March 16, 2012

Friday, March 16, 2012

Self-Starter: Punctuating dialogue

Punctuate these statements or bits of conversation (dialogue):

1. The teacher said In this class there will be no talking, chewing, breathing, unnecessary eye movements, or tap dancing

2. I questioned Are you up on the furniture again you bad dog Get down now

3. I just finished reading The Lost Hero she remarked

So what did you think of it I asked

It was excellent she exclaimed

I agreed I loved it too

4. I wish today were Friday she said I’ve been looking forward to it for months now

How come he asked

Because finally I’m supposed to get my braces taken off. At least that’s what my orthodontist promised

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The Low-Down on Punctuating Dialogue
Using quotation marks mini-lesson

Rules: Quotation Marks and Punctuation

Use quotation marks at the beginning and end of a direct quotation. Do not use them, however, to set off an indirect quotation.
- Bob said, "I doubled my money in the stock market last month!"
- Bob lied about doubling his money in the stock market last month.
Punctuate a speaker's words with a comma, question mark, or exclamation point inside the quotation.
- Bob cried, "I'm ruined!"
- Bob wondered, "Am I ruined?"
- "I'm happier than Lenny at a petting zoo," Bob's enemy said.
Place a comma after explanatory words (he said, for example)
In dialogue, begin a new paragraph each time the speaker changes and use a separate set of quotation marks.
Use single quotation marks when using quotation marks inside of quotation marks.
- He said, "I know she said, 'Let's go to the Dominican Republic, this summer,' but I'd rather go to Hawaii."
Put a colon or semicolon outside the closing quotation mark
- Here are things "not to do": thing 1, thing 2, thing 3.
If a sentence that includes a quotation is a question or exclamation, place the question mark or exclamation point outside the quotation marks.
- Are you familiar with "The Road Not Taken"?

http://teacher.scholastic.com/writeit/criticspicks/memoir/ARynn-HotCombs.htm

For Students to do --
Pick a memory and jot down everything you can think of that anybody would have said.