So, I've been doing some editing on Kibin, and I've noticed that a lot of users, even those at the post-secondary level, have a lot of problems integrating quotes and using dialogue. I am going to quickly adress that issue, because I don't have all the free time now that I did when it was summer.
So here it is, in point form:
Punctuation goes inside the quotation marks: "The period should come at the end, like this."
When citing a work, punctuation comes after the citation: "Green Eggs and Ham" (Dr. Seuss).
When providing dialogue from multiple characters in a work of fiction, each gets their own line:
"Hi Jane, how's life?" Rob asked, eating a bagel.
"Not too bad, yourself?" Jane replied, plucking the bagel from his hand and dancing away from his reach.
Finally, if you are quoting, a character in a fiction, even if that character is a first-person protagonist, and is thus, 'you' in the story, use double quotes: "Like this." If you are quoting anyone in real life, directly or otherwise, use double quotes: "Like this." If you are quoting something you say often, or something that 'everyone' says often, or something that needs clarification, or that must be clarified from context within the society it is being written, then use single quotes, like this: 'everyone is a critic.' Bear in mind that when writing a narrative, if single quotes are used, then the author is speaking. If I break into a single quote dialogue in the middle of a fictional narrative, it is now me, as the author, speaking to the reader. You should never, ever do this, ever.
I feel this single quote, double quote conundrum could use further explanation, but I am too lazy to give it now, and I figure this is boring enough as is. On Friday, hopefuly, an interesting post!
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