Direct quotes — as full sentences or as distinctive phrases —
add color, texture and believability to interviews. The best
interviews tell the subject’s story in a combination of his or her
own words and judicious paraphrasing by the writer.
When to quote directly, when to paraphrase:
Direct quotes are best reserved for opinions and meaningful statements
that reveal the manner or style of the person being interviewed. If
the subject’s answers sum up straightforward information, go ahead
and paraphrase it.
This direct quote ["I despise all stinking canines," he
sneered.] ...
is
stronger than the paraphrase [He said he doesn’t like dogs.]
Punctuation
A. Set full-sentence quotes off from "said" or other
attributive verbs with a comma. The same rule
applies whether attribution precedes or follows the quote.
He
added, “Cats are altogether different.”
"I'm
particularly fond of cats, too," she agreed.
B. When attribution
is set within the sentence at a normal break, it should be both
preceded and followed by commas.
"I really don't
intend to slight canines," he explained, "but I'm allergic to dogs."
C. Partial direct
quotes are not set off with their own punctuation. (Partials consist of only a phrase or a few words.)
This is always true of partial quotes that are
introduced by “that.”
He added
that he feels “different about
cats."
He called
cats "little furry people who don't interrupt you."
D. Periods and commas always go inside the quotation marks, no
matter what the sense of the entire sentence.
He
concluded that loving animals is “a matter of personal
taste."
These “matters
of taste,"
controversial or otherwise, tell us something
important about
those we interview.
E. Exclamation points and question marks, as well as dashes and
semi-colons, can go within or outside the final quote, depending on
the sentence.
He asked me, “What
about you?"
Do you agree that these
preferences are “a matter of
taste"?
F. One speaker may be quoted per paragraph.
When you change speakers, start a new graf.
G. When one quote by the same speaker extends
to more than one paragraph, add the ending quotation mark only to
the final one.
"I have extremely talented kittens,"
she said. "They seem to read
my mind.
"When I open the refrigerator door, we're all thinking
about snacks."
Exercise
1. “I have no intention of running for reelection” he replied
2. The chairman said the proposed 2009 budget
is “too risky for these
difficult times”
3. “I do not object" he said “to the tone of the report”
4. Are you ready to be “a friend in need”
5. She replied “I agree with Cyndi Lauper that ‘girls just wanna
have fun’ ”
6. Lauper claimed that girls “just wanna have fun”
7. “How wonderful” he exclaimed
8. “I’ll answer you” she emphasized ”only when you ask
nicely“
9. He asked what the score was
10. The president first claimed that “It was due to exhaustion”
but
later he attributed the mistake to faulty briefing
