Quotation Marks Name ____________________
In the business world, quotation marks are sometimes used haphazardly. If the rules seem a bit
hazy in your mind, here is a quick review followed by an opportunity for you to check your
understanding.
• Use quotation marks to enclose direct quotations.
“Honesty,” said the president, “is the best policy.”
• Do not use quotation marks for paraphrased remarks. These remarks are often
introduced by that.
The president said that honesty is always the best policy.
• Use quotation marks to enclose short expressions such as slang, jargon, nicknames,
words used in a special sense for humor or irony, and words following stamped or
marked.
• Use quotation marks or italics for words being defined or used as nouns.
The expression de facto means “in practice but not necessarily recognized.”
[Italics for word being defined and quotation marks for definition]
One of the most frequently misspelled words is calendar.
[Word being used as a noun within the sentence]
• Do not overuse quotation marks!
Try your skill by placing quotation marks or italics where you think they belong in the following
sentences. Remove any quotation marks incorrectly used, and write “Correct” if the sentence is
properly punctuated. You may use underscoring to indicate italics.
1. Voltaire said, Common sense is not so common.
2. Albert Einstein said that the true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.
8. Senior executives want anything brought to their attention to be “high level“; that is, they
want it neatly summarized and free of technical terms.
9. Rock star Sting got his nickname from wearing yellow-and-black jerseys that other
musicians thought made him look like a bumble bee.
Key
1. Voltaire said, “Common sense is not so common.” [Use quotation marks for a direct
quotation. Notice that the period goes inside the quotation marks.]
2. Albert Einstein said that the true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination. [No
quotation marks are needed because these are paraphrased remarks.]
7. Businesspeople often use the term best practices to mean “the most effective techniques in
a field or industry.” [Italicize an expression being defined; use quotation marks for its
definition.]
8. Senior executives want anything brought to their attention to be “high level”; that is, they
want it neatly summarized and free of technical terms. [This is correct because “high level”
12. The word “secretary” has a long and honorable history, but many office professionals now
use other titles. [Words used as nouns within a sentence may be shown in italics or in
quotation marks.]
13. The expression “cook the books” is not what we want to hear when a government
investigation begins. [Enclose jargon or slang within quotation marks.]