English Language Writing Skills

By Danso Kwasi Nti Samuel (DAS). Study the complete course source, examine every model and practise alongside Professor Jarvis.

Course printed page 49 PDF page 55 of 505

For tables, matching columns, IPA and original formatting, open the course PDF above.

EXAMPLE: I am= I'm ,I have = I've

who is = who's, let us = let's

cannot = can't he is, she is, it is = he's, she's, it's

you are = you're they are = they're

Avoid confusing it's with its. It's is a contraction for it is; its is a possessive pronoun.

QUOTATION MARK

Quotation marks are used to show the beginning and end of a quotation or a title of a short

work.

Quotation marks enclose the exact words of a person (direct quotation).

EXAMPLE: Megan said, "Kurt has a red hat."

Do not use quotation marks around a paraphrase (using your own words to express the

author’s ideas)or a summary of the author's words.

EXAMPLE: Megan said that Kurt’s hat was red.

Quotation marks set off the titles of magazine articles, poems, reports, and chapters within

a book.

(Titles of books, magazines, plays, and other whole publications should be underlined or

italicized.)

EXAMPLE: "The Talk of the Town" is a regular feature in Time magazine.

QUOTATION MARKS WITH OTHER PUNCTUATION

Place periods and commas inside quotation marks.

EXAMPLE: Aida said, “Aaron has a blue shirt.”

Place semicolons and colons outside quotation marks.

EXAMPLE: He calls me his "teddy bear"; I'm not a bear.

Place question marks or exclamation points inside the quotation marks if they punctuate the

quotation only.

EXAMPLE: "Are we too late?" she asked.