How to introduce a quote with a colon
For example, item 1 above reads "Use a colon to introduce a list" and ends with a colon followed by two example sentences. Use a colon to introduce examples, as shown above.
As the preceding text is merely a noun phrase and not an independent clause answering to the double requirement of both subject and predicate, placing the colon here is wrong.
#How to introduce a quote with a colon crack#
Actually, you can use a colon to introduce a single item, especially when you want to emphasize that item: Use colons to introduce a quotation when it is not integrated into the syntax of your sentence or otherwise requires a formal introduction: Nabokov opens his autobiography with a statement on mortality: The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness. ' Multisentence Quotation When you introduce a multisentence quotation with a phrase, which is not a complete sentence, use the colon: According to Mr. I now quote from the committees ruling: 'As we stated before. We can see many things in the sky at night: the moon, stars, planets, comets, planes and even satellites.Ģ. Remember the rule: A colon may be used to introduce a statement.There are three countries in North America: Mexico, the USA and Canada.Smith describes the novel as "a celebration of human experience" (233).The job of the colon is simple: to introduce.Smith interprets the hand washing in MacBeth as "an attempt at absolution" (106).Smith points out that "millions of students would like to burn this book" (53).The first letter of the quotation should be lower case.
If your lead-in to the quotation ends in that or as, don't follow it with a comma. Smith states, "This book is terrific" (102).According to Smith, "riting is fun" (215).Īnother way to introduce a critic's words is to use a descriptive verb, followed by a comma.Īvoid using says unless the words were originally spoken aloud, for instance, during an interview.According to MLA guidelines, if you change the case of a letter from the original, you must indicate this with brackets. When you introduce a quotation with an incomplete sentence, you usually place a comma after the introductory phrase.
#How to introduce a quote with a colon full#
Note that the first letter after the quotation marks should be upper case. When you introduce a quotation with a full sentence, you should always place a colon at the end of the introductory sentence. To quote a critic or researcher, you can use an introductory phrase naming the source, followed by a comma. The speaker is mystified by her sleeping baby, whose "moth-breath / flickers among the flat pink roses" (Plath 17).Hamlet's task is to avenge a "foul and most unnatural murder" (Shakespeare 925).Note that in the second example below, a slash with a space on either side ( / ) marks a line break in the original poem. You can also begin a sentence with your own words, then complete it with quoted words. Piercy ends the poem on an ironic note: "To every woman a happy ending" (25).The setting emphasizes deception: "Nothing is as it appears" (Smith 1).You can use a full sentence followed by a colon to introduce a quotation. Shown below are some possible ways to introduce quotations.
To introduce a quote in an essay, don't forget to include author's last name and page number (MLA) or author, date, and page number (APA) in your citation. When you quote another writer's words, it's best to introduce or contextualize the quote.