Conventions of Composition Rule 75 Practice

1. Wrong: Wes Moore says our destinies can be determined by a single stumble down the wrong path, or a tentative step down the right one. (xiv)

Better: Wes Moore says, "Our destinies can be determined by a single stumble down the wrong path, or a tentative step down the right one" (xiv).

Explanation: The direct quote from the introduction needs to be surrounded by quotation marks.

2. Wrong: Lorene Cary writes, The next fall a boy told me: I had been thinking of it as their school. It was like I had forgotten that this is my life. (5)

Better: Lorene Cary writes, "The next fall a boy told me: I had been thinking of it as their school. It was like I had forgotten that this is my life" (5).

Explanation: This direct quotation is now correctly punctuated.

3. Wrong: When you go to the market my mom asked can you pick up some nectarines?

Better: "When you go to the market," my mom asked, "can you pick up some nectarines?"

Explanation: This direct quotation with a governing expression interruption is now correctly punctuated.