Chicago Style Workout 15: Punctuation and Closing Quotation Marks

Get in the swing!

This month’s workout centers on sections 6.09–11 of CMOS 16, “Punctuation in Relation to Closing Quotation Marks.” Advanced editors might tackle the questions cold; learners can study sections 6.09–11 of the Manual before answering the questions.

(Subscribers to The Chicago Manual of Style Online may click through to the linked sections of the Manual. For a 30-day free trial of CMOS Online, click here.)

[Editor’s update: These styles have not changed in the 17th edition, although their section numbers may have changed.]

Note: These questions are designed to test knowledge of The Chicago Manual of Style. Other style guides may have different rules and guidelines. American punctuation rules have significant differences from those practiced in the UK, Canada, and other English-speaking countries. 

Chicago Style Workout 15: Punctuation and Closing Quotation Marks (CMOS 6.09–11 )

1. A period precedes closing quotation marks, whether double or single.
a.
b.
2. Colons and semicolonsunlike periods and commasfollow closing quotation marks.
a.
b.
3. A question mark always follows closing quotation marks.
a.
b.
4. A comma goes after the quotation marks.
a.
b.
5. In an alternative system, sometimes called British style, only those punctuation points that appeared in the original material should be included within the quotation marks.
a.
b.
6. When single quotation marks nested within double quotation marks appear next to each other, the period precedes the single quotation mark {“ ‘like this.’ ”}[Extra space appears here between quotation marks for readability.—Ed.]
a.
b.
7. {Growing up, we always preferred to “bear those ills we have.”}
a.
b.
8. {Which of Shakespeare’s characters said, “All the world’s a stage?”}
a.
b.
9. {“What’s the rush”? she wondered.}
a.
b.
10. {Take, for example, the first line of “To a Skylark:” “Hail to thee, blithe spirit!”}
a.
b.

 

Photo: Artist unknown, Calvert Litho Co., Detroit, MI, via Wikimedia Commons.

 

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5 thoughts on “Chicago Style Workout 15: Punctuation and Closing Quotation Marks

  1. I love these style workouts, and I really like the way the correct answers and explanations appear. What software are you using for the questions?

  2. Tricky no. 10 wrecked my perfect score! Thanks, as always, for the fun workout (strength training).

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