|
Excellent Resources For
Creative Writing Tips As
Of
... |
|
|
| |
|
|
—or—
How To Make Sure that Every Opening Quotation Mark Has an Ending Quotation Mark
When writing a term paper, research paper, or post-graduate thesis, one of the most common errors is "mismatched" quotation marks. That is, an opening (beginning) quotation mark will not have a closing (ending) quotation mark, or vice versa. It is a hard error to spot while proofreading, and your computer's spellchecker will not find this type of error.
There is a very simple way to verify that a document has “matching” quotation marks.
After you have completed your document, position the cursor at the very beginning of the text (that is, move the cursor in front of the first word on the first page and click to “position” it).
|
*Check out the
valuable,
time-saving and
free resources
on this page for
more resources
on Grant Job Writing
and other poetry
related links....
| |
|
Open Find/Replace (or Search/Replace, whatever is applicable to your Word software).
In the “Find” field, key in a double quote mark (shift key and the "/' key).
In the “Replace” field, key in the same thing (so that both fields show ").
Hit “Replace All” (or whatever selection you have for making a global correction to a document). You should then see the number of replacements that were made.
If an odd number shows up after all the replacements are made, then somewhere in the transcript there is an “unmatched” quotation mark.
|
*For more helpful
information and
links on Grant Job Writing,
save time by using
the resources
available on this
site and other poet
related sites....
|
|
|
If you do get an odd number of replacements, then switch to “Find” only, and begin to hit “Find Next” repeatedly so that the computer stops on each opening or closing quote mark. As the computer highlights each quotation mark, verify that it is matched, i.e., that every opening quotation mark has a corresponding closing quotation mark (and vice versa).
You need to pay close attention to this process, otherwise, you are likely to “Find Next” before you realize that the computer found a closing quote mark before it found an opening quote mark.
Eventually, as you review the document, you will either come across an opening quote mark for which there is no closing quote mark (that is, the computer will find an opening quote mark, and then the very next one that it finds will also be an opening quote mark), or vice versa.
Once you have inserted the missing quote mark, you should do the “Find/Replace” steps again, to verify that the computer now shows an even number of replacements.
Please note that this is not a fail-safe procedure because it is possible that you have two unmatched pairs of quote marks, but it is a tool that you can use to help prevent an easy mistake.
|
|
Jan Kovarik
Jan K., The Proofer is freelance proofreader and copyeditor. Visit http://www.janktheproofer.com/ for more information about Jan’s services; http://work-at-home.janktheproofer.com/ for work at home articles and free printables; and for work at home moms, visit Jan’s sister site http://work-at-home.momsbreak.com/ for articles, free printables, and work at home T-shirts and other fun products.
© Copyright 2005 All rights reserved.
jkproof@bellsouth.net
Information, Facts and Resources
About
Checking for Mismatched Quotation Marks
Courtesy of
Grant Job Writing
*Commentary: The
Commentary sections, if any, are provided
as additional information for
the reader by the publisher, and
are not part of the original
content of the article by Jan Kovarik, and
therefore do not represent
the author's opinion or advice. |
|
|
Find more articles for
Creative Writing Tips by
Jan Kovarik and
other experts in
the online
article
directory
resource that
lets you easily
and quickly
search in the
title for
information on
your search
words.
Hopefully this
article
has helped you get the
facts you were looking
for. However, if you want to
do more research on your
search topic, check some of
the other valuable
resources
listed on this page or use
the search boxes
below.
|
|
To
search
the
Creative Writing Tips
Article Database
on this
site use
the
first
search
box
below...to
use
Google,
use the
Google
Search.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Creative Writing Tips
Related
Resources
And News |
|
|
| |
|
