Does Punctuation Go Inside Quotation Marks Mla?

The MLA Handbook

MLA Handbook
The MLA Style Center is the only authorized website on MLA style. A companion to the MLA Handbook, the site provides students and educators with a host of free resources for teaching and learning the MLA's approach to research, writing, and documentation.
notes, “By convention, commas and periods that directly follow quotations go inside the closing quotation marks” (267). Thus, in the following sentence, the comma is placed after taught: “You've got to be carefully taught,” wrote Oscar Hammerstein II.

Does punctuation go inside or outside quotation marks?

In American usage, periods and commas typically go inside of quotation marks. When you're quoting someone's exact words, introduce the quote with open quotation marks, and end the quote with a period or comma and closing quotation marks.

Where does the punctuation go in quotes MLA?

Punctuation marks such as periods, commas, and semicolons should appear after the parenthetical citation. Question marks and exclamation points should appear within the quotation marks if they are a part of the quoted passage, but after the parenthetical citation if they are a part of your text.

Marcus Vance

Marcus Vance

Cybersecurity & Digital Privacy Researcher

Marcus Vance is a cybersecurity auditor and technology writer dedicated to educating the public about online safety, data privacy regulations, enterprise security, and emerging cyber threats.