How do you write this sentence correctly?

Question

This quote sentence appears in my essay:

The narrator describes, “Chuck imagines having a cell phone, texting Margo while she is at home or at the KwikMart. ‘Out of BBQ today, Shipment in tmrw. Burned finger on pan!’” (Blevins 159).

Where this is kind of a quote within a quote, I'm unsure if I'm punctuating it correctly. How do I write this? Should the exclamation mark be placed at the very end instead? I'm so unsure.

Answer 1

In order to connect the two ideas you have in this sentence and clarify your meaning, you could use a conjunction and remove the comma:

 

"Chuck imagines having a cell phone and texting Margo while she is at home or at the Kwikmart...

 

In regard to the quote, you will need a single quotation mark to indicate where the quote within the quote ends. You have a single quotation mark where it begins: 'Out of BBQ today...  Now the reader needs to know where it ends. For instance you might write:

 

'Out of BBQ today. Shipment in tmrw. Burned finger on pan!' "

Notice the single quotation mark at the end before the double quotation mark.

 

The only punctuation used at the end of the citation is a period.  The exclamation point is fine as you have it.

 

 

Answer 2

When you provide a direct quote you should include everything as it is written. The one quotation mark ' is correct for including a quote within a quote, even though the original text may use the double mark ". If the exclamation mark is directly from the quoted text, then yes, it goes inside the quotation mark.

From what source are you pulling this quote? It has some internal errors, which you should keep if this is how it is written. Just curious.

Answer 3

     I see the quote reference. Are you directly quoting from the source or making your own quote? If it's a direct quote from source, that's how it's meant to be written.  I don't see the need for an exclamation point unless you are trying to make an exclamation as though it really hurt his finger and he is in pain. To me, the quote sounds a bit awkward. "Chuck imagines having a cell phone and pretends to text Margo while she is at home or at the Kwikmart....