Literary Examples of Formatted Dialogue for 7th Grade English

📚 Quick Study Guide

• 🗣️ What is Dialogue? Dialogue is a conversation between two or more characters. It makes stories more interesting and shows what characters are like.
• ✒️ Quotation Marks: Use quotation marks (") to show when a character is speaking. "This is what I said," she explained.
• 💬 New Speaker, New Paragraph: Every time a different character speaks, start a new paragraph. This makes it easier to follow who is saying what.
• 🏷️ Dialogue Tags: Use dialogue tags (like "he said" or "she asked") to tell the reader who is speaking. They can come before, after, or in the middle of the dialogue.
• ✏️ Punctuation: Put punctuation (periods, commas, question marks, exclamation points) *inside* the quotation marks. "Are you ready?" he asked.
• ✨ Character Voice: Make each character sound different! Think about how they speak – their word choice, tone, and accent.
• 🛑 Avoid Overuse: Don't overuse dialogue tags! Sometimes you can show who's speaking through their actions or the content of their speech.

Practice Quiz

1. Which of the following sentences is correctly formatted dialogue?
   1. A. "Hello," she said.
   2. B. Hello she said.
   3. C. She said "Hello".
   4. D. "Hello" she said
2. In dialogue, what punctuation mark is typically placed inside the quotation marks?
   1. A. Colon (:)
   2. B. Semicolon (;)
   3. C. Period (.)
   4. D. Dash (-)
3. What should you do when a new character begins speaking in a dialogue?
   1. A. Continue on the same line.
   2. B. Start a new paragraph.
   3. C. Use a different font.
   4. D. Add a special symbol.
4. What is the purpose of a dialogue tag?
   1. A. To make the dialogue longer.
   2. B. To indicate who is speaking.
   3. C. To confuse the reader.
   4. D. To add extra punctuation.
5. Which sentence correctly uses a dialogue tag in the middle of the dialogue?
   1. A. "I don't know," she said, "what to do."
   2. B. "I don't know," she said what to do.
   3. C. "I don't know" she said, "what to do."
   4. D. I don't know, she said, what to do.
6. What is important to consider when writing dialogue to make your characters believable?
   1. A. Making all characters sound the same.
   2. B. Giving each character a unique voice.
   3. C. Using only formal language.
   4. D. Avoiding contractions.
7. Why is it important to start a new paragraph when a different character speaks?
   1. A. To save space.
   2. B. To confuse the reader.
   3. C. To make the dialogue easier to follow.
   4. D. To use more paper.