Name: ________________________________________________ Date: __________________ Per. _______

Dialogue

Directions: Read the first excerpt below and then read the second. As you read, make a mental

note of the differences between the passages. Which is easier to follow and why?

“I don’t want to go in that scary house,” muttered Caitlyn. “Please don’t make me go in there by myself,”

replied James, “it’s way too dark and scary!” “My parents want me to go home. Maybe tomorrow; I have to

think about it,” said Caitlyn. She walked away, knowing that she wouldn’t go in the house tomorrow, either.

She was never going in that house! “I’ll call you first thing tomorrow,” James yelled from his window as

Caitlyn ran down the block. In his heart, he knew she wasn’t going to answer the phone. Just then James heard

his mother come home. “James!” she called up the stairs, “Time for karate.” With that, James grabbed his bag

and ran down the steps to the car.

“I don’t want to go into that scary house,” muttered Caitlyn.

“Please don’t make me go in there by myself,” replied James,

“it’s way too dark and scary!”

“My parents want me to go home. Maybe tomorrow; I have to think about it,” said Caitlyn. She

walked away, knowing that she wouldn’t go in the house tomorrow, either. She was never going in that house!

“I’ll call you first thing tomorrow!” James yelled from his

window as Caitlyn ran down the block. In his heart, he knew she wasn’t going to

answer the phone.

Just then James heard his mother come home. “James!” she called up the stairs, “Time for

karate.” With that, James grabbed his bag and ran down the steps to the car.

List the differences that you noticed between the two passages below:

*Note: the fonts have only been changed to help you differentiate between characters.

Basic Rules for Writing Dialogue in a Story

Rule #1: When a new speaker speaks, start a new paragraph

“Did you hear what happened to Mary last week?” Joseph asked.

“No. Do tell!” cried the little drummer boy.

Rule #2: Keep dialogue briefLong pieces of dialogue can be boring for the reader—keep it short and to the point.

Rule #3: Always put terminal punctuation (commas, periods) inside the quotation marks

This one’s simple. Note where the comma and period appear in each example and then commit the above to memory.Right: “I wonder,” she said, “if he is going to show up.”Wrong: “I wonder”, she said, “if he is going to show up”.

Rule #4: Use a comma between the dialogue and the tag line (the words used to identify the speaker: "he said/she said")

"I would like to go to the beach this weekend," she told him as they left the apartment.

Rule #5: When a tag line interrupts a sentence, it should be set off by commas. Note that the first letter of the second half of the sentence is in lower case, as in this example.

"That is," Wesley said, "that neither you nor me is her boy..."

“I don’t want to go into that scary house,” muttered

Caitlyn.

“Please don’t make me go in there by myself,” replied

James, “it’s way too dark and scary!”

“My parents want me to go home. Maybe tomorrow; I

have to think about it,” said Caitlyn. She walked away,

knowing that she wouldn’t go in the house tomorrow,

either. She was never going in that house!

“I’ll call you first thing tomorrow!” James yelled from

his window as Caitlyn ran down the block. In his heart, he

knew she wasn’t going to answer the phone.

Just then James heard his mother come home.

“James!” she called up the stairs, “Time for karate.” With

that, James grabbed his bag and ran down the steps to the

car.