Using Quotation Marks for Dialogue and Titles

Khan Academy

This educational video provides a clear and humorous guide to using quotation marks correctly in English grammar. The narrators, David and Paige, explore the two primary functions of quotation marks: indicating direct speech (dialogue) and formatting titles of shorter works like songs, poems, and articles. The video breaks down the potentially confusing rules about when to use quotation marks versus underlining or italics for titles. Through engaging examples involving music albums and a fictional book of "bread poetry," the hosts demonstrate the "container" rule: larger works (albums, books, newspapers) get underlined or italicized, while the smaller works inside them (songs, poems, articles) get quotation marks. Teachers can use this video to introduce or reinforce punctuation rules for creative writing and citations. The visual examples on the digital whiteboard make the distinction between "big things" and "small things" easy to visualize, while the lighthearted banter keeps students engaged with what can otherwise be a dry topic.