1. Punctuating Dialogue As a result of this lesson, you will be able to correctly punctuate dialogue in a narrative.

2. Know where to put a capital letter. Henry replied, “Here is the note.” “Here is the note,” replied Henry. Henry replied, “Here is the note,” while picking up the piece of paper.

3. Know where to put a comma The football player yelled, “Pass the ball to me.” “Pass the ball to me,” the football player yelled. “Pass the ball,” the football player yelled, “to me.”

4. Know where to start a new paragraph “Time to get up for school,” Tim’s mom nagged from 6:00 AM to 6:30 AM. Yet Tim would not budge. He would not even open his eyes. Finally Tim opened one eye and looked at the clock. “Mom, I’m going to miss my bus! Why didn’t you wake me up?” “Tim, I tried waking you up for a half hour. You wouldn’t budge.” (Who is saying this? How do you know?)

5. Use different tags to describe character’s mood and actions Don’t use said all of the time. Try using: Replied, urged, shouted, whispered, called, begged, …

6. Use this comic and turn it into dialogue. Think: Capital letter, comma, tags, paragraphs.

7. Correct your dialogue “If you could wish for anything, what would it be?” Calvin inquired. “A big sunny field,” replied Hobbes. “A stupid field? You’ve got that now! Think big! Riches! Power! Pretend you can have anything!” Calvin demanded. Hobbes fell asleep thinking of his big sunny field. “Actually, it’s hard to argue with someone who looks so happy,” Calvin murmured.