1. 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.
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2. •
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 brief
Long 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..."

3. “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.