Common Problems (Part 31 of 50)

Put words in quotes only if readers might otherwise misunderstand. If we want to emphasize a word, we use italics or boldface.

* Do you have a "giant" in your life that needs tackling right now?

* She will suffer through the "cold turkey" routine.

* He'll show them through this "chance" event.

* Eldred aims to come up with persuasive "arguments" when confronting difficult reasons.

* I had never felt that mysterious "knowledge."

If you use words in a special or different sense, for clarity you use quotation marks. Here is an example where you would use quotation marks for clarity: In filmmaking, movable "wild walls" make a room seem to have four walls.

If readers will understand the sentence, 

delete the quotation marks.