GMAT Essays (AWA)

Hey BTG users!

I believe I've developed a bad habit with quotation marks, and would like input as to whether such usage is improper.

Example:

"Monetary compensation is the most powerful stimulus for improving employee productivity."

The stated position attempts to assert a universal truth, and while compensation is one method to improve employee productivity, it is not the "most" powerful method to do so.

As you can see in my response, I have quoted a single word ("most") from a statement that I am meant to attack or defend. From my studies in English, I often see rules to the effect of quotations always having punctuation:

"The man walked the dog."
"The man walked the dog," Stella said.
Stella asked, "How often do you walk your dog?"

I find I am perhaps using the single-word quote as more a method to emphasize the main flaw in the argument... As bold/italic typeface is not available, I'm using quotations as a substitute to add emphasis.

Is this incorrect? Do all quotations need some form of punctuation at the end?

Thanks

I personally don't think you need to use the quotation marks to emphasize your point. Especially because the essays are graded by e-grader, you do not want to use something out of the ordinary, as the results may not be positive.

I think the usage you've indicated is fine in moderation, as it shows that you're directly responding to a term from a statement that you didn't make. People sometimes use those quotes to indicate irony or sarcasm, though, and in that context they are, while not incorrect, kind of annoying if they're overused. The CMS (Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed.) says basically the same thing. So I don't think that your usage is a "bad habit" (see, I just did the same thing myself without even thinking about it!) but you shouldn't do it too much, just for style reasons.