This is a great article as usual, but I wanted to add a thought. I actually found this article because I wanted to coach a shopper on WHEN to use a direct quote. She was making comments like:

The cashier said “thank you” and I said “you’re welcome.”

In this scenario, I do not think that it is appropriate to use a direct quote (maybe it’s just me) and in reality, we do not leave very many direct quotes in our reports when editing. I think that to say “The cashier thanked me and told me to have a good evening.” is easier for many shoppers to express because they don’t have to worry about the grammar rules.

Maybe a WHEN TO article would be a great addition!

Thanks again!