When using direct quotations in your writing, which of the following should be placed outside the set of quotation marks?
a. comma
b. semicolon
c. question mark
d. period

The answer is letter A-- comma. 

    There should be a comma between the direct quote and the attributive tag. The attrobutive tag refers to the words “he claimed”, “she said”, or “according to”. They can be placed at the beginning, at the end, or even at the middle of the sentence. When you insert direct quotes, it should be clear to the audience who said that quote. Thus, using a comma is essential. It’s a punctuation rule that must not be missed.