Answer:
The writer said, "I expect to be finished with this novel in a month."
Step-by-step explanation:
1. The writer said, 'I expect to be finished with this novel in a month.'
This sentence is incorrect because it is using single quotation marks. Instead of single quotation marks, there should be double quotation marks since this is direct dialogue. If you were from England, this would be correct as they use single quotation marks to indicate dialogue.
2. The writer said I expect to be finished with this novel in a month.
This sentence is incorrect because it has no quotation marks to signify a quote, and there isn't a comma after the word "said" before the dialogue.
3. The writer said, "I expect to be finished with this novel in a month."
This sentence is correct because it is correctly punctuated. The comma after the word "said" is in its correct spot, the double quotation marks are surrounding the dialogue, and the period is within the quotation marks.
4. The writer said "I expect to be finished with this novel in a month."ā
This sentence is incorrect because there is no comma located after the word "said." A rule in English is to put a comma before introducing dialogue or material.