Why would a writer choose to introduce a direct quotation with a colon? a to add more words b to eliminate a comma c to add emphasis d to avoid plagiarism

A writer would choose to introduce a direct quotation with a colon in order toadd emphasis. Option C.

Quotations are usually introduced with terms like he whispered, she claimed, and They shouted. Such an introduction can be followed by a comma or a colon in order to separate it from the quotation,

In more formal writing that punctuation is expected after an introduction for a quotation.