When incorporating direct quotations into writing, what is the function of the colon? explain the guidelines for using the colon for a long quotation.

When incorporating a direct quotation into writing, the colon serves to separate the introduction part from the direct quotation. The guideline for punctuation use mandated that one should use a colon when introducing a direct quotation that is more than six words and a comma should be used when the direct quotation is less than six words.