Question: Punctuation and Quotation Marks

Kristin and I have noticed a sudden resurgence of the incorrect habit of putting closing punctuation outside quotation marks. We mused over reasons for this but couldn't come up with much.

Others are seeing it too, though. From The Chicago Manual of Style Q & A section:

Q. I'm teaching a class at the university after a long break and have discovered that most of my students are putting commas or other punctuation outside quotes rather than inside. Is either correct?

A. Tsk—the things kids get up to these days! You have to watch them every minute. Unless you're teaching in the U.K., the punctuation goes inside the quotation marks. (But see CMS 6.9 for exceptions.)

Well, while we can't come up with a reason for the rampant errant commas and periods, we can post a note to those of you who care enough to watch your grammar (as everyone should). So, keep your punctuation inside the closing quotation mark, unless it's a colon, question mark, or exclamation mark (per CMS 6.9).