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

When using direct quotations in your writing, the following should be placed outside the set of quotation marks is a semicolon. The correct answer is option c. It is a general rule in the English language that colons and semicolons should be applied outside the quotation marks. Commas, periods and question marks are inside the quotation marks.