Week 3: Quotes and strings

In C# you wrap text, called a string, in double quotes. A single character uses single quotes instead. Both are easy to type once your fingers know where they are, but they need care because they must come in matching pairs. An unclosed quote makes the rest of the line look like text, and the code stops making sense. This week you practice both symbols until opening and closing them feels automatic.

What you will learn

Double quotes mark a string, and single quotes mark one character:

• "merhaba" is a string value. Its two double quotes wrap the text.
• 'A' holds one character. Its two single quotes wrap that letter.

You can combine these with the brackets you practiced last week. Console.WriteLine("Hello"); prints the text inside the quotes to the screen.

This week’s symbols on the US English layout:

• ": press the ’ key with Shift. Hold Shift with the opposite pinky (the left pinky) and press ’ with the right pinky.
• ': press the ’ key with the right pinky. No Shift is needed.

Technique tips

• Type the closing quote right after the opening one, then fill in the text. This keeps you from leaving a quote open.
• Press Shift before the double quote and keep it held until the key is down. Release the key first, then Shift.
• Return to the home row after each quote. A single symbol is a short reach, so keep it short.
• Type the letters inside a string at your normal rhythm. The quotes should feel like quick taps, not slow stretches.
• Enter fills in the next line’s indentation. When a string breaks across lines, do not retype the indent by hand.

Lessons

1. Learn (10 to 15 minutes): Watch the demo for both quotes, notice the Shift hand, and type each symbol several times.
2. Practice (10 to 15 minutes): Type this week’s text. For every string, think about the opening and closing quote as a pair.
3. Review (10 to 15 minutes): Take the two-minute test. Check which quote gave you trouble and focus on it in the next lesson.

This week’s goal

The goal this week is 13 WPM with 90 percent accuracy. Stars work like this: finish the lesson for 1 star, reach 90 percent accuracy for 2 stars, and reach 13 WPM as well for 3 stars. Quotes need to be right, so build accuracy first. Speed follows once your text is clean.