The same doesn’t apply to quotation marks or exclamation points, which can come either before or after ... “How are you?” A colon or semicolon always comes after a closing quotation mark.

Ex: Tessie Hutchinson protested, "It isn't fair" (Jackson 346). Colons and semicolons are always placed outside quotation marks. Ex: John wrote, "I'm sorry that I won't be able to come home for ...

A colon is used to give emphasis, present dialogue, introduce lists or text, and clarify composition titles. Emphasis—Capitalize the first word after the colon only if ... Include a semicolon before ...