Question

What is the best way to punctuate the bolded portion of the sentence?

The New York Timescalled Vonnegut a “laughing prophet of doom


“laughing prophet of doom.
“laughing prophet of doom”
“laughing prophet of doom.”
“laughing prophet of doom

Answer 1

I believe it's the third answer. 
 "laughing prophet of doom."

Answer 2

Answer:

"laughing prophet of doom."

Explanation:

Unlike dashes, colons and semicolons, which are always placed after closing quotation marks, periods and commas at the end of a sentence, phrase or clause should always be included "inside" the quotation marks. None of the options show a period outside the quotation, but it is good to rememeber this is is always the case in American English. In all the other options, there is incomplete punctuation, because both the quote and the sentence must be closed.