Hey BTG users!

I believe I've developed a bad habit with quotation marks, and would like input as to whether such usage is improper.

Example:

"Monetary compensation is the most powerful stimulus for improving employee productivity."

The stated position attempts to assert a universal truth, and while compensation is one method to improve employee productivity, it is not the "most" powerful method to do so.

As you can see in my response, I have quoted a single word ("most") from a statement that I am meant to attack or defend. From my studies in English, I often see rules to the effect of quotations always having punctuation:

"The man walked the dog."
"The man walked the dog," Stella said.
Stella asked, "How often do you walk your dog?"

I find I am perhaps using the single-word quote as more a method to emphasize the main flaw in the argument... As bold/italic typeface is not available, I'm using quotations as a substitute to add emphasis.

Is this incorrect? Do all quotations need some form of punctuation at the end?

Thanks