1. Use hyphens cautiously. Do not hyphenate between pages. Do not hyphenate leaving only two letters of a word on a line. (NOTE: Most computer applications today do not allow you to hyphenate at the end of a line, making this point moot.) An uneven right-hand margin actually makes reading easier--also a good reason not to "right-justify" your margins.
   
   
   
2. Your spacing can improve visual impact and make reading easier. One general rule is to use two spaces following end of sentence punctuation and after using a colon.
   
   
   
3. A dash is made out of two hyphens, with no space on either side--like this. A hyphen, like a dash, has no spaces on either side. For example, one would write about "the well-written paper." Note: Many modern word processing programs today turn two hyphens placed together automatically into one longer character that is a dash. This longer, single character is equally acceptable.
   
   
   
4. A basic rule to remember: Commas and periods always come before a quotation mark, and colons and semi-colons always come after a quotation mark. A question mark or exclamation point may be in either position, depending on the context of the sentence (refer to a basic grammar for help--also the "Helpful Hints" sheet in this packet).
   
   
   
5. If you are using quotation marks to emphasize a word, use double quotations, as "emphasize." Use single quotations only when within a double quotation, as "this word is 'emphasized.'" Another way to give a word emphasis is to underline it, which means, if this document were in print, the word would be printed in italics, as emphasize.
   
   
   
6. To quote from material that is not your own, you will need to provide a reference citation in the text. The current suggested style in most fields is to use parenthetical references, with a "Works Cited" list with full bibliographic details at the end. When citing parenthetically in the text (i.e., not a block quotation), the form is as follows: "This is a quotation" (77). The quotation mark comes first, then the reference citation, followed by the end of sentence punctuation (if it is a period). For a question in the quoted material, the form is: "Is this a question?" (77). Note the use of the question mark before the quotation mark, followed by the parenthetical citation and the end-of-sentence punctuation.
   
   
   
7. Use a block quotation when quoting material that is longer than four lines. The form for a block quotation for non-print materials (i.e., typed manuscripts or papers) is as follows:
   

   This quotation is in block format. This quotation is in block format. This quotation is in block format. This quotation is in block format. This quotation is in block format. This quotation is in block format. This quotation is in block format. This quotations is in block format. This quotation is in block format. This quotation is in block format.This quotation is in block format. This quotations is in block format. This quotation is in block format. (77)

   The end-of-sentence punctuation comes first, then the citation, with no punctuation after the citation. Note that the block quotation is double spaced and indented only at the left-hand margin. Also, the block quotation does not begin or end with a quotation mark, unless it contains alternating dialogue or an internal quotation. Use this link for additional materials on citation.

   
   
   

8. When using an ellipsis, use a space between each period . . . like this. If the ellipsis is between sentences, it appears like this. . . . The new sentence begins here. Use the ellipsis primarily to indicate words left out in the middle of the quoted material. Usually you do not need an ellipsis at the beginning or end of a quotation, even if you are starting or ending mid-sentence. At the beginning, you may simply change the lower case word to upper case instead of using the ellipsis if what remains can still be read as a sentence. At the end, simply stop where you want to, again assuming that it can be read as a complete sentence. Use the ellipsis at beginning or end only if the piece you are quoting is fragmentary (lacks both a subject and verb). In MLA Style, if you use an ellipsis to indicate you have omitted something from a quotation, the ellipsis is placed in brackets [ . . . ], like this, to indicate the ellipsis has been added.
   
   
   
9. Titles and subheadings generally use book title style capitalization. That is, the first word is capitalized, and all other words except articles (the, a, an), conjunctions (and, but, or), and prepositions with fewer than six letters (for example, of, by, and at would not be capitalized, but between would be). Be sure to distinguish between to used as a preposition (not capitalized) and to used as a verb form (to go, for example) (capitalized). Also, if the title or subheading has a colon or a dash in it, the word following the colon or dash is capitalized.

Last updated 02/14/08