Standard Keyboarding Conventions for Students Typing or

Word Processing Their Own Documents

1. Generally, when preparing non-print (typed or word processed) documents, you should double space your entire paper and, to provide an additional visual cue, indent each paragraph five spaces. Leave at least a one-inch margin on all sides (you should be aware that some styles suggest an even wider margin--becoming familiar with the "Style Guide" most often used in your own major would be a good idea). On the first page, leave a wider top margin to emphasize your title. Place a page number on all pages following the first page.
   
   
   
2. Use hyphens cautiously. Do not break a word (hyphenate) between pages. Do not hyphenate leaving only two letters of a word on a line. In some scientific (i.e., APA) and more modern styles, words are not hyphenated at the end of a line at all. An uneven right-hand margin actually makes reading easier--also a good reason not to "right-justify" your margins.
   
   
   
3. 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.
   
   
   
4. 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.
   
   
   
5. 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 The Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage or to "Helpful Hints" for examples.
   
   
   
6. 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.'" Other ways to give a word emphasis are to underline it, which means, if this document were in print, the word would be printed in italics, as emphasize, or to use italics, as in emphasize.
   
   
   
7. 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. The information inside the parenthesis will vary, depending on what style guide you choose to follow (see MLA, APA).
   
   
   
8. Use a block quotation when quoting material that is longer than three lines or 40 words. 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. (77)

   The end-of-sentence punctuation comes first, then the parenthetical citation, with no punctuation after the second parenthesis. 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 these links for additional materials on citation (MLA, APA).

9. 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).
   
   

Last updated 09/26/00