Stylebook Home ~ Works Cited ~ Plagiarism

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The rules on this page are based on the MLA Handbook, but they can be applied to all formats. The few differences between MLA and APA are listed at the bottom of the page.

 

If your writing does not follow the rules on this page, then it is not correct. If you have made an error in your work and haven't corrected it through proofreading, you can expect to lose credit for that error.

Students will often claim that they shouldn't be penalized for an error because it was typographical, or because they didn't know the right way to spell a word.

If it's not right, then it's wrong, and no amount of arguing or making excuses is going to make it right. If you want to take credit for the things you do well then you will also need to take responsibility for the things you've done wrong. If you'd rather not get the penalty for making the mistake, correct the mistake before you hand in your work.

 

Spelling and Plural Words

• Be consistent. Don't spell a word differently the second or third time you use it.
• You can use the Spell Check routine in your word processing software to look for spelling errors, but it may not find them all. Two and too are both spelled correctly, and the software may not understand which of the words is correct for your situation. The ultimate spell checker for your work is you.
  • Use a dictionary to verify the spelling of words you're not sure of.
  • Use the Internet, or an Internet dictionary, to check your spelling.

Plural Words

• A plural noun is a word that means more than one of a particular thing.
  • dog is a singular noun
  • dogs is a plural noun
• The plural of most words in English is formed by adding an s or es.
  • cats
  • boxes
• Do not add an apostrophe to show plural.

  Dog's does not mean more than one dog. It means belonging to a dog. For information on the correct way to show possession and to use apostrophes, click here.

Commas

• Use a comma before and or in a series of three or more items, to separate items in a series.
  • Bob was carrying boxes, bags, and cartons.
• Use a comma to set off a nonessential clause, that is, a clause that the sentence can do without, such as a parenthetical comment.
  • Dave, who was tired, went to sleep early.
• Use a comma to separate two independent clauses (i.e., each one has the ability to stand alone as a sentence) that are joined by a conjunction (and, or, but).
  • Paper covered the floor, and the lights were on.
• Do not use a comma to set off a clause that cannot stand alone.
  • The switch that turns off the light is on the wall.
• Use a comma to separate a clause that begins with who, whom, whose, which, that
  • Sue, who had already seen the movie, decided not to go.
• Use a comma to separate adjectives that describe the same noun.
  • The worn, old tree stood before the estate.
  • Look out for compound nouns
    • for example, city dwellers. city isn't an adjective; it's part of the noun.

Semi-colon

• Use a semi-colon to separate two independent clauses that are not joined by a conjunction.
  • I was here; he was there.
• Use a semi-colon to separate items in a series that already contain commas.
  • They visited three colleges on their trip: Rutgers, which is in New Jersey; Binghamton, which is upstate New York; and Pace University, which is in the city.

Colons

• Use a colon to call attention to the words that follow it.
  • Two important people were at the hearing: the principal and the superintendent of schools.
• If you have a list following a colon, the first letter should not be capitalized (unless it should be capitalized for its own reason, below.)
  • Here are things I love to eat: chocolate, ice cream, ….
• A colon only comes after a full independent clause (a complete sentence.)
  • Do not use a colon this way:
    • People at the meeting:
  • But do use a colon this way:
    • These people will be attending the meeting:
• Leave one typed space after a colon.

Parentheses

• Use parentheses to set off completely independent parts of a sentence.
  • For example: The bacteria were red (See Figure 5.)
• Use parentheses to set off References in Text.

Brackets

• Use square brackets to enclose a word or phrase you have inserted in a quotation for clarification.
  • The Wright Brothers aeroplane [airplane] made the first successful flight.
• Use square brackets in place of parentheses within a parentheses.
  • Then, ([almost] without warning), ...

Dashes

• Use dashes as little as possible.
• Dashes are used to enclose a part of a sentence that is interrupting the train of thought of the main sentence.
  • I thought -- maybe -- that I could still make it on time.
• To create a dash, type two hyphens with no space before, between, or after them. Some word processing software will convert this into a dash (which looks like a longer hyphen), or the two dashes may be left as they were typed.

Hyphens

• Hyphens are used to separate the parts of a two-word adjective.
  • The red-coated soldiers
• Hyphens are used to indicate a range of numbers
  • (pages 5-10)
• Leave no spaces on either side of the hyphen.
• In formal or scholarly writing, hyphens should not be used for emphasis, or to set off a part of a sentence.

Capitalize

• The first word in a complete sentence.
• Major words in titles of books and articles, but not conjunctions, articles, or prepositions less than four letters long.
  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Proper nouns and adjectives, and words used as proper nouns.
  • A proper noun is the name of a specific person, place, or thing.
  • Girl is not a proper noun. Susan is.
  • Southern is not a proper adjective. Mexican is.
• Adjectives that are merely descriptive (such as federal or state) are not capitalized.

Apostrophes

Apostrophes are used to show possession or ownership. NEVER use an apostrophe to show plural (more than one) of a word!

• To form the possessive of a singular noun, add 's.
  • boy's  cat's  New Jersey's 
• To form the possessive of a plural noun that already ends in s, add only the apostrophe.
  • dogs' (belonging to more than one dog)  
  • workers' (belonging to a group of workers)   
  • hands' (My hands' skin was very dry after the long winter.)
• To form the possessive of an irregular plural noun that doesn't end in s (like men or children), add 's.
  • The children's lunch arrived late.
• If a singular proper noun ends in s, form the possessive by adding 's
  • Dickens's
• DO NOT use an apostrophe to form the plural of an abbreviation or numbers
  • Correct: the 1990s -- Incorrect: the 1990's
  • Correct: VCRs -- Incorrect: VCR's

When is an apostrophe NOT used to show possession?

When the word is already a pronoun.

• his = belonging to him
• hers = belonging to her
• ours = belonging to us
• theirs = belonging to them

AND ...

• its = belonging to it

Contractions

This word -- it's -- does not show possession. It does not mean belonging to it. It is a contraction that means it is.

Apostrophes are also used in contractions, short words that have been made shorter by removing some of the letters and replacing them with an apostrophe. Common contractions are

• it's = it is
• can't = can not
• won't = will not
• don't = do not

Underline or italicize?

• MLA specifies that titles of entire books or periodicals be underlined. If your teacher prefers, you may italicize these words instead. If your teacher does not tell you to italicize, underline.
• Underline the first usage of a technical term.
  • The procedure involved kerotyping, a process in which ....

Do not underline or italicize

• Foreign words or abbreviations that are common in English.
  • The afternoon siesta began at 4:00.
• Just to emphasize something.
• Letters used as abbreviations (acronyms.)
  • After the beginning of the AIDS epidemic ...

Numbers

• Do not begin a sentence with a numeral.
• Spell out numbers that are written in one or two words, but show other numbers as numerals.
  • There were twenty-two freshmen in the class.
  • After 919 attempts, the trick was abandoned.
• Use numerals for numbers preceding a unit of measurement.
  • There were 22 gallons of water in the tank.
• Use numerals for numbers that represent time, dates, ages, population size, scores, points on a scale, exact sums of money, addresses, and page numbers.
• Use words for the numbers zero and one, except as above.
• Use words for any numbers that begin a sentence, title or heading, but never for the designation of a year. It is better to avoid this, if possible.
• Use words for common fractions.
  • two-thirds.
• When you are comparing numbers, express both in the same way:
  • 5 out of 250 dentists agree.
• Use words for universally accepted usage.
  • The Ten Commandments.
• Use a combination of figures and words to express rounded large numbers.
  • $2.5 million.
• Use commas in large numbers as follows:
  • 1,000
  • 30,000
  • 8,987,567
• But not in numbers that represent pages in a book, years, or address numbers.
  • He lived at 29034 Morningside Lane.
  • The Revolution began in 1776.
• When expressing a range of numbers, always use numerals for the beginning and end of the range.
  • 1-435
• When expressing a range of years, if the first two digits are the same for the beginning and ending year, you may leave them out and write them this way:
  • 1989-95
  • 2001-03
  • but not 1999-05

Abbreviations

• Use abbreviations, as needed. Abbreviations are common on your Works Cited page, but should only be used in the body of your paper when absolutely needed.
• You may abbreviate the names of states (use their two-letter postal codes) and countries. Do not use periods in these abbreviations.
• When using initials in personal names, you may put a period after each initial. Do not leave extra spaces after the periods.
  • J.R.R. Tolkien
• Most abbreviations that are written in lower case letters (intro.) or that end in lower case letters (Mex.) are followed by a period.
• In abbreviations made up of lower case letters where each letter represents a word, use periods (but no spaces) to separate the letters.
  • (a.m., e.g.)

Use

• Ed. or Eds. for Editor or Editors
• p. or pp. for page or pages
• Vol. for Volume
• No. for Number

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APA

You may use all the same rules of spelling, usage, and style for APA as well as MLA with these exceptions:

Italics or Underlining?

• Italicize titles of books and periodicals.
• Italicize genera, species, and varieties
• Italicize a technical term the first time it's used, but not subsequent uses of the term.
• Italicize letters used as statistical symbols or algebraic variables
• Italicize periodical volume numbers in reference lists.

Capitalization

• Major words in the titles of books and articles in the body of the paper, but not on the References page. On the References page, capitalize only the first word, and any proper nouns.
• Proper nouns and adjectives and words used as proper nouns. (Freudian slip)

Abbreviations

• The first time an abbreviation is used, follow the use of the complete term with the abbreviation in parentheses immediately afterward. Thereafter, use the abbreviation only, without periods separating the letters.
  • The studies of reaction time (RT)
• Some abbreviations are accepted as words and may be used as such, and do not need explanation in the text.
  • These include IQ, REM, ESP, AIDS, HIV.