Manuscript Form

Usually an indentation of five inches is good. If your name or the class title is too long to fit, use a slightly smaller indentation, such as 4.7 or 4.5 inches. Do not waste time clicking tab stops; learn to set indentation.

Google Docs: Format > Align & indent > Indentation options > Left > 5 > Apply

Microsoft Word: Format > Paragraph > Indentation > Left > 5” > OK

Indentation on Microsoft Word:

2. Headings include (in order) your full name, the course title, and the date. A course title is American Literature or U.S. History, not English or History. The date should be written in full: not 9/1/20, but September 1, 2020. Use cardinal numbers, not ordinal numbers: not September 1st, 2019, but September 1, 2019. Start at the first line after the one-inch top margin.

3. The high school style of heading is single-spaced at the right.

4. The college style of heading is double-spaced at the left margin.

See the examples below under Extra Help following MFT.

MFT: title.

1. Your paper should have a title. The rule applies to essays and creative writing. The name of the assignment is not a title.

2. Leave one or two blank lines after the title, and one blank line between the heading and title. If you write by hand, put the title on the first ruled line, and put the heading in the upper margin.

Spacing before and after titles is one of the most common MF errors.

WRONG: Two lines between heading and title.

WRONG: No lines between heading and title.

WRONG: Three lines between title and first line.

RIGHT: One line between heading and title, two lines between title and first line.

RIGHT: One line between heading and title, one line between title and first line.

3. Center the title.

4. Capitalization of titles: in both your title and (if you have one) your subtitle, capitalize the first letter of the first and last words, and all other words except articles (“a,” “an,” “the”), conjunctions and prepositions. Capitalize both parts of hyphenated words: “Self-Love.”

5. Punctuation of titles: do not use boldface, all capitals, or a larger type size. Use no quotation marks, italics or underlining except for foreign words or titles within the title. Do not put a period after the title. If a title is a question, it needs a question mark.

6. If you have a subtitle, set it off with a colon following the title.

7. Double-space a title longer than one line. If it includes a subtitle, place the break after the title. If a title easily fits in one line, do not break it into two lines even if it has a subtitle.

EXTRA HELP: Examples of Manuscript Form

WRONG (High School Style)

Errors:

1. The first page is numbered.

2. The heading is jagged at the left because it is aligned to the right, not indented.

3. There are no blank lines between the heading and the title. There should be one.

4. There are three blank lines between the title and text. There should be one or two.

5. The indentation is too narrow. The writer spaced five times to indent the paragraph instead of using a tab stop set for 0.5".

RIGHT: Option 1 (High School Style)

1. The first page is not numbered.

2. The heading is not jagged. It is indented, not aligned to the right.

Google Docs: Format > Align & indent > Indentation options > Left > 5 > Apply

Microsoft Word: Format > Paragraph > Indentation > Left > 5” > OK

3. There is one blank line above the title and two below it.

4. The indentation is correct. The writer used a tab stop set for 0. 5".

RIGHT: Option 2 (College Style)

1. The student’s last name and the page number appear on the first page aligned right.

2. The heading is double-spaced at the left.

3. The heading includes the teacher’s name in its second line.

4. There is one blank line above the title and one below it.

5. The indentation is correct. The writer used a tab stop set for 0. 5".

MF.Sp: Spacing

1. Spacing: double-space the whole essay, including indented quotations.

Microsoft Word: Format > Paragraph > Line Spacing > Double

Google Docs: Format > Line & paragraph spacing > Double

If you want to double-space your essay but single-space your heading and leave two blank lines after your title, do not set double line spacing until the first line of your text.

2. Do not leave an extra line between paragraphs or to set off indented quotations.

MF.Ty: Typeface.

1. Use 12-point type (or the size closest to the type used on this page). Be sure that page numbers are in the same typeface as the rest of the essay.

Microsoft Word: Format > Font > Size > 12

2. Do not print your paper in all boldface, italics, or a decorative typeface. Do not change typeface in mid-paper.

Microsoft Word: Format > Font > Times New Roman, Arial, etc.

3. Do not change typeface or type size from one part of your paper to another.

Ind: indentation.

1. Indent paragraphs one-half inch on typed papers, or one inch on handwritten papers. Use tab stops; if you space five times, the indentation will be less than one-half inch. On both Microsoft Word and Google Docs, the default setting is .5 inch.

2. Indent long quotations one inch. Indent them from the left margin only (see MFQ below).

Pg: pagination.

1. Learn to set page numbers on your word processing program.

Microsoft Word: Insert > Page Numbers > Position > Top; Alignment > Right

Google Docs: Insert > Page Numbers > More options > Header > Do not show on first page, Start on 1 > Apply.

2. Do not number the first page; start numbering at page 2.

Microsoft Word: Insert > Page Numbers > unclick Show on first page

3. Place page numbers one inch from the right margin and one-half inch from the top of the page.

4. Make sure that the page numbers are in the same typeface and type size as the rest of the essay.

5. Use Arabic (not Roman) numerals with no abbreviations or punctuation.

Microsoft Word: Insert > Page Numbers > Format > Number format

MFP: punctuation.

1. Leave one or two spaces after periods, question marks, and exclamation points. Be consistent.

2. One blank space follows internal punctuation (commas, colons, semicolons).

3. A dash—as in this sentence—is an unbroken line longer than a hyphen. You may also indicate a dash by typing two hyphens with no spaces--as in this sentence. Never divide the hyphens at a line break. If you write by hand, do not write two hyphens; use an unbroken line longer than a hyphen. It is easy to set your Word program to change two hyphens to a dash automatically.

EXTRA HELP: Formatting Dashes

Microsoft Word

To make dashes appear automatically:

Tools > AutoCorrect > AutoFormat as You Type > Replace as you type > Symbol characters (--) with symbols (—) > OK.

Once you have set the AutoFormat command, all you have to do is type two hyphens, and they will automatically change to a dash. However, you must have at least one letter before and after the two hyphens. The hyphens will not change into a dash until you space once after the letter or word that follows the dash.

Google Docs

To insert an em-dash (not to be confused with the shorter en-dash):

1. Place the cursor where you want the dash.

2. Then Insert > Special characters > Search by keyword. Type em-dash.

To make dashes appear automatically:

3. Copy an em-dash from a document.

4. Then Tools > Preferences > Substitutions > Replace.

5. In “Replace,” enter a code you will remember. The most commonly used code is two hyphens: --.

6. In “With,” copy the em-dash and click “OK.”

Then an em-dash should appear any time you type you code followed by a space. You may need to backspace to eliminate the space after the dash.

4. Use one blank space before and after each period in an ellipsis (marking an omission):

WRONG: “I … I guess so,” he stammered.

WRONG: “I. . .I guess so,” he stammered.

RIGHT: “I . . . I guess so,” he stammered.

Modern collegiate style manuals no longer require brackets around ellipses for quotations:

UNNECESSARY: The description of “Time’s [. . .] chariot” is an allusion.

RIGHT: The description of “Time’s . . . is an allusion to Greek mythology.

MFQ: quotations.

1. Use one-inch indentation without quotation marks for longer quotations (over four lines of prose; over three of poetry). Indent the entire passage one inch on the left only.

2. Do not rely on tab stops, which are set for one-half inch. If the indented quotation has paragraph breaks, use an extra indentation of about .3 inches (1.3").

Microsoft Word: Format > Paragraph > Indentation > Left > 1"

Google Docs: Format > Align & indent > Indentation options > Left: 1 > Special indent > First line > .3

3. Cite quotations from literature. After the quotation, place the page number(s) in a parenthesis. Use no abbreviations; put the final period after the citation.

WRONG: Elizabeth dislikes “design.” (p. 62)

RIGHT: Elizabeth dislikes “design” (62).

For indented quotations, the period goes before the citation, with one space in between. For long poems (over one hundred lines), use line numbers, not page numbers. No citation is needed for a short poem.

Mat: materials.

1. Use 8.5 x 11 inch paper.

2. Write on only one side of the paper.

3. Use only one kind of paper for all pages.

4. Dog‑eared, torn, stained, wrinkled or folded paper is unacceptable. The condition of your paper is a direct reflection on your attitude toward your work and your respect for your audience.

Hwtg: handwriting.

1. Write neatly and legibly. If there are more than a few small corrections, recopy the page.

2. Capitals: clearly distinguish between capitals and lower case. Do not write in all capitals.

3. Spacing: Leave a slightly larger space after periods than you leave between words.

4. Ink: use only one shade of ink, and make it dark blue or black ink. Bright shades are hard to read.

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