Things I'm Picky About

The following are issues related to punctuation, grammar, and formatting that I am picky about. Please follow these rules/guidelines for all assignments. As always, let me know if you have any questions.

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How to Format a Title

Use italics/underlining for titles of whole things.
Use quotation marks for titles of parts of things.

Titles of Whole Things  (italics/underlining)	Titles of Parts of Things (quotation marks)
Novel Example: Moby Dick	“Chapter of a Novel” Example: “The Pequod Meets the Rose-Bud”
Collection of Poems Example: With a Moon in Transit	“Individual Poem” Example: “Brief Encounter with a Hero”
TV Show Example: Seinfeld	“Episode of a TV Show” Example: “The Bubble Boy”
Album Example: Blood on the Tracks	“Song” Example: “Simple Twist of Fate”
Movie Example: Schindler’s List
Newspaper Example: Denver Post	“Article” Example: “Broncos Super Bowl Bound”
Magazine Title	“Article Title”
Academic Journal	“Article Title”

Note: Italics and underlining are the same thing. When everyone wrote with typewriters, underlining was used as a substitute for italics because typewriters can’t italicize. So you can use either one, but never use both.

The above guidelines are for MLA style. Different style books may use different rules, but these are the ones we’ll use for our class.

I'm picky about how you type the title of a thing because it matters. For example, there's a big difference between Hamlet, Hamlet, and hamlet. The first is the title of a play, the second is a character's name, and the third is a small village.

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Punctuation at the end of quotes

Periods and commas always go inside closing quotation marks. Always. No exceptions.
This is MLA’s rule, but it’s also used by almost all style guides.
For example:

• “This is where I live,” he said.
• He said, “This is where I live.”

You can read more guidelines and examples here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/577/01/

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Ellipses (. . .)
Only uses ellipses (the three dots in a quotation) in the middle of a quote. You do not need them at the beginning or end of a quote.

• Wrong: In his second inaugural speech, Lincoln said, “ . . . let us strive on to finish the work we are in.”
• Right: In his second inaugural speech, Lincoln said, “let us strive on to finish the work we are in.”
• Right: In his second inaugural speech, Lincoln said, “ With malice toward none . . . let us strive on to finish the work we are in.”

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Spaces after a Period

Only use one space after a period. In fact, you never need to use anything more than one space.

I remember taking typing class in high school (a hundred years ago!), and we were told to use two spaces after periods. But that’s because of the way typewriters work. When you’re writing on a computer, however, the computer adjusts spacing so you only need to use one period. I know this sounds crazy specific/picky, but it is something I notice.

And I’m not alone. Here’s an interesting and funny article about using two spaces:
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2011/01/space_invaders.html

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Comma in a list

Use a comma before the “and” in the list.

• Right: “I listen to rock, country, and jazz."
• Wrong: "I listen to rock, country and jazz."
• Right: "Last week, I did all my laundry, I caught up on all my grading, and I visited a friend I hadn't seen in weeks."

To be honest, this is something I don’t really care too much about, but it is fascinating how much debate there is about this punctuation mark. I love it that this comma has its own name (“The Oxford Comma” or “The Serial Comma”). Some guidelines insist on the comma, and some don’t. But MLA style requires it, so I will too. And if you’re really bored one night, just google “oxford comma” and be amazed about how much debate can exists about a comma. It even has its own Facebook page!

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How to Quote

Let’s imagine that you want to use the following quote from Saul Friedlander in your paper:

“We are dealing with an event that tests our traditional conceptual and representation categories, an event at the limits.”

And let’s say that this quote is from page 32 of Friedlander’s book.

Below are some options for how to incorporate that quotation within your paper. Notice that you should always introduce the quote (e.g., “Friedlander says . . .”).

• Saul Friedlander says, “We are dealing with an event that tests our traditional conceptual and representation categories, an event at the limits” (32).
• Note: When you have a parenthetical citation at the end of the quote (32), the closing quotation marks go before the parenthesis, and the period goes after the parenthesis.
• “We are dealing with an event,” argues Friedlander, “that tests our traditional conceptual and representation categories, an event at the limits” (32).
• Note: You must always introduce your quotes (“Friedlander says/argues/claims”) but you can mix it up. Put it at the beginning sometimes, or the middle of the quote, or the end. Just make sure you have it.
• “We are dealing with an event [the Holocaust] that tests our traditional conceptual and representation categories, an event at the limits,” says Friedlander (32).
• Note: This time, I put the author’s name at the end of the quote, just for variety’s sake.
• Note: If you have to add or insert a word for clarification, use brackets.
• The Holocaust is so tragic and horrible that it “tests our traditional conceptual and representation categories” (Friedlander 32).
• Note: In this example, I dropped the quote right into the middle of my sentence. I didn’t need a comma because it fit grammatically into the structure of my own sentence.
• Note: Since I didn’t use the author’s name in my sentence, I had to include it in the parenthesis.
• Note: There is no comma between the author’s name and the page number.
• (Bad example): The Holocaust was so horrible and tragic that it is difficult or impossible to represent in literature. “We are dealing with an event that tests our traditional conceptual and representation categories, an event at the limits” (Friedlander 32).
• Note: This is a bad example because the quote just sits there. It is not incorporated into my own sentences. Make sure that you always have a word or two of your own (usually “Friedlander says” or something like that) included with the quote.
• Here’s how to fix this bad example:
  The Holocaust was so horrible and tragic that it is difficult or impossible to represent in literature. According to Friedlander, “We are dealing with an event that tests our traditional conceptual and representation categories, an event at the limits” (32).
• According to Friedlander, “We are dealing with an event that tests our . . . representation categories” (32).
• Note: Use an ellipsis (the three dots) when you remove words from a quotation.
• Note: You only need ellipses in the middle of a quote. You do not need them at the beginnings or ends of quotes. Notice that in this example, I took out the last part of the quote, but you do not need the three dots at the end of quotes.

Why I Care about Picky Stuff
The first reason is that I’ve always been fascinated by what I call the “architecture” of writing, which includes the fonts and spellings and punctuation marks and spacings and all that fun stuff. As a graduate student, I worked in the University Writing Center where I encountered many different style guides and rules.  If you think I’m picky, you should have seen the guidelines we used (e.g., do you know the difference between using “which” and “that”? Do you know the difference between an “n-dash” and an “m-dash”?).

But the important reason that I care about the picky stuff is that it matters, especially in formal writing. If you’re texting or sending an informal email, no one cares how you spell. I even use the word “cuz” instead of “because” when I’m texting. The context determines everything. But if you’re writing something formal (a paper for a class or a job application), then the details matter. It’s like getting dressed. If you’re just running to the store real quick, then no one cares that your shirt is wrinkled, but if you’re going to a formal ball, you better shine your shoes, tuck your shirt in, shave, and learn to tie a tie properly.

What are the rules?
The problem with grammar/spelling/punctuation rules is that they can vary. There are basically two kinds of rules:

Rules that are true for all formal writing
These are the basics: you should always end a sentence with a period, you should start sentences with a capital letter, etc. These are usually known by most people and are not controversial.

Rules that depend on the situation
These are where most people have trouble. For example, if you’re writing in MLA style, you italicize the titles of films (12 Years a Slave), but if you’re writing for the New York Times, they put titles of films in quotation marks (“12 Years a Slave”).

The good news is that most style guides overlap, and once you learn a rule it’ll probably be true for most situations. But if you’re worried or not sure, here are some suggestions:

• Find out what style guide you should use.
  If you’re writing for an English class (like ours), there’s a good chance that you should use MLA style. If you’re writing for a psychology class, you’ll probably use APA style. For our class, please followMLA guidelines.
• Look at how other people in this situation write.
  For example, if you’re applying for a job at a certain company and you’re not sure how they write, look at their website or press releases or job announcements and copy what they do.
• Ask.
  If you’re writing for a particular professor, for example, it’s always a good idea to ask. (That’s why I always give students a “Things I’m Picky About” handout.)

Dictionaries
If you’re ever not sure about the spelling of a word, the dictionary, of course, is the best resource. Is it “donut” or “doughnut”? Does “whisky” have an “e” in it? Is it “life-style” or “lifestyle”? Does “peruse” mean to read quickly or to read carefully? (Look it up; you’ll be surprised.) Sometimes you'll get a definitive answer, and sometimes you'll find out that it can go either way ("whisky" and "whiskey" are both acceptable). But at least if someone corrects you, you can point to a (reputable) dictionary and show them evidence that you're not wrong.

My favorite dictionary is American Heritage. But the online dictionary I always use is onelook.com. It’s actually a meta-dictionary, which means if you type a word into its search bar, it will give you a quick definition, but it will also search many online dictionaries so you can have some options if you want more information.

Resources

• Owl.english.purdue.edu
  This is good for general grammar/punctuation (How do you use a colon?), for the basics of MLA style, and for APA and other styles.
• Onelook.com
  Search lots of online dictionaries at once.
• Online Etymology Dictionary
  This is good if you’re interested in learning about etymology (the history of words). (Did you know that the word “clue” is related to Greek mythology and sewing?)
• Common Errors in English
  This website lists commonly confused words and phrases. Is it “all right” or “alright”? Is it “toe the line” or “tow the line”? “Whose” or “who’s”?