1. Essential Usage for College English
English IV GT AP/Dual Credit English IV AP/Dual Credit

2. MLA Format—Font and Spacing
EVERY MLA formatted paper will use Times New Roman 12-point font
The ENTIRE paper will be double spaced with
NO extra spacing anywhere

3. MLA Format—Running Header
EVERY page (after page 1) of an MLA formatted paper will have the student’s last name and the correct page number in the upper right-hand corner. (Space after the name before the number.) The first page has the full heading so you may eliminate the header on page 1 if you know how to do it. TYPE THIS INFORMATION INTO THE HEADER (do not select “page numbers” under formatting). Do not use any extra lines, letters, designs, shading, etc.

4. Smith 1

5. MLA Format—4-Line Heading
This heading will appear ONLY on page 1.
Your name in regular order
Your instructor’s name as he/she prefers it to appear
The complete course information
The date written in military order (day, month – no abbreviations, year)
DO NOT TYPE THIS INTO THE HEADER OF YOUR COMPUTER – type it manually on the first page.

6. Josephine Smith
Mrs. S. Mann
English D * (GT course is 1502)
22 August 2016

7. MLA Format—Title
Center the title of the paper on the very next line after the heading
NO extra space
DO NOT change font size, type or style
DO NOT place quotation marks around your title
If your title includes the name of a published work, punctuate that title according to proper title punctuation rules within your full title

8. Isolation in Of Mice and Men
Josephine Smith
Mrs. S. Mann
English D
22 August 2016
Isolation in Of Mice and Men

9. MLA Format—Indentation
Indent EVERY paragraph 5 spaces
The only exceptions to this rule occur when students are not required to adhere to MLA formatting (business letter formats, for example)

10. Isolation in Of Mice and Men
Joe Smith
Mrs. S. Mann
English D
22 August 2016
Isolation in Of Mice and Men
Begin the essay on this line after indenting.

11. Grammar/Mechanics
For fully explained tutorials go to Purdue OWL. It is an excellent source for all things involving grammar and mechanics.
NOW is the time to learn rules you’ve been exposed to for years and STILL don’t know. If you consistently make comma errors, use the resources available to you to learn how to fix them. You can always check with me during tutoring hours.

12. Grammar/Mechanics
Inside a quotation, use brackets [ ] to enclose something that you’ve changed from the original quote.
Original: “He frantically ran from the place” (Mills 9).
Rewrite: “[Jonathan] frantically ran from the place” (Mills 9).

13. Grammar/Mechanics There are numerous capitalization rules. Learn them!
The basics:
capitalize first and last words in a title plus other key words
capitalize proper names, nouns and titles used with names
capitalize course names used with a number or a language derivative
The most common errors occur when students randomly capitalize words that do not need capitalization. Don’t make this elementary mistake. Look it up or ask me for help. Creative writing will allow for some bending of the rules, but for all literary analysis, follow grammar and usage rules.

14. Grammar/Mechanics
Make the pronoun match its antecedent; otherwise, you have a number error.
A child will miss his or her mother when left alone.
Children will miss their mothers when left alone.

15. Grammar/Mechanics
Proofread EVERYTHING before turning it in to make sure you have not:
omitted or
needlessly repeated or
chosen the wrong word.

16. Grammar/Mechanics
When you use textual citations that require parenthetical documentation, punctuation will go outside of the parenthesis at the end of the sentence or the closest natural pause to the quote that involves punctuation.

17. Grammar/Mechanics
The critic said, “I have heard Martina Arroyo sing at the opera.” - dialogue without parenthetical documentation
The critic said, “I have heard Martina Arroyo sing at the opera” (Redding 57). parenthetical documentation
The information inside parenthesis is called parenthetical documentation. It contains author’s last name, a space, then the page number on which the quote was found within a text.

18. Grammar/Mechanics
Question marks and exclamation marks go inside quotation marks if what’s in quotations is the question or exclamation—outside if it’s the stem that’s the question or exclamation.

19. Grammar/Mechanics “Are the players ready?” asked the referee.
Were you surprised when he said, “Pull over”?

20. Davis’s new car Grammar/Mechanics
To show ownership, MLA uses an ‘s even if the word ends in an s.
Davis’s new car
Proofread EVERYTHING to make sure all ownership is properly shown.

21. Grammar/Mechanics Know how to properly use:
 apostrophes  questions marks
 colons  quotation marks
 commas  semicolons
 exclamation marks
 hyphens
 periods

22. Grammar/Mechanics Punctuation of Titles:
Italicize titles of novels, magazines, plays, newspapers, albums, works of art, names of ships
Place in “quotation marks” titles of short stories or chapters, articles, songs, poems

23. Grammar/Mechanics
Spelling may be corrected by spell check but if the word is wrong, it’s still an error! For example, know the difference between weather and whether. If you know you can’t spell, get help from someone who can—plain and simple.

24. Grammar/Mechanics
Just as you want to avoid a number error with pronouns and antecedents, make sure your subject and verb are also in agreement.
A young woman lives next door.
Two young women live next door.
Each does her own cooking.
Several of the regular members were absent.

25. If you are unsure, look it up or ask Mrs. Mann.
Grammar/Mechanics
If you are unsure,
look it up or
ask Mrs. Mann.