Basic mechanics of writing papers

1. Writing Skills
Writing Mechanics

2. Writing Mechanics
• Numbers and dates
• Dates and page numbers are not spelled out
• Numbers from one to nine spelled out, and numerals for numbers above 10 (APA)
• Use a numeral only if the number cannot be spelled out in two words or less
• Spell out any number that is the beginning of a sentence
• Percentages
• Use numbers in percentages and amounts of money (APA)
• Ranges of numbers
• Use numerals to express both the first and last number of the range (APA)
• Dates
• Consistency is the prime rule – use either “day month year” or “month day year”
but not both
• No comma between the month and year
• Ranges of one year can be expressed as 1929-30 or 1929 to 1930, but ranges
beyond one year must be written as 1930 to 1951

3. Writing Mechanics
• Titles (in text of document)
• Titles for the following are italicized in APA format
• Published books
• Plays
• Long Poems
• Pamphlets
• Newspaper mastheads
• Magazines and jornals
• Classical works
• Films
• Television and radio programs
• Ballets
• Operas
• Instrumental music listed by
name
• Paintings
• Sculptures
• Ships
• Aircraft

4. Writing Mechanics
• Titles (continued)
• Titles for the following are placed in quotation marks in APA format
• Short stories
• Short poems
• Songs
• Newspaper articles
• Magazine and journal articles
• Encyclopedia articles
• Subdivisions in books
• Unpublished dissertations
• Lectures
• Television episodes
• Titles of sacred writings, series, editions, societies, conventional
titles and parts of books are not italicized nor are they enclosed in
quotation marks

5. Writing Mechanics
• Titles (continued)
• If a title enclosed by quotation marks appears within an italicized
title, the quotation marks are retained
• If an italicized title appears within a title enclosed in quotation
marks, the italic is retained
• Single quotation marks are used with a title requiring quotation
marks that appears within another title requiring quotation
marks
• A title that would normally be italicized that appears within
another title that is italicized is not italicized
• If you refer to a title frequently in your paper, use the full title in
the first reference and then use a shortened title in subsequent
references using key words within the title

6. Writing Mechanics
• Underlining and Italics
• Italicize phrases, words, letters or numerals cited as linguistic
examples
• Italicize foreign words in English texts
• Use underlining sparingly for emphasis
• A series of words are underlined continuously rather than separately
• Names of people
• Omit formal titles when referring to people, living or dead, by their
last names
• It is acceptable to use simplified names for famous people
• It is acceptable to use an author’s pseudonym rather than the
author’s real name
• The particles in foreign names (van, von, der, de) usually are not
included in references to people
• When in doubt, consult a biographical dictionary or encyclopedia for
names of famous people

7. Writing Mechanics
• Hyphenating words
• Word processors handle end-of-line hyphenation automatically
• Compound words sometimes require hyphens but may not
depending on use
• Correct syllabification of words can be found in a dictionary
• Never hyphenate a one-syllable word
• Do not end or begin a line with a single letter
• Make no division that might cause confusion in either the
meaning or pronunciation of a word
• Divide hyphenated words only at the hyphen
• Do not divide proper names
• Do not end several consecutive lines with a hyphen

8. Writing Mechanics
• Spaces and punctuation marks
• Use just one space after all end punctuation marks
• Punctuate initials of a personal name with a period followed by a
single space
• Use two hyphens to indicate a dash, with no extra space before or
after the hyphens
• Within common abbreviations punctuated by periods, do not use a
space after the first period
• Use a space before and after the slash that separates lines of a
quoted poem
• A hyphen used as a minus sign is preceded and followed by a single
space
• A hyphen used to indicate a negative number is preceded by a single
space but not followed by one
• Use a single space after all other punctuation marks

9. Writing Mechanics
• Commonly used abbreviations in research papers
• anon. anonymous
• app. appendix
• bibliog. bibliography, bibliographer, bibliographical
• biog. biography, biographer, biographical
• bk., bks. book(s)
• ©copyright (© 1997)
• c., ca. circa
• ed., eds. edited by, editor(s), edition(s)
• e.g. exempli gratia, example given, for example – use within parentheses
• et. al. et alii, and others
• fig., figs. figure(s)
• ibid. ibidem, in the same place – avoid – use author’s last name and page
• i.e. id est, that is
• p., pp. page(s)

10. What is Documentation?
• Documentation is the method you choose to give credit to the
source of any borrowed idea, fact, clever remark, or original
observation that you use in your paper
• General knowledge, common sayings, and self-evident opinions do
not need to be documented
• If you are not sure whether to document, do so
• Document sources twice:
• In the body of the paper
• In the reference list

11. Citations
• Parenthetical citations:
• Identify sources within parentheses at the end of the passage
• Relate passage with a specific source in the bibliography
• Identify the name of the author if it is not part of the passage
• Identify the year of publication
• Identify page number when it is a direct quote
• Separate entries in the citation with commas
• Punctuation comes after citation
• APA uses the Author-Date method of citation
EXAMPLES:
One critic of Milgram’s experiments said that the subjects “should have been
fully informed of the possible effects on them” (Baumrind, 1968, p. 34).
Baumrind (1968) said that the subjects of Milgram’s study “should have been
fully informed of the possible effects on them” (p. 34).

12. Bibliographic References
• Two kinds of bibliographies:
• “Working Bibliography”
• This is a list of all sources you have read or consulted
as you prepared your paper. You may not have quoted
(directly or indirectly) all of these sources. Some
sources may have been used to provide you
background for your subject.
• “References”
• This is the list of sources you have cited and actually
used in writing your paper. In APA format, it is titled
“References” and found at the end of your paper.

13. Taking Notes
• Various methods for taking notes:
• Handwritten notes: be careful to specifically cite source and
direct quotes, can be source of plagiarism
• Notes on computers: same risk of plagiarism, strive for accuracy
• Photocopies and printouts: accurate means of recording source
and content
• Downloads: make sure you record source information

14. Kinds of Notes
• Summaries
• Condensing significant facts from an original piece of writing
• Retain essential facts of the original article
• Paraphrasing
• Restating a passage in approximately the same number of words,
using the same syntax and vocabulary
• Most common form of note taking in research papers
• Shows mastery of material presented by author
• Provides consistent style within your paper
• Quotation
• Reproduction of an author’s words exactly as they were spoken or
written, preserving even peculiarities of spelling, grammar, and
punctuation
• Personal Comments
• Ideas, conjectures or conclusions that occur to you during the
research

15. Integrating Sources
• Evidence of others’ information and opinions should back up, not
dominate, your own ideas
• Introduce the borrowed material so that it is not distracting to the
reader:
• Mesh the structure of the quote with your own sentence
• Substitute or add to the quotation identifying changes in brackets [ ] :
• Add words for greater explanation
• Change verb form to agree with sentence structure
• Change capitalization
• Replace pronouns with nouns
• Remove portions of quotation and identify with ellipsis (…)
• Provide interpretation for the reader
• Use signal phrases to identify author and their attitude or approach
• Provide background information to give recognition or credentials of author

16. Keeping a Working Bibliography
• Track the sources you find, independent of whether you
will ultimately use them
• Record the source information based on the format you
will use (APA, MLA, etc)
• Keep bibliographic information about online sources:
• URL
• Title of the site or page you are consulting
• Publication information available (author, organization, address,
publication date or date of last revision)