Kennebecasis Valley High School Style Guide
• This is a style guide, not a composition guide. It gives guidelines for the appearance and format of your essays and assignments, not suggestions for research or writing.
• This style guide is based on the University of New Brunswick's Form and Format (9th edition, 2003), which is based on the Modern Languages Association (MLA) style. This style is normally used in all English and social studies courses. The notable exception is psychology, which uses the American Psychological Association (APA) style.
• Students may wish to purchase their own copies of Form and Format. These are available at the KVHS library.
• Students may wish to supplement the information available in this guide by referring to Form and Format or to such web-based resources as Research and Documentation Online (www.dianahacker.com) and the Modern Languages Association homepage (www.mla.org).
General Format
If possible, your essay should be typed.
• The essay should be double-spaced.
• You should write on one side of the paper only.
• All margins should be 1” (2.5 cm), which most word processors will do for you. The exception is the top margin of page one for essays which have a title page. In that case, the margin should be 3” (7.5 cm).
• All pages should have your last name and page number in the upper right hand corner. If you have a title page, you do not number your first page. Numerals should be Arabic (e.g., Macdonald 1, Macdonald 2, Macdonald 3) not Roman (e.g., Macdonald I, Macdonald II, Macdonald III). Some teachers prefer to have only the page number in the upper right hand corner (instead of your name and page number), so check with your teacher before doing so.
• The paper should be white, unlined, and 8 ½” by 11” (21.5 cm by 28 cm).
• The order for your essay should be:
1. Title Page (if required)
2. Body of Essay
3. Endnotes and supplementary material (if necessary)
4. Works Cited Page (if necessary)
• If your teacher requires a formal outline with your essay, ask your teacher whether it should be passed in with your essay or separately.
• Computers are useful tools for checking your spelling and grammar, but can never replace careful proofreading. For example, most computers won't tell you that you have used “there” when you meant “their.”
• When using a computer, choose a standard font (e.g., Times New Roman) in a standard font size (e.g., 12 point).
• Two spaces follow each sentence (hit the space bar twice before beginning a new sentence). Only one space is used after words or internal punctuation like commas. No spaces are used with abbreviations, including abbreviations with periods (such as “RCMP” or “e.g.”).
• The bold, italic, and underline functions on a computer all have specific uses in writing. Don't use them unless necessary.
• The titles of all long works (novels, full length plays, long poems—anything published as a book) must be written in italics (on a word processor) or underlined (when handwritten). The titles of all short works (articles, short poems, one act plays—anything published in a collection) must have their titles in “quotation marks.”
• Numbers are usually written out. Some exceptions are numbers over one hundred (except round numbers and numbers at the start of a sentence), precise measurements, and dates or times.
• If a title page is not required by your teacher, the following information must appear on the left side of the first page: your name, your teacher's name, the course name and number, and the date. This information block is 1” (2.5 cm) from the top of the page. The title of the essay is centered on the next line after the information block.
• Always use inclusive language (e.g., “chairperson” or “chair” instead of “chairman, “police officer” or “firefighter” instead of “policeman” or “fireman”)
• Always speak to your teacher about points of formal and informal style for essays. This includes the use of the first person (“I”), informal language (e.g., “kid” instead of “child”), contractions (e.g., “wouldn't” instead of “would not”), and abbreviations.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism includes all of the following:
• quoting a source word for word, or almost word for word, without properly acknowledging the source of these words;
• using someone else's ideas (including arguments and lines of thought) without properly acknowledging the source of these ideas;
• using someone else's work without acknowledging it; and
• submitting someone else's work as your own.
Plagiarism is not:
• quoting another writer while using quotation marks and providing a reference for the quotation;
• presenting someone else's ideas or argument while providing a reference for them; and
• discussing facts or ideas which are common knowledge or have been studied or discussed in class or provided by the teacher in the form of notes.
Plagiarism is a serious form of academic misconduct and intellectual dishonesty. Any evidence of plagiarism will result in a mark of zero on the assignment and may involve further disciplinary action.
Documenting Your Sources Using Parenthetical Citation
Whenever you quote someone directly or paraphrase someone's ideas, you must make reference to the original. While endnotes and footnotes are still sometimes used, the most common way to do this is by parenthetical citation.
• After your quotation or paraphrased ideas, place the following information in parentheses: author's last name (or, if necessary, the short title of the book) and the page number. For example, (Golding 146).
• If you have recently cited a source, or refer to the source directly in the sentence, some information can be omitted. For example, you might have used (Golding 124). If several more references to Golding follow, then you may just but (126) or (127) for your citation.
• The exceptions are if you are quoting from Shakespeare, the Bible, or from a poem. With Shakespeare, use act, scene, and line references, e.g., (Macbeth 5.5.19-28). Biblical quotations use chapter and verse references, e.g., (John 3.16). With poetry, refer to the line numbers. Use Arabic numbers for these references.
• If you use this format, you must have a works cited page.
Quotations
Short quotations of four line or fewer (or three lines of verse) should be in the text of your essay. They should be enclosed by quotation marks. Lines of verse should be separated by a slash (/). If the lines begin with capital letters, retain the capitalization in your quotation.
• Long quotations of more than four lines (or three lines of verse) should be “blocked” by being set off from the text and indented from the left-hand margin. They are not single-spaced.
Your Works Cited Page
A works cited page exists to allow your reader to get more information about a source for which you have used a parenthetical citation. Only sources which you have cited in your essay with a parenthetical citation can appear on your works cited page.
• Entries on your works cited page are alphabetized by the author's last name.
• An entry for your works cited page should contain the following basic information in this order:
• author's name (last name first), followed by a period,
• title of the book (italicized), followed by a period,
• location the book was published, followed by a colon,
• name of the publishing company (in short form), followed by a comma, and
• the year in which the book was published, followed by a period.
Sample Entries for Your Works Cited Page
• A Book by a Single Author
Lewis, C.S. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. New York: Collier, 1970.
• Two or More Books by the Same Author
Lewis, C.S. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. New York: Collier, 1970.
---. The Magician's Nephew. New York: Collier, 1970.
• A Book by Two or More Authors
Schanker, Harry, and Katherine Anne Ommanney. The Stage and the School. 6th ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 1989.
• An Article in a Reference Book
“Shakespeare.” The New Encyclopedia Britannica. Vol. 27. Toronto: Encyclopedia Britannica, 1997.
• A Selection from an Anthology or Collection of Poems, Articles, or Stories
Frye, Northrop. “Dickens and the Comedy of Humors.” Charles Dickens. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 71-91.
Note: The “71-91” in this example refers to the pages of the article in the book.
• An Anthology or Collection of Poems, Articles, or Stories
Bloom, Harold ed. Charles Dickens. New York: Chelsea House, 1987.
Note: Use this is you are referring to something the editor wrote, not to a specific poem, article, or story in the collection.
• An Article in a Journal or Magazine
Winerman, Lea. “Criminal Profiling: The Reality Behind the Myth.” Monitor on Psychology. July 2004. 66-69.
Note: The “66-69” in this example refers to the pages of the article in the magazine.
• A Newspaper Article
McGinnis, Sarah. “Louis J. Robichaud 1925-2005,” Telegraph-Journal 7 Jan. 2005: A1.
Note: “A1” in this example refers to the section and page of the article.
• An Internet Source
“How Do I Document Sources From the Web in My Works-Cited List?” Modern Languages Association. 12 April 2004. 4 January 2005. <http://www.mla.org/publications/style>.
Ebert, Roger. Rev. of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Chicago Sun-Times 17 December 2003. Roger Ebert Movie Reviews. 4 January 2005. <http://rogerebert.suntimes.com>.
Note: In these examples, the first date refers to the date the information was posted on the Internet (or the last update of the web page), the second date refers to the date the researcher accessed the page.
• A Film
Schindler's List. Dir. Steven Spielberg. With Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, and Ralph Fiennes. Universal, 1993.
• A Television Show
“Treehouse of Horror.” The Simpsons. Dir. and Prod. Matt Groening and James L. Brooks. With Dan Castellaneta and Julie Kavner. Fox Television, 1990.
• A Recording
Cohen, Leonard. “Suzanne.” Songs of Leonard Cohen. Columbia, CK-9533, 1968.