• Only use quotation marks when citing directly from another source. Do not use them
when displaying titles of other written works or to indicate emphasis.
• Proofread thoroughly to ensure proper punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.
Style and Voice:
Person:
This provides critical information about who or what performs the action.
There are three distinct forms:
First Person
is the self, either singular (“
I
exercise”) or plural (“
we
exercise”).
In English, the singular first person pronoun “
I
” is always capitalized.
Second Person
is the person spoken to (“
you
exercise”). In English, the Second Person
is always singular.
Third Person
is a person not present, either singular (“
he
exercises”) or
plural (“
they
exercise”).
Voice:
This indicates whether the subject is performing the action (Active Voice) or receiving
the action (Passive Voice).
Effective writing should primarily use Active Voice; use Passive
Voice sparingly.
EXAMPLES:
Active Voice:
“Anthony
wrote
the essay on Charles Dickens.”
Passive Voice:
“The essay on Charles Dickens
was written
by Anthony.”
Use only
third person pronouns
(
it
,
he
,
she
, etc.) in your writing.
Avoid use of personal pronouns (
I
,
me
,
my
,
you
,
your
, etc.).
Avoid
colloquialisms and clichés
; write in an elevated, clear, and concise manner.
Write out all
numbers
below 100 in word form. (For example, “
five
” instead of “
5
”)
Citing Sources:
Quotations and Citations:
• Short quotations
(taking up four lines or less)
1.
Introduce your quotation followed by a
comma
.
2.
Enclose the quotation with
quotation marks
and insert into your paper.
Eliminate the punctuation mark at the end.
3.
Place the
parenthetical reference
after the quotation with a period following
the closing parenthesis.
EXAMPLE:
Edward Johnson states, “San Diego is my favorite city” (Lipson 2).
• Long quotations
(taking up four lines or more)
Do not use quotation marks for long quotations.
1.
Follow the introduction of your quotation with a
colon
.
2. Double-space
the quotation.
3.
Indent
each line of the quotation one inch.
ENGLISH
MLA Guidelines Cheat Sheet
131
