ENGLISH SUBJECT STYLE HANDBOOK

UNIVERSITY OF WOLVERHAMPTON
Introduction

This Handbook is designed to help you improve your writing. Published by the English Subject
Team primarily for students studying English, it establishes a set of guidelines for writing expository
prose and documentating scholarly research which all students working on an English module are
expected to follow.
1. PRESENTATION

1.1. PAPER AND PRINTING. Use good quality white A4 paper. We strongly recommend that
your assignments be word-processed rather than hand-written. If you word-process assignments, then
use letter quality print for your final draft. Always keep a copy on disc and on paper. When
possible, assignments should be stapled or fastened with a paper clip in the top left corner. Always
hand in your assignment to Registry and retain your receipt.

1.2. PROOF-READING AND CORRECTION. Before you submit your assignment, take some
time to proof-read it. Print a draft copy and go through it, correcting spelling, punctuation, style,
accuracy of footnotes, bibliography. Reprint the final draft when you are satisfied that all is right. A
spell-check programme on your computer can help, but is not infallible, so invest in a decent
dictionary and use it. If you cannot revise by word-processor then you should still proof-read and
correct your work, adding corrections clearly and succinctly with a black pen. If you find you are
correcting or altering a lot of what you have written it is time to write/print/type a fresh copy.

1.3. LAYOUT. Your text should be DOUBLE-SPACED throughout, except for footnotes or
endnotes, bibliography and any block-indented quotations which should be single-spaced (see 2.3,
2.5). If handwriting your assignment, write legibly and remember to skip every other line. All
assignments should have margins all the way around the text of 1" to 1½". Number each page
consecutively, including pages containing endnotes and bibliography. Indicate the essay’s word
count (including quotations, but excluding endnotes and bibliography) against the left-hand margin at
the end of your text, before any endnotes or bibliography.

1.4. TITLE-PAGE. Use a cover page on your assignment which lists the following information:
your name, the module number and title, the seminar tutor’s name, the date, and your title for the
piece. If your assignment will be marked anonymously, the anonymous marking assignment receipt
itself will serve as a title-page.

1.5. REFERENCING. Your assignment should normally indicate the reading that you have carried
out, both primary and secondary (see 3A.5 for clarification of these terms). This information is
either given in footnotes (given at the bottom of each page), or endnotes (given at the end of the
main text), or – when using the Harvard system for language modules – through in-text parenthetical
citations. You should also include a bibliography at the very end of the text. Whatever form of
citation you use, you must follow the guidelines in Section 3.

1.6. ITALICISING AND QUOTING TITLES. When using the titles of other works in your own
text you should conform to the following practice. Italicise or underline titles of books, periodicals,
pamphlets, plays, movies, and long poems (e.g. Wordsworth’s The Prelude). Enclose in single
quotation marks titles of chapters and sections of books, short stories, articles, essays, songs, short
poems (e.g. Coleridge’s ‘Frost at Midnight’), and unpublished works such as dissertations.

2. QUOTATION

2.1. ACCURACY AND PUNCTUATION. Quote the original exactly, word for word, preserving its
spelling, punctuation and even any errors you may find. To avoid confusing your reader with an
irregular or ungrammatical passage, you may add clarifying phrases or punctuation if these are placed
in [ ]. By inserting [sic] after an abnormality, you can prevent your reader from identifying as yours
an error which actually appears in the original.
The only exception to the above occurs when capital letters and end-punctuation are altered in order
to incorporate quotations grammatically into your own sentences (see Example in 2.2 below).
Always have a specific purpose for reproducing the material you are quoting: excessive use of
quotations has a counter-productive effect on your essay. If part of the material you wish to quote is
not relevant to your point, omit it and indicate the omission with three spaced dots. An omission
occurring at the end of a quoted sentence requires a fourth dot for the full stop (see Example in 2.5
below).

2.2. SHORT VERSE QUOTATIONS. Short verse quotations (2 full lines or less) should be
incorporated into your own prose. Enclose the quotation in single quotation marks, and separate
individual lines of verse with a slash (/), preceded and followed by a space. Keep the first word of
the second line capitalised if it is so in the original. Any quotation appearing within the excerpt
should be enclosed within double quotation marks. Place references to specific verse-line numbers,
inserted within parentheses, between the end of the sentence and the full stop.

Example. You would use either of the following:

a) Milton describes how the rebel angels in Hell argued about ‘free will, Foreknowledge

absolute / And found no end, in wand’ring mazes lost’ (II, 560-61).

b) Milton describes how the rebel angels in Hell argued about the same difficult philosophical

questions over and over again, ‘and found no end, in wand’ring mazes lost’ (II, 561).

Note: In both instances above, the structure of the sentence and the punctuation have been prepared
in such a way that the quotation has been successfully integrated into the prose: i.e., the sentence is
grammatically presented and makes sense when read from beginning to end.

2.3. LONG VERSE QUOTATIONS. Long verse quotations (more than 2 lines) should be set
apart in block fashion from your prose without quotation marks. The entire text of the quotation
should be indented and single-spaced, though set off from your prose by double-spacing at the
beginning and end. References to verse line numbers should appear at the end of the passage, one
line below, and indented to the centre or latter-third of the page. Omission of a full line or more of
poetry should be indicated by a line of spaced dots.

Example. Your essay might appear thus:

And in 1637, Milton used the comparatively neglected form of the pastoral elegy to challenge

religious orthodoxy, while ostensibly lamenting the death of friend Edward King:

[INDENTED] Yet once more, O ye laurels, and once more

Ye myrtles brown, with ivy never sere
I come to pluck your berries harsh and crude,
And with forced fingers rude,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bitter constraint, and sad occasion dear,
Compels me to disturb your season due:
For Lycidas is dead, dead ere his prime,
Young Lycidas, and hath not left his peer.
Who would not sing for Lycidas?
(‘Lycidas’, 1-4, 6-10).

2.4. SHORT PROSE QUOTATIONS. Prose quotations of 4 lines or less should be incorporated
into your own text and enclosed within single quotation marks. As with short verse quotations,
internal quotations (quotations appearing within the material you are presenting) should be set off
within double quotation marks. Care must be taken to ensure that these passages are
punctuated/incorporated grammatically, so that the clarity of your own argument is not marred.

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Example. The following demonstrates how short prose quotations should be incorporated into your
own text:

In his essay ‘Resistance to Civil Government’, Thoreau first says that he could ‘accept the motto,

“That government is best which governs least” ’, and then modifies this statement to ‘That

government is best which governs not at all’. To him government is ‘at best but an expedient’.

Note: Single quotation marks distinguish Thoreau’s words from the student’s, and double quotation
marks further distinguish Thoreau’s own quotation of another author’s work which is embedded
in the passage. Note the positioning of commas and full stops outside the quotation marks.

2.5. LONG PROSE QUOTATIONS. Quotations of 4 lines or longer are blocked off from your
text by indenting and single-spacing, with double-spacing before and after the passage. Once again,
quotation marks are omitted, though retained for internal quotations.

Example. Your essay would read:

Lawrence passionately espoused the belief in the inherent interrelation between our spiritual and

physical selves, as Mark Spilka quite rightly highlights in observing:

[INDENTED] What we see, then, in Sons and Lovers, is an embryonic conflict between two
religious concepts: namely, the spiritual infinite and the primitive indefinite --
the Gothic and the ‘Norman’ arch, the Cathedral and the rainbow, or . . .
Christ Risen, in the spirit and Christ Risen, glad and whole, in the Flesh. This
conflict is at the core of The Rainbow. . . .

Note the lack of quotation marks around the whole passage (though they appear in connection with a
quotation within the passage). These are unnecessary because a quotation of this length is set off
from your own prose through indentation and single-spacing.

2.6. FRAMING/INCORPORATING YOUR QUOTATIONS. Quotations should not be dropped

carelessly into your essay, but require careful framing. This allows your reader to identify the source
of this new material and its particular relevance to your argument. Although all quotations require
this kind of contextualising, longer quotations -- physically isolated from your own text and
containing a significant amount of data -- are especially likely to receive inadequate framing unless
you are careful.
(See Example 2.6. immediately below.)

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Example. This gives the barest indication of the necessary groundwork. Your essay would read:

Thoreau is noted for his independent -- even anarchic -- thinking. In his essay ‘Resistance to Civil

Government’, in which he championed the rights of the individual over the oppressive control of an

all-powerful state, Thoreau writes:

[INDENTED] I heartily accept the motto, ‘That government is best which governs least’; and I
should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it
finally amounts to this, which also I believe -- ‘That government is best which
governs not at all’, and when men are prepared for it, that will be the best kind
of government they will have. Government is at best but an expedient; but most
governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient.

Here we see Thoreau clearly suspicious of the centralisation of power, and indeed, he seems to be

characterising even the best forms of government as no more than a necessary evil.

Note: In this example the quotation is not only properly introduced for the reader, but follow-up
commentary is also provided in which the author interprets the passage and then begins to give a
further indication of its precise relevance to her/his argument.

2.7. PLAGIARISM. Plagiarism is presenting as your own the work of somebody else. It may take
many forms:

1. Submitting work written by, or with the assistance of, somebody else.
2. Using the exact, word-for-word language of someone else without using quotation marks
and without indicating the source of the material.
3. Paraphrasing, or summarising ideas or opinions without acknowledging the source.
4. Using the same essay of your own in two or more modules without the written
permission of the lecturers involved.

When you write an essay, you must indicate properly and fully every time you paraphrase,
summarise, or quote the words or ideas of others.

The misappropriation of another’s work, whether done intentionally or not, is an extremely serious
offence. It is punishable at the very least by a failing mark for the essay (possibly the module as
well), and can result in dismissal from the University. It is the responsibility of each student to be
familiar with the scholarly conventions of quotation and citation, and to ensure that no aspect of the
definition of plagiarism appearing above could be said to apply to any portion of their written work.

3. CITATION

3.1. GENERAL REMARKS. Citation refers to the means by which you acknowledge the exact
sources of quotations, ideas, and any other material used in the research, writing, or production of
your assignment. Careful citation will distinguish your own ideas from those of others, and will
allow readers to pursue topics beyond your own text. See also, Plagiarism (2.7.).

3.2. SYSTEMS OF CITATION. It is NOT TRUE in English modules that it ‘does not matter’
how you present your citations and references, ‘as long as you are simply consistent’. The English
Subject Team recognises two systems of citation for assignments set in English modules. The
MHRA system must be used for work submitted on literature modules, while the Harvard system is
required on language modules. For a more detailed description of the MHRA guidelines, including
a wider variety of sample references of source materials, consult the MHRA Style Book (5th edn.),
available in the Harrison Learning Centre and the Campus Bookstore. For Harvard guidelines,
consult the University of Wolverhampton libraries and learning centres’ pamphlet, ‘Harvard
Referencing from Print and Electronic Sources’.
3A. CITATION -- LITERATURE MODULES (MHRA SYSTEM).

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3A.1. FOOTNOTES/ENDNOTES. When you cite material in your own text that needs to be
acknowledged, you can use a footnote or an endnote. Place a number in superscript (i.e. raised
slightly above the line) after the text you want to cite. This should correspond to a number either at
the bottom of the page (footnote) or at the end of the document (endnote). The footnote or endnote
will then give the necessary information about your source (e.g. author, full title, editor and
translator, place of publication, publisher, and date). Always number notes consecutively (1, 2, 3 . . .
) in your own text.

3A.2. NOTE PLACEMENT & FORMAT. Whether you choose to use footnotes or endnotes, be
consistent throughout your document. Most word-processing programmes will automatically
number notes and place them. If you are typing or handwriting and using footnotes, triple-space
between the last line of your text and the first numbered footnote. Single-space each note; double-
space between notes. Print the note number slightly above the line; skip a space; begin the note (with
a capital letter); indent subsequent lines. If you print notes at the end of the paper (endnotes), use the
format above and list them under the heading: Notes.

Example. 27 Margot Heinemann, ‘How Brecht Read Shakespeare’, in Political Shakespeare: New
Essays in Cultural Materialism, ed. by Jonathan Dollimore and Alan Sinfield
(Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1985), pp. 1-35 (p. 21).

Note: The entry gives an indication of the page numbers for the entire article, as well as that for the
specific page containing the information that appears in your text.

3A.3. SHORT NOTE FORMS. When citing a source for which you have already written a full
note, use a short form, usually the author’s last name (or a short form of the Title) followed by the
particular page reference .

Example. 28 Heinemann, pp. 208-9.

For multiple citations of more than work by the same author, you would include a reference to the
title in shortened form to distinguish the relevant work from the other source.

Example. 29 Heinemann, ‘Brecht’, pp. 208-9.

3A.4. SAMPLE FORMAT FOR FOOTNOTES/ENDNOTES IN MHRA STYLE.

(See section 3A.6. below for the formatting of entries in a bibliography.)

Book: Information should be given in the following order: Author's name; Title of book, italicised;
Editor, translator, etc.; Edition, if other than first; Number of volumes; Place of publication, the name
of the publisher, the date of publication (enclosed in parenthesis, with a colon separating the place
from the publisher, and a comma separating publisher from date); Volume number; Page number(s),
preceded by ‘p.’ or ‘pp.’, of the particular reference.

Example. James J. Barnes, Free Trade in Books: A Study of the London Book Trade since
1800 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1964), p. 31.

Article in Book: Information should be given in the following order: Author's name; Title of article
in single quotation marks; The word ‘in’ (preceded by a comma) followed by title, editor's name, and
full publication details of book; First and last page numbers of article cited, preceded by ‘pp.’; Page
number(s), in parenthesis and preceded by ‘p.’ or ‘pp.’, of the particular reference.

Example. See Example in 3A.2.

[Continued:]

[Footnote/ endnote format in MHRA Style - continued:]

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Article in Journal: Information should be given in the following order: Author's name; Title of
article, in single quotation marks; Title of journal, italicised; Volume number, in Arabic numerals;
Year(s) of publication, in parentheses; First and last page numbers of article cited; Page number(s), in
parentheses and preceded by ‘p.’ or ‘pp.’ of the particular reference.

Example. Richard Hillyer, ‘In More than Name Only: Jonson’s “To Sir Horace Vere”’,
Modern Language Review 85 (1990), pp. 1-11 (p. 8).

Lecture: Information should be given in the following order: Lecturer's name; Title of lecture
enclosed in single quotation marks; the word, Lecture; Place of delivery, institution, full date,
enclosed in parentheses.

Example. Urszula Clark, ‘Introduction to Stylistics’, Lecture (Wolverhampton:

University of Wolverhampton, 22 October 2003).

Internet: As far as possible, follow the style used for printed publications as detailed above.
Information should be given in the following order: Author's name (if given); Title of article or
document, in single quotation marks; Title of journal, newsletter, or conference, italicised; Volume
number, issue number, or other identifying number; Year or date of publication, in parentheses; Full
address (Universal Resource Locator – URL) of the resource, in angle brackets < >; Date on which
the resource was consulted, in square brackets [ ]; Location of the passage cited, in parentheses – i.e.,
the number of the relevant paragraph(s) or page(s) out of the total number posted. [For resources
indicating no paragraph numbers, use ‘n.par.’]

Online journal articles: Take care to follow the format of the URL exactly and remember that
addresses are case sensitive. Ideally the address should not be divided over two lines, but if this
cannot be avoided, break at a forward slash and DO NOT introduce a hyphen.

Example Steven Sohmer, ‘The Lunar Calendar of Shakespeare’s King Lear’,

Early Modern Literary Studies, 5.2 (1999) <http://purl.oclc.org/
emls/05-2/sohmlear.htm> [accessed 28 January 2000] (para.3 of 17).

Note: Give the date on which the relevant section of the resource was last accessed, as this will
ensure that the accuracy of your reference will not be undermined by any subsequent changes to
either the content or location of the resource.

Websites: When citing from ‘www’ pages generally, follow this template: Author's name (if
given), title of web page (found at the top of the browser window), title of page or document, date
created or updated (if given), URL, date accessed.

Example. Alan Allport, Orwell: the Chestnut Tree Café, ‘An Orwell Biography’, December
1997, http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/ctc/docs/
intro.htm#An%20Orwell%20Biography, [accessed 3 December 2003].

Online databases: Online databases may be unique electronic publications (Example (a) below), or
they may provide collections of electronic versions of existing publications (Example (b)
below). For the latter, where possible, cite the details of original print editions as well as a
reference to the electronic database into which they are incorporated.

Example (a). Kent Bach, ‘Performatives’, in Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy

<http://www.rep.routledge.com> [accessed 3 October 2001].

[Continued:]

[Footnote / endnote format in MHRS Style – continued:]

Example (b). Davis McCombs, ‘Star Chamber’ in Ultima Thule (New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press, 2000), p. 4, in Database of Twentieth-Century American
Poetry, in Literature Online <http:lion.chadwyck.co.uk> [accessed
20 September 2002].

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Special Note on using internet sources: Internet source material needs to be evaluated for its
reliability just as you would/should for any bibliographic source. Anyone with basic computing skills
can set up a website, and the mere appearance of a given piece of information on the internet does
not make that data accurate or ‘true’. Material taken from the internet, then, should preferably come
from refereed sources, or at the very least from websites affiliated with institutions/individuals who
are both academically reputable and accountable. Please note also that Sparknotes and other
electronic equivalents of bibliographic A-Level study guides such as Yorknotes are considered
inappropriate sources for university-level study, and thus should not be used for your coursework.

Recordings of popular music: Reference to recordings of popular music are cited differently from
classical music, as the performer and a particular recording is often more significant than the
composer:
Performer. Title of song in single quotation marks. Title of album or larger work in which the piece
cited was published, in italics. Publisher. Year. Original year of publication in brackets, if
applicable. CD reference [often on spine or back cover]. Note that ttems are separated by
full stops.
Example. The Beatles. ‘A Day in the Life’. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
EMI Records Ltd. 1987 [1967]. CDP 7 46442 2.

Recordings of classical music: With reference to recordings of classical music, when the
composer’s identity is often judged to be more significant than the artist or orchestra performing
the piece, incorporate the following items, as relevant, again separating items by full stops:
Author or composer. Title of shorter work [if applicable], in single quotation marks. Title of
larger work in which the piece cited was published, in italics. Artist, orchestra, band, etc.
Conductor. Publisher. Year. Original year of publication in brackets, if applicable. CD
reference [often on spine or back cover]. First names of composers, artists, conductors, etc.,
may be omitted if not deemed necessary.

Example. Johannes Brahms. Symphony No. 2. Weiner Phiharmoniker. Cond.

Carlo Maria Giuline. Columbia Records. 1991. 435 348-2.

Films, Videos, DVDs: References to films should include the following as a minimum, and
separated by full stops as with music recordings: Title. Director. Distributor. Date. If a videotape or
DVD version of the original was consulted, add publication details to the end of the data for the
original work.

Examples. The Grapes of Wrath. Dir. John Ford. 20th-Century Fox. 1940.

Annie Hall. Dir. Woody Allen. Orion. 1978. Columbia Tri-star

videotape. 1992.
Note: Names of other artists may be given after that of the director. First names may be omitted if
not deemed necessary.

Television programmes: Follow the following guidelines: Title of episode, in quotation marks.
Title of programme, in italics or underlined. Title of series. Network. Broadcast date. Original date
(if different) in brackets.

Example. ‘Wolf in the Fold’. Star Trek. E4. 26 September 2002. [1967].

Note: References to radio broadcasts would follow a similar format.

CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, Floppy Disks: References to material published in these formats should
follow the referencing templates outlined above, adding at the end the phrase ‘[on CD-ROM]’,
etc.

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3A.5. BIBLIOGRAPHY. The bibliography lists works you have consulted while researching or
writing your document, whether or not you have actually cited them in your notes. A bibliography is
always arranged alphabetically (see 3A.6. below), and appears at the very end of your document,
after any text or endnotes.

Bibliographies are often divided up into primary and secondary sources. A primary source
contains material which falls within the main focus of your study. If you were writing a dissertation
on the works of Charles Dickens, for instance, your primary sources would be anything written by
Dickens, including his novels, journalistic work, letters, diaries. Secondary sources would comprise
material written about Dickens and his work: i.e., biographies, critical analysis of his work in articles
or books, scholarly introductions to the novels or editions of collected letters.

3A.6. BIBLIOGRAPHIC FORM in MHRA STYLE. While a bibliographic entry contains

virtually the same kinds of information as a note, the format is slightly different, as in the following
example.

Example. Heinemann, Margot, ‘How Brecht Read Shakespeare’, in Political Shakespeare:

New Essays in Cultural Materialism, ed. by Jonathan Dollimore and Alan Sinfield
(Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1985), pp. 202-230.

Since bibliographic entries are alphabetised, the author’s surname comes first The page numbers at
the end of this entry refer to the pages of the entire article in question. When citing books in
bibliographies, page numbers are not normally included. See the MHRA Style Guide for complete
guidelines covering the citation and referencing of all forms of publication (copies available in the
Harrison Learning Centre).

3B. CITATION -- LANGUAGE MODULES (HARVARD SYSTEM)

3B.1. AUTHOR-DATE SYSTEM. In the Harvard system, whenever a source is cited in your text,
its author’s surname and its year of publication are inserted. If the author's surname occurs naturally
in the sentence, the year is given in parenthesis; if not, both name and date are so given.

Example. Halliday (1975) describes . . .

When the same
In a recent study on humour (Holmes, 1995) it is argued that . . . .
author has
published more than one cited document in the same year, these are distinguished by adding lower
case letters (a,b,c, etc.) after the year and within the parenthesis.

Example. Chomsky (1978a) discussed the subject . . . .

If there are two authors, the surnames of both should be given before the date. If there are more than
two authors, the surname of the first author only should be given, followed by et al.

Example. This work (Graddol et al) shows . . . .

Anonymous works are shown by ‘Anon’ in place of the first author's name.

Example. Elsewhere (Anon. 1968) it is shown that . . .

If different parts of a document are cited at different points in the text, the appropriate page or section
number(s) may be given in the text, following the date, and within the parentheses.

Example. Wilkinson (1971b, p. 18) describes . . . .

3B.2. BIBLIOGRAPHY. At the end of the text the citations are listed as bibliographical references
arranged alphabetically by authors' surnames and then, when necessary, by date and letter.

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3B.3. BIBLIOGRAPHIC FORM IN HARVARD STYLE.

Book: Cite as follows for single and multiple author:

Example. CHILD, D. (1986). (1986) Psychology and the teacher, 4th edn., London, Holt,
Rinehard & Winston.

GALLOWAY, D. and GOODWIN, C. (1987). The education of disturbing

children, London, Longman.

Article in Book: Cite author's surname in capitals, followed by a comma and the initials of author's
forenames in capitals, full stop, year of publication in parentheses, title of contribution in lower case
and within single quotation marks followed by the word ‘in’, surname of editor of publication in
capitals, comma, initials of editor, full stop, followed by ed. in parentheses, title of book in lower
case italics (or underlined), comma, place of publication, publisher, full stop.

Example. BLYTH, A. (1988) ‘Appraising and assessing young children's understanding of

industry’ in SMITH, D. (ed.) Industry in the primary school curriculum,
Lewes, Falmer Press.

Article in Journal: Cite the author's surname in capitals, comma, initials of author's forenames in
capitals, full stop, year of publication in parentheses, then title of contribution in lower case within
single quotation marks, comma, title of periodical in italics (or underlined), comma, volume, then
part or issue number in parentheses, comma, pagination, full stop.

Example. KYSEL, F. (1988) ‘Ethnic background and examination results’, Educational

Research 30, (2), pp. 83-89.

Lecture: Cite the lecturer's surname in capitals, followed by a comma and the initials of lecturer's
forenames in capitals, full stop, year of delivery in parentheses, title of lecture in lower case enclosed
in single quotation marks, the word ‘lecture’, comma, place of delivery, institution, full stop.

Example. CLARK, U. (2003), ‘Introduction to stylistics’, lecture, Wolverhampton, University

of Wolverhampton.

Internet: Cite the author's surname in capitals, comma, initials of author's forenames in capitals, full
stop, year of publication in parentheses, then title of contribution in lower case within single
quotation marks, comma, title of periodical, newsletter or conference in italics (or underlined),
comma, volume, then part or issue number in parentheses, comma, number of pages or paragraphs (if
given) or n.pag. (‘no pagination’), comma, publication medium (online), comma, name of computer
network, comma, date of access.

Example. MOULTHROP, S. (1991), ‘You Say You Want a Revolution? Hypertext and the
Laws of Media’, Postmodern Culture 1 (3), 53 pars., online, internet, 10 Jan. 1993.

Soecial Note on using Internet Sources: Internet source material needs to be evaluated for its
reliability just as you would/should for any bibliographic source. Anyone with basic computing skills
can set up a website, and the mere appearance of a given piece of information on the internet does not
make that data accurate or ‘true’. Material taken from the internet, then, should preferably come
from refereed sources, or at the very least from websites affiliated with institutions/individuals who
are both academically reputable and accountable. Please note also that Sparknotes and other
electronic equivalents of bibliographic A-Level study guides such as Yorknotes are considered
inappropriate sources for university-level study, and thus should not be used for your coursework.

4. REVISING PROSE

4.1. WORD LENGTH. Many of your assignments will contain a minimum and/or maximum word
length. Your task, however, is to write effective prose within these limits and this means saying what
you mean in as few words as possible. Don’t confuse wordiness with word length. When revising

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your prose, cut out the excess. If this drops you below the word length, add substance to make up the
difference.

4.2. PACING. Give yourself plenty of time to think about, research, write and revise an assignment.
An overnight sensation, we’re afraid, is the exception rather than the rule.

4.3. DRAFTING. Some writers (especially those with word processors) revise their prose as they
go; others write until they have completed their outline. At some point, however, all writers should
have a draft that resembles the dimensions stipulated by the assignment. It is a good idea to print out
this version as if it were a final draft (double-spaced, paginated). You should then read through it,
pencil in hand, and ask the kinds of questions any reader would ask. Is the argument clearly set up
and developed? Are the transitions between paragraphs logical? Is the writing clear, effective,
enjoyable? Does the essay follow the guidelines of this Style Handbook? Make notes on the draft to
help you in your revisions. Below are some common problems you should look out for.

4.4. REVISE OR REWRITE? It’s often better to revise prose rather than to start from scratch.
Essays, paragraphs, and sentences often contain prompts for their own cures, as in the following
examples.

4.4.1. WEAK VERBS. Writers often overuse forms of the verb ‘to be’ (e.g. is, are , was, were)
when other, more active verbs could be more effective.

Example. Draft: Throughout his career, Fitzgerald was in search of the truth behind the
dream. (13 words)

Revision: Throughout his career, Fitzgerald sought the truth behind the dream.
(10 words)

4.4.2. PASSIVE VOICE. The passive voice is rarely valuable. Often it conceals vital information
(e.g. the subject of the verb). Use the active voice whenever possible.

Example. Draft: The poet was taught that nature was cruel.

Revision: [Experience? Suffering?] taught the poet that nature was cruel.

4.4.3. IMPERSONAL CONSTRUCTIONS. Introductory phrases like ‘There is’, ‘It is’, ‘It is clear
that’, and ‘It can be seen that’ should be used for necessary emphasis only. Usually, they can be
eliminated with no loss of sense.

Example. Draft: It is society that is at fault. (7 words)

4.4.4. GRATUITOUS PROSE.
Revision: Society is at fault. (4 words) Avoid over-writing.

Example. Draft: As the well-known English poet, William Wordsworth, puts into writing in
his famous poem, ‘Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey’ . . . .
(23 words)

Revision: As Wordsworth writes in Tintern Abbey . . . . (6 words)

4.4.5. PREPOSITIONAL PROSE. Sentences containing two or more prepositional phrases can
often be expressed more directly.

Example. Draft: Shakespeare writes in his sonnet about the relationship of the
season of Autumn to two lovers. (17 words)

Revision: Shakespeare’s sonnet relates Autumn to the two lovers. (8 words)

4.4.6. REPETITIVE PROSE. The frequent repetition of words or phrases in a given paragraph,
page, or essay, often signals more than a writer’s need for a thesaurus. Repetitions often mark places
where the writer could pay more attention to sentence transitions and larger developments in the
argument.

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4.5. PROOF-READING. After you have revised your draft and worked it up into its final form,
you should still carefully proof-read the document before turning it in. Any further corrections
should be neatly added with a black pen.

5. GRAMMAR

Recommended text: Thomson, A. J. and A. V. Martinet, A Practical English Grammar, 4th edn.,
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991).

5.1. APOSTROPHES. ’s is used with singular and plural nouns not ending in s:

Example. a student’s assignment; a dog’s life; a writer’s muse; women’s writing

A simple apostrophe (’) is used with plural nouns ending in s:

Example. the students’ union; the dead poets’ society; a writers’ dinner.

5.2. DATES. Do not use apostrophes when expressing decades or centuries in figures:

Example. not the 1920’s; 1840’s; 1700’s but the 1920s; 1840s; 1700s.

Dates used as adjectives have a hyphen:

Example. not twentieth century poetry but twentieth - century poetry;

5.3. ITS/IT’S. Possessive adjectives are: my; your; his; her; its; our; your; their. Here, no
apostrophe is used with its:

Example. its circumference; its poetic form; its problem.

It’s with an apostrophe is short for it is:

Example. it’s hot; it’s complex; it’s beautiful; it’s dead.

5.4. PARALLELISM. Keep co-ordinated structures parallel:

Example. not Helen plays the violin with feeling and accurately;
but Helen plays the violin with feeling and accuracy.

not A successful essay has a precise title, an argument which has been thought out
in advance, organisation that makes sense, and a statement of conclusion;
but A successful essay has a precise title, a carefully conceived argument, a
coherent organisation, and a succinct conclusion.

5.5. PRONOUNS AND ANTECEDENTS. A pronoun agrees in number, person, and gender with
its antecedent. One, someone, anyone, everybody, somebody, each, and a person are singular;
when they are used as antecedents, the pronouns and possessive adjectives referring to them should
be singular:

Example.
Anybody can make his or her (not their) life better by slowing down.
Each student taking that exam must sort out her or his (not their) own revision strategies.
Somebody forgot his or her (not their) jumper.

5.6. SUBJECTS AND VERBS. The verb in a sentence agrees with its subject, not with some
intervening word. Singular subjects take singular verbs; plural and compound subjects take plural
verbs:

Example. Disobedience of written laws is (not are) usually punished.

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 A combination of security and serenity has (not have) made Peter a new man.
Fred, together with his sisters, is (not are) planning a trip to Rome.
The Thompsons’ property -- houses, land, and money -- was (not are) lost.

Two subjects joined by or, or the correlative conjunctions either... or, neither... nor require the
verb to agree with the closer subject:

Example. Neither the headwaiter nor the cashier was (not were) able to finish the meal.
Either one large box or several small ones are (not is) needed by the clerk.
Neither Jack nor I am (not are) ready to take the test.

Collective nouns designating a unit take singular verbs; collective nouns referring to the individuals
of a group, especially when they are behaving differently, take plural verbs:

Example. The team is (not are) losing the game.

The committee is (not are) meeting at 3:00 o’clock .
The class are (not is) arguing among themselves

6. USEFUL AIDS

Barton, E. and G. Hudson, A Contemporary Guide to Literary Terms with Strategies

for Writing Essays About Literature (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004).

Gibaldi, J., MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 5th edition (New York: Modern
Language Association, 1999).

Harvard Referencing from Print and Electronic Sources (Wolverhampton: University of

Wolverhampton Libraries and Learning Centres, 1997).

Li, Xia and Nancy Crane, Electronic Styles: A Handbook for Citing Electronic In formation, 2nd edn.
(Medford, N.J.: Information Today, 2002).

Pirie, David B., How to Write Critical Essays (London: Routledge, 1991).

Price, Glanville et al, eds, MHRA Style Guide, (London: Modern Humanities Research Association,
2002).

Ritter, R. M., The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors, 2nd edn (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2000).

------ The Oxford Guide to Style (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).

Thomson, A.J. and A. V. Martinet, A Practical English Grammar, 4th edn (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1991).

Watson, George, Writing a Thesis: A Guide to Long Essays and Dissertations (London: Longman,
1987).

Weiner, Edmund S. and Joyce M. Hawkins, The Oxford Guide to the English Language (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1984).

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Last revised: December 2003

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