SU Student Guide to Editing and Style - Part 1

Table of Contents

1. Navigating the Writing Process
2. Avoiding comma splices, sentence fragments, and run-ons
3. Choosing between the active and passive voice
4. Choosing the correct pronoun
5. Avoiding dangling modifiers
6. Using apostrophes correctly
7. Using inclusive language.
8. Maintaining parallel structure when joining items in a series
9. Understanding the importance of academic integrity and avoiding plagiarism
10. Using conventions for manuscript form and documentation style
11. Using the Modern Language Association (MLA) citation and documentation system.
12. Using the American Psychological Association (APA) citation and documentation system
13. Using the University of Chicago citation and documentation system (also called "Turabian")
14. MLA/CHICAGO Quick Reference Guide
15. Figure 1: MLA First Body Page
16. Figure 2: MLA "Works Cited" Page

1. Navigating the Writing Process

Trust the writing process by saving concerns about sentence grammar and correctness until last; work first on creating and organizing an effective argument.

The writing program at Seattle University teaches writing as a process through which writers discover and shape meaning first for themselves and then for readers. The following "problem-focused" model of the writing process is stressed in the university's writing-across-the-curriculum program.

• Starting Point: The writer perceives a problem or question at issue, often by doubting a theory, noting unexplained data, pondering disagreements in the field, or identifying an unknown; the writer desires to change a reader's thinking about a question by adding new information, clarifying confusion, or arguing for a different view or perspective. The writer's summary "answer" to the initial problem or question becomes the writer's thesis statement.
• Exploration: The writer explores ideas through research and independent critical thinking; the writer discusses the problem with others and explores ideas through conversation, freewriting, making marginal notes in texts, journal-writing, idea-mapping, or rapid drafting of potential pieces of the essay; tests tentative theses.
• Incubation: The writer often takes time off from problem; does other things; lets ideas cook in the unconscious. These first three stages are all recursive -- as writers alternate between exploration and incubation, their perception of the problem may change.
• Writing first draft: The writer tries to get ideas down on paper in preliminary form, often by beginning with an informal outline or idea map. To avoid writer's block, expert writers lower expectations. They don't try to make first drafts perfect as they go.
• Reformulation or revision: Having gone once through the territory, writers now re-see their arguments, thinking through the problem again. Many writers report dismantling their first drafts and starting afresh, often discovering their true thesis at the conclusion of their first draft. At this point, writers often make more detailed outlines while considering the reader's need for transitions and topic sentences in paragraphs. Several drafts are often necessary as the argument is gradually made clearer and more persuasive to the reader.
• Editing: At this point craftsmanship takes over from initial creativity. The writer worries about unity, coherence, paragraphing, sentence structure. Finally the writer begins to polish the draft by correcting spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors. Often, the recursive nature of the process is again felt as the writer, working on sentence structure, discovers new meanings or intentions, which require rethinking whole or major parts of the essay.

The rest of this online guide focuses on sentence correctness and effective style.

2. Avoiding comma splices, sentence fragments, and run-ons

Readers make sense out of writing by interpreting punctuation marks that signal the beginnings and ends of sentences and that keep related groups of words together inside sentences. You will have learned this skill if you can invent your own sentences that follow these patterns:

______________; however, ______________.
____________; _______, however, ________.
__________________, and ______________.
Because _____________, ________________.
__________________because_____________.

When you master the above skills, you will be able to (A) avoid sentence fragments, comma splices, and run-ons; to (B) use commas effectively to set off introductory, concluding, or interrupting elements; and to (C) eliminate needless commas.

A. Avoid sentence fragments, comma splices, and run-ons.

A sentence fragment occurs whenever a writer punctuates a part of a sentence as if it were a complete sentence.

Complete sentence: The baby giggles in her crib.

Fragment: In her crib. [A phrase only, no subject and verb]

Fragment: The baby giggling in her crib. [There is no complete verb. This fragment could be fixed by changing "giggling" to "giggles" or by adding "is" in front of "giggling."]

Fragment: While the baby giggles in her crib. [The presence of the subordinating conjunction "while" makes this word group a subordinate clause that cannot stand alone. [You can fix this fragment either by removing "while" or by adding a main clause: "While the baby giggles in her crib, Uncle Edgar makes peek-a-boo faces."]

A comma splice occurs whenever two complete sentences are joined only by a comma. A run-on occurs whenever two complete sentences are joined with no punctuation whatsoever.

Two complete sentences: The train rumbled past my window. It was loaded with coal.

Comma splice: The train rumbled past my window, it was loaded with coal.

Run-on: The train rumbled past my window it was loaded with coal.

Comma splices and run-ons are most apt to occur when the second sentence begins with words like "however," "therefore," "then," "thus," and "nevertheless" (called conjunctive adverbs) or with transition expressions such as "on the other hand," or "as a result."

Comma splice: Jose hasn't changed the oil in the car, however, he is still willing to take it to the game.

Corrected by separating into two sentences: Jose hasn't changed the oil in the car. However, he is still willing to take it to the game.

Ways to Fix a Comma Splice or Run-On

To fix a comma splice or a run-on, you need to know the basic rules for joining two independent sentences.

• Way 1: Join the two independent sentences with a semicolon. When you use this method, you will often use a conjunctive adverb (words like "however," "moreover," "thus," or "therefore") in the second main clause to signal the logical relationship between the clauses. Unlike conjunctions, which always go at the head of their clause, conjunctive adverbs can move around inside their clause. By themselves they cannot join sentences.

Jose hasn't changed the oil in the car; however, he is still willing to take it to the game.

He didn't finish his homework; therefore he can't go to the movies.

• Way 2: Join the two independent sentences with a comma and a coordinating conjunction. To master this rule, memorize the seven coordi-nating conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, yet, and so. When you join two sentences with these words, always use a comma in front of them.

Jose hasn't changed the oil in the car, but he is still willing to take it to the game.

He didn't finish his homework, so he can't go the movies.

I explained to the police officer that my speedometer was broken, but she still gave me a ticket.

• Way 3: Turn one of the sentences into an adverb clause by using a subordinate conjunction. When you use this method, the adverb clause, which begins with a subordinating conjunction such as because, when, if, although, and until, can come either at the beginning or the end of the sentence. The general punctuation rule for adverb clauses is as follows: If the adverb clause opens the sentence, place a comma after it. If the adverb clause ends the sentence, do not use a comma.

Although Jose hasn't changed the oil in the car, he is still willing to take it to the game.

Because he didn't finish his homework, he can't go to the movies.

Adverb clause comes first: Because he didn't finish his homework, he can't go to the movies.

Adverb clause comes last: He can't go to the movies because he didn't finish his homework.

An exception is the subordinating conjunction "although," which needs a comma in front of it even when the adverb clause comes at the end of the sentence.

The police officer still gave me a ticket, although I explained to her that my speedometer was broken.

B. Use commas effectively to set off introductory, concluding, or interrupting elements.

The key rule to remember here is never to use a single comma inside the core of a sentence. The sentence core is the subject, verb, and any complements such as a direct object or subjective complement. Once you are inside the core of the sentence, use commas only in pairs to set off an interrupting element. However, before or after the core you often use a single comma to separate the introductory or concluding element from the core.

Sentence core: My dog chased the cat around the room.

Interrupting element inside the core: My dog, barking loudly and snapping his teeth, chased the cat around the room. (Note the use of two commas, one on each side of the interrupting element.)

Introductory element: Barking loudly and snapping his teeth, my dog chased the cat around the room.

Concluding element: My dog chased the cat around the room, his jaws snapping angrily.

C. Eliminate needless commas.

A good rule for commas is this: When in doubt, leave them out. Especially, don't use commas in the following situations:

Error -- single comma inside the sentence core: My dog, chased the cat around the room. [Fix by eliminating the needless (and confusing) comma.]

Error -- comma in front of "and" joining only two items: She played tennis all afternoon, and then went dancing. [Fix by eliminating the comma.]

There are only two cases when a comma is used in front of an "and": (1) When the "and" joins two complete sentences; and (2) when the "and" joins the last item of a series of three or more elements.

Correct: She played tennis all afternoon, and then she went dancing. [or] She played tennis all afternoon, went dancing in the evening, and then went out for a late night coffee.

3. Choosing between the active and passive voice

Be able to transpose sentences between the active and the passive voice; choose the active voice unless the context of the passage focuses on the receiver rather than the doer of the action

Active and passive voices occur whenever you use an action verb that has a receiver of the action as well as a doer. (Grammarians call these "transitive" verbs.) The active voice occurs when the doer of the action is the subject and the receiver of the action is the direct object.

Active voice: Our cat just caught a mouse.

The passive voice occurs when the receiver of the action is the subject of the sentence. In such cases the doer of the action ends up as the object of the preposition "by" or is omitted completely from the sentence.

Passive voice: A mouse was just caught by our cat. The mouse was just caught. [In this last case the reader might ask "By what?"]

In general, experienced writers prefer active voice verbs because they are stronger and more economical than passive voice verbs.

Weak: The cake and ice cream were eaten, and then games were played.
Stronger: The children ate the cake and ice cream and then played games.

Whether you use the active or passive voice, however, depends upon the context of your sentence because the passive voice is appropriate whenever the receiver of the action is more important than the doer. The passive voice occurs frequently in scientific writing.

Passive voice in scientific writing: The distillate is then removed from the liquid.

4. Choosing the correct pronoun

Choose the correct case of pronouns, particularly in compound constructions.

English uses nominative pronouns as subjects and subjective complements ("She won the race" "It is they who need the paperwork by Friday") and objective pronouns for objects and for subjects of infinitives ("Jim saw her" "Give the ball to me" "The dean wants him to type the memo before lunch"). This rule generally causes no difficulty except in compound constructions.

Wrong: Please give the present to she and Ms. Parker. Let's you and I go to the movies after dinner. Jack wants she and I to meet Sally in the parking lot.
Corrected: Please give the present to her and Ms. Parker. Let's you and me go to the movies after dinner. Jack wants her and me to meet Sally in the parking lot.

5. Avoiding dangling modifiers

Avoid dangling participles and other dangling modifiers.

When you begin a sentence with a participle or infinitive phrase or other verbal modifier, the word it modifies must be the subject of the sentence. Otherwise the phrase "dangles" with nothing to modify. To correct dangling modifiers, you need to reword the sentence so that the word modified by the opening phrase is the subject. You can also convert the phrase into a subordinate clause with its own subject.

Dangling Modifiers: Firing again and again, the elephant dropped to its knees. [seems to imply the elephant fired again and again] Hearing footsteps in the hall, my heart began to pound. [seems to imply that your heart heard the footsteps] While searching for the missing wallet, the long-lost picture of my grandmother showed up behind a dresser. [seems to imply that your grandmother's picture was looking for its missing wallet] To learn a foreign language, daily study is necessary. [It is "you" that is learning a foreign language, not daily study.]
Corrected: Firing again and again, I watched the elephant drop to its knees. When I heard the footsteps in the hall, my heart began to pound. While searching for the missing wallet, I discovered the long-lost picture of my grandmother behind a dresser. To learn a foreign language, you must study every day. 

6. Using apostrophes correctly

Use apostrophes correctly to show possession; do not use apostrophes in plurals.

To make a noun possessive, first determine whether it is singular or plural and then add an 's if the word doesn't end in s and an ' if it does end in s.

The man's car [the car belonging to the man]
The men's cars [the cars belonging to the men]
The cats' food [the food belonging to the cats]
The cat's food [the food belonging to the cat]

7. Using inclusive language

For much of the history of our language, grammarians considered the generic use of masculine pronouns ("Everyone should bring his book to class tomorrow") or the generic use of "man" ("peace and good will to men everywhere") to include both men and women. Most contemporary writers, however, prefer more inclusive language. To avoid using masculine pronouns for both men and women, you have several choices:

Choice 1: Use the plural rather than the singular.

All students should bring their books to class tomorrow.

Choice 2: Alternate between masculine and feminine pronouns

Another choice -- the one most commonly used in scholarly writing and in some popular writing -- is to alternate between masculine and feminine forms. In one paragraph use "he" and "him" to refer to both sexes; in the next paragraph, switch to "she" and "her."

Choice 3: Occasionally use "he or she," "his or her," or "him or her," but not "he/she" or "(s)he"

Occasionally it is acceptable to use both a masculine and feminine pronoun if your sentence doesn't become inelegantly clogged. For academic writing, do not use the bureaucratic "his/her" or "(s)he."

Bureaucratic: Everyone should bring his/her book tomorrow
Preferred: Everyone should bring his or her book tomorrow.

8. Maintaining parallel structure when you join items in a series.

Whenever you join two or more items in series, those items must all have the same grammatical structure.

Wrong: A Gravenstein apple is good for cooking and that is also excellent for eating. He learned that you need plenty of strength to be a lumberjack and your life is always in some danger. This term paper is illogical, poorly documented, and should have been typed.

Corrected: A Gravenstein apple is good for cooking and excellent for eating. He learned that you need plenty of strength to be a lumberjack and that your life is always in some danger. This term paper is illogical, poorly documented, and illegible [or] This term paper, which should have been typed, is illogical and poorly document.

9. Understanding the importance of academic integrity and avoiding plagiarism.

Definition of plagiarism

Plagiarism is a form of academic cheating involving use of sources. It occurs in one of two ways: (1) by borrowing another person's language without the use of quotation marks or block indentation and (2) by borrowing another person's ideas without clear acknowledgement. Although many cultures value the ritualized use of language borrowed from others, in Western academic culture a scholar's academic integrity depends on scrupulous acknowledgment of another person's language or ideas. At Seattle University, plagiarism is a serious academic offense.

Using citations, attributive tags, and quotation marks (or block indentation) to signal use of another person's language or ideas

Whenever you borrow ideas or language from another person, you must acknowledge the borrowing through an in-text citation (MLA or APA systems) or a footnote or endnote (University of Chicago system). Explanations of these documentation systems occur later in this booklet. Whenever you borrow the language of another person, you must also quote the passage exactly using quotation marks or block indention. Additionally, mark the beginning of borrowed ideas or language with an attributive tag such as "According to Smith" or "Jones argues that . . ." When writing for a popular audience in a non-academic style, it is often permissible to use informal citations rather than a formal citation andbibliography ("In a recent speech at the Metropolis Rotary club, Mayor Jones said").

Examples of proper and plagiarized uses of a source

The following examples illustrate proper and plagiarized use of a passage from Juliet B. Schor's The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don't Need:

Original Passage from Schor

What, then, compels us to consume? Traditionally consumer desires have been prompted by exposure to the possessions and lifestyles of a reference group -- a comparison group located nearby in the social hierarchy.

Fair use of this passage: paraphrase

According to economist Juliet B. Schor, consumers have traditionally been motivated to purchase items that help them identify with a nearby comparison group that they wish to emulate (27).

[Here the writer paraphrases Schor's ideas rather than quoting Schor directly. Through the use of an attributive tag and a parenthetical page citation, the writer indicates that the ideas come from page 27 of a work by Juliet Schor. Full bibliographic information about Schor will be found in the "Works Cited" list at the end of the paper. The parenthetical page number indicates MLA style, explained later in this booklet.]

Fair use of this passage: quotation

According to economist Juliet B. Schor, consumers have been traditionally motivated to purchase items "by exposure to the possessions and lifestyles of a reference group," which is "located nearby in the social hierarchy" (27).

[Here the writer's use of Schor's exact words is indicated by quotation marks; the source is indicated by the attributive tag and the parenthetical page reference.]

Plagiarized use of the passage

According to economist Juliet B. Schor, consumer desires have been traditionally prompted by exposure to the possessions and lifestyles of a nearby reference group (27).

[Although the writer indicates the source through an attributive tag and parenthetical page number, this passage is plagiarized because it borrows without quotation marks too much of Schor's own language. Making small changes in a source's sentence structure or substituting occasional synonyms is not enough to avoid plagiarism.]

10. Using conventions for manuscript form and documentation style mandated by the discipline you are studying.

Overview

Academic disciplines develop their own conventions for manuscript form and documentation style based on disciplinary priorities and emphases. When you major in a discipline you show "insider" status by using that discipline's conventions for manuscript form and documentation. When you take courses outside your discipline, you realize that different conventions indicate differences in the way the discipline asks questions and conducts research. In this booklet we give brief explanations of the MLA system used in the humanities; the APA system used in the social sciences, nursing, and often in business; and the University of Chicago system often used in history and education. Because style conventions in the physical sciences and engineering differ considerably from field to field and from journal to journal, we have not attempted to include them in this booklet.

Generic rules for manuscript form

Unless instructed otherwise by your professor, use the following format for all your college papers.

1. Use white, twenty-pound, 8 ½ x 11 paper.
2. Make sure your printer produces solid, dark, easy-to-read text.
3. Generally use a conservative font such as Times New Roman or Courier set at 11 or 12 points both in the body of your text and in titles and bibliographies. Avoid the urge to create a fancy title page, which indicates "outsider" status.
4. Double space the text throughout, including quotations and bibliography.
5. Use 1" margins top and bottom, left and right.
6. Indent 5 spaces for paragraphs. Leave two spaces after periods and other terminal punctuation; leave one space after commas and other marks of punctuation.
7. Number pages consecutively throughout the manuscript including endnotes and bibliography. Place page numbers where mandated by the discipline's style manual. Most style manuals ask you to put your last name (MLA) or a running title (APA) in front of the page number as a header in the upper right corner.
8. Make a dash on a keyboard with two unspaced hyphens.
9. Make an ellipses with three spaced periods. Consult a handbook on how they are used. Also consult a handbook to learn the distinction between brackets [ ] and parentheses ( ).
10. Proofread carefully. It is permissible to make final corrections neatly in ink by crossing out errors and writing corrections above the crossout.
11. Staple your pages in the upper left hand corner. Do not place your essay in a binder.
12. Unless you are using the APA documentation style (explained later in this booklet), do not use a title page. Rather, type your name, your professor's name, the course number, and the date in the upper left hand corner of your paper (all double spaced); then double space and type your title centered, without underlines or all caps (capitalize first word and important words only); then double space and begin your text. This procedure follows the MLA format for first pages and is acceptable for University of Chicago system.

11. How to use the Modern Language Association (MLA) citation and documentation system.

The Modern Language Association (MLA) documentation and citation system is used in most humanities disciplines. As with all documentation systems, its purpose is to allow other scholars to follow the trail of a writer's research by quickly finding in their own libraries the ideas, data, and language that the writer borrowed from others. With the MLA system, the author does not use footnotes or endnotes to cite and document sources. Rather, the author cites borrowed material by placing brief references in parentheses within the text itself immediately following the borrowed material; complete bibliographic information is included in a list at the end of the paper called "Works Cited." The following basic information will help you get started using the MLA system. For full information consult Joseph Gibaldi, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed. (New York: Modern Language Association, 2003).

Format for in-text citations

• Most sources

In most cases, the author's name and the page number of the cited source are placed in parentheses inserted between the final quotation mark and the end punctuation. Do not place a comma between author's name and page numbers. Do not use p. or pp. to indicate page numbers.

According to one critic, "competitive acquisition has long been an American institution" (Schor 3).
[By finding "Schor" in the "Works Cited" list at the end of the paper, the reader can obtain full bibliographic information about the work.]

If the author's name has already been identified in an attributive tag, then only the page number is placed in parentheses:
According to Schor, "competitive acquisition has long been an American institution" (3).

• Special case 1: A work with two or more authors

For two or three authors, include all their names; for four or more authors, use first author's name plus "et al.," (abbreviation for Latin "and others").
(Hasegawa, Mabry, and Guillen 296)
(Olerud et al. 412)

• Special case 2: More than one work by the same author

If your paper uses more than one work by the same author, also include an abbreviated title after the author's name preceded by a comma.
According to one critic, "competitive acquisition has long been an American institution" (Schor, Overspent American 3).
[This citation indicates that the "Works Cited" list will include more than one work by Schor. It prompts the reader to look for a book with the abbreviated title Overspent American.]

• Special Case 3: A work without a named author

Often authors aren't identified for Web pages or for some kinds of short articles. Sometimes such texts have a corporate or foundational author (Brookings Institute; Center for Disease Control). In this case, use the corporate name for the author. Otherwise, use a short version of the title, making sure that the first word of the short title is also the first word of the full title because the entry in "Works Cited" will begin with that word. For example, for a Web article entitled "What Does Overcoming Consumerism Accomplish?" the in-text citation would be as follows: ("What Does Overcoming") [In the "Works Cited" list, the entry for this article would be alphabetized under "What"]

• Special case 4: Indirect quotation

To use a quotation that you found in another source, identify the author of the quotation in an attributive tag and indicate your source in the parenthetical citation preceded by "qtd. in" (for "quoted in"):
According to Leon Festinger, consumers gravitate to "situations where others are close" in "abilities and opinions" and they shy away from "situations where others are very divergent" (qtd. in Schor 27).
[The final "Works Cited" list will include Schor but not Festinger.]

• Special case 5: Downloaded material without page numbers

Articles downloaded from the Web or from a library database often have no page numbers
(unless downloaded in pdf. format). In such cases,
MLA says to omit page numbers from the parenthetical citation. Do not use page numbers from your printout itself because (a) printouts from other computer systems might have different page breaks and (b) these page numbers have no relationship to pages in the original source.

• Special case 6: Citing poetry, the Bible, drama

Rather than cite page numbers, it is customary for poetry to cite line numbers; for biblical quotations to cite book, chapter, and verse numbers; and for drama to cite act, scene, and line numbers.

• Special case 7: Location of parenthetical citation for block quotations

When a quotation takes more than four lines in your paper, MLA specifies the block quotation method, indented 10 spaces. Do not use quotation marks because the block indentation already indicates a quotation. Parenthetical citations are placed after the final punctuation mark in the block quotation.
Juliet Schor explains the basic mechanism behind the "new consumerism":
The new consumerism is also built on a relentless ratcheting up of standards. If you move into a house with a fifties kitchen, the presumption is that you will eventually have it redone, because that's a standard that has now been established. If you don't have air conditioning in your old car, the presumption is that when you replace it the new one will have it. (5-6)

Relationship of in-text citations to "Works Cited" list

In the MLA system, a writer places a complete bibliography, called "Works Cited," at the end of the paper. The "Works Cited" list is arranged alphabetically by authors' last name or by title of the work if there is no listed author. Every source cited in the body of the text must be included in the "Works Cited" list. Conversely, everything listed in "Works Cited" must be mentioned in the body of the text. The first word of the in-text citation (in most cases, the author's last name, but occasionally the title or the name of a Website) must also be the first word of the entry in the "Works Cited" list so that the reader can quickly match the in-text citation to the full bibliographic data contained in "Works Cited."

Format for the "Works Cited" list

Begin the list on a new sheet of paper with the words "Works Cited" centered one inch from the top margin and a page number that continues the pagination of the body text. Bibliographic entries should be double-spaced using the "hanging indentation" function in which second and subsequent lines for each entry are indented 5 spaces. In the MLA system, titles of books, journals, websites, and so forth are underlined rather than italicized. If the same author has more than one entry, begin the second and subsequent entries with three hyphens followed by a period rather than the author's name. A sample first page and sample "works Cited" list for an MLA formatted paper are shown in Figures 1 and 2 below.

Formats for entries in the "works Cited" list

The chart below provides a "Quick Reference Guide" for the most common kinds of MLA citations. For instances that don't fit this model, consult the latest edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.

12. How to use the American Psychological Association (APA) citation and documentation system

The American Psychological Association (APA) documentation and citation system is used in most of the social sciences. Like the MLA system, the APA uses parenthetical in-text citations and a concluding bibliography, which in APA is called "References." Because the social sciences rely extensively on empirical research, the dates of research studies are particularly important to researchers and are consequently highlighted in both in-text citations and the final bibliography. The following basic information will help you get started using the APA system. For full information consult The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed. (Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2001).

Format for in-text citations

• Most sources

In most cases, the author's name and the year of publication, separated by a comma, are placed in parentheses. If a passage is quoted or a table cited, then the page number is also included, preceded by p. or pp.
According to one critic, "competitive acquisition has long been an American institution" (Schor, 1998, p. 3).

If the author's name has already been identified in an attributive tag, then the date is placed immediately after the author's name while the page number comes at the end of the quotation:
Accord to Schor (1998), "competitive acquisition has long been an American institution" (p. 3).

• Special case 1: A work with two or more authors

For in-text citations, APA uses an ampersand (&) rather than and for joining authors' names when the citation is in parentheses. When the authors are named in an attributive tag, use and. For two authors, name both authors in all in-text references. For three, four, or five authors, name them all for the first reference; for subsequent references name the first author followed by "et al." For six or more authors name the first author followed by "et al." in all cases.
(Boone & Cirillo, 2002) or "Boone and Cirillo (2002) claim that . . ."
(Hasegawa, Mabry, & Guillen, 2003) [first reference]
(Hasegawa et al., 2003) [subsequent references]
(Olerud et al. 2003) [All references -- indicates six or more authors]

• Special case 2: More than one work by the same author

If your paper uses more than one work by the same author, the works can often be distinguished by different dates. However, if more than one work was published in the same year, APA uses letters following the date (for example, 2002a and 2002b) to distinguish them.
According to one critic, "competitive acquisition has long been an American institution" (Schor, 1998a, p. 3).
[This citation indicates that the "Reference" list will include more than one 1998 work by Schor. In the "References" list, other 1998 works will be listed 1998b, 1998c, and so forth.]

• Special Case 3: A work without a named author or without a date

Often authors aren't identified for Web pages or for some kinds of short articles. Sometimes such texts have a corporate or foundational author (Brookings Institute; Center for Disease Control). In this case, use the corporate name for the author. Otherwise, use a short version of the title, but make sure that the first word of the short title is also the first word of the full title because the entry will begin with that word in the "References" list. If a source doesn't have a date, use "n.d." For example, for the undated Web article entitled "What Does Overcoming Consumerism Accomplish?" the in-text citation would be as follows: (What does overcoming, n.d.)

• Special case 4: Indirect quotation

To use a quotation that you found in another source, indicate the author of the quotation in an attributive tag and indicate your source in the parenthetical citation preceded by "as cited in"):
According to L. Festinger, consumers gravitate to "situations where others are close" in "abilities and opinions" and they shy away from "situations where others are very divergent" (as cited in Schor, 1998, p. 27)
[The final "References" list will include Schor but not Festinger.]

• Special case 5: Downloaded material without page numbers

Articles downloaded from the Web or from a library database often have no page numbers (unless downloaded in pdf. format). In such cases, APA says to omit page numbers from the parenthetical citation. However, if paragraph numbers are available you should cite these preceded by "para."

• Special case 6: Citing poetry, the Bible, drama

Although it is rare to cite such works in an APA paper, follow the same procedures as in MLA by citing line numbers for poetry; book, chapter, and verse numbers for biblical quotations; and act, scene, line numbers for drama.

• Special case 7: Location of parenthetical citation for block quotations

When a quotation consists of 40 or more words, APA specifies the block quotation method, indented 5 spaces. Do not use quotation marks because the block indentation indicates a quotation. Parenthetical citations are placed after the final punctuation mark in the block quotation.
Juliet Schor (1998) explains that basic mechanism behind the "new consumerism":
The new consumerism is also built on a relentless ratcheting up of standards. If you move into a house with a fifties kitchen, the presumption is that you will eventually have it redone, because that's a standard that has now been established. If you don't have air conditioning in your old car, the presumption is that when you replace it the new one will have it. (pp. 5-6)

Relationship of in-text citations to "References" list

Same as MLA.

Format for the title page, body and reference list

APA has a distinctive format for the title page and uses a "running head" (short version of title) preceding page numbers in the upper right corner. (See the examples in Figures 3-6 on page 16.) Manuscripts intended for publication also have an "abstract" following the title page so that the body of the paper begins on page 3. The "Reference" list begins on a new page with the word "References" at the top, with only the R capitalized (don't bold face, don't use all caps). Format the reference page as in MLA, double-spacing all entries and using hanging indentation. If your list includes more than one work by the same author, arrange them in chronological order beginning with the earliest. If two or more of these sources have the same date, arrange them alphabetically and add "a," "b," "c," and so forth after the year. A sample title page, first page, and references list for an APA formatted paper are shown in Figures 3-6 in part 2 of the online Student Guide to Editing and Style.

Formats for entries in the "References" list

The chart below provides a "Quick Reference Guide" for the most common kinds of citations. For instances that don't fit this model consult the latest edition of The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Note that APA capitalizes only the first word of both article and book titles (but capitalizes all important words in journal titles), does not use quotation marks for article titles, uses initials rather than complete first names for authors, and places the date prominently as the second item in entries.

13. How to use the University of Chicago citation and documentation system (also called "Turabian")

The University of Chicago documentation and citation system (also known as "Turabian," named after the woman who popularized this style) is used by historians as well as scholars in many other disciplines. As with other documentation systems, its purpose is to allow other scholars to follow the trail of a writer's research by quickly finding in their own libraries the ideas, data and language that the writer borrowed from others. With the Chicago system, the author uses footnotes or endnotes to cite and document sources. (Consult your professor to determine whether to use footnotes or endnotes; they both contain the same information.) Historians prefer foot or endnotes rather than parenthetical citations for two reasons. First, because professional historians use archival material as the basis of their research, this material would be cumbersome and intrusive if cited according to the MLA style. Second, historians engage actively with the material in the note, using them as a form of aside or commentary that supports the main body of the text.

Three types of statements must be footnoted: 1) direct quotations, 2) controversial facts or opinions, and 3) statements that directly support the main points made in your paper. Controversial facts or opinions are those on which your sources disagree or which may surprise your reader. Statements of fact or opinion that support main points in your paper should be noted, but avoid cluttering your notes with incidental materials.

To create a note, use the footnote or endnote function on your computer to place a number at the end of the sentence or paragraph that contains the information to be documented. If you are documenting a direct quote, however, you must place the footnote immediately after the quoted material. If you choose to footnote two different things in the same sentence, put the footnote number after the word or phrase you want to footnote. All footnote reference number are set in superscript, and must be in Arabic (not Roman) numerals. Complete bibliographic information is included in a list at the end of the paper called "Bibliography." The following basic information will help you get started using the Chicago system. For full information consult Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1996).

Relationship of footnotes or endnotes to "Bibliography"

In the Chicago system, a writer places a complete list of all the works cited in the notes in a "Bibliography" at the end of the paper. The bibliography is arranged alphabetically by authors' last names or by titles of the work if there is no listed author. Every source cited in the notes must be included in the bibliography. Conversely, everything listed in the bibliography must be mentioned in the footnotes or endnotes. The notes, whether footnotes or endnotes, differ from entries in the "Bibliography" in three fundamental ways. First, in footnotes and endnotes the author's first name is noted first, followed by the last name. Second, commas, not periods, are used to separate author's name, title of work, and publication information. Third, the publication information (place of publication, publisher, and date of publication) is placed in parentheses, followed by page numbers, if necessary. (See the chart on page 17.)

Format for the "Bibliography"

Begin the list on a new sheet of paper with "Bibliography" centered one inch from the top margin and a page number that continues the pagination of the body text. Bibliographic entries should be arranged by author's last name, in alphabetical order, double-spaced using the "hanging indentation" function in which second and subsequent lines for each entry are indented 5 spaces. In the Chicago system, titles of books, journals, websites, and so forth are underlined rather than italicized. If the same author has more than one entry, begin the second and subsequent entries with six hyphens followed by a period rather than the author's name. A sample first page, same endnote page, and sample "Bibliography" list for a Chicago-formatted paper are shown in Figures 7-9 in part 2 of the online Student Guide to Editing and Style.

Formats for entries in "Footnotes" or "Endnotes"

The chart below provides a "Quick Reference Guide" for the most common kinds of Chicago footnote or endnote citations. For instances that don't fit this model, consult the latest edition of the Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations.

Format for entries in "Bibliography"

In the Chicago system, bibliographic entries follow the same format as "Works Cited" in MLA. Therefore use the MLA formats shown in the chart below. 

14. MLA/CHICAGO Quick Reference Guide*

[For entries in MLA "Works Cited" and Chicago "Bibliography"]

*Adapted from John D. Ramage, John C. Bean, and June Johnson. Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric with Readings 6th ed. New York: Longman, 2003, pp. 396-97. 

15. Figure 1: MLA First Body Page*

*The paragraph and heading should be double spaced.

16. Figure 2: MLA "Works Cited" Page

The "Works Cited" page should always be double spaced.

Click here for part 2 of the SU Student Guide to Editing and Style

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