Was and Were with the Subjunctive
This post explains when to use "was" and when to use "were" with subjunctive constructions Read More
Posts Authored by Joseph Wallace
Joseph Wallace copyedits articles for PMLA and writes posts for the Style Center. He received a PhD in English literature from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Before coming to the Modern Language Association, he edited articles for Studies in Philology and taught courses on writing and early modern literature.
Terms for Key Concepts
This post explains how to write about key concepts in MLA style. Read More
Does It Really Go without Saying? On Needless Phrases
This post explains when phrases like "of course" can be omitted Read More
Citation Generators and MLA Style
This post shows three examples of how to correct automatically generated citations in MLA style. Read More
Descriptions Used as Titles of Persons
Writers sometimes use short descriptive phrases in place of formal titles before people's names. Read More
Sports Terms in MLA Style
This post provides examples of sports term in MLA style. Read More
Chess Terms in MLA Style
This post shows you some examples of chess terms in MLA style. Read More
Five Common Grammar Questions
An MLA editor addresses five common grammar questions Read More
Five Commonly Misattributed Quotations
Quotations are frequently misattributed to famous people. This post examines five common examples. Read More
How to Avoid Bracketed Changes in Quotations
Writers sometimes use bracketed changes in quotations. But these changes are often unnecessary. Read More