Commas: Essential and Nonessential Elements

by Barney Latimer

The little comma wields a lot of power . . . Read More

Sing Along with Me!

by Zahra Brown

If a compound contains an adverb like "along" or "about," don't add extra hyphens: keep it together Read More

Be Skeptical When You Read Your First Draft

by Michael Kandel

At the core of what an editor does lies a skeptical frame of mind Read More

Using Social Justice Projects to Teach High School Writing

by Jessyca Mathews and Ellen C. Carillo

A high school teacher talks about using social justice projects to get students engaged in writing Read More

How do you make a plural out of the word so?

Someone might write, for example, “There are too many sos in this sentence,” in response to: So many people were present, so he said so,… Read More

How do I style a title or short title enclosed in parentheses in my parenthetical citation?

If a title or short title in parentheses must be given in a parenthetical citation, do not nest parentheses within parentheses. Instead, change the parentheses… Read More

How do I cite an online poem with no line numbers?

As the MLA Handbook notes, “When a source has no page numbers or any other kind of part number, no number should be given in a parenthetical… Read More

Do I need to provide a citation each time I refer to a character’s name?

No. You generally only need to provide a citation if you mention a character’s name in a summary of the work (or portions of it)… Read More

How do I punctuate a greeting like “Hi, Anne” in an e-mail or other message?

How you punctuate an e-mail or other greeting depends on the level of formality and the structure of the message. In a formal message, one… Read More

Which entity should you list as the publisher of a website if both a subsidiary and a parent company are listed as publisher?

Determine the publisher of a website the same way you determine the publisher of a book. The MLA Handbook notes that for books, when both… Read More