If I am writing a paper in Spanish, should I follow Spanish rules or MLA style rules for the placement of a period in relation to quotation marks?
Follow Spanish rules. Read more on writing papers in foreign languages. Read More
Posts related to punctuation
Is there a way to avoid back-to-back parentheses when a block quotation ends with a parenthetical and the quotation is followed by a parenthetical reference?
The best way to avoid multiple punctuation is to rewrite if possible. Let’s say you are citing the passage from an e-book without stable pagination. Read More
How do I punctuate a sentence in parentheses that follows another sentence?
If a sentence in parentheses follows a sentence, place a period before the closing parenthesis: I went to an exhibit at Vito Schnabel’s gallery. (Vito… Read More
If I list both a page range and a DOI as locations, what punctuation do I use between them?
Insert a comma between the page range and DOI. For an example, see our post on citing a paginated journal that appears online. Read More
Inanimate Nouns and Possession
Opinions vary on which inanimate nouns can be made possessive by adding ’s Read More
Should there be a space between single and double quotation marks?
Although publishers often insert a thin space between single and double quotation marks to make the text easier to read, writers do not need to… Read More
In prose, should a transliterated song title appear in italics or quotation marks?
In prose, style a transliterated title the same way you would style the title in English. In the following example, the transliterated title A fidler… Read More
Commas, Conjunctions, and Modifiers
Helps students determine when to use commas Read More
How do I quote dialogue that is not in quotation marks?
Some works render dialogue without enclosing it in punctuation that would distinguish it from the surrounding text. Treat such dialogue as you would treat any… Read More
If I am writing about two people with the last name Anderson, and one uses the suffix Sr., where do I place the suffix?
List the full name of each person and provide the suffix after the last name of the person to whom it belongs. In MLA style,… Read More