Versus or Against?
When The New York Times ran with the front-page headline “Trump Urges Unity versus Racism,” many readers questioned the accuracy of this assertion, but . . .Published 22 October 2019
In a block quotation, can I reverse the order of two sentences if I separate them with an ellipsis?
No. Sentences in a block quotation cannot be reversed because, as the MLA Handbook notes, "[a] quotation should never be presented in a . . .Published 21 October 2019
On Words: Michael Chabon’s “Ulysses on Trial”
The series Spotlight on Good Writing highlights techniques used in public-facing writing that are widely applicable to writing of all kinds, including research papers and . . .Published 16 October 2019
Should department names be capitalized in MLA style?
In general, the MLA follows The Chicago Manual of Style for the capitalization of academic department names ("Academic Subjects") and administrative bodies ("Administrative Bodies"). We . . .Published 15 October 2019
How should commas be used with dates in my prose?
In the day-month-year style, do not use commas: School started on 4 September 2018. In the month-day-year style, use a comma to set . . .Published 11 October 2019
When should commas be used with introductory phrases that include dates?
A comma may generally be omitted from an introductory phrase of two or three words, but consider using a comma when you wish to emphasize the phrase. . . .Published 9 October 2019
How Publishing Work as a Student Shaped My College Writing Experience
It’s a story familiar to any graduate of a liberal arts college: beginning freshman year with concrete academic and career expectations and emerging four years later . . .Published 24 September 2019
If a phrase is repeated throughout a work, what page number should I use when discussing the phrase?
When citing a phrase that appears more than once in a work, give the page number of the first instance in the parenthetical reference: B. Venkat Mani’ . . .Published 23 September 2019
Should the comma after an italicized element appear in italics?
Publishers differ in their practice. In its publications, the MLA's preference is not to italicize commas that appear after italicized elements. However, we are open to . . .Published 17 September 2019
How should I format examples for a linguistics paper?
For guidance on styling linguistics papers, consult the "Unified Style Sheet," published by the Linguistics Society of America. For phonetic symbols, consult the Web site of the . . .Published 11 September 2019