Don't put a quote in your essay!

Many of the essays that I edit use quotations from sources. That's fine. But don't call it a quote. It's a statement if you need to name it at all. (Usually, you don't.)

The Merriam-Webster dictionary provides three definitions for quote. All are verbs. To quote is an action. You are actively encouraged to quote, but don't call it a quote. It's a quotation.

But wait! There's more

I'm not writing this to be pedantic about the difference between a noun (quotation) and a verb (quote.) The point is that you don't need to name your citation as a quotation.

A quotation is what you call the words of another that you put in your essay and surround with quotation marks. It's merely a statement. (And even that is too wordy.)

Here's what I typically see in a first-year essay:

• In the quotation by XXX, ...

Or worse:

• XXX quoted, "...."

Neither of these should use the word "quoted" or "quotation."

Instead of "quoted," you can simply say "said." Or use the old standby, "according to" followed by the name then a comma and then the quotation itself.

• According to Shakespeare, "Life is but a stage..."

Here's the worst way to quote in an essay:

• In a research study by Smith and Smith on essay writing,  it says "Essay writing is hard."

If you are worried about your word count, then this could be the way to go, but for whatever marks you save by being long enough, you will lose marks for poor writing. We already know it was a research study, that's why it has been published. Naming anything and then using "it" can't be good. How about the following?

• According to Smith and Smith, "Essay writing is hard."

We've turned 17 words into 9. That's almost a 50% savings. And who wouldn't like 50% off? I'm sure the person who marks your essay would really enjoy this.

When do you say quotation?

In the rare cases when you would use the word quotation, it would be if you need to be explicit about someone using someone else's words.

• A poster with a quotation from Plato graced the classroom.

• Smith's quotation of Descartes' statement, "I think, therefore I am," was illogical and inappropriate.

It's too late to learn APA when you're finishing your thesis

Frankly, I'm amazed how far people can get without learning the basics of citation styles. I've edited many Master's theses and even a few PhD dissertations in which key parts of citations were done incorrectly. These things should be mastered in first year college.

Let's review the purpose of citation. We use citations to provide credibility to the arguments we are making. A citation answers the question "How do you know?" for each fact that you assert.

APA style uses two criteria to show how much weight a source has: author and date. It assumes that later citations are more likely to be correct than earlier citations. It also assumes that some authors are more credible than others.

But APA doesn't want you to fill up your page with a lot of other junk that's not necessary to show the credibility of your source. That's why the URL and publisher information are listed in the reference section. The whole idea is to keep the body of the paper nice and tight, and leave it up to the reader to check out the reference section if he/she wants more information or to track down the original source.

I just finished editing a Master's thesis in which almost all of the in-text citations did not appear in the reference list. In the reference list was a whole bunch of stuff that was not cited in the paper. It's a complete disaster from a credibility point of view. The reference list is not suggested extra reading for anyone with a burning interest in the topic. The point of a thesis is to make an argument and to show that the facts behind your argument are credible. References should be strictly a list of sources of information actually used in the paper.

Don't Master's programs require you to write a number of essays in courses leading up to your thesis? I know that some undergraduate teachers can be lazy or inconsistent in checking writing for APA style, but surely there must be some kind of course for people who are required to write a thesis? I'm actually shocked at some of the people working in graduate-level programs. I think (private universities are particularly guilty of this) that the admissions offices looks at the tuition fees more than the academic ability.

I think part of the problem is the move to teach undergraduate courses by sessional instructors. These instructors are underpaid and over-worked. They may not have the luxury of time to carefully critique papers, thus teaching undergraduates how to write proper academic essays. When I was early in my education, I thought references were for the birds. I was casual about citing sources. A great teacher set me straight. After that I was diligent in citing sources, but rarely did I get a paper back where a teacher had corrected some technical aspect of my citations. Really, it took until I became a professional editor that I learned about sources like Purdue's OWL, which sets out clearly all the formatting to properly reference a paper in MLA or APA style as well as providing other writing instruction.

If you are an undergraduate and you intend to go to graduate school, or continue your academic career in any way, you need to ensure you understand how to use citation styles properly. Access your school's writing resources, or take the time to look things up online. Even if your mark doesn't depend on it now, it may be important later. And it could be too late then.

Differences between APA and MLA citation styles

APA style and MLA style are both used to document references, but they are formatted slightly differently. Here's a handy chart to tell some of the differences.

Differences Between APA and MLA Citation Styles

	APA	MLA
Cover Page	Yes. Centred in the middle of the page, five double spaced lines with Title of paper, Name of Author Course Name, Course Teacher, Date	No. In upper left corner, in three double spaced lines: Name of Author, Name of Teacher, Course Name, Date
Running Head	Yes. A shortened version of paper title in upper and lower case in header of every page. On cover page only it is preceded by the words in upper case: RUNNING HEAD. Page number is flush right.	Yes. Author's last name, then a space and the page number flush right.
Margins	One inch all around.	One inch all around.
In-text citations	(Author_name, year). Comma comes after name and before page. If page number is known, add another comma and then p. + page number. Only use the author's initial if there is more than one author listed in the citation page with the same last name. If the same author has two publications cited in the same year, identify each with a lower case letter (Smith, 2013a) and (Smith, 2013b).	(Author_name page). No comma between name and page. Only use author's initial if there are more than one author with the same name in the works cited section. If the author has more than one work in the works cited section use a superscript numeral to connect the in-text citation with the citation on the works cited page (Melville1 45) and (Melville2 678). Sorry, can't make the numbers superscript in html.
Citation Format	Use past tense to describe research findings: "Jones (2013) said widgets are dangerous when wet."	Use present tense to describe statements made in cited works. "Eliot says April is the cruelest month."
Reference Page	Center the title "References"	Center the title "Works Cited"
Reference Format	Arranged alphabetically by last name, with only initials for first and middle names. Double spaced, hanging indent with no extra space between entries. The title of longer works is in italics.	Arranged alphabetically by last name with first name written out and initials for middle names. Double spaced, hanging indent with no extra space between entries. The medium of publication must be included (web, print, video, etc.) The title of longer works is in italics.
Sample Reference Journal Article	Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number (issue number), pages. http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyyy  Include the Digital Object Identifier (DOI), if possible.	Author, Alan. A., Author, Bob. B., & Author, Cathy. C. "Title of article." Title of Periodical, Month, year, pages. Medium of publication Note: MLA does not require the full URL to be included, but many instructors do. Check with your teacher. Include the date you accessed it, if the medium is "web".
Sample Reference Web Page Known Author	Francis, P.J. (2014). Differences between APA and MLA style. Essay Writing Tips. Retrieved from: http://essaywritngtips.blogspot.ca/ 2014/10/differences-between-apa-and-mla.html.	Francis, Peter J. "Differences between APA and MLA style." Essay Writing Tips, 2014. Web 17 Oct 2014.
Sample Reference Web Page Organization as Author	Centres for Disease Control. (2014) Ebola. Retrieved from: http://www.CDC.com/Ebola.	Centres for Disease Control. Ebola. Web 17 Oct 2014.

Bookmark this page to come back. For more detailed information, visit the OWL Writing Lab at Purdue University.
If you need help formatting your essay, hire me for full editing including formatting. See link above.

How to Format Essays in MLA Style

MLA style is used for essays written for English and the humanities. The key difference between MLA style and APA style is that APA uses the author-date form of in-text citation (also generically known as Harvard style) and MLA uses the author-page style of in-text citation. But there are several other details in the the way you format essays in MLA style that are important to note.

For both styles of essay, use double-spaced lines with 1 inch margins. Indent each paragraph 1/2 inch and do not put an extra line between paragraphs. So notice that this blog is not written in either MLA or APA style.

MLA style papers do not have a title page. Instead, on the first page of the paper, in the upper left hand corner, put your name, the course name, the name of the teacher, and the date on individual lines. Double space these lines. On the next line put the paper title centred in bold.

Both styles of essay require a running head (instructions from your teacher may vary--always follow the teacher's instructions). If you don't know how to insert a running head, check out this blog post on how to create a running head in MS Word. However, in MLA style, you do not put the title of the essay in the running head. A running head in MLA style only includes your last name (as the author of the paper) and a page number. These are aligned to the right. Use automated page numbers! Don't manually insert page numbers. When you are formatting the header, type your name, then space, then use the insert menu to insert a page number. The numbers will format automatically on each page.

As I stated before, the in-text citations are the key difference in MLA essays. Remember, the in-text citation is only a signpost for the reader to get more information about something you've said in your essay. You've quoted, paraphrased or otherwise referred to someone other work. The in-text citation provides sufficient information for the reader to go to your works cited page to find the full citation, which will tell them how to find the original work. This is true for both styles of citation. So you only need enough information to specific which item in your works cited list is the right one. It's pretty simple if you have only one work by a specific author. Simply put the name of the author followed by the page number in the work with no comma or punctuation between (author year). Notice that the period follows the parenthetical citation (it's like the citation is a little note to the reader contained within the sentence).

MLA style is more forgiving than APA style for sources such as webpages that do not have page numbers. Remember, the key is giving the reader enough information to find the full citation in the works cited page. Simply tell the reader the source in the text. "According to CNN.com..." Then the reader can skip to the Works Cited page and find the citation for CNN.com. If there is more than one citation for CNN.com, include some information about which article you are referring to.

If you don't know the author of a work you are citing, use a shortened version of the title. If the title is of a short work, place it in quotation marks; if the title is of a longer work, place it in italics.

Skipping down to the end of the paper, the reference section is titled "Works cited" in MLA essays. Center the title, put do not put it in bold. The entire works cited section should be double spaced with no additional spaces between entries. The paragraphs should be formatted as a hanging indent with 1/2 inch indent. If you don't know how to format a hanging indent, see this blog post on MS Word skills every student should know.

As of 2009, each entry needs to include the medium: book, print, web, film, etc.

Entries are listed alphabetically by author's last name and full first name (unlike APA style where entries only use the author's initials. The basic format is NAME, TITLE, PUBLISHING INFORMATION, DATE OF PUBLICATION, MEDIUM. In addition, if the medium is WEB, then the date of access follows the word WEB. (Note, I'm only using all caps to show which information is used; your paper would write these out using normal rules of capitalization).

My go-to source for formatting questions is the Writing Lab at Purdue University. Although I edit papers every day and I've come across most permutations at some point, I always go back there to verify what the correct format is.

Image courtesy of digitalart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

10 Ways to Improve Essay Marks

Looking at the many essays that I edit for students, it's sad to see how many students are going to lose marks that they could have easily earned. So I put together this list to help students improve essay marks. You may notice that this list does not include hiring a professional editor. The main part of your grade should be about your thinking. Nonetheless, there are a lot of basic steps to take to improve essay marks. These are things that you should be focusing on yourself to improve your writing, and therefore, grades.

How to Improve Essay Marks

10. Use the correct format.

English essays use MLA style; a lot of other subjects use APA format, but don’t assume. There are dozens of styles, and some are particular to certain institutions. Your school may have its own style. If your professor hasn’t specified, ask. Or, you can use Google, and search for your subject, plus the words “citation style.” Each style has specific ways to cite, and although it's easy to get confused. Here's a link to a page with a list of styles. Here's a comparison between APA, MLA, and Chicago styles.

9. Make a title page.

APA and some other major styles require a title page with the name of the essay, your name, the course name, your professor’s name, and the date on it. Not only does this make the essay look tidier, your professor will know who wrote it, and you will get credit where credit is due. Use the “Insert Break--Page Break” command after the title page (see below “Use the tools in your word processor). Here's an APA sample paper. (MLA only requires you to put your name, course number and professor's name at the top of the first page.)

8. Use the tools in your word processor.

Word processors are designed to make writing easier. And they work! You can turn on and off the spelling and grammar under the Tools menu. Make sure they are turned on, or if they annoy you while you are writing, turn them on after you finish. If you are using MS Word and a red line appears under a word, then it’s misspelled. Fix it! If a green line appears, then Word is questioning your grammar. It also highlights extra spaces between words and little things that just make the essay look messy. I know that Word can be wrong, but you need to think carefully before moving on. If English is not your native language, and you write in another language in your word processor, check that the document is in English (Language, also under the tools menu). You can use the Paragraph formatting (under Format) to specify “Indent first line” for body text, “Hanging” for references, and “Keep lines together” when a heading appears at the bottom of a page away from the following text. Use “Insert--Break--Page Break” when you want to force a page break instead of a bunch of returns. When you edit, you won’t need to be continually adjusting where the page breaks. Only single space between sentences. The word processor will visually adjust the space.  I wrote a whole blog post on 5 Essential MS Word Tools Every Student Should Know.

7. Double space.

Most styles require double spacing. Even if you are submitting the essay to an editor who charges by the page, they will charge you for more pages. Somewhere on the site, they have something like "275 words equals one page." In addition, double spacing makes the paper so much easier to read. Even if you are writing an essay with no defined style, such as a personal reflection, double space. Your professor or marker will appreciate it and that’s the person who should be happy at the end of reading the essay.

6. Make sure each paragraph is related to the assigned topic.

It’s easy to go off on a tangent. The purpose of an essay is to discuss a particular topic, not show off the breadth of your knowledge. In a thesis, you may need to discuss the methodology and background, but in most undergraduate essays, just discuss the topic. It's important to keep this in mind when writing, but also you should think about it when editing. Revising for a second and third draft shouldn't be all about grammar and wording, but also about whether or not you have honed your ideas to make a logical point.

5. Ensure each paragraph has a topic sentence and all sentences are relevant to the topic sentence.

It’s easy to jump into a paragraph with a quote or idea that you believe is important. But when you review the essay, think about each paragraph as an individual unit. The key idea should be clearly set out. In fact, you should be able to summarize your essay by choosing one sentence from each paragraph. Make sure you have explicitly stated that idea in each paragraph. When an essay does not have a clear thesis statement, one result is that paragraphs might contain irrelevant information. Here's some information about paragraphs.

4. Make sure your introduction has a clear thesis statement.

A good introduction will orient the reader to the topic, provide some general information, and make a clear thesis statement. It is not necessary to say, “It is the purpose of this essay to discuss…” but certainly make a clear statement that you intend to prove through the body of the essay. Here's more about the thesis statement. I recently learned that many students coming to a university in Canada and the U.S. from Asian countries have been taught a different approach to defining their essay objective. These students provide a lot of information throughout the essay and bring it together in their conclusion. The standard way when writing in English is to prepare the reader by stating your objective in the introduction. Maybe we English speakers are not as bright as Asian thinkers, but as one person told me the format of the essay is: This is what I'm going to tell you (introduction), this is what I'm telling you (body), and this is what I told you (conclusion).

3. Include a quote, citation, or fact in each paragraph and explain its importance.

Especially in high school and first-year university essays, students ask, “how many citations do I need?” That’s like telling the teacher you only want a C. Learning to properly use citations is one of the keys to developing your academic writing skills. Don’t confuse citations with sources. You might use only one or two sources (books, articles, etc.) in your essay research, but each separate idea from those sources needs to be cited. Each paragraph (with the possible exception of the introduction and conclusion) should cite some authority so the arguments that you are developing in that paragraph carry some weight.

2. Summarize, but don’t repeat in your conclusion.

Your conclusion could remind the reader of some of the major points or it could make a recommendation based on the thesis statement. A lot depends on the topic and the format of the essay. However, every essay needs to have some kind of summation, so the reader is not left hanging at the end. People often ask me if it is necessary to use quotes or references in a conclusion. The answer is that it's not. You shouldn't be introducing new facts or observations in a conclusion. Therefore any information you present has already been presented in your essay and sources cited. The exception is if you want to end with a quote. Just like in an essay, using a pithy quote from a well-known thinker is a good way to come to a completion. Here's more about writing a great conclusion.

1. Make an outline first, and then follow it.

I can’t emphasize this enough. Essays that are written without outlines tend to be disorganized. The logic doesn’t flow. There are often bits that don’t relate to the theme, or ideas that are repeated. It’s a mess. This has to be the number one reason people write poor essays. Here's some information about creating an outline. The most important part of your essay mark is the content of your essay. An essay is a demonstration of your thinking about a topic. Try to say something interesting and justify it with evidence from the text or other sources.

Updated March 8, 2018.

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How to Use MLA Style in Writing Essays

This is only a brief overview of some of the issues of using MLA style in your text references based on some of the problems I've seen in the essays I've edited. If you want to source the details of MLA style, go to the source: The Modern Languages Association.
One major difference between referencing styles is how to format in-text citations. This means that the name of the author and the page the reference is from are inserted in brackets directly after the reference (Francis 56). Note that in MLA style, you are citing the page for paraphrases as well as the author's name, but not the date.
If there are multiple editions of the work, then you need to let your readers be able to locate the cited passage in their own edition. Help them out by including a reference to which volume (vol.), book (bk.), part (par.), chapter (ch.), section (sec.), or paragraph (par.) you are citing from. For example: (Plato 34; bk. 5).
If you cite more than one author with the same last name, use the first initial as well, in your in-text citations. (P. Francis 34)
With multiple authors, cite all names for three or fewer; use et al. for four or more. Write out "and" before the last name. Do not use an ampersand: &.
If the same author has multiple works cited, then include a shortened title of the work as well. (Francis, "Justin Bieber's love child" 56). Note, we use a comma after the author's name here. It's preferable to keep the citation smaller by including some of the information in the text, so the reader has a clue as to what work you are discussing. "In his memoir about growing up as Justin Bieber's love child, Francis confesses to space time anomalies that made him decades older than his father" (45).
If you don't know the author's name, then use the title of the work. The key is to use what ever is going to be the first part of the citation in the Works Cited page. When you are using the title of the work, enclose it in quotation marks ("How to make citations" 44).

Citing Sources from the internet in MLA style

Umm...don't. No seriously. Be careful. If you are using your school library to access on-line versions of print sources, treat them as print sources, citing date of publication, etc. But for web pages, first evaluate if it is a reliable source. Many teachers will not accept Wikipedia as a reliable source. If you writing on Wordsworth and you are citing the website of the Wordsworth Scholars' Association, then OK. But be cautious. Nonetheless, there is a citation style for you.
Since page numbers don't matter on the internet, forget them. In your in-text citation, use the first words you will use to reference the web page in your Works Cited page. This will be either the name of the author, the title of the webpage, or the domain name. Do not include the http:// and all the junk after the domain name. (How to use APA Style)
The first challenge for using APA style for in-text citations is when to use page numbers. "If you are quoting from a text, then you should use page numbers." (Francis, 2010, p 3.) If you are only paraphrasing an idea, then only use the author's name and date of publication. (Francis, 2010) If a work has two authors use both name joined by "and" in the text and both names joined by & in the parentheses (Francis & Francis, 2010). With three to five authors, cite all names in the first instance and use "et al." in subsequent instances. Six or more, simply use et al. For an unknown author, cite the name of the work (HGPublishing, 2010).
It is important to note that et al. is an abbreviation and ends in period. Do not put a period after a comma.

Reference page in MLA Style

At the end of your essay, you need a Works Cited page. This is a list of all the references you have used, in alphabetical order by last name of the main author. The Works Cited page should be a separate page from the body of the essay. Double space all citations, but do not put an extra space between citations. Use a hanging indent format.
As of 2009, MLA style requires you to state the type of resource such as print, web, CD, etc. You do not have to cite URLs. Sometimes instructors will insist on URLs, so include them in angle brackets followed by a period. Include a database name if you have retrieved an previously published article from an on-line database.
Capitalize each word in a title, except prepositions and conjunctions. (Basically the main words, and always the first word.)
Order the entries alphabetically by author's last name. If you are citing more than one work by the same author, order them alphabetically by work title. Only write out the author's name for the first entry. In subsequent entries, substitute three hyphens followed by a period (---.) for the author's name.
Where a work has no known author, place it alphabetically according to title.

Format for books

Last name, First name. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, year of publication. Medium of Publication.
Notice that the Title of the Book is in italics. The medium of publication would be "Print" for a book.
When a work is part of an anthology or collection, then cite the author of the key part first, followed by the title of the key part, then the main collection.
Last name, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection. Ed: Editor's name(s). Place of Publication: Publisher, year of publication. Page range. Medium of Publication.
Notice that the title of the collection, the main title of the book, is in italics. Also notice the addition of the page range. This is because you are not citing the whole book. The page range should be cited as simply as possible. (33-78).
If you are citing several works from the same anthology, place one entry for the anthology alone such as:
Last name, First name. Title of Collection. Ed: Editor's name(s). Place of Publication: Publisher, year of publication. Medium of Publication.
Then an entry for each part of the collection you used:
Last name, First name. "Title of Essay." Editor's name(s) Page range.

Format for periodicals

The basic format of bibliographical references for journal articles is:
Author(s). "Article Name." Journal Name. Day month year: pages. Medium of publication.
Note the use of italics above. Only the name of the publication is in italics.

Format for internet sources

Like any other source, the key is that your reader can locate the document you are citing. Therefore the key information to include includes: author name, article name in quotation marks; title of website, project or book in italics; version numbers, dates or posting references; publisher information; page numbers (if available); date you accessed the information; medium of publication; and include URL only if specifically requested.
For an entire website:
Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of site. Version number. Name of institution, sponsor or publisher (if available). Date of resource creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access.
Sometimes you have to dig for this information. Sometimes even when you dig, it's not available.
Here's the reference for this site:
Francis, P. HGPublishing.com. HyperGraphix Publishing Services. n.d. Website. Date of access.
Here's the reference for this page:
Francis, P. "How to Use MLA Style." HGPublishing.com. HyperGraphix Publishing Services. n.d. Website. Date of Access.