How to use spell check to improve your essay writing

The attached image comes from an essay I recently edited. Clearly, the intended word was "profitability." Fortunately, I spotted the error and corrected it. But it's unlikely that the client typed "probability." It's much more likely that she typed something else and the spell checker in M.S. Word flagged it, and she changed it to this word. Look what happens if I write a similar word to "profitability," but slightly misspelled.

Of the three suggestions for "profability," the correct word "profitability" is not included! It's so easy to choose the wrong word from the list. In fact, our brains are wired to see the word we expect to see. That's why proofreading your own work can be so hard. Once you believe that the correct word is there, you will see the correct word. Part of the skill of proofreading is teaching yourself to slow down and really see each word that's on the page, not the word that we think should be on the page.

Once you accept the wrong word, it becomes even harder to spot when you are proofreading. Because it's a correct word, it's no longer underlined in red. But now your brain really thinks you've corrected it, so it's even more likely to fail to notice the error when you proofread.

I actually think many people would benefit in their writing if they turn off spelling suggestions. This means you won't see any red underlined words at all, during the writing process. The advantage is that you can simply focus on the content of what you are writing. For anyone who struggles with spelling, or even keeping in mind the complex ideas that make up an essay paragraph, this means completing the whole sentence before even thinking about the spelling.

To do this, simply uncheck the "Check spelling as you type" option in the M.S. Word preferences. You can write with spelling errors and focus on your ideas. When you complete the whole document, you can still use the spellcheck tools to check your work.

However, as you can see, the options are still limited by the guess that M.S. Word has for what is the right word. In this scenario, you would still be wrong to pick the word from the list. You need to pay sufficient attention to the suggestions to realize that you need to actually type in the correct word. If you can get closer, then the spell checker can probably guess it.

And one more thing. Here's a screen shot from an on-line proofreading service, Ginger. Notice that Ginger, like MS Word, can't see the error. For accurate proofreading, there's nothing like a human.

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

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.