The Good Writing Guide

INTRODUCTION

Good writing is important. The ability to write clear and

accurate text is the most useful skill that you will learn at
university. Whatever subject you specialise in, and whatever
career you choose after you graduate, a command of language
is a valuable asset. When employers offer a job to an MA
graduate they are sometimes interested in how much he or she
knows about Charles Dickens or the Napoleonic wars, but they
are always looking for someone with good communication
skills and an eye for detail. In almost any job, you will spend
time working with a range of texts. You may produce written
reports, letters or marketing copy. You may also give lectures
or presentations. If you are aiming for a career in which you
can use language stylishly, such as journalism or creative
writing, it is equally important that you know the rules of good
plain English.

This booklet will help you to think about how you write. It
will also improve your reading skills. While you are a student
you will often be a reader, absorbing information from other
sources or analysing the structure of a text. When assessments
come along, you will be a writer, and someone else will read
and analyse your work. Reading and writing are closely
connected. Improving your skills in one area will have a knock-
on effect in the other. Set yourself high standards in both these
areas. One of the simplest ways to improve your own writing is
to read widely and to look at how authors mould the language
to their own purposes. Try to develop an eye for style and
sentence structure as you read. This will help you to assess
your own writing and expand your language skills.

While you are at university, good writing means being

able to produce a clear, grammatical, logical argument to
answer a question in an exercise, an essay or an exam. This is
not the place to be innovative or poetic. Chances to be creative
with language are available elsewhere. Academic writing

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should be clear, clean and correct. It should display your
knowledge and express your ideas. Good writing is always
aimed at a particular audience. Your audience is the tutor (or
tutors) who will mark your work. Your tutors will be highly
qualified, and are likely to be the kind of people who have an
obsessive interest in grammar and spelling. They will consider
a command of language as important as any ideas you might
want to share. In the School of Language and Literature, tutors
are allowed to deduct up to four marks for poor spelling,
punctuation and presentation. That is the difference between a
first-class mark and a 14. If your grammar is so poor that it
obscures your argument, you may fail the assessment. Markers
cannot give credit for what they think you might have wanted
to say. What is on the paper is all that counts. Good writing is
not an optional extra to a degree; it is the core of the education
system. Make this your primary goal at university. Everything
that you study can be channelled towards making yourself a
more perceptive reader and a more accurate writer. Get this
right and you will understand more of what you read. You will
also be able to express your own ideas with force and clarity.

This booklet is divided into three sections. Section A contains

advice on reading a text for analysis, and on setting up your
answer to a question. It looks at planning, structure and
paragraphing, and it explains some technical terms. Section B
deals with language. It highlights some common problems, and
it offers advice on how to sharpen up your prose. Section C
deals with using sources. It explains referencing and how to
use critical material. If you are studying more than one
discipline you may find that there are slightly different
expectations about referencing between departments. The
advice given here is based on the MHRA Style Book. This is the
referencing system we expect you to learn. It should also be
appropriate for most other arts subjects. In each section you
will find a Quick-Fix page with a summary of the most
important points presented at a glance. Use these as checklists
every time you submit a piece of written work. Each section
also has some recommended further reading. At the back of
the booklet there is an index so that you can find things in a
hurry. Many of the points have been numbered so that your
marker can point you to the relevant section when things go
wrong.

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 If, after all that, you would like some more advice about
good writing there are several things you can do:

Consult your tutor. This is one of the reasons that tutors

have office hours, and it is remarkable how few students take
advantage of this opportunity for some individual advice.
Remember to reread your tutors comments on your previous
essay before you write the next one. You will find this very
helpful.

Make an appointment to see the Schools Writing Support

tutor. If you have been referred for Writing Support by your
tutor this is particularly important. Consultation is on a one-to-
one basis and is designed to help. Contact the School Office for
details.

Contact the Academic Learning and Study Unit (ALSU),

Regent Building, Tel: 272448, or visit www.abdn.ac.uk/alsu to
find some helpful advice online. ALSU runs workshops and
courses on study skills and can also offer individual
consultations.

Use your own network. Ask a friend or flatmate to proofread

your work before you hand it in. So long as they do not change
the content or borrow your ideas this is not cheating. Choose
someone you can really trust. A friend on a different course is
ideal. You can return the favour and improve your own
proofreading skills. This is excellent practice for a career in
marketing, publishing or journalism. Develop an interest in
writing, and discuss with your friends what works and what
does not. This is one of the best ways to learn.

This is The Good Writing Guide. I hope it is useful.

Dr Hazel Hutchison, 2005

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CONTENTS

Section A: Planning
1. Reading for writing 5
2. Reading the question 6
Question busting 7
3. Structure: 9
Making a plan 9
Introductions and conclusions 10
Subheadings 12
Paragraphs 12
4. Layout 13
5. Submission 14
Further Reading 14
Quick Fix: Planning 15

Section B: Language
6. Register 16
7. Punctuation: 17
Apostrophes 18
Commas 19
Semi-colons 24
Colons 25
Dashes 26
Quotation marks 27
Exclamation marks 27
8. Grammar: 28
Clauses 28
Agreement 32
Tenses 34
Pronouns 34
9. Spelling: 35
Common errors 36
Capitals 37
US v UK spelling 38
Further Reading 38
Quick Fix: Language 39

Section C: Sources
10. Choosing sources 40
11. Using sources 41
12. Layout of quotations 43
13. Referencing: 46
14. Bibliography 51
15. Plagiarism 52
Further Reading 54
Quick-Fix: Sources 55

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Index 56

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SECTION A: PLANNING

1. READING FOR WRITING

Everyone has their own way of approaching a text. Some

people like to take meticulous notes as they go along. Others
prefer to read through swiftly and then return to look at the
text in depth. Develop your own style of reading. However,
here are a few things to remember.

Keep an open mind about the text. One of the most

valuable things you can learn as you study literature is the
ability to suspend your own prejudices and preconceptions as
you read. Learning to see things from different perspectives is
a vital part of the reading process. Do not attempt to make a
text fit your own agenda as you go along, or dismiss it because
it challenges what you believe. You do not have to agree with
the text, but give it a chance to speak for itself. If you react
strongly to something, try to work out why.

Think about language. It is easy to be carried away by an

intriguing plot or an interesting set of characters. But keep one
eye open for the language the author uses. This is especially
important in poetry, where the words work harder. Develop an
eye for style. What makes Austen different from Hemingway, or
Tennyson different from Plath? What kind of words do they
choose? Do they use a lot of adjectives or a lot of verbs? Is
their language formal or colloquial? Is their language abstract
and philosophical or concrete and particular? Does it fit the
historical context of the text, or challenge this? These simple
questions give you an insight into the authors underlying
concerns and preoccupations. Language does more than tell a
story. It creates a world of ideas. What makes a degree in
English really worth having is an understanding of how this
process operates. Do not just look at what the text says. Try to
work out how it conveys ideas and elicits certain responses.

Think about structure. This will depend on what kind of text

you are reading. The rules of form for fiction, poetry and
drama are constantly evolving. However, it helps to have some
idea of conventions and techniques, so that you can see when

6
something interesting or unusual is happening. Compare the
text to what you already know about sonnets, or Jacobean
plays or Victorian novels, or whatever you happen to be
reading. Ask yourself how the text is put together and whether
it seems to be following a convention or defying it. If
something jars, or seems out of place, there may be a good
reason for this. Explore it.

Read between the lines. Be careful about this, because you

could end up supplying a whole heap of ideas that the text does
not support. However, authors often manipulate the unspoken
and the unseen as carefully as the things they tell. Pay special
attention when characters refuse to answer questions or
disappear for a few chapters or scenes. Who is off stage when
something interesting happens? Is the narrator holding back
information that the reader wants? Is there another way of
viewing the events in the story?

Take notes. This is obvious, but vital. If you see something

interesting or have a good idea, write it down and note the
page number. You will save hours trying to find it again later.

2. READING THE QUESTION

The easiest way to fail an assessment is not to answer the

question. Make sure you understand what the question is
looking for. Be especially careful if the question includes
literary terms such as form or genre or realism. These
sometimes mean slightly different things to different people or
in different contexts. If you are unclear about this you can
discuss it with your tutor and clarify exactly what they want.
Alternatively you can look the terms up in something like M. H.
Abrams, A Glossary of Literary Terms. Make it clear in your
essay exactly how you are using the term, and back this up
with an outside source if possible.

Think about the kind of course to which the assessment

belongs.
Tutors are usually looking for a response to, or an application
of, ideas covered in the course. Think back to what has been
done in lectures and seminars. Was the course more focused on

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historical context or technical analysis? Did it encourage use of
theoretical ideas or knowledge of the authors experience and
concerns? Look in the course guide to remind yourself about
the main themes and objectives of the course. Choose a
question that will allow you to show off what you have learned.
In an exam you will not have time to go and look these things
up, so spend half an hour thinking about this as you revise for
the exam.

It is often worth considering more than one question

while you are doing some background reading for an essay. You
can then choose the one that you find most interesting or
stimulating as you go along. This way you avoid heading up a
blind alley and then having to start all over again. Keep your
question in mind as you write. Everything you say should be
connected to it. Avoid rambling. You will not get credit for
including irrelevant information, however interesting you may
think it is. Answer the question.

Question busting

Like any academic subject, the study of literature has its own
technical language, which you need to learn. However, this
vocabulary includes some everyday terms which are often used
to particular purposes in essay questions. Make sure you
understand exactly what they mean before you start. Here are
a few to look out for.

Form: This is a very wide-ranging term. Usually it either

means the kind of text you are dealing with, (sonnet, dramatic
monologue, novel, short story, comic drama etc) or the internal
structure of the text (a play in three acts, a first-person
narrative, an Italian sonnet of eight lines followed by six all in
iambic pentameter). Sometimes it means the thematic
movement of a text (three sections focusing on love, grief,
regret). If you are uncertain what is required, ask your tutor.

Critical analysis aka practical criticism: A tightly focused

breakdown of a set passage, looking at language, stylistic
technique and form (see above). Use fewer secondary sources
for this, but make sure you know and understand some
technical terms before you start. This is the hardest kind of

8
essay to do well. A good one is a thing of great beauty and will
be rewarded accordingly.

Comparative essay: If you write on more than one text, do not

just talk about one and then the other. Draw connections and
comparisons between them. A good way to make this happen is
to structure your essay around several things they have in
common and to keep both texts in play as you go.

Theory/theoretical issues: This does not invite you to form a

theory about a text. It almost certainly means literary critical
theory (ie. something about theories of reading and writing by
Barthes, Derrida, Cixous, Butler etc). If you do not know who
these people are or what I am talking about, do not attempt the
question. However, if you do, and if it is relevant, some theory
will give an essay weight and bite. Theoretical texts invite you
to develop different ways of reading, which can make for
radical and exciting work.

Voice: This usually refers to who is speaking in the text and to

the language they adopt. It is often used in questions about
poetry. It invites a discussion of the poems speaker. Consider
what sort of situation the poem implies as a setting or
background to the poem as well as the personality and
emotional state of the speaker. In fiction this is usually called
narrative voice. In both cases you should consider whether
the speaking voice is inside the fictional world or a detached
observer looking on. Beware of equating the narrator with the
author. An author assumes different voices when writing,
although these are often mixed up with elements of their own
personality. It is hard to untangle this neatly, so it is safer to
discuss the speaker or the narrator.

Point of View aka perspective: This refers to the standpoint

of the narrator of a story or the speaker of a poem. The
question here is who is seeing the story? Does the narrator see
everything and tell all? Are they omniscient? Or do they view
events through the eyes of one of the characters at a time and
give a limited perspective? A good yardstick for this is how
much you are told about the characters internal thoughts and
feelings. Point of view does not refer to the personality or
political opinions of the narrator or the characters although

9
this is often connected. Sometimes point of view is called
focalisation as the readers view is focused through one
character. Pay special attention when this shifts between
characters.

Irony: This is much more than sarcasm. Irony derives from the
Greek word for dissembler. Dramatic irony involves one or
more characters being excluded from knowledge which
another character shares with the audience. In Hamlet, for
example, the audience knows Ophelia is dead before Hamlet
does. Generally in literature irony implies some kind of
hidden knowledge or concealed intent. It is not always comic,
but it can also be used for comic effect. Sometimes the
narrator adopts an ironic tone, inviting the reader to question
what the text appears to be saying. The opening line of Jane
Austens Pride and Prejudice is an excellent example of this:

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man

in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a
wife.1

It is really? Or is the narrator making fun of people who think

this?
Gender: This usually refers to social expectations about how
men and women should behave, rather than whether a person
is biologically male or female.

Tragedy/tragic: This is not just looking at sad events and the

emotions they elicit. Tragic invites some sort of comparison
with the conventions of dramatic tragedy. Think about
Sophocles, Shakespeare and Marlowe, rather than what you
might read in The Evening Express.

3. STRUCTURE

Markers often complain about poorly structured essays, but by

then it is too late to do anything about it. Bad structure in an
essay is usually the result of a failure to read the question
carefully, a lack of understanding of the subject, or a rushed

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813; repr. London: Penguin, 1996),
1

p.5.

10
job. Taking time to plan out your work helps in many ways. It
ensures that you connect your essay with the question. It
reduces the stress of writing, as you know where you are going
next. It produces a well-rounded piece of writing.

3.1 Making a plan

However you like to take notes and marshal your ideas, at

some point you are going to need a linear plan for your essay.
It is always worth doing this, especially in exams when time is
tight and nerves are likely to make you forget a good idea
which seemed very clear fifteen minutes ago. The classic layout
for an essay is an introduction, followed by three sections,
followed by a conclusion. This is based on the rules of Classical
rhetoric, in which the speaker offered an introduction, a
statement, a counterstatement, a resolution between the two
and a conclusion. There is not a set rule about this, but this
tried and tested system works well and usually produces a
satisfying read. In literature essays, this plan often evolves into
an introduction, three sections dealing with relevant themes
and a final section tying these together. But, remember that
you are not just making lists of what you know. You are
answering a question and the whole thing should form a logical
argument.

A plan should operate as a skeleton for your essay. Ideally

it should be possible for a reader to reconstruct your plan from
the finished article. This is basically what you are doing when
you take lecture notes. Paying attention to how this process
works will make planning your own written work a lot easier.
Most lecturers think carefully about how they want to present
material to the class. It might seem random, but if you listen
they will give you markers about what the main headings are,
and when they are filling out these sections. Look over your
lecture notes and think about some of the techniques lecturers
use. Try to see the shape of the lecture. Is the lecturer moving
outward from the text to the wider historical context? Or
perhaps they are focusing in, beginning with background
information, looking at a particular political problem or
cultural issue, and then exploring how one text contributes to
this debate. Alternatively, are they working through the text
section by section? Or are they offering a spectrum of views on

11
the text? These are all approaches you can use in structuring
your written work. A clear plan makes it easier to fulfil your
intentions.

Look at the contents page of this booklet. That is a tidy

version of the plan I am using as I write. Ideally you want
something that looks a bit like that, but shorter. You should
also have a good idea of what goes in each section. I have
chosen a plan that moves from general principles that you
should think about before you start, through useful tools that
you need as you go along, to some details that apply
specifically to English and which will give your work polish.
Sometimes you will have information that could belong in more
than one section. For example, you will find information about
choosing secondary sources in Section C, although it would
also have been useful here. Use your judgement about where
things go and what belongs together. Try to give your essay
direction, and keep thinking about the question.

3.2 Introductions and conclusions

Have one of each in every piece of work. Avoid repeating the

question in the introduction, but do offer an outline of the
areas you will discuss. If you have a particularly juicy quote or
a fascinating fact, this may be a good place to show it off. Do
not make wild generalisations about the Victorians, most
readers, all poets, middle-class people, critics etc.
However if you have found a particularly outrageous
generalisation in something you have read, do feel free to start
by quoting this and then contradict it. Read some academic
journal articles and see how other writers kick off. This is
usually the hardest bit of an essay to get right.

Imagine you are answering this question: Explore the

connection between marriage and money in Jane
Austens Pride and Prejudice. A weak introduction would be
something like this:

Marriage and money are important themes in Pride and

Prejudice. This essay explores the connection between
marriage and money in Jane Austens novel. First I will
look at the theme of marriage, followed by the theme of

12
 money. Then I will look at the connection between the
two. From this we will be able to see what Austen is trying
to say about the link between them.

There is nothing really wrong with this, but it does not open up
the question in an interesting way or provide anything to grab
the readers attention. A good introduction offers a sense of
where the essay will go. Something like this is better:

The connection between marriage and money lies at the

heart of Pride and Prejudice. From the opening sentence
to Elizabeth and Darcys engagement, this novel
highlights the desirability of financial security in
marriage. However, this novel also shows the dangers of
marrying purely for gain. This essay will explore the
different models of marriage which Austen presents in
Pride and Prejudice: marrying for money without love,
marrying for love without money, and marrying with both.
These models allow Austen to examine the place of the
marriageable woman within the society of her period.

This demonstrates a knowledge of the text and some intelligent

thought on the question. It also maps out the plan of the essay
that is going to follow. If you can do this in advance then your
way ahead will be much clearer. However, it is always worth
going back to look at your introduction once you have finished
the essay. Does it promise something that is not in the essay?
Or could you flag up an interesting idea in a more stylish way?
Do not be afraid to rewrite the introduction if necessary. Think
of this as the shop-window for your work. Show what you have
in store in a way that will encourage a closer look.

Conclusions are also hard to handle gracefully, but it is

better to try than to ignore the problem. Return to the issues
which were raised by the question and show how what you
have said proves your point. Avoid introducing any new ideas
or material here. Do not save up your main idea as a punch-
line. Similarly avoid repeating what you said earlier, although
you can, of course, refer back. As with the introduction, a
short, well-chosen quote can help. Although it looks good if you
explore a range of arguments during the essay itself, a
conclusion should always conclude. Push your thinking towards

13
some sort of resolution. Do not just sit on the fence. Answer
the question one way or the other.
3.3 Subheadings

These can be useful in honours dissertations. In essays,

however, it is better to create a flow of connected ideas without
stopping and starting. In a dissertation, subheadings will show
your marker where you are going. They also allow you to see
whether one section of your dissertation has outgrown the
others. If this is a problem, you might want to consider revising
your plan to accommodate your material. However, a few
subheadings go a long way. Only mark major sections.

3.4 Paragraphs

Ideally the structure of your essay should be obvious from your

paragraphs. Each paragraph should be a step forward in your
argument. Think of each paragraph as a mini essay in which
you introduce a new idea, present some evidence to back it up,
and draw a conclusion from it. Once you have done this, start a
new one.
Within a section you can link paragraphs together by
connective words and phrases, such as however,
consequently, moreover. But make sure that these words
really justify their presence. There is no use saying, it follows
that, if it is not obvious how one idea leads to the other.
Similarly, avoid pompous declarations such as it is the case
that and it is a useful observation to note that etc. Avoid
starting paragraphs with vague pronouns such as it and this.
If you cannot use a real noun, you might want to stop and ask
yourself exactly what you are talking about. If you want to pick
up an idea from the last paragraph and explore it further, make
sure that you name this idea, so that the reader can see what
you are doing. Be specific. Use nouns and verbs.
Markers are suspicious of paragraphs consisting of less
than three sentences or rambling on for more than a page and
a half. Read through your essay once you are finished. If you
find any paragraphs that are too long or too short, consider
revising where the breaks fall. Do not use novels or
newspapers as models for paragraphing. Novelists and
journalists are aiming for very different effects. Journalists
rarely have more than one sentence in a paragraph, and often

14
do not write complete sentences. They are playing a different
game altogether. Here again, journal articles or critical books
will offer good examples, so pay attention to this as you do
your research.
Indent the start of every paragraph by hitting the tab key
to the left of Q on the keyboard. This makes it very obvious
where your paragraph starts. Do not indent your first
paragraph or a new paragraph after a subheading. Do not
indent after a quotation, unless you are starting a new
paragraph. For more advice on layout of quotes see pages 43-
46.
4. LAYOUT

You can lose the goodwill of your marker before they even start
by presenting an essay that is hard to read. There are several
things that you can do to make your essay look good. These
will not get you extra marks, but they might stop you losing
some. They will also put your marker in a better frame of mind.

Put the question at the top. It might be obvious to you

which question you are answering, but believe me, it is not
always clear to the marker. Having the question on your essay
also helps you keep the question in mind as you write. But do
not spend hours designing an elaborate title page. Put that
time and effort into your written work. In exams there is no
need to rewrite the question, but mark the number clearly both
on your answer and on the front of the paper.

Double-space the text. The reason for this is so that the

marker has space to correct your work in between the lines. It
is for your benefit, even if it does not feel like it.

Leave a wide margin. This leaves room for comments and

corrections. These will be useful. Make sure you read them.

Use a sensible font. Times New Roman or Arial are best as

these are easy to read and familiar to the eye. Use 12-point
text. Anything smaller is hard to read. Anything bigger
suggests that you might be trying to cover up for a short piece
of work. Do not put quotations in italics, unless that is how
they appear in the text you are quoting. Only use italics for
titles of books and plays or words in a foreign language.

15
Give clear references. It is easy when you know how. See
pages 46-51.

Give a bibliography. Even if you only have one or two texts to

list, please do so. It looks professional and it is a good habit to
form. See page 51 for how to do it.

Include a word count. Writing to length is a useful skill

which you will need later on. Learn to tailor your work to the
requested word length. You will not be penalised for an essay
that is within 10% of the stated word count, either over or
under. However, you will be penalised for lying about it. When
marking essays for a whole class, it is usually easy for the
marker to tell when something is too long or too short, so be
honest here or face the consequences.

16
5. SUBMITTING YOUR WORK

Make sure you know the submission dates and regulations for
your course. You can get this information from your course
guide or the English website. Work submitted up to a week late
will be penalised by three marks, unless you have a medical
certificate. If you need an extension of more than one week for
medical reasons, or because you have a serious personal
problem, you must ask the course convener (for levels 1 and 2)
or the Head of School (for levels 3 and 4). Try to let your tutor
know about a problem as quickly as possible.
Your course guide will also have information about
marking criteria and how to interpret the Common Assessment
Scale. It is worth understanding how the marking system
works, so have a look at this. Also look at the cover sheet
which you should attach to your essay before handing it in at
the office. This cover sheet gives you a good idea of what your
marker wants to see in your essay.
Return of written work usually takes two to three weeks.
Most courses operate a system of essay moderation. This
means that once your tutor has marked your work they pass it
on to another member of staff who looks at a random sample
and any borderline cases. This means the system is fair, but
can take a bit of time, especially in the middle of term when we
have other things to do. Please be patient, and try not to pester
your tutor for your work. This will only slow them down.

Further Reading

Abrams, M. H., A Glossary of Literary Terms (1941; repr.

London: Wadsworth, 1996)

Clancy, John and Brigit Ballard, How to Write Essays: A

Practical Guide for Students (Harlow: Longman, 1998)

Greetham, Bryan, How to Write Better Essays (London:

Palgrave, 1999)

Hennesey, Brendan, Writing an Essay (Oxford: How to Books,

2002)

17
Peck, John and Martin Coyle, Literary Terms and Criticism
(Houndmills: Palgrave, 2002)

Practical Criticism: How to Write a Critical Appreciation

(Houndmills: Palgrave, 1985)
QUICK FIX: PLANNING

1. Read the text carefully, but do not focus so closely on your chosen
question that you miss out on everything else. Take notes as you go
along. It saves time later.

2. Make sure you understand the question. If you are unclear about
anything, look it up or ask your tutor. It is better to look a bit silly at this
stage than after the event.

3. Think about the question, and try to work out why your marker has set
it. How does it connect with issues and ideas explored in lectures and
tutorials? Work out which issues you are going to concentrate on.

4. Make a plan. Remember that your essay is an argument that should

persuade the reader. Try to give it direction and purpose. Focus
everything towards answering the question you have chosen. Work out
at this stage which material you will use in each section.

5. Avoid using the plot of the text as the structure for your essay.
Demonstrate that you can step back and view the text as a series of
connected ideas or strategies. Do not simply follow the events and
comment on them as they unfold.

6. If you are writing a comparative essay on more than one text, make
sure you integrate the texts fully. Do not simply talk about them one
after the other. Create a plan that allows you to bounce ideas between
the texts and build up a bigger picture.

7. Use your introduction to outline where you are going in the essay. Avoid
SECTION B: LANGUAGE
simply restating the question. Try to be interesting.

8. Use paragraphs to distinguish between separate ideas and to move

your argument forward.

9. Use your conclusion to point out how the evidence you have given
answers the question. Make sure you answer the question. Do not sit
on the fence.

10. Lay out your essay neatly and with

18 enough room for comments and
corrections.
SECTION B: LANGUAGE

6. REGISTER

Writing well involves presenting your material in a tone

appropriate to your audience and to the task in hand. You
would use different styles of language for a business letter, a
newspaper report, a text to a friend or a short story. It is
important to develop a suitable tone, or register, for your
written work. A university essay is a formal document and
requires a formal register. Students often struggle to find a
balance between formal, intellectual language and open,
accessible English. Many reputable scholars struggle with this
too, which is why some academic books are so hard to
understand. However, even the most complicated ideas can be
articulated clearly. Your marker will be delighted to see
complex thought presented in plain English. They will also
notice if you dress up weak thinking in flowery language. Pay
attention to the register of your writing and remember who
will read your work.

Read critics: You need to do this anyway for your own

research. As you read secondary sources look at the way in
which critics use language. If it seems too dense and formal
then do not copy their style. However, if you find a book that is
lucid, interesting and readable, try to work out what makes it
so clear.

Avoid being too personal: Your name appears on the front of

your essay, therefore your marker already knows that
everything in the essay is your opinion. Do not keep saying in
my opinion or it seems to me that etc. Have the courage of
your convictions and state what you think. If you can back up
your views with evidence from the text or secondary sources,
there is no need to apologise or hesitate. Some markers dislike
the use of I anywhere in the essay. Others are more relaxed
about this. It is probably best to avoid it if possible. Present
your work as a piece of cohesive thought rather than as
collection of your own responses. This essay will focus on
sounds better than I want to look at. We are trying to train

19
you to be objective and analytical, so demonstrate that you are
developing these skills.

Avoid being too clever: Some of the worst grammatical

errors are caused by students trying to write long, complex
sentences. Always use the shortest possible sentence for what
you want to say. Similarly, do not use words that you think you
understand. If in doubt, look them up or leave them out.
Avoid slang: This does not just cover words and phrases. It
also applies to informal expressions and sentence
constructions. Do not say, This poem really hits you between
the eyes when you read it. You know what I mean? You can
express the same idea by saying, This is a poem of enormous
emotional power, or, This poem demands a strong response
from the reader. Avoid using you or us for the reader of the
text. One sounds formal in everyday speech, but it is very
useful in this setting.

Tenses: Use present tense for anything that happens in the

story, novel, play or poem. Use past tense for historical events
or events in the life of the writer. This helps to keep the two
worlds separate: Henry James was an American writer who
lived and wrote in Europe. In The Portrait of a Lady he
explores the social tensions which surround Isabel Archer as
she moves between these two continents.

7. PUNCTUATION

Punctuation matters. It does not simply tell the reader when to

start and stop. It organises the text into meaningful units.
Getting it wrong can seriously damage the sense of the text. To
see the power of punctuation, look at this example from Lynne
Trusss book, Eats, Shoots and Leaves:

Dear Jack,
I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are
generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit
to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other
men. I yearn for you. I have no feeling whatsoever when were
apart. I can be forever happy will you let me be yours?
Jill

20
Dear Jack.
I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are
generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit
to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other
men I yearn! For you I have no feelings whatsoever. When
were apart I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?
Yours, Jill 2

It makes you think, doesnt it?

7.1 Apostrophes

This is the most common problem in written English. One can

see apostrophes in the wrong places in shops, theatre
programmes, adverts, newspapers, restaurant menus and
more. There is always some public debate going on about
whether we should retain apostrophes in the language or
abolish them because so few people seem capable of using
them properly. But the fact is that they still exist, and we still
expect you to be able to put them in the right places. Before
writing this guide, I asked my colleagues what they thought
was the biggest problem in students written work. Wrong use
of apostrophes was overwhelmingly at the top of the list. The
reason this annoys markers so much is that the rules are pretty
simple. Here they are:

USE AN APOSTROPHE TO:

Signal possession by adding s to a singular noun: Susans

book,
Kings College, the boys father, the womans coat, the
bananas
skin, the pianos keys.

If the noun or name already ends in s then go ahead and

add s as normal: Tesss book, Dickenss novels, Keatss
poems, the buss driver.

A plural noun ending in s takes an apostrophe after the s:

the boys fathers, the buses drivers, the horses owner.
2
Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero-Tolerance Approach
to Punctuation (London: Profile Books, 2003), p.9.

21
 A plural noun not ending in s takes s: the womens
rights, the childrens school.

Get into the habit of taking a moment to check if the

apostrophe should be before or after the s every time you
use one. Do not be tempted to tuck the apostrophe into a
name that already has an s: Dickens novels, Keats
poems, or into possessive pronouns (see below).

Signal a missing letter in a contraction such as dont,

wont, wouldnt,
isnt, its. However, these contractions are informal and
should not appear in academic essays, except when they
appear in quotations from texts. Write out these phrases
in full: do not, will not, would not, is not, it is, etc.

22
DO NOT USE AN APOSTROPHE FOR:

Plurals of nouns ending in vowels such as bananas,

pianos, tomatos instead of bananas, pianos, tomatoes.
This is known as the greengrocers apostrophe, but
crops up everywhere. There is no excuse for this; it is just
plain wrong.

Possessive pronouns such as hers, yours, theirs, its, ours.

These are complete words, like his and mine.

Its and its are commonly confused, but this really annoys your
marker, so get this one right. Its should never appear in your
written work. If you mean it is, then write this out in full. If
you mean belonging to it, then there is no apostrophe. Run a
search on your essay and correct any its that you find lurking
in your text. Also look out for whos and whose.

7.2 Commas

I used to be a sub-editor on a daily newspaper. I would get a

rough and ready news story from a reporter, and I would cut
and correct it. I would put their commas in the right places. I
would send it to the chief sub-editor who would look over it
and put my commas in the right places. He would send it to the
night editor, who would approve it, and put all his commas in
the right places. We all thought we were correct. Different
writers vary their use of commas, which can be confusing when
you are getting to grips with the rules. In the last forty years,
English has shifted quite radically to using as few commas as
possible. Someone who went to university in the 1960s will
have learned different rules from accepted contemporary
practice. However, this does not mean that you can put
commas wherever you like. Commas provide the internal
structure or map of each sentence. They mark out which bits of
the sentence are essential to its meaning and which bits are
supplementary. They show where clauses start and stop, and
they separate items in lists. Getting them in the right place
keeps the movement of the sentence clear, but having too
many can slow down your reader and make the sentence seem

23
cluttered and fussy. Here are some rules which you should
learn to observe:

24
USE A COMMA:

To link two sentences with a conjunction (and, but,

because, etc):
This makes a compound sentence. There are three
examples of this kind of sentence in the passage above.
For example, the second sentence could be split into two:

I would get a rough and ready news story from a

reporter. I
would cut and correct it.

I have chosen to link the two sentences with a comma and

the word and to emphasise that I want the reader to take
both sections as part of the same event. However, a
comma cannot link two sentences by itself. If I insert
a comma but miss out the word and, I create a comma
splice (see page 23). The second last sentence has a
similar structure. Here I have used but to emphasise the
contrast. Technically it is possible to link together several
sentences with commas to make a very long, complex
sentence. D. H. Lawrence and Henry James do this all the
time in their fiction, but you should avoid it. Limit yourself
to one conjunction per sentence where possible. It is
always better to write short, clear sentences in essays.

After connective adverbs: These words are very useful

at the start of sentences in essays as they show how your
argument is moving from sentence to sentence. However,
yet, still, nevertheless, therefore, thus, moreover, for
example, etc, can be used to suggest a connection or
contrast between two sentences without formally joining
them. A comma is required after one of these when it
appears at the beginning of a sentence.

However, you will always make occasional mistakes.

However is particularly problematic. If you leave out this

comma, it sounds like the whole sentence is a subordinate
clause which should lead to some other statement. If
however is operating as part of a subordinate clause, the
comma goes after the clause:

25
 However much you try, you will always make
occasional
mistakes.

This is easy to get wrong, so look out for this one.

Though and although cannot be used as connective

adverbs at the start of sentences:

X Although, many people try to do so.

They can, however, be used at the start of a subordinate

clause:

Although Elizabeth finds Darcy overbearing, she is

obviously the only woman in the novel who is his
intellectual equal.

To separate items in a list: This works for nouns and

adjectives:

Oscar Wilde wrote novels, plays, poetry, journalism,

criticism and childrens stories. However, he is most
famous for his colourful, controversial private life.

If you have three or more items, use and between the last
two. Avoid listing verbs and adverbs. One at a time is
quite enough.

To signal parenthesis: Commas can be used like brackets to

insert an
extra piece of information, interesting or otherwise, into a
sentence. Reread that last sentence without the words
between the two commas. It still makes sense. The phrase
between the commas is not a complete sentence. In this
case it is a modifying phrase, which adds some extra
information or comment about the preceding noun. The
first comma signals a short diversion from the sentence.
The second comma shows that this is finished, and the
sentence picks up where it left off. You could insert a
different kind of phrase or clause here, such as or even a

26
 witty aside or if you have any extra information to
insert. Parentheses have great comic potential, but try to
resist the temptation to use them in essays for hilarious
remarks that probably will not seem so funny to your
marker. Also avoid using them to include lists of things
that you would like to mention but cannot be bothered to
include properly in a working sentence:

X Hamlet has many flaws, indecisiveness, arrogance,

suspicion of others etc, which undermine his heroic
potential.

Here it would be better to say:

Hamlet has many flaws which undermine his heroic

potential. He is indecisive, arrogant and suspicious
of others.

This version sounds less muddled. Also, avoid long,

rambling diversions in sentences, or diversions within a
diversion. One short phrase is fine, but if your parenthesis
is any longer than ten words, you should consider putting
this information in a sentence of its own. If you do use
commas to form a parenthesis, make sure you close it. You
would not use just one bracket. In fact, avoid using
brackets and dashes wherever possible. Good use of
commas is much more elegant.

To mark out clauses: If you are hazy about what a clause is,
you need to read something that will explain the basics of
grammar slowly and carefully. See the list at the end of
Section B for some further reading. Traditional grammar
is very careful to note every shift in the syntax of a
sentence by inserting a comma. (See Jane Austens
sentence on page 8.) Modern writing is more relaxed
about this. Look at sentences four and five in the opening
paragraph about commas on page 19. These sentences
are grammatically identical, but I have only put commas
in one of them so that you can see the two styles in action.
Aptly enough, the chief sub-editor liked to take commas
out whenever possible, while the night editor liked to put
them back in. In that particular case it does not make

27
 much difference. The syntax works either way. Some
clauses do not need to be separated by commas,
especially when a linking word such as that, whenever,
since etc is used. However, commas can make a dramatic
difference to the meaning of a sentence. Leaving them out
can make a sentence ambiguous. Use commas to make
your meaning apparent, not just to provide pauses where
you think the reader needs a rest. The easiest way to get
this right is to be absolutely clear in your own head about
what you want to say, and to say it as simply as possible in
short sentences. You will find a quick explanation of
clauses on page 28, which should help.

To introduce speech: A comma is used to introduce speech or

a
quotation when it forms part of the preceding or following
sentence:

Hamlet says, I know a hawk from a handsaw. 3

or
I know a hawk from a handsaw, says Hamlet.

You can also use a colon to introduce a quotation or

speech:

Hamlet says: I know a hawk from a handsaw.

Always use a colon when the quotation follows a complete

sentence:

Hamlet insists that he is sane: I know a hawk from a

handsaw.

DO NOT USE COMMAS:

To join sentences without a conjunction: This creates a

comma splice, which comes a close second to dodgy
apostrophes on the markers hate-list. A comma splice
looks like this:

3
William Shakespeare, Hamlet, in The Complete Works of Shakespeare,
2 vols (New York: Nelson Doubleday, 1968), vol II, Act II, Sc. 2, p.611.

28
 X Some markers are sent into a rage by comma splices,
they will give themselves a hernia with fury, and will
cover your essay in red pen.

It should read:

Some markers are sent into a rage by comma splices.

They will give themselves a hernia with fury, and
will cover your essay in red pen.
or
Some markers are sent into a rage by comma splices;
they will give themselves a hernia with fury, and will
cover your essay in red pen.

Oddly enough, this quirk was tolerated more in the

nineteenth century. So, you will sometimes see comma
splices, which would now get red pen all over them, used
by very stylish and correct writers, such as Robert Louis
Stevenson or Ralph Waldo Emerson. This just proves that
the language is alive and constantly changing, but it is not
worth arguing this point with your tutor. Learn the
current rules and follow them. My experience as a marker
suggests that the comma splice is a common mistake of
bright students who read quickly and think coherently.
Sometimes certain ideas seem so connected that one
instinctively wants to put them in the same sentence.
However, linking these is no longer the job of the comma.
If you really want to run together two sentences that
seem to connect, consider a semi-colon (see below). It is
an under-used punctuation resource. Alternatively include
a conjunction, and, but, so, or, for etc. Connective
adverbs such as however, yet, still, nevertheless,
therefore, thus, moreover etc are not strong enough to
join two sentences. If you want to use one of these, stop
the sentence and start again. If you are a fast reader, keep
a special lookout for comma splices as you proofread.

7.3 Semi-colons

Few people know how to use a semi-colon well, which is a pity,

as this is an elegant element of style. It has two main functions
in prose:

29
To connect two sentences: This is a good antidote to the
comma
splice. It works especially well for short sentences where
the sense follows on directly into the second sentence,
and where the two halves are of equal importance and
length:

I opened the book; I began to read.

It is also possible to use a semi-colon with a connective

adverb:

I opened the book; however, I did not begin to read.

This is more cumbersome and should be used sparingly.

The golden rule of using semi-colons to join clauses is that
each half of the completed sentence should also operate
as a grammatical sentence in its own right. In other
words, only use a semi-colon where you could put a full
stop. Therefore, you should avoid putting a semi-colon
next to conjunctions, such as and, but, so etc, or
relatives, such as that, which, when etc. You do not need
these. The semi-colon does the job of linking well enough
by itself.

To separate items on a list: This is especially useful when

the list is
long and the individual items on the list include commas:

There are many ghosts and spirits in Victorian

fiction: the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and
Future in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens; the
dead servants, Quint and Jessel, in The Turn of the
Screw by Henry James; and the unseen, pervasive
presence of Janes mother in Jane Eyre by Charlotte
Bronte.

This way the reader can easily tell where the important
divisions between the items occur. If this list only
contained commas, it would be very confusing. When
using semi-colons in a list, it is often a good idea to

30
 introduce the list with a colon to show where the list
begins.

7.4 Colons

Like semi-colons, these are rarely used but are not as

confusing as many people think. The function of a colon is to
introduce information of some kind:

To introduce a list: A colon announces that something

important is about to follow. This makes it ideal for
kicking off a long list, as above. The list can also be a
sequence of short items separated by commas:

You will need four ingredients to bake a cake: flour,

sugar,
butter and eggs.

To introduce a quotation or speech: This is very useful in

essays, and
works well before a large, indented quotation. Always use
a colon to introduce a quotation which follows a complete
sentence.

To introduce an explanation or statement: In this case the

colon is
used to create some sort of anticipation. It is often used
when reporting speech or when summarizing or
expanding the first half of the sentence:

Austens message is clear: money is an essential

element in a happy marriage.
or
Elizabeth makes her feelings obvious: she despises
Mr
Collins.

Unlike the semi-colon, the colon does not always require

two equally balanced clauses. In fact it works most
powerfully when it is used to introduce a single word or a
short, punchy phrase:

31
 However, Austens heroines require something more
than
money for a happy marriage: love.
or
Elizabeth feels only one emotion for Mr Collins:
contempt.

This construction also works in reverse:

Contempt: this is the only emotion Elizabeth has for

Mr
Collins.

This is very striking and, as with all grammatical

flourishes, should be used with caution. Try this no more
than once a term.

7.5 Dashes

Unlike semi-colons and colons, dashes are over-used. They are

often used by writers who are unsure which punctuation mark
to choose. Dashes should NOT be used instead of brackets,
parenthetical commas, semi-colons, full stops, or colons before
lists and quotations. Avoid all of the following constructions:

X Elizabeth a very independent woman is in no rush to

marry.
X Elizabeth makes her feelings obvious she despises Mr
Collins.
X Elizabeth feels only one emotion for Mr Collins
contempt.

All of these can be rewritten using more appropriate

punctuation. However, dashes do have their place, whatever
some may say. When you use one make sure you type a long
dash () not a short hyphen (-). Press Ctrl, Alt and the hyphen
key at the top right of your keyboard. Dashes are useful where
the sense of the sentence is interrupted in some way, or where
a long qualification or description has led away from the main
point of the sentence. The dash provides a breathing space in
which the sentence can reorganise itself:

32
 Elizabeth Bennet is young, attractive, intelligent,
vivacious, independent to the point of stubbornness the
classic Austen heroine.

The final phrase does not fit easily into the syntax of the
sentence, but it is obviously referring to the subject of the
sentence, Elizabeth Bennet. If you were to put a comma after
stubbornness, the final phrase would get lost in the list of
adjectives. You could create a new sentence: She is the classic
Austen heroine. However, this lacks the immediacy and
movement of this version. A dash seems justified in this case.
Here is another one:

Hamlets indecisiveness, his arrogance, his suspicion of

others, his passionate, brooding, introspective nature
these all contribute to his downfall.

In both these sentences you could quite correctly substitute a

colon. However, the effect of a colon is to lead the reader
forward into the following section. A dash is more like a bucket
of cold water flung in the readers face, jolting them back to
the starting point of the sentence. Nobody wants this
experience too often, so, once more, use with extreme caution.
If you can replace a dash with another punctuation mark, you
probably should.

7.6 Quotation marks

In British usage, speech and quotations are signalled by single

quotation marks:

Dickens begins A Christmas Carol with a ghostly

reference: Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no
doubt whatever about that.

Quotations and speech within quotations are signalled by

double quotation marks:

Bah! said Scrooge, Humbug!

You will see this done the other way around, with double quote
marks on the outside and single quotes within. This will

33
probably be in books or journals published in the US, where
the system is reversed. Please use the British system. For
more on quotations, see Section C.

7.7 Exclamation marks

Do not use these, unless they appear in quotations (see above).

An academic essay should persuade by force of reason and

evidence. Exclamation marks do not fit in the formal register of
academic writing.

34
8 GRAMMAR

Language needs grammar. It is essential if you want to

construct any kind of statement beyond simply naming objects.
If you want to express interesting ideas then a sound grasp of
grammar is essential. Your understanding of grammar may be
more developed than you realise. If you have studied a foreign
language, you may have a very sophisticated knowledge of how
it works. Many students use grammar well without knowing all
the terms for the techniques they are using. This is fine when it
works, but it can help to stop and think about what you are
doing. Markers tend to use technical, grammatical terms when
pointing out problems in your work, which is not much use to
you if you do not know what they are talking about. This
section will point out a few common problems, and offer
definitions of some terms that may crop up in your markers
comments. If you have serious problems with grammar, this
booklet will not solve them. If your markers consistently
complain about your syntax, sentence structure, tenses,
pronouns and the like, you probably need some help from one
of the sources listed on pages 2-3.

8.1 Clauses

Clauses are the internal sections of a sentence, which fit

together to build up meaning. Every clause has a noun and a
verb, sometimes called a subject and a predicate. However, not
all clauses are of equal weight and value. The clauses of a
sentence are like the internal walls of a house. Some can be
moved around or altered without doing too much damage. One
is always essential and cannot be removed without the whole
thing falling in. Clauses which are essential are main clauses.
A compound sentence (see page 20) will have two main
clauses. A main clause requires a noun and a verb:

I know.

However, it can also be more elaborate:

I know some useful things about grammar.

35
A main clause is the bit of a sentence which can make a
sentence all by itself. Know is the principal verb of this
sentence, which means it is the verb in the main clause. I is
the subject of the sentence, which means it is the noun doing
the verb, also called the predicate. Some useful things about
grammar forms the object of the sentence. This is the noun
phrase which represents the thing that I know. Subjects,
objects and predicates can all be made up of single words or
phrases to make up the main clause.

Subordinate clauses: Onto this main clause one can attach

other clauses, which support and describe the main clause.
These are called subordinate clauses. All the subordinate
clauses in the following examples are underlined. Subordinate
clauses can often be moved around without changing the
meaning of a sentence:

I know some useful things about grammar, which is lucky

for you.
or
It is lucky for you that I know some useful things about
grammar.

A subordinate clause is a section of a sentence which contains

a subject and a predicate (ie. a noun and a verb), but which is
doing the job of an adverb or an adjective. It is not part of the
main action of the sentence. It is describing a thing or an
action in the main clause or in another subordinate clause. A
sentence can have more than one subordinate clause. They can
follow and/or precede the main clause.

Because I have studied English, I know some useful things

about grammar, which is lucky for you, as you can draw
on these to improve your writing.

By now, however, this sentence is getting a bit long and

complex for my liking. Once you have more than three clauses
in a sentence, it is very easy to get muddled up about which is
the important one. I advise against sentences any more
complex than this. They are hard to write well and hard work
to read. The real danger is when the main clause gets missed
out, and you end up with something like this:

36
X Because I have studied English, which is lucky for you, as
you can
draw on these to improve your writing.

This is not a sentence. It has no main verb, only a succession of

subordinate clauses. A subordinate clause is often flagged up
by a word such as while, which, if, that, whenever,
although, as, despite, etc. This kind of clause describes the
subject, the object or the predicate of the main clause. A
phrase containing a participle (usually a verb ending in ing)
behaves similarly. These cannot form sentences in their own
right, even though you will find them in The Sunday Times. In
your written work, therefore, you should avoid things like this:

X Although this is not the case.

X However much you try.
X Rarely appearing to do so.
X Being of sound mind and judgement.

All of these are sentence fragments. They do have nouns and

verbs, but they lack a principal verb and are not valid as stand-
alone sentences in formal written English. Charles Dickens,
who was once a journalist, uses these often in his fiction for
dramatic effect. However, they have no place in academic
essays. The Microsoft grammar check will not always pick up
sentence fragments, so correct these carefully yourself.

Dangling elements: You also need to make sure that the

different bits of the sentence match up in a way that makes
sense. A subordinate clause or participle phrase can cause
complications when it is not quite clear to which bit of the
main clause it refers. For example:

While she was writing The Voyage Out, Virginia Woolfs

sister Vanessa Bell painted her portrait.

This is called a dangling clause, because the while clause

dangles pointlessly and ambiguously from the main clause.
This sentence suggests that Virginia Woolfs sister wrote The
Voyage Out, which is not the case. In this sort of sentence, try
to keep the subject of the main clause as the subject of the

37
subordinate clause, so that the two halves of the sentence are
talking about the same thing or person. This may require some
rewording.

While Virginia Woolf was writing The Voyage Out, she sat
for a portrait painted by her sister Vanessa Bell.

This is clearer. However, it is also possible to solve this kind of

problem by writing shorter sentences:

Vanessa Bell painted a portrait of her sister, Virginia

Woolf. During
this period, Woolf was writing The Voyage Out.

Look out for other elements in sentences that dangle. Make it

clear what each bit of the sentence describes. Remember that
pronouns usually refer to the most recent available noun. (See
section on pronouns page 34.) Make sure that what you have
written makes sense to your reader, not just to you.

38
Relative clauses: A relative clause is a subordinate clause
which refers to a preceding noun or pronoun. It usually starts
with who, which or that. In the following sentence the
relative clause has been underlined:

The play which we studied last year is out of print.

There are two kinds of relative clause: defining and non-

defining.

A defining relative clause is essential to the meaning of the

sentence because it gives important information about the
preceding word. This identifies it in some way, marking it out
from all other possible occurrences of the word. The example
above is a defining relative clause. It makes clear that the
sentence is discussing one particular play studied last year, in
contrast to plays studied this year or two years ago.

A non-defining relative clause offers information that

describes but does not specify; it is doing the same job as a
modifying clause in a parenthesis (see page 21). Like this, it
must be enclosed in commas to keep it out of the way of the
main action of the sentence:

Shakespeare, who was born in 1564, wrote poetry as well

as plays.

When the clause defines, there are no commas. When it does

not, it is surrounded by commas, or by a comma and a full stop,
if it ends the sentence. Remember to add the second comma
after a non-defining relative clause. Avoid things like this:

X Shakespeare, who was born in 1564 wrote poetry as well

as plays.

It is important to decide whether a relative clause is defining

or non-defining, since the commas alone can change the
meaning completely. Compare the two pairs below:

He answered all the questions which were on

Shakespeare.

39
 He answered all the questions, which were on
Shakespeare.

Were all the available questions on Shakespeare or not? My

personal favourite in this category is:

All the sailors who were in the lifeboat were saved.

All the sailors, who were in the lifeboat, were saved.

The first sentence implies that some sailors did not make it into
the lifeboat and came to a sorry end. The other one says that
all the sailors were in the lifeboat and survived. Who says
punctuation is not a matter of life and death?

That and which: If you use your Microsoft grammar check as

you write, you will find that it constantly makes a fuss about
whether you use that or which at the beginning of relative
clauses. The people at Microsoft, for reasons of their own, will
not let you start a defining relative clause with which. If you
type a comma followed by which, a green line appears under
the text. Microsoft insists on:

The play that we studied last year is out of print.

or
He answered all the questions that were on Shakespeare.

You can do it this way for a quiet life, but the rule above about
commas is the important one. Microsoft is not the ultimate
authority on grammar, and I do not see why it should be
allowed to boss everyone around. I reserve the right to use
that and which in both defining and non-defining clauses as
appropriate. You should too.

8.2 Agreement

Subject and verb agreement: A singular subject should have

a singular verb. A plural subject should have a plural verb. This
sounds simple, but can be confusing when the subject of the
sentence is a short phrase:

X The number of passes have risen to fifty.

40
The verb should be has:

The number of passes has risen to fifty.

The main subject of this sentence is the number. The phrase

of passes is only a modifier of the subject. Number is
singular and requires a singular verb. However, a phrase
containing a number of would take a plural verb, just like a
phrase containing a lot of before a plural noun:

A number of passes are just above the borderline.

A lot of passes are just above the borderline.

41
This is because a number of and a lot of behave like
modifiers, such as many. Be especially careful of this issue if
you have a list in a sentence, or some sort of qualifying or
relative clause:

X Hamlets failure to take control of the situation, act

decisively, and regain his rightful position as ruler, are
disastrous.

Hamlets failure is the subject of the sentence. So this should

read:

Hamlets failure to take control of the situation, act

decisively, and
regain his rightful position as ruler, is disastrous.

Collective nouns: Some writers relax the rule about singular

subject, singular verb for collective nouns. These nouns denote
groups and therefore imply their members, such as army,
audience, committee, family and jury. It is often acceptable
to say:

My family are delightful.

But if you start this sort of thing, it can be hard to know where
to stop. What about the government, the university, the
community, the fire brigade, the company etc? For the sake
of consistency and accuracy, it is better to obey the singular
rule and to write.

My family is delightful.

If you want to make it clear that you are talking about the
members of the group then do so:

All the members of my family are delightful.

Indefinite pronouns. The rules about collective nouns

become harder if you include an indefinite pronoun in your
sentence such as everybody, everyone, somebody, someone,
anybody, anyone, nobody, no one, none. These words all
take a singular verb.

42
 Everybody in my family is delightful.

Watch out when the indefinite pronoun is used after a plural.

X None of my relatives are delightful.

None of my relatives is delightful.

This seems counter-intuitive until you remember that none is

just a short version of not one. All the pronouns listed above
follow this rule. However, they are sometimes linked to the
plurals they, their and them(selves):

Everybody is entitled to their opinion.

or
If someone does not like poetry, I would not make them
read it.

This is done to avoid a gendered pronoun. In earlier centuries

his or him was often used in this context as an indefinite
pronoun. However, as many people pointed out, this excluded
half the population from this sort of sentence. One can say his
or her and him or her, but it sounds a bit clumsy, and raises
the problem of who should go first: girls or boys? Many other
languages have a non-gendered pronoun, a human version of
it, for this sort of situation, but English does not. Some older
writers object to their, theirs and them in this context, but
the language is definitely moving towards this as the solution
to the problem. On the whole, I think this is better than trying
to turn the clock back to a sexist way of seeing the world.

8.3 Tenses

Make sure that you only write in one tense at a time. It is easy
to get this mixed up if you are using a conditional case or
reporting speech. As with everything else, look at what you are
writing carefully. Make sure you are clear what you want to say
and that it cannot be read in a different way. Write about real-
life authors in past tense (unless they are still alive) and
fictional characters in present tense. (See page 17.)

43
8.4 Pronouns

A pronoun always refers to the most recent plausible noun.

This is called the law of antecedents. It works like this:

The cat dropped the mouse. It ran away.

This says that the mouse ran away, not the cat. However a
gendered pronoun will match up with the most recent
gendered noun, or proper name.

The girl dropped the mouse. She ran away.

In this case it is the girl who runs away. Technically, of course,

it might be a female mouse. However, we are not told the
mouses gender, so the girl is the most likely candidate for
she.

Pronouns can get out of hand when there are too many of
them in a sentence, especially if this sentence contains an
indefinite pronoun or two, such as it and this. For example,
what does this mean?

It is useful to note that Hamlets indecision about killing

his uncle takes more time than it should, but this doesnt
mean that it is morally wrong, and this might be the case
because he gets to think about it first.

Is it Hamlets indecision or the killing of his uncle that may or

may not be wrong? What might be the case? Who gets to think
about it first: Hamlet or his uncle? A student who writes a
sentence like this may have an idea in their own head what
they mean, but they have not exactly made their point clear. On
the whole, you should avoid starting sentences with it and
this whenever possible, and be aware that pronouns later in a
sentence may be misread if not clearly attached to an earlier
noun. There is no law against using a noun or name twice in a
sentence if it helps clarify the point. Always strike out pointless
phrases such as it is useful to note that. Write shorter
sentences.

44
9. SPELLING

There is no short cut to good spelling. You just have to learn

what each word in the language looks like. However, there is
one simple thing you can do which will help: buy a dictionary. A
good dictionary will be the most useful book you buy during
your time at university, so do not grudge the money for it.
However, there is no point spending a weeks rent on a leather-
bound, two-volume Shorter Oxford. Buy a small, compact
dictionary, ideally less than 20cm tall, that is light enough and
sturdy enough to travel in your rucksack. A dictionary on the
bookshelf is no use if you are working in the library or the
computing centre. Get into the habit of taking your dictionary
(and this booklet) with you when you are writing, and look up
words you are unsure about. This will not just help with your
spelling. Make sure that you also read and understand the
definition of the words you use. It is easy to get similar words
confused. Using a dictionary rather than the spell check on
your PC can help you avoid some embarrassing errors.

45
 Microsoft spell check is a useful function, and can help
you spot
typing errors that your eye might otherwise miss. However, it
is not foolproof. It will not notice the difference between their
and there, or it and is, or allusive and elusive. It will clear
anything in its own dictionary, without checking to see if this
word belongs in your sentence. If you rely on it too heavily, you
can end up with sentences like this:

During this scene, the ghost of Hamlets father can be

seen hoovering in the background.

In Paradise Lost, Satan rallies the fallen angles.

Do not automatically accept any corrections that the spell

check suggests. Be especially careful with names. A fourth-
year student recently submitted an essay where the names of
the characters Hagar and Ishmael had been changed
throughout to Haggard and Fishmeal. How we laughed
Always read through your essay carefully after you have
printed it out. You will notice mistakes that you did not pick up
on screen. If there are only a few of these, your marker will not
mind if you correct these by hand. It is better to show that you
have read through your work than to present a pristine text full
of errors. If you find a lot of mistakes, go back and print out
the essay again. Remember that the ability to produce a clean,
polished text is an important skill in its own right. It is worth
spending time and effort on this. Not only will good spelling
earn you extra marks for each essay during your time as a
student; this is a skill that will also be useful in the workplace
later on.

9.1 Common errors

There may be no short cut to good spelling, but there are some
common pitfalls which you can avoid. Here are some areas
which need special care:

Words ending
ant/ent eg: dependent, dependant
ance/ence eg: observance, correspondence
ite/ate eg: infinite, obstinate

46
 ible/able eg: fallible, reasonable
ibility/ability eg: fallibility, disability
arate/erate eg: separate, desperate
ege/edge eg: privilege, acknowledge
cede/ceed/sede eg: precede, proceed, supersede
ice/ise eg: noun practice, verb practise
Words beginning
de/di eg: despair, divide
im/in eg: impossible, inconceivable

Words including
ie/ei The old rule is a good one: I before E
except after C, when the sound is
E.
double letters (see US/UK spelling below)
our this often becomes or before a suffix
eg: vigour/vigorous

Words which sound like other words

eg: principle/principal, affect/effect

Trust your dictionary, not your ears.

9.2 Capitals

Proper nouns (names) such as England, France, Scandinavia,

the Thames, Lake Michigan, Mont Blanc, etc, have an initial
capital letter. In English, adjectives and nouns denoting
nationality and language do as well: English, Old English,
French, Latin, and Italian. Historical periods are treated in the
same way: the Middle Ages, the Renaissance.
Words denoting religions, movements or schools and peoples,
together with the adjectives referring to these, and words
denoting people belonging to them, have an initial capital:
Christianity, Christian; Dadaism, Dadaist, Dadaistic; Fabianism,
Fabianist, Fabian; Islam, Islamic; Jew, Jewish. The Bible, the
Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Koran all take
capitals, as do all book titles. However, the adjective biblical
does not.
A common noun is often capitalised when it forms part of a
name or a title. Thus the English Department gets capitals, but

47
the phrase in this department does not. Claudius in Hamlet, is
the King, just as one would write the Queen when referring
to Elizabeth II or some other specific queen. But king or queen
used in a general way, does not have a capital letter. For
example, The king of a country should not hold too much
power. God gets a capital when one is naming the God of
Christian, Islamic or Jewish faiths. Words used as names for
God are often capitalised too, such as the Almighty, the Creator
etc, although the practice of capitalising pronouns referring to
God (Him, His, Thy will be done, etc.) is dying out. The Gods of
Ancient Greece and Rome also get a capital, although gods
from other cultures do not.

48
9.3 US v UK Spelling

Please use UK spelling at all times in your own writing.

However, some of the texts which you read will be printed with
US spellings, so it is useful to know the main differences.

British ll/ American l: A single consonant at the end of a word

is often
doubled before a suffix in UK English, but not in US
English: revelling/reveling.

British re/ American er: centre/center, metre/meter,

theatre/theater

British ogue/ American og: catalogue/catalog,

demagogue/demagog

British our/ American or: colour/color, humour/humor,

vigour/vigor

British se/ American ze: criticise/criticize, analyse/analyze

It is acceptable to reproduce US spellings in quotations, if you

are quoting from an American text, such as Robert Frosts
poem The Road Not Taken:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I

I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. 4

Further Reading

Burchfield, R. W., ed., Fowlers Modern English Usage, 3rd edn

(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998)

Gee, Robyn, and Carol Watson, Usborne Guide to Better

English: Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation (London:
Usborne, 2004)

4
Robert Frost, The Poetry of Robert Frost, ed. by Edward Connery
Lathem (London: Cape, 1971; repr. 2001), p.105.

49
Partridge, Eric, Usage and Abusage: A Guide to Good English
(Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1999)

Peck, John and Martin Coyle. The Students Guide to Writing:

Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation (Houndmills: Palgrave,
1999)
Ritter, R. M. ed., The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors,
2nd edn (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000)

Strunk, William and E. B. White, The Elements of Style

(London: Longman, 1999)

Truss, Lynne, Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero-Tolerance

Approach to Punctuation (London: Profile Books, 2003)

QUICK FIX: LANGUAGE

1. Write in clear, simple, formal English.

2. Get apostrophes in the right places. Its should never appear in your
essay. If you mean it is, write it out in full. If you mean its = belonging
to it, there is no apostrophe.

3. Avoid comma splices; use a semi-colon or start a new sentence.

4. Think about clauses. Do not have too many in one sentence. It is

always better to write short, clear sentences whenever possible. Do not
present subordinate clauses as complete sentences. These are
sentence fragments.

5. Make sure that single nouns have single verbs and that plural nouns
have plural verbs.

6. Write about authors in past tense (unless they are still alive). Write
about fictional characters and events in present tense.

7. Use pronouns with care. Make sure that the pronoun refers to the most
recent available noun. Avoid vague pronouns such as this and it,
especially at the start of sentences.

8. Do not rely on Microsoft to sort out your grammar and spelling.

9. Always read through your work carefully once you have finished.
Correct any mistakes that you find, by hand if necessary.
50
10. Buy a dictionary and use it.
SECTION C: SOURCES

10. CHOOSING SOURCES

Choosing and using sources is an integral part of studying.

Finding useful texts can seem rather daunting, especially if
most of the texts recommended in the course guide have been
checked out of the library. However, there is no need to panic
and log on to Google. There are thousands of books in the
Queen Mother Library. Dozens of these will be relevant to your
essay topic. The trick is knowing where to look. Your tutor will
not be impressed if you give up searching, and write a
superficial essay built up of information from lecture notes and
things downloaded from the Internet. However, if you are
prepared to look a little bit harder in the library, you will find
some wonderful sources, which will inform your work and give
you original ideas.

Critical books: Obviously, it is helpful if you can get your

hands on a critical book about an author on whom you are
writing. However, this is not the only kind of useful critical
book. There are also many books in QML which focus on
literary forms and literary periods. If you are writing about
Keats, for example, it might be interesting to start looking for
books about the Romantic Movement or about the history of
poetry. Books about poetic form and structure would give you
an insight into how his work compares to that of other poets.
You can use the index to see if there is a short section about
him. Ten pages placing Keats into a wider context, might be
more use than a long biography which you do not have the
time or energy to read. Finally, critical theory books can
provide you with radical and incisive ways of approaching a
text. Begin to think about how you read, and explore some
theories which invite you to try out different kinds of reading.
Your work will be sharper and more rigorous.

Other disciplines: There is no law that says you have to stay

on Floor 3 of QML. Think creatively about your essay question.
If it has a historical angle, you might want to look at something
which will give you some background knowledge of the period.
Books on cultural history and sociology can be especially

51
interesting, as they explore many of the same issues that
literature does. If you are working on a writer who has an
interest in philosophy, art or religion, it can be useful to
research the ideas behind their work. Many books will tell you
that Thomas Hardy was interested in the philosophy of
Schopenhauer, but very few students bother to go and find out
about him. There is no reason why you should not. This may
teach you more about Hardy than ten critical works.

52
Contemporary Periodicals: Old magazines and newspapers
offer a mine of information about the culture and history of a
literary period. You can also find contemporary reviews of
books, plays and poems here. Many periodicals are available as
online databases. Look in the English website under Study
Resources for access to these.

Academic Journals: It is easy to forget about these, but short

articles are often more use than books. They are quicker to
read and sometimes more interesting. There are several ways
of searching for articles online. I recommend the MLA
Bibliography, which lists every work of criticism on literature in
English anywhere in the world. You can do a keyword search,
and it will tell you every book and article on the subject. You
can then use the QML catalogue to work out what we have. Go
into the English webpage. Click on Study Resources, then E-
Resources Guide and choose MLA. Or enter
<www.search.epnet.com> in the URL bar.

Internet sources: There are many interesting and scholarly

pieces of work on the Internet. There is also a lot of superficial
and inaccurate information. Be very careful about what you
use from the Internet. Sites which are sponsored by
universities or academic publishers are likely to give you very
good information. You can often get journal articles on the
Internet which are not available in QML. Literary societies also
often have good biographical information about authors and
useful lists of recommended reading. There is a list of links in
the Study Resources section of the English website. However,
be wary of study-notes sites, which are aimed at school
students and will not bring your work up to the level we would
like to see. Discussion boards and essays which are not
published through an academic site often contain information
which is not correct. There is nothing to stop you posting your
work on the Internet, so what you find there could be the work
of an enthusiastic undergraduate with some IT skills. Your
marker will get twitchy if more than half of your bibliography
is made up of Internet sites. Use a mix of sources as you do
your research.

11. USING SOURCES

53
Effective use of secondary sources is crucial. It is almost
impossible to write a really good essay without secondary
sources. Even for a critical analysis, it is a good idea to pick up
some generalisations about the authors style and that of his
contemporaries from critics, and then compare what they say
with the text. Learning from other thinkers and writers is what
being at university is all about. You will also find that reading
other people sharpens up your own ideas. However, you need
to know how to incorporate other writers work into your own.
Good use of secondary material shows that you have done your
research, and that you are also confident about your own
opinions. It is an essential element in a first-class essay. Using
sources well is much more than avoiding plagiarism. It is about
showing off your knowledge, and making your sources work to
back up your ideas.

11.1 Argue with the critics

Just because someone has spent a lifetime researching a

subject and is an internationally recognised authority on a
particular text or author does not necessarily mean they are
right. Feel free to challenge anything and everything that you
read. In fact, when you read secondary sources, you should
probably start with the assumption that you are going to
disagree but you are prepared to be persuaded if they make a
good enough case. This is called critical thinking. Students
often discard any secondary material that they do not agree
with. This is like taking the springs out of a trampoline and
then wondering why it does not bounce. Critical material that
you can prove is missing the point is a gift. Roll your sleeves up
and get to work on it. Just make sure you can back up your
position with material from the text or from other critics.
Sometimes pure logic will do the trick too. This is the sort of
thing that makes an essay sparkle. So, be assertive with critics.
They are only human after all.

11.2 Acknowledge the critic in your text

It is not enough to drop in a footnote at the end of a sentence,

or name a book in the bibliography. You must acknowledge
your sources more actively than this. Make sure you say who

54
said what and whether you agree. For example, In her study of
the subject, Hazel Hutchison argues a, which is a useful
approach to the text because of b. However, she overlooks the
issue of c, which is a vital element in the plot. There are good
reasons for naming the critic like this:

It sounds good. Academics all enjoy a bit of name-dropping,

and like to see that you have considered an idea put forward by
an important critic or literary figure. Essays are all about
showing what you have read and learned. Knowing about the
key players in a debate is part of this.

It helps your marker: Remember that it is your job to make

your essay accessible to the reader. Your marker may not have
read all the books you refer to, so some help in sorting out who
said what is often appreciated. For example, do you have any
idea how many books there are in QML on Shakespeare?
Alternatively, your marker may have read all your secondary
sources, in which case they will expect you to give credit to the
critic where it is due.

It makes for clarity: One of the hardest skills in writing about

literature is making it crystal clear which ideas come from
outside sources, which are based on common knowledge (or
hearsay) about period, genre etc, and which are your own
thoughts on the subject. You want to sell the last category, but
your marker will not know what your thoughts are, unless you
make it clear where other peoples ideas stop and yours start.
Do not assume you can fudge this to your advantage.
Academics tend to be cynical by nature, and will assume that
you have absorbed ideas from somewhere else unless you mark
this out neatly.

It helps with structure: Naming the critic makes it easier to

refer back to this idea later in the essay. Eg: F.R.Leavis takes a
completely different line to Hutchison on this matter. He
argues x, y and z. This helps to hold the whole essay together
and makes it look like a well balanced piece of writing.

12. LAYOUT OF QUOTATIONS

55
12.1 Very short quotations

Quotations of a few words should be incorporated into a longer

sentence like this:

Pips great expectations prove to be not at all what he

imagines.
or
Joes repeated phrase, what larks, represents his lack of
education as well as his affectionate, boyish relationship
with Pip. 5

Always give a footnote the first time you quote from a text.
There is no need to footnote a title. If you have more than one
quotation in a sentence, give both references in the same
footnote. Always place the footnote number at the end of the
sentence. A footnote reference number should follow all
punctuation.

12.2 Quotations of up to 40 words

These may also be incorporated into your text. They should be

preceded by a colon or comma when appropriate:

Charles Dickens sets Pips story in a landscape similar to

that of his own childhood: Ours was the marsh country,
down by the river, within, as the river wound, twenty
miles of the sea.

The colon or comma is not needed if a word such as that,

which, whether introduces the quotation. In this case, the
quotation functions as a subordinate clause, and is an integral
part of the wider sentence. When the quotation appears within
a sentence, the final full stop should appear outside the
quotation marks, even if the full stop is part of the original
sentence. A page number in brackets should go inside the full
stop when the quotation is run on in the text:

Charles Dickens sets Pips story in a landscape similar to

that of his own childhood. Pip tells the reader that Ours
5
Charles Dickens, Great Expectations (1861; repr. London: Everyman,
1994), p.193.

56
 was the marsh country, down by the river, within, as the
river wound, twenty miles of the sea (GE, p.1).
or
Pip believes Miss Havisham is the source of his great
expectations.

12.3 Quotations longer than 40 words

These should be set apart in an indented paragraph of their

own. Leave a line, indent the whole paragraph one tab space
from the margin, and set out the passage without quotation
marks, except for those that may appear in the passage
quoted:

Charles Dickens sets Pips story in a landscape similar to

that of his own childhood. He quickly connects Pips
identity with this landscape and with the day on with he
meets Magwitch:

Ours was the marsh country, down by the river,

within, as the river wound, twenty miles of the sea.
My first most vivid and broad impression of the
identity of things, seems to me to have been gained
on a memorable raw afternoon towards evening.
(GE, p.1)

Footnote numbers and subsequent page references in brackets

should appear after the full stop for indented quotes. After an
indented quote there is no need to indent the first line of text,
unless you intend to start a new paragraph.

12.4 Quoting poetry

When quoting poetry, you should set it out as it appears in the

original text. Check the punctuation carefully; it may not be as
you expect. If you are quoting more than two lines, indent it
and lay it out exactly as it appears on the page:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood

57
 And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth. (Frost, 1-5)

Give a footnote, as you would for prose, and include line

numbers. I have already quoted from The Road Not Taken and
given a footnote reference on page 38, so here I am giving a
subsequent reference (see below). If you are quoting up to two
lines, run it on in the text like a short prose quote. Indicate line
divisions with a slash:

The speaker of Frosts poem ends ambiguously with the

statement that he took the road less traveled by, / And
that has made all the difference (lines 19-20). He invites
the reader to imagine what this difference might be.

12.5 Ellipses

To signal that you have omitted a short section of a quote use

ellipses in square brackets []. The brackets signal that these
ellipses are yours:

At such a time I found out for certain [] that the low

leaden line beyond was the river; and that the distant
savage lair from which the wind was rushing, was the sea;
and that the small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it
all and beginning to cry, was Pip. (GE, p.1)

Make sure that the quote still makes grammatical sense in its
own right. You must also make sure that you do not corrupt the
content of the authors original sentence. Only use ellipses to
travel a short distance within a text. Use it to join sections of
the same sentence, or possibly adjoining sentences. If you wish
to quote clauses or phrases that are further apart, do so in two
separate quotations. Do not use ellipses to indicate a large
section of text which all seems relevant to your argument, but
which you cannot be bothered to sift through for the important
phrases or sentences:

X Charles Dickens sets Pips story in a landscape similar to

that of
his own childhood. He quickly connects Pips identity with
this

58
 landscape and with the day on with he meets
Magwitch: My
fathers family [] beginning to cry, was Pip. (GE, p.1)

12.6 Make quotations make sense

Every quote must be integrated into the grammar of the

sentence or paragraph into which you wish to place it. Avoid
dropping quotations into a sentence as though in brackets, like
this:

X Pip, whose sister, I had cherished a profound conviction

that her bringing me up by hand, gave her no right to
bring me up by jerks, does not treat him well, has an
unhappy childhood.

This does not make grammatical sense. The quotation simply

lands in the middle of the sentence. This sentence would be
better like this:

Pips older sister contributes to his unhappy childhood.

Even as a small child, he is aware that her treatment of
him is unfair. He recalls: I had cherished a profound
conviction that her bringing me up by hand, gave her no
right to bring me up by jerks.

Respect the text you are quoting. Take your time and use your
sources carefully. Write something that reads well.

13. REFERENCING

Good referencing demonstrates that you care about the

accuracy and the reliability of your sources. It also shows that
you are attentive to details, which gives your argument more
authority. People will always be more willing to listen to your
big ideas if you can get the small things right. This is not just
the case within the university, so referencing is a good chance
to practise taking care with facts and figures: another skill that
you will find useful in all sorts of contexts.
There are several kinds of referencing styles around, and
if you also do social sciences you may be familiar with a

59
different system. The advice in this booklet is based on the
Modern Humanities Research Association Style Guide. The
MHRA reference system is used by scholars in arts subjects
throughout the UK. MHRA is also very similar to the Chicago
system used in the US. The advice printed here will give you
the basics, but a fiver for your very own MHRA Style Book
would be money well spent. The MHRA system is based on
footnotes. The first time you mention a text give a footnote.
See below for the right format. If you mention the same text
later in your essay, do not give a footnote. Give a short
reference in brackets within your text like this: (Dickens, p.67).
If you are using more than one text by the same author it might
be less confusing to give a short version of the title or an
abbreviation: (Great Ex, p.67) or (GE, p.67). This way the
reference material is right beside your quote and your marker
does not have to keep flitting to the bottom of the page. Do not
use ibid or op cit. These are just confusing. At the end of your
essay you should also include a bibliography (see below). The
format is slightly different for books, articles and websites. The
rules are given below. Make sure you copy the punctuation as
well. Footnotes should always have a full stop.

13.1 Books

On first reference to a book, you should give a footnote in this

format:

Authors Name, Book Title in Italics (Place of Publication:

Publisher, Date), p.no.

Rules for primary and secondary sources are the same:

Bella Bathurst, The Lighthouse Stevensons (London:

Harper Collins, 2000), p.23.

Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita (1959; repr. London: Penguin,

2000), p.4.

F. O. Matthiessen, ed., The Oxford Book of American

Verse (New York: Oxford University Press, 1950), p.556.

60
Robert Frost, The Poetry of Robert Frost, ed. by Edward
Connery Lathem (London: Cape, 1971; repr. 2001), p.105.

Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers (1857; repr. London:

Penguin, 1994), p.399.

61
If you do not know where to find this information, open the
cover of your book, and turn over one or two, pages. On the
left page opposite the title page, or behind the title page, you
will see some small type, which you have possibly never
stopped to look at before. This page gives you the publication
history of the text. Here you should find the three pieces of
information you need to fill the brackets: place of publication,
publisher and date. Sometimes these also appear on the title
page. If several places of publication appear, give the UK city.
This is probably where the book in your hand was printed, and
sometimes there will be differences between the US and UK
editions of a text. If the text is a reprint, give both the date of
original publication and the date of the reprint. This will
probably mean the oldest and most recent dates you can find
on this page. See the Nabokov and Trollope examples above. If
you are using a collected edition, give both the authors name
and the editors name. See the Frost reference above. It is only
necessary to give an edition number if the content is likely to
differ significantly between editions. This is often the case for
reference books and collections of poetry.

13.2 Short Stories

Titles of short stories are placed in quotation marks to indicate

that they are not book titles. Give the details of the short story,
followed by the details of the book in which it appears,
including the editor, if there is one. Give the page numbers for
the complete story, followed by the page number for your
quotation:

Authors Name, Title of Short Story, in Title of Book, ed.

by Editors Name (Place: Publisher, Date), page numbers,
p.no.

If the story has been reprinted in an anthology, you should also

give the original date of the story if you can find it:

Authors Name, Title of Short Story (original date); repr.

in Title of Anthology, ed. by Editors Name (Place:
Publisher, Date), page numbers, p.no.

Here are some examples:

62
 Vernon Lee, Winthrops Adventure, in The Virago Book
of
Victorian Ghost Stories, ed. by Richard Dalby (London:
Virago, 1988), 105-134, p.127.

Ernest Hemingway, A Pursuit Race, in Men Without

Women (1928; repr. London: Arrow, 1994) 111-115, p.113.

Willa Cather, A Death in the Desert (1905); repr. in The

Oxford
Book of American Short Stories, ed. by Joyce Carol Oates
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994), 264-284, p.275.

13.4 Plays

Play titles appear in italics. For a first footnote give a reference

to the edition or collection used:

William Shakespeare, Hamlet, in The Complete Works of

Shakespeare, 2 vols (New York: Nelson Doubleday, 1968),
vol II, Act II, Sc. 2, p.611.

Brian Friel, Philadelphia, Here I Come (London: Faber,

1965), p.42.

For subsequent references give an abbreviated version of the

title, if necessary, followed by act, scene, and line numbers, if
you have these. For a modern play which has undivided acts, it
often makes more sense to give page numbers instead:

(Hamlet, III.1.24-34)

(Philadelphia, p.93)

13.5 Poems

Titles of short poems appear in quotations marks. It is not

usually necessary to cite a poem as a separate item in a
footnote. Give a reference to the collection of poems or

63
anthology and the page number. The exception to this would be
a very long poem which was originally published as a volume in
its own right, such as Paradise Lost or In Memoriam. This
should follow the format for a play title as above. For
subsequent references to a poem, give line numbers rather
than page numbers.

64
13.6 Articles and chapters in books

These are cited much like short stories. Give the author and
the title of the article, followed by the book details:

Authors Name, Title of Article, in Title of Book, ed. by

Editors Name (Place: Publisher, date), page numbers,
p.no.

Philip Horne, Henry James and the Invention of Novel

Theory, in The Cambridge Companion to Henry James,
ed. by Jonathan Freedman (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1998), 79-101, p.85.

If you wish to quote from an excerpt reprinted in a collection of

source material, give as much information as you can find
about the original text, followed by the information about the
book you are using. This information should be available in the
footnotes or bibliography:

M. Eastwood, The New Woman in Fiction and in Fact,

Humanitarian, 5 (1894), 375-9; repr. in The Fin de Siecle:
A Reader in Cultural History c.1880-1900, ed. by Sally
Ledger and Roger Luckhurst (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2000), 90-92, p.90.

13.7 Articles in journals and newspapers

These follow a similar format, but the information about editor,

place of publication and publisher is not necessary. The title of
the article appears in quotation marks. The title of the journal
or newspaper appears in italics. For journals give the issue
number followed by the year. For newspapers or magazines,
give the precise date without the brackets:

Authors Name, Title of Article, Title of Journal, Volume

Number (Date), page numbers, p.no.

65
 T. S. Eliot, In Memory of Henry James, Egoist, 5 (1918),
1-2, p.2.

Iain Sinclair, Silence on the Euston Road, London

Review of Books, 18 August 2005, 14-16, p.15.

66
13.8 Websites

Give as much of the following information as you can find:

Author, Title of Article, <url location, http://www.>, date

Clark, S. N. Virginia Woolf: A Short Biography,

http://orlando.jp.org/VWSGB/dat/vwbiog.html (2000)

13.9 Films

Information in film references is separated by full points rather

than commas:

Title of Film. Directors Name. Distributor. Date.

The Grapes of Wrath. Dir. John Ford. 20th Century Fox,

1940.

14. BIBLIOGRAPHY

At the end of every essay give a bibliography. List works which

you have quoted or which have informed your thinking, even if
you have only used one or two texts. Do not list works which
you have not read or which you glanced at briefly. If you have
more than three or four items in your bibliography, it is helpful
to divide the bibliography into primary texts and secondary
texts. Primary texts are the literary books or book on which
you have been writing. Secondary texts are the critical books
about the primary texts or their authors. This division is
especially helpful with a long piece of work such as an honours
dissertation. References in a bibliography follow the same
format as footnotes with two exceptions. The surname of the
author is placed first, so that the items can easily be put into
alphabetical order. A bibliographic reference does not have a
full stop. If you have quoted several essays from a collection in
the course of your essay, you can simply list the collected
edition in the bibliography. Use a long dash to introduce a
second or subsequent text by the same writer. Put texts by the
same writer in alphabetical order of title. For texts with more
than one author or editor, list the contributors in the order in

67
which they appear on the book. Only reverse the name of the
first contributor. If there are many contributors you can give
the first name and add et al.

Here is an example of a short bibliography at the end of a

comparative essay on two texts by Virginia Woolf:

Primary texts

Woolf, Virginia, Mrs Dalloway (1925; repr. Oxford: Oxford

Classics,
1998)
To the Lighthouse (1927; repr. London: Grafton, 1987)

Secondary texts

Bowlby, Rachel, Virginia Woolf: Feminist Destinations

(Oxford: Blackwell, 1988)

Clark, S. N. Virginia Woolf: A Short Biography,

http://orlando.jp.org/VWSGB/dat/vwbiog.html (2000)

Lee, Hermione, The Novels of Virginia Woolf (London:

Methuen,
1977)

McNeillie, Andrew (ed.), The Essays of Virginia Woolf, 5

vols (London: Hogarth Press, 1987), vol II.

Zwerdling, Alex, Virginia Woolf and the Real World

(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986)

The lists of further reading at the end of each section of this

booklet are set out in bibliography form. See these for more
examples.

15. PLAGIARISM

The University defines plagiarism as the use, without

adequate acknowledgement, of the intellectual work of another
person in work submitted for assessment. It may have been

68
acceptable to copy and paste text from Internet sources into a
project at school, but at university we want you to be careful
and transparent about all the sources which you use. All
information should be traceable back to a reliable source. We
are keen for you to explore outside sources, but you must show
where you found your information. Plagiarism is the deliberate
failure to do this. If you have copied something, even a short
phrase, word for word out of a book, or if you have copied and
pasted anything from an Internet site, you must put it in
quotation marks and give a reference. Changing one or two
words, or paraphrasing a sentence does not release you from
the obligation to name your sources. If you summarise
someone elses argument, make sure that your marker can see
what you are doing. Make sure that your own opinions emerge
distinctly as well:

Ernest Jones argues that Hamlets behaviour can all be

traced
back to his repressed desire for his mother. Hamlets
confusion about his feelings towards his father and his
uncle are due to his jealousy at their relationship with
Gertrude. However, this seems implausible, as Hamlet
clearly loves and reveres his father, a detail which Jones
fails to fit into his Freudian reading.6

This make it clear which ideas are Joness and which are the
writers.

Academics do not just regard plagiarism as laziness or

cheating. They see it as a form of stealing. Academics make
their living by having ideas. If you use these ideas without
giving credit for them, it is a bit like having a meal in a
restaurant without paying. Plagiarism is regarded as a serious
offence in a university. Students who are caught are called up
in front of the Head of School and sometimes the University
Court. Serial offenders will be expelled from the university. To
a marker, it is often obvious if a phrase or a whole paragraph
has been lifted from an outside source. English lecturers are
astute, sensitive readers who have devoted their lives to
analysing variations in style and tone. If you can find
something on the Internet in five minutes, your marker can get
6
Ernest Jones, Hamlet and Oedipus (New York: Norton, 1949).

69
a funny feeling about it and Google it just as fast. The stupid
thing is that the effort required to plagiarise effectively is
probably about the same amount of effort required to use the
same sources in an argument and reference them properly.
There is information about avoiding plagiarism in every course
guide, in the Student Handbook and on the English website.
Every time you hand in an essay, you sign a declaration on the
cover sheet saying that you have read and understand the
rules. Make sure that you have.

Students often worry about how to incorporate

information from lectures and seminars into their written
work. Information given in a lecture becomes public
knowledge. Feel free to use it in your work; that is what it is
for. There is no need to cite it formally. However, lecturers do
not like to see their own phrases parroted back to them in
written work. Apart from anything else, this makes them
suspicious that you have not done much other reading on the
subject. If you can digest the information given in lectures and
express it in your own words, your lecturer will feel that they
have done a good job. If you want to use a quote from a class
handout, look it up in the library, or email the lecturer and ask
where you can find it. Do not cite the handout as though it
were a published text.

If you have an inspired idea about a text, only to find that

some clever critic got there first, do not panic. There are very
few truly original ideas. The fact that someone else wrote it
down and got it published shows that you are thinking along
the right lines. Using this idea is not plagiarism, but the smart
thing to do here is to use the critic to back you up. This makes
you look better, not worse.

Hamlets relationships with women are all problematic.

His supposed romance with Ophelia never demonstrates
any shared affection or sexual attraction. He is
unnaturally close to his mother, which complicates his
relationship with his uncle, as Ernest Jones points out in
his Freudian reading of the play.

Name your sources. Give references. Show your knowledge.

70
Further Reading

Price, Glanville, MHRA Style Book, 6th ed. (London: Modern

Humanties Research Association, 2002)

MHRA Style Guide online

http://www.mhra.org.uk/Publications/Books/StyleGuide/

And finally

Good writing is a skill that takes years to develop. As with

playing a musical instrument or training for a sport, there is
always something new to learn, or a different approach to
explore. This booklet is designed to give you some basic advice
to help with your written work at university. However, a love of
language and an interest in the way words work can last a
lifetime. You will find that these are useful tools for life, which
will open up the world around you in surprising ways. Keep
reading, and keep writing.

HH

71
 Quick Fix: Sources

1. Leave yourself a realistic amount of time to find useful books in the

library. It may take a whole day to find what you need. This is an
important part of studying. Consider this a good days work, not a waste
of time.

2. Do not limit yourself to the recommended reading in the course guide.

There are thousands of books in QML. Dozens of these will be of
interest to you. Think creatively about your question, and keep looking
until you find something that is useful.

3. Use your sources to back up your argument. Name the critics in your
work, so that your marker can see who said what. This helps your idea
to emerge more clearly.

4. You do not need to agree with everything you read. An essay that has
some sort of debate going on within it is much more interesting than a
sequence of similar ideas or viewpoints.

5. Give accurate references. Account for all the information you use, and
follow the referencing conventions for different kinds of text.

6. Use Internet sources with caution. Only use information from good
sites. Much of the information on the Internet is unreliable. If you cannot
be sure of what you have found, do not use it. Never cut and paste from
the Internet into your essay without giving a reference.

7. Give subsequent references in brackets in the text. For poems and

plays give line numbers.

8. Give a bibliography, even if you only have one or two books to list. It
looks professional and is a good habit to form.

9. Avoid plagiarism. If you give good references and account for all the
information you use, this will not be a problem.

10. Show your knowledge. Your marker wants to see what you have been
reading and what you have learned.

72
INDEX

Agreement, 8.2 32
Antecedents 34
Apostrophes, 7.1 18 Gender 9
Articles Grammar, 8 28-
in books, 13.6 50 35
in journals, 13.7 50 further reading 38
finding 41

Bibliography, 14 51
Books, citing 13.1 47

Capitals, 9.3 37
CAS scale 14
Clauses, 8.1 28
commas in 22
Collective nouns 33
Colons, 7.4 25
Commas, 7.2 19-
24
Comma splice 20, 23
Comparative essay 7
Compound sentence 20
Conclusions, 3.2 10, 11
Conjunctions 20,
23
Connective adverbs 20,
24
Contraction, 6.1 18
Critical analysis 7
Criticism
acknowledging 42
challenging 42
choosing 40
reading 16

Dangling elements 30
Dashes, 7.5 26
Double-spacing 13
Dramatic irony 8

Exclamation marks, 7.727

Films, citing, 13.9 51

Form 7
Font 13

73
Internet 41 indefinite 12, 33
plagiarism and 52 possessive 19
citing,13.9 51 Punctuation, 7 17-27
Introductions, 3.2 10
Irony 8 Questions, 2 6
understanding 7
Journals 41 at top of essay 13
citing 50 Quotations
commas before 22
Language 16-39 colons before 25
reading for 5 ellipses in, 12.5 45
Quick Fix 39 grammar in, 12.6 46
Layout, layout of, 12 43
of essay, 4 13 poetry, 12.4 45
of quotations, 12 43 Quotation marks, 7.6 27
Lists
commas in 21 Reading
semi colons in 24 for writing, 1 5
colons before 25 the question, 2 6
Literary theory 7, 40 Referencing, 13 46-51
Register, 6 16
Main clauses 28 Relative clause 31
Margins 13 Return of work 14
Modifiers 21 Secondary texts 52
Semi-colons, 7.3 24
Object of sentence 28 Sentence fragment 30
Omniscient narrator 8 Short stories, citing 48
Slang 17
Narrative voice 8 Sources 40-55
choosing, 10 40
Paragraphs, 3.2 12 further reading 54
Parenthesis 21 Quick Fix 55
Participle 29 using, 11 41
Periodicals 41 Speech
Perspective 8 commas before 22
Plagiarism, 15 52 colons before 25
Planning 5-15, 9 quotation marks 27
further reading 14 Spelling, 9 35-38
Quick Fix: 15 common errors, 9.1 36
Point of view 8 US v UK, 9.3 38
Possession, 6.1 18 Structure, 3 9-12
Plays, citing, 13.4 49 reading for 5
Plurals 19 criticism and 43
Poems, citing, 13.5 49 Style
Practical criticism 7 reading for 5
Predicate of sentence 28 style guides 47,
Principal verb 28 54
Primary texts 52 Subheadings, 3.2 12
Pronouns, 8.4 34 Submission, 5 14

74
Subordinate clauses 29
Subject of sentence 28

Tenses, 8.3 34
in essays 17
Theory 7
Tragedy/Tragic 9

Voice 8

Websites, 13.9 51
Word count 13

75