Index

Following Style Conventions

Abbreviations

Italics

Numbers

Punctuation

Hyphenation

Spelling

Identifying People

Titles of Books and Articles

Citing Sources

Following Style Conventions

Quotations
When quoting, use the exact wording, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling of the original. Use ellipsis points (three spaced periods) like this . . . to indicate words that you have omitted within a quotation. Precede the ellipsis points with a period when the omitted words are at the end of a sentence—like this. . . .

Do not correct any error in a quotation. If it is necessary to indicate an error, insert [sic]—Latin for thus—in square brackets after it. If an explanatory remark is needed in a quotation, insert it in square brackets to show that it is not part of the quotation.

Generally put quoted material within double quotation marks (" "). Use single quotation marks (' ') only when you need to use quotation marks within other content in quotation marks.

Use block quotation style for poetry of at least two lines and other quotations of at least four lines. Do not enclose the block quotation in quotation marks, but do indent it at least 1 cm or 5 spaces. Within block quotations, use single-spacing instead of the usual double-spacing. The statement introducing a block quotation often ends with a colon. Here is an example of block quotation style:

Hinchcliffe explains why she believes Thorstein Veblen had serious misgivings about the relevance of social Darwinism to history: "Veblen describes his own evidence as 'less than convincing' in several chapters." (341)

When you are quoting two lines of poetry within a paragraph (but not in a block quotation), show the break between the lines with a slash (/). Retain the original capitalization at the beginning of the second line, as in "Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit/ Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste. . . ."

When you are using "block quotation" style for poetry, keep the original indentation and line breaks intact, as in this stanza by George Herbert:

Man
My God, I heard this day,
That none doth build a stately habitation,
But that he means to dwell therein.

Avoid using long quotations to "pad" your writing—to increase the length. Also be sure that sentences with quotations are grammatically correct and easy to read: be as careful as you would be if there were no quotation marks.

Abbreviations
Keep abbreviations to a minimum. Do not abbreviate Prime Minister, Governor General, President, Vice President, the Reverend, Professor, military titles, days of the week, and months of the year. Use Dr., Jr., Sr., Mr., and Mrs. Also use Ms., which looks like an abbreviation even though it is not the short form of any word.

Italics
Use italics for emphasis and for:

• The titles of books and periodicals
  
• Foreign language words and phrases (if not yet brought into English)
  
• Names of newspapers, with the city italicized only if it is part of the paper's name (The Globe and Mail of Toronto, but the Victoria Daily Times).
  
• Do not italicize titles of articles, lectures, and chapters; instead, put quotation marks around them.

If you are writing by hand or do not have italic type available, use underlining instead of italics.

Numbers
In general, use numerals (101, 102) for numbers above 100. Use numerals for scientific numbers (7 g), years (1984, 2001), and parts of a book (pages 9-11).

Use words for numbers up to 100. Use words for approximate numbers (as in over two hundred people) and for a number that begins a sentence. Use words when they are more readable (as in a budget of $2.5 billion and ten 5-point scales).

Punctuation
Always place periods and commas inside (before) the closing quotation marks. Place all other punctuation marks outside (after) the closing quotation marks unless the other punctuation mark is part of the quoted material (as in "Is this a metaphor of life?" he asked.)

When referring to decades, write (for example) 1880s, rather than 1880's.

Do not use commas before or after dashes. If you are using a typewriter, you may use hyphens for a dash; use two hyphens--not one--with no extra spacing.
Avoid contractions (doesn't, you're) in all formal writing.


Hyphenation
Hyphenate prefixed compounds with a capitalized base word (neo-Marxist), a number (post-1996), or an abbreviation (anti-NATO forces). Hyphenate all
self- compounds (self-assurance). Hyphenate prefixed words that could be misunderstood (un-ionized, meaning not ionized) or misread (anti-intellectual). Generally hyphenate compound adjectives that precede what they modify (as in middle-class attitude) unless the meaning is clear without the hyphen.

Avoid using unnecessary hyphens. If in doubt, consult a dictionary.

Preferably do not break words at the ends of lines. Therefore preferably do not use automatic hyphenation when word processing.


Spelling
For spelling and usage, use a Canadian dictionary. Where more than one spelling is given, use the first spelling listed. Be consistent in your spelling.


Identifying People
The first time you refer to someone, use the person's full name and title. After that, the surname is sufficient if there is no possibility of confusion.


Titles of Books and Articles
Always copy the title of a book from the title page, not the book cover, which may sometimes have an abbreviated form of the title.

Italicize titles of books, periodicals, plays, long poems, films, TV programs, CDs, CD-ROMs, Websites, and works of art.

Put quotation marks around the titles of articles, essays, short stories, interviews, and short poems.

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