Small but Important Aspects of Writing
Style
There’s plenty of room for individual taste and style in vocabulary and sentence structure, but your
papers should employ a more formal style than you would use in conversation or in informal kinds
of writing. (On the other hand, the best writing, in my opinion, is not necessarily the most formal—
don’t be more stiff and grand than you need to be.) In general, the best way to learn the boundaries
of appropriate style is to develop an awareness of style in what you read. The Jane Chance article we
read and the first student essay (“God, Fate, and Beowulf”) are in the right ballpark; “Beowulf Was a
Hero” tends toward the informal.
One oddity of writing about literature that one needs to know about is the convention of using the
present tense when referring to a literary work, and using the past tense only when referring to
events in the “real” past. (E.g.: Some scholars think Beowulf was composed during the eighth
century. The Beowulf poet first uses Beowulf’s name in line 343.)
Citing Sources
In writing about literature, it is not generally necessary to cite paraphrases from the work you are
discussing (it is clear from the context that these are not your own ideas), but paraphrased ideas
from other sources do require citations. Quotations from your primary source should be cited.
If you make use of any information or ideas in editors’ notes, introductions, etc., it’s important to
distinguish between information and commentary. (The notes in edited texts often include both.
Introductions also include a good deal of interpretation.) Anything that’s “background” or “fact”
can be used to aid your own understanding, and often has the status of “common knowledge.”
Commentary is someone else’s interpretation—perhaps useful to you, but not to be regarded as a
given, or as “the truth.” Any commentary that you make use of needs to be documented as a source.
When in doubt, ask.
Mechanics
Quotations from literary works, as well as any other sources you may use, should be cited (i.e., you
need to identify exactly where in the work the quotation comes from). In MLA style, you do this by
adding a works cited page listing the information about the edition/translation you are using, and
giving the citation for specific quotations in parentheses in the text. (MLA style is the one most
often used for literature, but any standard style is acceptable as long as you are consistent.)
Poetry—including narrative poetry, such as Beowulf—is cited by line number. Prose—including prose
translations of poetry—is cited by page number.
Long quotations should be set off by indentation. (Using MLA guidelines, “long” means more than
four lines of prose or three lines of poetry.)
Poetry should always be reproduced as it appears in the original. In a short quotation, this requires
preserving line-initial capitalization and adding a slash between lines.
For examples, see the attached.
General tips for editing/proofreading:

Become aware of types of errors that you tend to have trouble with, and make one pass through
your paper looking specifically for them. (Creating a list may help.)

Do what it takes to master the grammar issues that still elude you. Get help if necessary.

Try reading your paper aloud, to yourself or a friend. Have someone read it out loud to you.

Try reading your paper backwards.

Use spell check and grammar check with care and discretion.
My preferences re. format
 Use a standard typeface (no italics, ornamental fonts, etc.) and moderate size (10-14 point).
 Double space.
 Indent paragraphs. Don’t add an extra space between paragraphs.
 Use either a heading on the first page, or a title page, to provide the title of the paper and your
name (at least). (I don’t care which.) Other information you might choose to include: the date,
the course title and number, my name.
 Number pages beginning on page 2. (Possibly add your last name or an abbreviated title.)
 A few small handwritten corrections are acceptable, but if you need to make several changes, or
substantial ones, re-type or re-print the page.
 Hold pages together with a staple (preferably) or paper clip.
Mechanics of Quotation: Examples
Short quotation of poetry:
At the end of his life, Beowulf is praised for qualities other than strength and courage: “they
said that [Beowulf] was . . . / the mildest of men” (3180-81).
Note use of line numbers in the citation for poetry,
slashes to indicate line endings,
brackets to indicate additions,
ellipsis dots to indicate omissions;
closing period follows citation.
Long quotation of poetry:
The narrator uses Beow, son of Scyld, to make a point about how successful leaders operate:
Thus should a young man bring about good
with pious gifts . . .,
so that later in life loyal comrades
will stand beside him when war comes. (20-23)
Note indentation,
Lack of quotation marks;
New lines follow lines of poetry (i.e., hit enter at end of line);
Closing period precedes citation;
Again, line numbers used in citation; ellipsis dots to indicate omissions.
Short quotation of prose:
Bede interprets the success of the Anglo-Saxons invaders as a punishment for the Britons’
sins: “As events clearly showed, this was ordained by the will of our Lord Himself so that
evil might fall upon them for their wicked deeds” (5).
Note use of page number in citation,
Brackets for additions, ellipsis dots for omissions;
Period follows citation.
Long quotation of prose (use sparingly):
One of King Edwin’s counselors offers an analogy as an argument for accepting Christianity,
in this famous passage:
This is how the present life of man, O king, seems to me in comparison with
that time which is unknown to us: as if you are sitting in your feasting-hall
with your ealdormen and thanes in wintertime, with a good fire burning in the
middle of the hall and all inside is warm, while outside the winter storms of
rain and snow are raging; and a sparrow flies swiftly through the hall, entering
in at one door and quickly flying out at another. While he is within the winter
storms cannot touch him; but after the briefest moment of calm he
immediately vanishes out of your sight, out of the winter and back into it
again. So this life of man appears just for a moment—of what went before, or
what is to follow, we know nothing at all. If this new doctrine contains
anything more certain, it seems right that we should follow it. (9)
Note indentation,
Lack of quotation marks,
Normal prose wrapping (i.e., never hit enter);
Closing period precedes citation;
Page numbers in citation.
Full citation of edition used and page numbers, along with any additional sources, follows on
a Works Cited Page (new page, continue numbering).
Works Cited
Bede. Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Translated by R. M. Liuzza. The Broadview
Anthology of British Literature, edited by Joseph Black et al., vol.1, Broadview, 2006, pp.
1-15.
Beowulf. Translated by R. M. Liuzza. The Broadview Anthology of British Literature, edited by
Joseph Black et al., vol. 1, 2006, pp 39-80.
“The Wanderer.” Translated by R. M. Liuzza. The Broadview Anthology of British Literature,
edited by Joseph Black et al., vol. 1, 2006, pp. 17-19.