DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
University of Bristol
STYLE GUIDE
Revised 2008
INDEX
Style Guide (Introduction)
Section A:
Format
Section B:
Punctuation
Section C:
Spelling and Vocabulary
Section D:
Common Mistakes
Section E:
Quotations
Section F:
References – Title, Page, Line
Section G:
Footnotes
Section H:
Final Bibliography
The Style Guide was originally devised by Elizabeth Archibald.
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STYLE GUIDE
This is a guide to the presentation of written work submitted for assessment.
Layout, documentation, grammar and style should not be regarded as minor
matters: clear and consistent presentation is a vital part of effective
communication. You should make yourself familiar at an early stage in your
university career with the forms of reference and documentation conventionally
used in the study of English literature, and especially with those used by the
Department.
The Department follows MHRA style, which is explained in detail in The MHRA
Style Book: Notes for Authors, Editors, and Writers of Theses, 5th edn (1996); this
is available in the library, and can also be bought in bookshops. You can also
download this for free from mhra.org.uk You should be aware, however, that a
number of other styles are widely used by academics (e.g. MLA and Chicago). In
the course of your studies at Bristol you will read books, articles and editions laid
out rather differently from what is recommended here; punctuation conventions are
somewhat different in North America (double rather than single quotation marks
are always used, for instance), and many writers use MLA or Chicago style for
references. If you wish, you may follow a style other than MHRA for references;
but it should be an accepted one, rather than your own invention, and you must use
it consistently. In spelling and punctuation, however, you should follow standard
English usage (unless you come from a country with different conventions, such as
the United States). It is a good idea to ask your tutor if she or he has particular
comments or instructions on style and format before the first essay is due. It is also
a good idea to look carefully at the conventions in the editions you are using
(always allowing for the fact that they may follow North American usage, and that
some publishing firms have house styles that differ from MHRA). We strongly
recommend that you buy Plain English by Diané Collinson et al., 2nd edn
(Buckingham: Open University Press, 1992), which contains much useful
information about punctuation and grammar, plus exercises; the section on
references should be used with caution, however, as it does not follow MHRA
style.
Other useful reference books:
M. H. Abrams, A Glossary of Literary Terms, 7th edn (New York: Harcourt Brace,
1999).
Chris Baldick, A Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms (Oxford: Clarendon, 1990).
J. A. Cuddon, A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, 4th edn revised
by C. E. Preston (Oxford: Blackwell, 1998).
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Gordon Jarvie, Chambers Punctuation Guide (Edinburgh: Chambers, 1992).
Randolph Quirk et al., A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language
(Harlow: Longman, 1985).
Gordon Taylor, The Student’s Writing Guide for the Arts and Social Sciences
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989).
NB In the pages that follow, examples of incorrect usage are marked by X,
and correct usage by √.
For any problems not covered by this guide, see the MHRA Style Book, or
consult your tutor.
SECTION A: FORMAT
A1. Essays should be written on one side only of A4 paper; they should be doublespaced, and adequate margins should be left on each side for corrections and
comments. Do not use a small font (12 point is the departmental
recommendation); it is very tiring to read pages of small print. Pages should be
numbered consecutively using Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3); do not number the cover
page. It is usual to put the number in the top right or bottom right corner, though
you can also centre them at top or bottom (word processing systems can do this for
you automatically). The title of the essay, or the question being answered, should
be put on the cover sheet or at the top of the first page.
See also the relevant sections of the Department Handbook, Section 5.6
(Submission of Essays), and Section 5.7 (Marking Criteria).
A2. You can use either footnotes or endnotes, though the former are more readerfriendly. A bibliography should always be included, even if it only contains the
edition of the primary text you have used; it should be on a separate sheet at the
end of your essay. See Sections G and H below for detailed information about
how to format references in footnotes and bibliographies.
A3. Your essay should be divided into paragraphs; the first line of each should be
indented, so that it is absolutely clear where a new paragraph begins. It is not
necessary to leave a blank line between paragraphs. Do not indent the sentence
following an inset quotation unless you are beginning a new paragraph at this
point. Paragraphs are intended to help readers grasp the key points in an argument.
A paragraph of one or two sentences is too short, but a paragraph that continues for
over a page is too long. Do not try to include several complex but unrelated ideas
or arguments in a single paragraph. Although your paragraphs will be self2
contained, they must also be clearly linked to produce a strong overall argument
which the reader can follow easily. Transitions both within and between
paragraphs are essential because they signal changes in direction and help the
reader follow those changes. You can use words such as in addition, however,
although, and finally to link sentences and paragraphs, or you can repeat a key
word or name or concept.
√ … Thus the pattern established by Dickens in the first chapter is consistent
throughout the rest of the first volume.
However, Volume Two offers a new approach to the narrative …
√ Whatever Lear’s faults, and they are many, it cannot be denied that he does
really love his daughters.
Unfortunately, love counts for little in the realm of Goneril and Regan …
Be careful not to echo the preceding sentence too closely.
e.g. … The other important function Bottom has is his major contribution to the
humorous aspect of the play.
X One of the major functions of Bottom is his contribution to the play’s humour.
√
Of course, Bottom does not always intend to be funny.
The transition may require a sentence rather than a single word.
√ The evidence suggests that there is no other option.
And yet there may still be a solution. If you disregard …
SECTION B: PUNCTUATION
Punctuation is a system of sign-posting to guide the reader through your sentences,
separating the main point from asides and qualifications, and introducing
quotations.
B1. Full stops
Full stops are the most substantial form of punctuation, and mark the end of a
sentence. Between two full stops there should be a complete grammatical
sentence, that is, a statement including a subject and a verb (and possibly an object,
depending on the nature of the statement); of course, the sentence may also contain
subordinate clauses (introduced by words such as because/when/after/although/
who) and/or descriptive or qualifying phrases (comments not including a verb such
as in spite of this, even after this speech, with much reluctance).
You may find sentence fragments (sentences without a main verb) in novels and
in journalistic writing, but they should not be used in literary criticism.
X Elizabeth Bennet is the heroine of Pride and Prejudice. An inspiring young
woman.
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These two comments can be run into a single sentence, or a verb can be inserted
into the second sentence.
√ Elizabeth Bennet, an inspiring young woman, is the heroine of Pride and
Prejudice.
√ Elizabeth Bennet is the heroine of Pride and Prejudice; she is an inspiring
young woman.
B2. Semi-colons
Semi-colons mark the end of a complete grammatical sentence, but are less final
than full stops. They link two complete sentences, as a full stop does, but the
choice of a semi-colon indicates that the two sentences are closely linked, and that
the writer wants them to be considered together. The thoughts contained in them
are grammatically independent, but logically dependent on each other.
√ I am not trying to deceive you; I am merely trying to encourage you.
Sometimes the linking semi-colon may be accompanied by a conjunctive adverb
such as therefore/however/besides.
√ The classroom was full; however, I was able to watch from the doorway.
Semi-colons can also be used as a stronger alternative to separating commas in lists
of complex clauses.
√ I went to Bristol because I love the West Country; because my uncle and aunt,
of whom I am very fond, live there; and because it has an excellent reputation.
Here semi-colons make clear the divisions between the three reasons; commas
would also be possible, but would be less clear.
Semi-colons should never be used to introduce quotations, nor should they be used
to introduce sentences that are grammatically incomplete.
X Chaucer used Boethius; although he did not always think like Boethius.
√ Chaucer used Boethius, although he did not always think like Boethius.
B3. Colons
The colon is an introductory punctuation mark. It usually follows a complete
sentence, but what it introduces is not always another complete sentence; its
presence points forward to further explanatory information, which may come in the
form of a word or phrase, a sentence, a list, or a quotation (on quotations and
punctuation see further Section E below).
√ Ilsa’s presence in Casablanca could mean only one thing: trouble.
√ There are several widely used styleguides: MHRA, MLA, Chicago.
Normally a sentence should not contain more than one colon.
B4. Commas
There are no straightforward rules about how to use commas, and to some extent
they are an aspect of individual style. Remember, however, that commas function
as signposts to readers, helping them to follow the meaning of a complex sentence.
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Some of you may be using too many commas, some too few. Often it helps to read
a sentence aloud and notice where you pause to show how the clauses and phrases
connect, or to make an aside; a comma may be appropriate where you pause in
direct speech.
Common mistakes
a. Too many commas interrupt the flow of the sentence and confuse the reader.
X We see, in the episode of ‘The Healing of Sir Urry’, how, after so many nobles
have tried in vain, Lancelot is able to heal the wounded knight.
Here we have to wait much too long to find out what ‘We see’. Sometimes the
problem can be avoided by altering the word order.
√ In the episode of ‘The Healing of Sir Urry’ we see how Lancelot is able to heal
the wounded knight, after so many nobles have tried in vain before him.
√ In the episode of ‘The Healing of Sir Urry’, we see how Lancelot is able to heal
the wounded knight after so many nobles have tried in vain before him.
b. When you give the title of a text, it is not necessary to put a comma before or
after it, unless the title is a sort of aside which is not crucial to the main sentence.
X In Shakespeare’s comedy, As You Like It, the heroine dominates the action.
If the title is given only as additional information and the sentence would make
sense without it, commas may be appropriate.
√ In Shakespeare’s earliest comedy, The Comedy of Errors, there are two sets of
twins.
c. If you start an aside with a comma, you MUST close it again with a second one.
X We, the readers decline to judge his sins.
√ We, the readers, decline to judge his sins.
X The duel over the Poisoned Apple, for example is a foregone conclusion …
√ The duel over the Poisoned Apple, for example, is a foregone conclusion …
d. Two complete sentences cannot be joined by a comma, but require a colon/semicolon/full stop, or a conjunction such as and or but, or an explanatory clause. The
incorrect use of a comma to join two complete sentences is often called a comma
splice.
X Adriana is jealous, she feels her husband is neglecting her.
√ Adriana is jealous because she feels her husband is neglecting her.
√ Adriana is jealous; she feels her husband is neglecting her.
NB Two complete sentences can be joined by but/and, but NOT by however,
which needs a stronger punctuation mark such as a colon or semi-colon.
√ Egeon is condemned to death, but he is recognized by Emilia and saved.
X Egeon is condemned to death, however he is recognized by Emilia and saved.
√ Egeon is condemned to death; however, he is recognized by Emilia and saved.
e. You should never use a comma between the subject and the main verb of the
sentence unless they are separated by an additional clause or qualifier.
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X The amateur detective in Edmund Crispin’s novels, spends very little time on his
day job.
√ The amateur detective in Edmund Crispin’s novels, Gervase Fen, spends very
little time on his day job.
√ The amateur detective in Edmund Crispin’s novels spends very little time on his
day job.
B5. Two complete sentences cannot be run together without any punctuation; this
is sometimes called a run-on sentence.
X They believe in Oedipus he is their king.
These two statements should be separated by a full stop, or by a colon or semicolon; or one sentence could be made dependent on the other through an
explanatory clause, which might be introduced by because or who.
√ They believe in Oedipus. He is their king.
√ They believe in Oedipus; he is their king.
√ They believe in Oedipus because he is their king.
√ They believe in Oedipus, who is their king.
B6. Dashes and brackets
Dashes should be used very sparingly. They are more common in fiction and in
journalism than in literary criticism.
The single dash can be used as an alternative to a colon, but it is more abrupt and
informal, and so may have the effect of conveying a spontaneous afterthought.
√ That speech changes our conception of the character – she seems much stronger.
√ We expect the hero to make a fatal mistake – and indeed he does.
Two dashes can be used to mark an interruption or digression, as you might use
brackets or a pair of commas.
√ It is startling to hear the chief business of so many romances – seeking honour in
arms – dismissed in a single couplet.
But you should not use dashes as a regular alternative to brackets or commas.
B7. Exclamation marks
These should be used with very great caution. They tend to suggest that the writer
is over-excited, or that the reader needs help in understanding the point being
made.
B8. Apostrophes
Apostrophes cause a great deal of trouble. They have two major functions.
a. They can indicate that one or more letters have been omitted: e.g. can’t, o’er.
In literary essays you should avoid informal abbreviated forms such as
can’t/won’t/didn’t (except in quotations, of course).
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b. They can indicate possession. The apostrophe is placed before the final s in
singular nouns: Shakespeare’s, Eliot’s. It is placed after the final s in plural nouns.
√ The Romantics’ morbidity, the Metaphysicals’ fantastic metaphors
When the plural form of the noun does not have a final s, the apostrophe is placed
before the possessive s.
√ children’s books
When a noun or proper name ends in s, it still takes ’s in the possessive form;
however, it is usual to omit the final s in proper names that are Latin or Greek in
form, though the apostrophe is still necessary.
√ Keats’s odes, Jones’s argument, the princess’s refusal
√ Aeneas’ story, Odysseus’ cunning, Aristophanes’ comedies
In hyphenated words, only the final word takes the apostrophe to form the
possessive.
√ the mother-in-law’s jealousy
c. its and it’s, whose and who’s
There is a great deal of unnecessary confusion over the difference between its and
it’s. Without an apostrophe, its is the possessive form of it; this is the exception
that proves the rule about the use of apostrophes to indicate possession. With an
apostrophe, it’s is the abbreviated form of it is. The form its’ does not exist.
Similarly, whose is the possessive form of who; who’s is the abbreviated form of
who is. The form whos’ does not exist either.
Possessive pronouns such as hers and ours do not take apostrophes.
SECTION C: SPELLING AND VOCABULARY
C1. The following are pairs of words which are frequently not distinguished
correctly. It is worth looking them up and learning their meanings.
affect/effect
allude/elude
allusion/illusion
climactic/climatic
complementary/complimentary council/counsel
dependant/dependent
discreet/discrete
disinterested/uninterested
imply/infer
loath/loathe
may/might
naught/nought
practice/practise
precede/proceed
principal/principle
prophecy/prophesy
stationary/stationery
C2. The following words are frequently misspelled. Please remember and apply
the old rhyme, ‘i before e except after c’! Note that American spellings sometimes
differ from English ones (e.g. American theater, fulfill, humor). You should
always use English forms, except in quotations (this does not apply to Study
Abroad students or those who have been mainly educated using another spelling
system).
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Endings in -ence/-ance and -able-/ible are especially problematic, as are doublings
of consonants.
accessible
accommodation
address
anonymous
believe
biased
cantos
changeable
committed
committee
commitment
conceivable
conscientious
conscious
consistent
corollary
cynical
deceive
definite
desperate
dilemma
disappointment
discipline
dissatisfied
ecstasy
eighth
embarrass
epitome
exaggerate
excerpt
existence
fallacy
feudal
fulfilment
hierarchy
humorous
hypocrisy
idiosyncracy
independent
indigenous
indispensable
infinite
irresistible
knowledgeable
manoeuvre
medieval
metaphor
metonymy
misogyny
misogynist
mysticism
necessary
niece
noticeable
occurred
occurrence
parallel
perceive
precede
privilege
pseudonymous
receive
reminisce
repetition
resistance
rhetoric
rhyme
rhythm
rigorous
sacrilegious
seize
separate
simile/similes
skilful
soliloquy/ies
supersede
synonymous
temperament
tragedy
truly
unnecessary
villain
weird
wilful
withhold
C3. The following singular and plural forms are often confused or misused.
antithesis/antitheses
appendix/appendices
criterion/criteria
crux/cruces
datum/data
erratum/errata
exemplum/exempla
fabliau/fabliaux
formula/formulae
index/indices
matrix/matrices
medium/media
persona/personae
phenomenon/phenomena
tableau/tableaux
C4. Make sure that you are using the correct abbreviation
i.e. means that is, and should introduce a specific explanation.
e.g. means for example, and should introduce one of several possible examples.
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Avoid using etc.; it is better to write down exactly what you mean.
ibid. means the same; it should be used with great caution in footnotes, as it can
only refer to the immediately preceding reference.
op. cit. means work cited in a previous reference; this too should be used with
caution. For a simpler way of referring to texts already cited, see below, Section
G3.
C5. Gender-Neutral Language
Until the 1980s it was standard practice in literary criticism to use masculine
pronouns (‘he/him/his’) when making generalizations that apply equally to women,
such as ‘the reader may find that this contradicts his expectations’. It is now
considered best to avoid such usage, and you should be aware of the problem.
There is no perfect solution. One possibility is to use ‘s/he’, or ‘she and he’,
instead of ‘he’ (and thus ‘him and her’, etc). It is also possible to alternate between
‘he’ and ‘she’, though this may seem rather clumsy. Or the plural forms
‘they/them’ can be used throughout. It is often possible to rewrite the sentence so
as to avoid such pronouns altogether. If you prefer to use either ‘he’ or ‘she’
throughout, you may wish to explain your practice in a footnote at the beginning of
your essay.
SECTION D: COMMON MISTAKES
D1. Tense
Use the present tense for plot summary and comment on the plot.
√ At this point the hero makes a mistake.
You may need to use the past tense where a chronological sequence is involved.
√ When the misunderstandings have been cleared up, the lovers can marry.
D2. Phrasing
Try to avoid awkward, illogical and ambiguous phrasing.
X From the Wife of Bath’s (the older woman’s) point of view …
√ From the point of view of the Wife of Bath (the older woman) …
X While both authors express their views in different forms …
This has two possible meanings, so it needs to be rephrased.
√ While both authors express their views in several different forms ...
√ While the two authors differ in the way in which they express their views ...
Make sure your phrasing is balanced.
X Unlike the portrait of the Wife of Bath, Rosalind is the embodiment of youth
and beauty.
Here a portrait is compared with a person.
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√ Unlike the Wife of Bath, Rosalind is the embodiment of youth and beauty.
Make sure that your phrasing conveys your meaning accurately.
X In the forest Orlando meets Jaques, whose attitude towards love is a detestable
one.
This implies that readers are likely to find his attitude shocking, but the intended
meaning is that Jaques detests love. It needs to be phrased more clearly:
√ In the forest Orlando meets Jaques, whose attitude towards love is negative / is
hostile / is that he detests it.
D3. Unattached or dangling participles
This problem arises when the first phrase of a sentence contains a participle form
(often marked by the ending –ing, –ed or -en) that implies what the subject of the
following main verb is going to be, but then in the next part of the sentence the
writer switches without warning to a different subject. This is confusing for the
reader.
X In concealing the green girdle we see his deceitfulness.
It is not we who are concealing the girdle, but Gawain! He is the implied subject
of the first clause, and so the reader expects him to be the subject of the main
clause too.
√ In concealing the green girdle Gawain shows his deceitfulness.
√ When Gawain conceals the green girdle, we see his deceitfulness.
X Driven by her misfortunes to commit murder, Hardy brings Tess to a tragic end.
√ Hardy brings Tess to a tragic end, driven by her misfortunes to commit murder.
√ Driven by her misfortunes to commit murder, Tess comes to a tragic end.
D4. Subject/verb agreement
Be very careful to use a plural form of the verb when there are two or more
subjects.
X Tight organisation and control is necessary for a good essay.
D5. Generalizations and vague comments
Avoid huge generalizations that are inaccurate, or that you cannot possibly prove,
or that are unhelpfully vague.
X The Canterbury pilgrims represent every aspect of medieval society.
X In the Middle Ages women had no power.
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SECTION E: QUOTATIONS
E1. Including quotations
In a literary essay, quotations are essential to support your arguments. Short
quotations (no more than three lines) may be included in your text (see E2); longer
quotations should be separated from your text (see E3). Whenever you quote the
text directly or refer to a specific passage, you must give a page or line reference
(unless you are quoting a frequently repeated word and making a general point
about it). See Sections F to H below for information about how to give references.
COPY QUOTATIONS ACCURATELY – THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO
EXCUSE FOR MISTAKES WHEN YOU HAVE THE SOURCE TEXT IN
FRONT OF YOU! Any word or phrase that you quote from another text should be
in single quotation marks.
a. Make sure that the complete sentence makes grammatical sense. This can be
particularly problematic when you are using texts from earlier periods in which
phrasing and syntax were different from modern usage.
X Chaucer’s Monk is described as being abbot able.
Chaucer’s phrase ‘abbot able’ should be in quotation marks, but it does not fit
comfortably into this modern English sentence structure. Here it would be better to
quote a little more of the original text.
√ Chaucer’s Monk is described as ‘a manly man, to be an abbot able’ (General
Prologue, l. 167).
b. Whenever you include a direct quotation, make sure that you have given enough
introductory and contextual material for the reader to understand it - who is
speaking, and to whom, what is happening at this point in the plot - and also that
you make it very clear how the quotation illustrates or supports your argument, or
what kind of problem(s) it raises. Make sure that every quotation you include does
actually illustrate or prove the point you are making. Do not quote just for the sake
of quoting.
X Antipholus invites the merchant to dine at ‘my inn’.
E2. Short quotations embedded in your text
a. Always use single quotation marks round quotations, except when you have a
quotation within a quotation; here the inner quotation should be in double
quotation marks.
√ Bottom thinks he would make a wonderful lion: ‘I will roar, that I will make the
Duke say “Let him roar again; let him roar again!” ’ (Midsummer Night’s Dream,
I.ii.67-9)
b. If there is a line break in the original verse, mark it with a diagonal slash, and
keep the original capitalization.
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√ Horatio tells Hamlet that the watchmen have seen ‘a figure like your father /
Armed at point exactly, cap-à-pie’ (Hamlet, I.ii.199-200).
c. Be sure that the quotation makes grammatical sense as you have fitted it into
your sentence.
X Egeon says that he ‘Hopeless and helpless doth Egeon wend’.
Here there are too many subjects (‘he’ and ‘Egeon’); the introduction needs to be
changed.
√ Egeon says of himself ‘Hopeless and helpless doth Egeon wend’.
E3. Longer quotations separated from your text (inset quotations)
Use an inset quotation if you are quoting more than three lines of verse, or the
equivalent in prose; it is easier for the reader to follow.
a. Lay it out exactly as in the original text, with the same capital letters and the
same arrangement and indentation of lines if in verse (you do not need to indicate
line breaks with a diagonal slash in an inset quotation). Indent the whole quotation
several spaces from your left margin, and put the line or page reference at the end
on the right hand side. There should not be any punctuation mark after the
reference.
√
When
Sir
Beelzebub called for his syllabub in the hotel in Hell
Where Proserpine first fell,
Blue as the gendarmerie were the waves of the sea,
(Rocking and shocking the barmaid).
(Edith Sitwell, ‘Sir Beelzebub’, 1-4)
√
Out upon it! I have loved
Three whole days together;
And am like to love three more
If it prove fair weather.
(Suckling, ‘Out Upon It!’, 1-4)
b. Do not put quotation marks around inset quotations unless they are in direct
speech in the original.
√
The landlady knocked at the door.
‘Come in’, said Viola.
‘There is a letter for you’, said the landlady, ‘a special letter’ – she held
the green envelope in a corner of her dingy apron.
(Katherine Mansfield, ‘The Swing of the Pendulum’)
This rule does not apply to speeches from plays, which do not require quotation
marks.
√
To be, or not to be, that is the question:
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Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. (Hamlet, III.i.56-60)
E4. Punctuation of quotations
a. Introducing Quotations
Quotations are often introduced by a colon (not a semi-colon), but sometimes a
weaker punctuation mark may be enough, or there may be no need for one at all,
depending on the structure both of your sentence and of the quotation.
√ For Cleopatra, Antony’s death marks the end of a heroic age: ‘… there is
nothing left remarkable / Beneath the visiting moon’ (Antony and Cleopatra,
IV.xv.67-8).
NB If you introduce a quotation with a colon, your sentence should not continue
after the end of the quotation.
X For Cleopatra, Antony's death marks the end of a heroic age: ' . . . there is
nothing left remarkable / Beneath the visiting moon' (Antony and Cleopatra,
IV.xv.67-8), and the play ends with her suicide.
If the quotation forms a necessary part of your sentence grammatically and in
terms of sense, you may not need any punctuation to introduce it.
√ When Egeon says ‘Hopeless and helpless doth Egeon wend, / But to
procrastinate his lifeless end’ (Comedy of Errors, I.i.157-8), the rhyme serves to
emphasize his despair.
√ What Conrad finally means by ‘the horror, the horror’ is none too clear.
Similarly, inset quotations are often introduced by a colon, but not always.
√ Comparing descriptions of funerals by H. G. Wells and by Dickens, E. M.
Forster argues that they have
. . . the same point of view and even use the same tricks of style …
They are, both, humorists and visualizers who get an effect by cataloguing
details and whisking the page over irritably. They are generous-minded; they
hate shams and enjoy being indignant about them; they are valuable social
reformers; they have no notion of confining books to a library shelf.
(Aspects of the Novel, p. 33)
If your introduction to the quotation is a phrase rather than a complete sentence,
you normally need a comma before the quotation (not a colon).
√ As the Bible says, ‘a soft answer turneth away wrath’ (Proverbs 15. 1).
b. Omissions
It is not usually necessary to put three dots (an ellipsis) at the beginning or end of a
quotation, since almost all quotations are taken from a larger context. But if you
leave out the beginning or end of the original sentence, or something in the middle,
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you should put three dots to indicate that something has been omitted (see the
quotation from Forster above, E4a). You need to use common sense in deciding
where omissions may be misleading; obviously you do not need to use three dots
when you are quoting a single word, or a phrase such as ‘to be or not to be’, or
when the words quoted fit smoothly into the grammar and sense of your own
sentence.
√ Chaucer emphasises that the pilgrims fall into fellowship ‘by aventure’.
If you omit some lines of verse, put the three dots at the end of the line before the
omission. Leave out the final punctuation mark before the three dots unless it is an
exclamation mark or question mark.
√ If ever two were one, then surely we …
Then while we live, in love let’s so persever,
That when we live no more we may live ever.
(Anne Bradstreet, ‘To My Dear and Loving Husband’, 1 & 11-12)
c. Punctuation at the end of quotations
If your own sentence continues after the end of an embedded quotation with a
comment or a reference, you must omit the final punctuation mark in the quotation
(unless it is a question mark or exclamation mark necessary to the sense). Do not
leave a reference hanging between two sentences in your own text.
X Adriana feels neglected: ‘His company must do his minions grace / Whilst I at
home starve for a merry look.’ (Comedy of Errors, II.i.87-8) She is a very jealous
wife.
√ Adriana feels neglected: ‘His company must do his minions grace / Whilst I at
home starve for a merry look’ (Comedy of Errors, II.i.87-8). She is a very jealous
wife.
Inset quotations are slightly different. An inset quotation should end with a full
stop, exclamation mark or question mark, IF that is what is in the text, OR with
three dots if you are stopping before the end of the sentence, to show the reader
that something has been left out. It should not end with a comma, colon or semicolon.
X There’s time to spare. This is one of the things I wasn’t prepared for – the
amount of unfilled time, the long parentheses of nothing. Time as white
sound. If only I could embroider. Weave, knit, something to do with my
hands. I want a cigarette. I remember walking in art galleries, through the
nineteenth century:
(Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale, p. 65)
Here the final colon should be replaced by three dots, to show that the original
sentence continues after this point.
NB In an inset quotation the page/line reference just hangs after the quotation, and
should not be followed by a full stop.
14
E6. More important points about quotations
a. You should avoid changing the wording of a quotation to fit the wording of your
own sentence: it should be possible to arrange your sentence so that the meaning of
the quotation is quite clear, and so that your sentence and the quotation fit together
in a grammatically correct way.
You may sometimes need to insert a name in square brackets to make a reference
clear, but it is better to change the wording of your introduction.
X Macbeth says ‘She [Lady Macbeth] should have died hereafter’ (V.iii.16).
√ Macbeth says of his wife ‘She should have died hereafter’ (V.iii.16).
b. Do not change the form of a verb in a quotation; again, adapt your own
sentence to fit the grammatical structure of the quotation.
X Donne wrote of God ‘battering my heart’.
√ Donne uses violent language in his appeal to God: ‘Batter my heart’.
c. An embedded quotation should not stand alone as a complete sentence in the
middle of your text (this does not apply to an inset quotation, of course). You need
to introduce it with a phrase or sentence, or follow it with a comment. A colon
may be enough to connect it to your own text.
X Adriana feels neglected. ‘His company must do his minions grace / Whilst I at
home starve for a merry look’ (Comedy of Errors, II.i.87-8). She and her sister
discuss the difficulties of marriage.
√ Adriana feels neglected: ‘His company must do his minions grace / Whilst I at
home starve for a merry look’ (Comedy of Errors, II.i.87-8). She and her sister
discuss the difficulties of marriage.
d. Misrepresentation
Be very careful not to misrepresent the original text by omitting part of a sentence
so that the original meaning is changed.
original text: I found the play so bad that my urge to leave after the first act was
compelling.
X misleading quotation: One critic said that he ‘found the play … compelling.’
original text: Swift wrote that, according to an American friend of his, ‘a young
healthy child well nursed is at a year a most delicious, nourishing and wholesome
food …’.
X misleading quotation: Swift wrote that ‘a young healthy child well nursed is at a
year a most delicious, nourishing and wholesome food …’.
See also Sections F and G on References and Footnotes.
15
SECTION F: REFERENCES – TITLE, PAGE, LINE
F1. Plagiarism
You must be scrupulous in giving sources for quotations and for borrowed
ideas. Please read the information in the Department Handbook, Section 5.7.2
and 5.7.3, very carefully.
The University’s Examination Regulations (section 3.2) state that:
Plagiarism is the unacknowledged inclusion in a student’s work of material
derived from the published or unpublished work of another. This constitutes
plagiarism whether it is intentional or unintentional. “Work” includes
internet sources as well as printed material.
‘Plagiarism’ covers any case where a student attempts to pass off someone else’s
work as his/her own, whether the material is taken from books and articles, from
internet sites, or from another student’s essay. This is one of the most serious
forms of academic misconduct.
It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that he or she does not fall under any
suspicion of plagiarism. Even when plagiarism is not a deliberate attempt at
cheating — for example, if it is the result of careless note-taking — it will still be
penalised. The University regards plagiarism as a serious disciplinary matter.
The Department will identify as plagiarism any unacknowledged incorporation of
work that is not your own. This means that you must acknowledge your sources,
when you quote or paraphrase them; it also means that you must not, under any
circumstances, make use of other students' essays by reproducing passages from
them in your own. Where close verbal parallels between your work and another
source are found, and there is no citation or acknowledgement made, the
Department will treat this as evidence of plagiarism on your part, and act
accordingly.
BEST PRACTICE
IF YOU BORROW THE WORDS OF ANOTHER WRITER - A PHRASE OR A
WHOLE SENTENCE - YOU MUST PUT THESE WORDS IN QUOTATION
MARKS, AND ALSO GIVE THE EXACT SOURCE IN A FOOTNOTE (see the
Style Guide, Section G). If you paraphrase the ideas that you are borrowing, you
must rewrite the sentence entirely in your own words (not just substituting a
few synonyms), AND you must acknowledge the source in a footnote. It's often
easier, and clearer, to quote the critic exactly, rather than to try to rewrite the
sentence.
16
Example: use of the essay by Valerie Traub on gender and sexuality in the
Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare.
Original passage:
Shakespeare's comedies and romances tend to focus on daughters whose age and
rank make them desirable spouses for men seeking to improve their social
standing. In the absence of a father, beautiful and wealthy heiresses such as Portia
in The Merchant of Venice and Olivia in Twelfth Night temporarily rule over their
own households. Their anomalous positions of authority indicate what is at stake
in patriarchal marriage: the legitimate succession of the father's genealogy and the
productive consolidation of wealth, land, and labour power.
Appropriate use: critic's exact words quoted, in quotation marks, and source
given in footnote.
As Traub points out, Shakespeare often writes about 'daughters whose age and rank
make them desirable spouses for men seeking to improve their social standing'.1
1
Valerie Traub, 'Gender and Sexuality in Shakespeare', in The Cambridge
Companion to Shakespeare, ed. by Margareta de Grazia and Stanley Wells
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), pp. 129-46 (p. 134).
Appropriate use: critic's ideas paraphrased, and acknowledged in a footnote.
As Traub points out, a favourite theme for Shakespeare is the courtship and
marriage of young women who are perceived as desirable by social climbers
because they are rich and aristocratic.1 If the father is absent, or dead, these young
women may temporarily run their own households; examples include Olivia and
Portia. But this situation is definitely unusual, and somewhat alarming; it serves to
emphasize the way in which patriarchy values marriage as a means of controlling
money and property, and keeping them in the family.
1
Valerie Traub, 'Gender and Sexuality in Shakespeare', in The Cambridge
Companion to Shakespeare, ed. by Margareta de Grazia and Stanley Wells
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), pp. 129-46 (p. 134).
Inappropriate use: beginning and end of the original sentence borrowed word
for word, but no quotation marks or footnote acknowledgment.
In the absence of a father, Portia and Olivia temporarily rule over their own
households.
Inappropriate use: phrases borrowed without acknowledgement, and no
footnote; some paraphrasing, but too close to original.
When beautiful and wealthy heiresses have no living father, they rule their own
households for a while.
NB If you are using a lot of ideas from one critic, it is appropriate to explain this in
a footnote.
* In this paragraph I am following/using the arguments made by Valerie Traub in
17
her essay 'Gender and Sexuality in Shakespeare' [give bibliographical details and
page number].
Self Plagiarism
The Department will also regard, for assessment purposes, the re-use of your own
essays as 'self-plagiarism'. While you may return to the same subjects or works in
essays for different units, or within a unit, to avoid self-plagiarism you must not
only avoid the verbatim or near-verbatim re-use of previously submitted essays in
part or whole, but also ensure that your return to the same subjects or works
involves a rethinking of your ideas. Self-plagiarism is also a serious disciplinary
matter.
F2. Conventions
All references should be given accurately in a format which allows readers to find
them easily, even if they are using a different edition of the text. Notice the
conventions used in the edition you are citing, and in standard critical works; if in
doubt, consult your tutor. The abbreviation for a line or page is ‘l.’ or ‘p.’; if you
refer to more than one, you need the plural form of the abbreviation – ‘ll.’ or ‘pp.’.
Sometimes it is better to omit ‘l.’ or ‘ll.’, as they can be confused with the Arabic
numerals ‘one’ and ‘eleven’; or you can spell out ‘line/s’. If you want to refer to a
passage without specifying exactly where it ends, you can use ‘ff.’, which means
‘following: ‘see ll. 123 ff.’
Poems: If line numbers are given in the edition you are using, quote by line
number only; if not, by page number. Sometimes you may need to give more
information as well, when a long poem has subdivisions of some kind; in
discussing the Canterbury Tales , for instance, you may need to give the fragment
number, and/or the title of the tale (possibly abbreviated), if the context could be
confusing. For the Faerie Queene or Don Juan you may need to give canto and
book numbers.
Novels: They are usually cited by page number only, though you might sometimes
wish to give a chapter number too.
Plays: There are various ways of giving references to plays: one common
convention is to use large Roman numerals for the act, small Roman for the scene,
and Arabic for the lines - III.i.123 for Act III, Scene I, line 123; but some editors
use Arabic numerals only - 3.1.123.
The Bible: Do not italicize Bible or titles of individual books. Use Roman
numerals for the numbers of books, and Arabic numerals (separated by a full stop)
for chapters and verses.
√ Isaiah 22. 17
√ II Corinthians 5. 13-15.
Manuscripts: In the first citation you should give the full name of the collection;
after that abbreviations can be used. Use the classification system of the collection.
18
For folios use ‘fol’ or ‘fols’ (‘ff.’ could be confused with the abbreviation for
‘following’); for recto and verso use superscript r and v.
√ British Library / BL, MS Cotton Caligula D III, fol. 15r.
F3. Abbreviations
In an extended discussion of one or two texts, it is not necessary to give the full
title of a text every time you cite it. You may omit the title entirely, or use an
abbreviated title, depending on the context (see ‘Section G: Footnotes’ for
abbreviations in footnotes); MHRA recommends ‘the shortest intelligible form’. If
you are writing about the Wife of Bath’s Prologue, you can refer to it as WBPr, as
long as the abbreviation is explained in a footnote at the beginning of your
discussion; check the edition you are using for standard abbreviations, or consult
your tutor. Do not invent your own abbreviation!
X SGATGK for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
√ SGGK
You may not need to give a title with each line/page reference; use common sense
to reduce unnecessary references, but also to avoid the possibility of confusing the
reader. Page and line numbers for quotations from frequently cited primary texts
do not have to be put in footnotes or endnotes; it is often more reader-friendly to
put them in brackets after the quotation.
F4. Titles
Titles of plays, books, long poems and journals should always be in italics (or
underlined if you are unable to produce italics): Othello, Dombey and Son,
Paradise Lost, Radical Tragedy, Review of English Studies. Titles of short stories
and short poems, and also of critical articles in journals and essays in collections,
should be in quotation marks: ‘The Force of Circumstance’, ‘The Sun Rising’,
‘Telling the Story in Troilus and Criseyde’. Titles of journals should be in italics,
but not the volume number.
NB Never combine underlining with italics. Bold type should not be used in a
literary essay.
SECTION G: FOOTNOTES
G1. Footnotes
The following comments apply to endnotes too.
Try not to use more than one footnote per sentence; you can put several references
in a single footnote, in the order in which they appear in your text. It is much more
reader-friendly to put the footnote reference number at the end of your sentence, or
at least at a natural break (comma or semi-colon), rather than in mid-phrase, where
19
it is distracting. The first citation of a primary or secondary source should include
full publication details (including complete page numbers for an essay or article),
and the name of the editor(s) where relevant. In both footnotes and final
bibliographies, primary texts should be cited first by author (or if anonymous, by
title), not by editor.
NB Editions can vary in wording and spelling, as well as pagination, so it is
important to indicate which edition you are using.
Remember to punctuate footnotes like any other sentence, with commas and with a
final full stop.
G2. First references to books and essays/chapters in books
The usual order for a book in a footnote is author (first name or initial/s before last
name); title; editor; edition; place of publication (followed by a colon); publisher,
date; volume and page number(s). Note the conventions and abbreviations used
below (e.g. edn for edition), and also the forms of punctuation at different points in
the reference (e.g. colons and brackets).
√ William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors, ed. by R. A. Foakes, Arden edn
(London: Methuen, 1962), p. xlii.
If you are quoting from several primary sources by one author published in a
collected edition, you need cite the edition only once, when you first mention it,
and then explain that all further references will be taken from this edition.
√ John Donne, ‘The Sun Rising’, ed. by A. J. Smith in John Donne, The Complete
English Poems (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1971), pp. 80-1; all references to Donne
are taken from this edition.
Essays or chapters in a collection should be cited by author and title (first of the
individual essay and then of the collection), with full page numbers; if you are
referring to a specific page, put that in brackets after the complete page range.
√ Andrew and Catherine Belsey, ‘Icons of Divinity: Portraits of Elizabeth I’, in
Renaissance Bodies: The Human Figure in English Culture c. 1540-1660, ed. by
Lucy Gent and Nigel Llewellyn (London: Reaktion Books, 1990), pp. 11-35 (p.
30).
G3. First references to articles in journals
For a journal article in a footnote, the order is author (first name or initial/s before
last name); title; journal; volume number; date in brackets; page number(s). Note
where commas and brackets are used in the example below. In the first citation of
a journal article, you should give the full page range, but you do not need to put
‘p./pp.’, except to indicate a particular page.
G. R. Elliott, ‘Weirdness in The Comedy of Errors’, University of Toronto
Quarterly, 60 (1939), 95-106 (p. 102).
20
G4. Multi-volume works
If you refer to a multi-volume work, give the total number of volumes after the title
(and also the name of the editor or reviser, if relevant); then put the volume you are
citing at the end in Roman numerals, with the page number.
Thomas Nashe, The Works of Thomas Nashe, ed. by R. McKerrow, 2nd edn, rev.
by F. P. Wilson, 5 vols (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1958), III, pp. 95-6.
G5. Further references
You need only give one full citation of a primary or secondary text, when you first
footnote it. If you are going to cite it frequently, add ‘All references will be taken
from this edition’; or begin ‘All references are taken from The Tempest, ed. by
Frank Kermode …’.
Primary Sources
Further references to primary sources should usually appear in the main text, after
the quotation or reference, rather than in a footnote or endnote; this is less
distracting for the reader. You do not always need to cite the title (see F3 above).
Secondary Sources
Further references to secondary sources should be given in footnotes or endnotes.
You can cite by author alone, without a title.
√ Forster, p. 33.
But if you refer to several works by the same author, you will need to use short
titles to distinguish them.
√ Forster, Aspects, p. 33.
If you use a shortened title, you should explain in the first citation:
√ E. M. Forster, Aspects of the Novel (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1976), p. 33
(cited hereafter as Aspects).
G6. Citing quotations borrowed from another critic
You may wish to cite a quotation by a writer whom you have not yourself read, but
have found quoted by another critic.
√ John Kerrigan, quoted by Frank Kermode, Shakespeare’s Language
(Harmondsworth: Penguin, 2000), p. 51.
If you have already cited the source text in an earlier footnote, you can simply give
the author, and the title too if you wish, followed directly by the relevant page
number.
√ John Kerrigan, quoted by Kermode, p. 51.
21
SECTION H: FINAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
H1. The final bibliography should contain all works mentioned in the text and in
notes. Entries in a bibliography should enable a reader to identify the precise
version of any text which has been used. This is important, since a reader
consulting a different edition from the one used may find variations in the text, or
different page numbering.
a. In a bibliography the order of information differs from that of footnotes and
endnotes: last name comes before first name or initial/s, and the last names are
arranged alphabetically (this makes them easier to find in a long list). The MHRA
Style Book recommends giving only an author’s initials, but it is more helpful to
give the full first name if possible, especially when the last name is a common one.
Copy the form of the name that is given on the title page or in the library catalogue
entry.
When two or more books by the same author are included, they should be listed
chronologically, in order of publication. If a text has two authors, only the first
name needs to be given in reverse order (see H2 below).
b. Primary texts should generally be listed by author, not editor or title.
Anonymous texts should be listed by title; this makes them easier to find.
Alternatively, you could put anonymous texts at the beginning of the bibliography
under Anon.
c. Full page numbers should be given for articles and essays in larger collections
and journals.
d. Details of a book’s publishing history are found on the imprint page (on the
reverse of the title page). If a book has been published simultaneously in several
countries, it is usually enough to cite the one most appropriate to you – London
rather than Tel Aviv or Berkeley. You do not usually need to mention reprintings;
the first publication date is enough. But if you are using a later or revised edition,
this must be mentioned.
NB Each entry should end with a full stop.
H2. Books in their first editions
Byatt, A. S., Possession: A Romance (London: Chatto and Windus, 1990).
Gent, Lucy, and Nigel Llewellyn (eds), Renaissance Bodies: The Human Figure in
English Culture c. 1540-1660 (London: Reaktion Books, 1990).
H3. Books in a subsequent edition
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, ed. by J. R. R. Tolkien and E. V. Gordon, 2nd
edn revised by Norman Davis (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967).
22
H4. Translated titles
De Beauvoir, Simone, The Second Sex, trans. by H. M. Pashley (London: Pan,
1988).
H5. Essays or chapters in edited collections
Burrow, Colin, ‘The Sixteenth Century’, in The Cambridge Companion to English
Literature 1500-1600, ed. by Arthur F. Kinney (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2000), pp. 11-28.
H6. Articles in journals
Elliott, G. R., ‘Weirdness in The Comedy of Errors’, University of Toronto
Quarterly, 60 (1939), 95-106.
H7. Entries in dictionaries and encyclopaedias
You can refer to an entry either by its heading (term/phrase/name), or by page
number.
Cuddon, J. A., A Dictionary of Literary Terms, revised edn (Harmondsworth:
Penguin, 1982), s.v. ballad. [s.v. means sub verbo, ‘under the word’, in Latin]
If you are citing a page number in a multi-volume work, you need to give the
volume number (and MHRA gives the year of publication of the specific volume
too). The dash after the date of publication in the next example indicates that the
series has not yet been completed.
Dictionary of the Middle Ages, ed. by Joseph R. Strayer and others (New York:
Scribner, 1982- ), VI (1985), 26.
H8. Internet sources
There is no single standard form of citation for internet sources, but it is helpful to
give as much information as possible, including a date where appropriate.
The same basic principle applies to references to electronic sources as to references
to printed sources; that is, the reference should enable a reader to find as easily as
possible the source you have consulted. Beyond such a statement of guiding
principle it is hard to go: printed sources have, over many years, developed
standard bibliographic conventions for indexing; electronic media at present have
few such standard conventions. The suggestions that follow, then, are tentative,
and anyone desiring fuller discussion of the issues should see 'Citing Electronic
Publications' in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th Edn (New
York: MLA, 2003).
The following information should be given:
Name of author(s)
Title of the document, usually as if it were an entry in a journal; if you are using an
e-text, however, follow the usual print conventions (i.e. italicizing whole
publications).
23
Name of editor, if relevant
If possible or practical, give the URL of the web-page consulted exactly, enclosing
the URL within angled brackets < >. If this is not possible or practical, give the
URL of the site's search page or home page, if there is one. If even this does not
seem possible, describe how you found the page.
If there is a date of posting to the net on the document, give this.
Give the last date on which you consulted the document.
Two examples:
Andrew Zurcher, 'English Handwriting 1500-1700: Bibliography and Research
Resources', <http://www.english.cam.ac.uk/ceres/ehoc/bibliography.html>,
01.01.1985, 11.09.03
Samuel Butler, Erewhon, <http://lion.chadwyck.co.uk/works/search>, 1996-2003,
10.10.03
24