manuscript form - · pdf filethis famous speech would receive an zf [if it were submitted as a...

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MANUSCRIPT FORM

IN THIS CHAPTER WE WILL STUDY HOW TO PRESENT YOUR COMPOSITION TO A READER SO

THAT HE OR SHE CAN READ IT EASILY.

1. WHAT SHOULD YOUR COMPOSITION LOOK LIKE ON THE PAPER?

2. PAPER

What kind of paper should you use?

What colour should it be?

What size should it be?

3. MARGINS

What is a margin?

How do we set them on the computer?

4. PUNCTUATION SPACING

How do we use the space bar consistently?

Is punctuation spacing the same in Korean and English?

5. INDENTATION

Why is it important? What does it tell the reader?

How to use the ‘tab’ key

6. LINE SPACING

How not to use the ‘enter’ key

7. TITLE

Is the title a sentence?

How do we use capital letters in the title of a composition?

What about punctuation?

8. USING MORE THAN ONE PIECE OF PAPER

Why should we be careful when our compositions are longer than one page?

MANUSCRIPT FORM - LEARNING GOALS

MANUSCRIPT FORM: WHAT YOUR COMPOSITION LOOKS LIKE ON THE PAPER.

MANUSCRIPT FORM

Any composition prepared for someone else to read, for

Grading

Publication

Editing

Etc.

Shape

Appearance

Structure

Body

Model

IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER:

You are creating compositions to communicate your thoughts, ideas, emotions, feelings, desires, or beliefs to another person. Therefore, your compositions must be easy to read and the form must consistently follow the rules that the reader expects. Otherwise, you will not be communicating well. Most of the rules in this chapter are widely used and are considered basic to manuscript preparation. Other rules are for this class only.

DIFFERENT MAJORS REQUIRE DIFFERENT MANUSCRIPT FORMS. ALWAYS MAKE SURE TO CHECK WITH THE

PERSON OR GROUP TO WHOM YOU ARE SUBMITTING YOUR COMPOSITION TO MAKE SURE YOUR FORM IS

CORRECT. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE YOUR FORM IS CORRECT.

YOU WOULD NOT EXPECT TO GET A JOB IF YOU WENT TO THE INTERVIEW DRESSED IN A

DIRTY T-SHIRT AND RIPPED JEANS! SIMILARLY, YOU SHOULD NOT EXPECT YOUR READER

TO RESPECT YOUR COMPOSITION IF YOU DO NOT FOLLOW THE RULES FOR PRESENTING IT

TO THEM PROPERLY.

MANUSCRIPT FORM: INTRODUCTION

Notes:

FOR NOW, DON’T WORRY ABOUT CONTENT. WHAT THE COMPOSITION LOOKS LIKE IS ALMOST AS

IMPORTANT AS THE GRAMMAR, VOCABULARY, AND SO ON.

The writing in this ‘manuscript’ (we’re using the term lightly, here!) is excellent. There are no problems with the content, but it is presented in a way that is very difficult to read, and shows

that the writer has little respect for the reader.

THIS FAMOUS SPEECH WOULD RECEIVE AN ‘F’ IF IT WERE SUBMITTED AS A COMPOSITION

IN THIS CLASS! THIS MANUSCRIPT LOOKS HORRIBLE!

MANUSCRIPT FORM: INTRODUCTION

PAPER:

FOR TYPED COMPOSITIONS (PRINTED ON A COMPUTER):

o Size: A4 o Colour: White

FOR HANDWRITTEN COMPOSITIONS:

o Size: A4

o Paper must be ruled (it must have lines; do not use blank A4 to handwrite compositions).

o Please do not use colored paper with pictures in the margins! It may look cute to you but it is very annoying to the reader!

o Use the lines. Do not allow your letters to ‘hover’ between the lines and, absolutely, do not write on top of the lines!

Correct Incorrect

Incorrect Incorrect

MANUSCRIPT FORM: PAPER

Notes:

Gg Hh Ii Jj Hovering letters space

notice that some letters hang below the line

Don’t ignore the lines! This is hard to read and Very annoying!

USE ONLY ONE SIDE OF THE PAPER (STANDARD RULE)

o However, in this class it is acceptable to use both sides of the paper for your practice compositions. Do not waste a new sheet of paper for a word or two!

INCORRECT

NOTE: THIS RULE APPLIES TO PRINTING YOUR COMPOSITION WITH A COMPUTER. USE THE “PRINT

PREVIEW” FUNCTION TO SEE WHAT YOUR COMPOSITION WILL LOOK LIKE WHEN IT IS PRINTED. IF THE

COMPOSITION LOOKS LIKE THE EXAMPLE ABOVE, WHAT CAN YOU DO TO FIX IT?

You can adjust the margins by a very small amount to help the composition fit on one page.

You can adjust the font size by a very small amount (for example, from 12 to 11 or 10 – but no smaller than 10!)


Notes:

People who litter often thoughtlessly say,

“It’s not my problem. Why should I care? It’s

someone else’s job to pick it up.” We should

be just as proud, however, of our schools,

parks, streets, public buildings, and

countryside, as we are of our own homes.

Surely, the people who drop their garbage on

the street don’t throw garbage on the floors of

their own homes, or in their own gardens.

Littering is bad for the environment and

garbage is ugly to look at. No one wants to live

in a dirty country, and no one wants tourists to

go away thinking that a country’s citizens are

dirty, selfish, and uncaring. It is up to each

individual to do his or her best to keep our

public spaces clean for everyone to enjoy. We

should think of the whole country, inside and

out, public and private, as our home. Instead

of thinking, “Someone else will do it,” we

should all think, “I can do it

myself!”

IF YOU ARE WRITING YOUR COMPOSITIONS BY HAND, YOU MAY USE THE BACK OF A SINGLE PIECE OF PAPER.

ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS RULE: “TOP IS TOP!”

Turn the page horizontally, not vertically

CORRECT INCORRECT

WHEN YOU USE MORE THAN ONE PIECE OF PAPER:

o Do not use paper clips and do not fold the corners over to keep the pages together! o Use one staple in the top-left corner.

CORRECT INCORRECT

NOTE: IF YOU FORGET TO STAPLE THE PAGES TOGETHER, PLEASE HAND THEM TO THE

TEACHER PERSONALLY. DO NOT PUT UNATTACHED PAPERS IN THE PILE OR THEY MIGHT

GET SEPARATED AND MIXED INTO THE WHOLE BUNCH.


MARGINS:

The margins are the white spaces around the composition. They form a ‘picture frame’ around your composition. Normally, the computer will set the correct margins for you. However, you may be using a public computer at the university or in a PC room, so you should make sure to check the margins carefully before you print.

Top Margin

Left

Mar

gin

Composition Space

Righ

t Margin

Bottom Margin

MANUSCRIPT FORM: MARGINS

Notes:

TO CHANGE THE MARGINS IN MICROSOFT WORD 2007:

Click ‘Page Layout’, then ‘Margins’.

DON’T FORGET THAT HANDWRITTEN COMPOSITIONS SHOULD HAVE CLEAR MARGINS, TOO! IT MIGHT BE A

GOOD IDEA TO BUY SOME LINED, A4 PAPER THAT HAS THE MARGINS ALREADY PRINTED ON IT. THE RIGHT

MARGIN IS NOT USUALLY PRINTED ON THE PAPER THOUGH, SO BE CAREFUL NOT TO WRITE ALL THE WAY

TO THE EDGE OF THE PAPER.

VERY IMPORTANT: NEVER WRITE IN THE MARGINS!


Notes:

Select ‘Normal’

… or you may choose this one.

THE LEFT MARGIN SHOULD BE STRAIGHT, AND THE RIGHT MARGIN SHOULD BE AS STRAIGHT AS

POSSIBLE.

HANDWRITTEN COMPOSITIONS SHOULD ALSO HAVE CLEAR MARGINS.

←LEFT MARGIN

People who litter often thoughtlessly say, “It’s not my problem.

Why should I care? It’s someone else’s job to pick it up.” We

should be just as proud, however, of our schools, parks, streets,

public buildings, and countryside, as we are of our own homes.

Surely, the people who drop their garbage on the street….

INCORRECT

People who litter often thoughtlessly say, “It’s not my problem. Why

should I care? (← empty space )

It’s someone else’s job to pick it up.” (← empty space )

We should be just as proud, however, of our schools, parks, streets,

public buildings, and countryside, as we are of our own homes.

INCORRECT

People who litter often thoughtlessly say, “It’s not my problem. Why

should I care? It’s someone else’s job to pick it up.” We should be just

as proud, however, of our schools, parks streets, public buildings, and

countryside, as we are of our own homes.

CORRECT

Note: Do not use the ‘Enter’ key at the end of every sentence! The computer will arrange the words

properly without your help.


Notes:

RIGHT MARGIN:

IN THIS CLASS, THE RIGHT MARGIN SHOULD NOT BE PERFECTLY STRAIGHT.

RIGHT MARGIN →

People who litter often thoughtlessly say, “It’s not my problem. Why should I care? It’s someone else’s job to pick it up.” We should be just as proud, however, of our schools, parks streets, public buildings, and countryside, as we are of our own homes.

INCORRECT

People who litter often thoughtlessly say, “It’s not my problem. Why should I care? It’s someone else’s job to pick it up.” We should be just as proud, however, of our schools, parks streets, public buildings, and countryside, as we are of our own homes.

CORRECT

ON THE COMPUTER, LOOK FOR SOME PICTURES THAT LOOK LIKE THIS:

THE COMPUTER WILL MAKE THE RIGHT MARGIN AS STRAIGHT AS POSSIBLE, WITHOUT STRETCHING EACH

LINE. DO NOT CLAIM THAT “THE COMPUTER DID IT”! IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO NOTICE YOUR

MARGINS AND CORRECT THEM IF THEY ARE NOT SET UP PROPERLY.


↑Choose this one ↑ ↑ Do not use either of these

MARGINS FOR HAND WRITTEN COMPOSITIONS

COMPOSITION PAPER USUALLY LOOKS SOMETHING LIKE THIS:

Littering


“It’s not my problem. Why should I care? It’s

someone else’s job to pick it up.” We should be just

as proud, however, of our schools, parks public

streets, buildings, and countryside, as we are of

our own homes.

NOTICE:

NOTHING IS WRITTEN IN THE TOP MARGIN.

NOTHING IS WRITTEN IN THE LEFT MARGIN.

THE RIGHT MARGIN IS NOT MARKED, BUT THE WRITER HAS LEFT SOME SPACE THERE (ABOUT THE

SAME AS THE LEFT MARGIN, AND THE WORDS DO NOT EXTEND TO THE EDGE OF THE PAPER.

THE BOTTOM MARGIN IS QUITE SMALL (MOST COMPOSITION PAPER WE BUY AT STATIONARY

STORES HAS VERY SMALL BOTTOM MARGINS).


INDENTATION:

IN THIS CLASS, THE FIRST SENTENCE OF EVERY PARAGRAPH MUST BE INDENTED. DO NOT USE THE SPACE

BAR TO CREATE THE INDENTATION. INSTEAD, ALWAYS USE THE ‘TAB’ KEY (PRESS IT ONCE FOR PERFECT

INDENTATION EVERY TIME).

Tab key

People who litter often thoughtlessly say, “It’s not my problem.

Why should I care? It’s someone else’s job to pick it up.” BEFORE

INDENTATION

Indentation People who litter often thoughtlessly say, “It’s not my

problem. Why should I care? It’s someone else’s job to pick it

up.”

AFTER

INDENTATION

Too small (incorrect use of space bar!) People who litter often thoughtlessly say, “It’s not my problem.

Why should I care? It’s someone else’s job to pick it up.”

INCORRECT

INDENTATION

NOTE: IF YOU ARE WRITING YOUR COMPOSITIONS BY HAND, YOUR INDENTATION SIZE WILL BE RELATIVE

TO THE SIZE OF YOUR HANDWRITING, BUT IT SHOULD BE AT LEAST 2 CM.

MANUSCRIPT FORM: INDENTATION

Notes:

LINE SPACING:

YOUR COMPOSITIONS MUST BE DOUBLE-SPACED!

TO ‘DOUBLE SPACE’ A COMPOSITION MEANS THAT YOU MUST LEAVE ONE LINE EMPTY BETWEEN EVERY

LINE OF TEXT.

People who litter often thoughtlessly say, “It’s not my


up.” We should be just as proud, however, of our schools,

parks, streets, public buildings, and countryside, as we are of

our own homes.

BEFORE DOUBLE SPACING

People who litter often thoughtlessly say, “It’s not my


up.” We should be just as proud, however, of our schools,

parks, streets, public buildings, and countryside, as we are of

our own homes.

AFTER DOUBLE SPACING

EVEN HANDWRITTEN COMPOSITIONS MUST BE DOUBLE SPACED!

AFTER DOUBLE SPACING

MANUSCRIPT FORM: LINE SPACING

Notes:

THERE ARE THREE WAYS TO DOUBLE-SPACE A COMPOSITION

REMEMBER: DO NOT USE THE SPACE BAR AT THE END OF EACH LINE!

Method 1:

Step 1: In Microsoft Word, press “Ctrl + a” (this means ‘select all’).

Step 2: Press “Ctrl + 2” and you composition will be perfectly double-spaced! “Ctrl + 1”=single spaced (no empty space between the lines.)

Method 2:

Step 1: Again, use “Ctrl + a” to select the entire composition.

Step 2: In Microsoft Word, there is a button on the toolbar that will open a drop-down menu that looks like this:


This will make all of the text look like this:

Notes:

Click ‘2.0’.

Method 3: Step 1: Again, use “Ctrl + a” to select the entire composition. Step 2: Use the ‘Format’ menu at the top of the screen and select ‘paragraph’ option:

Step 3: Then, you will see this box:


Notes:

Use the ‘Line Spacing’ menu and select ‘Double’.

Then, click ‘OK’.

Select ‘Paragraph…’

TITLE: If you choose to include a title, center it on the first line. Do not put the title between quotation marks or any other marks.

o Incorrect: < Title >

o Incorrect: Title

o Incorrect: “Title”

o You may underline the title, if you want to.

EACH WORD OF THE TITLE SHOULD BEGIN WITH A CAPITAL LETTER, ALTHOUGH THE ‘SMALL’ WORDS

(ARTICLES, PREPOSITIONS, ETC.) ARE NOT CAPITALIZED (UNLESS THEY ARE THE FIRST WORD OF THE TITLE):

Of Mice and Men,

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

littering is a bad habit


“It’s not my problem. Why should I care?

INCORRECT:

Title is not centered, and there are no capital letters.

<Littering Is A Bad Habit>



INCORRECT:

These are not English punctuation marks! ‘Is’ and ‘a’ should not be

capitalized.

Littering is a Bad Habit



CORRECT:

The title is centered, the ‘important’ words are capitalized, and there are no

extra symbols or shapes around it.

Littering is a Bad Habit



ALSO CORRECT:

Underlining the title is acceptable.

MANUSCRIPT FORM: THE TITLE

Incorrect

FONT AND HANDWRITING:

Write neatly! If you make a mistake you may use white correction tape or a simple, single, line through the mistake.

o Correct: mistake

o Incorrect: mistake

Font: o Size: Not smaller than 10, not larger than 12 o Style: use something simple like

‘Arial’

‘Calibri’

‘Times New Roman’ is also common

Do not use bold text or strange, interesting, or pretty fonts. Save your

creative/artistic impulses for the content of the composition.

GENERAL PRESENTATION

Do not use a cover page for this class (it is a waste of paper)

In general, manuscripts should never be folded

For this class, you must include the following information in the top-left corner of the manuscript (not in the margin; start on the first line of the paper, and single space this part):

Name: Student Number: Date: Teacher: Class: Assignment:

NOTE: DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR ‘MAJOR’/‘DEPARTMENT’ IN THE ABOVE INFORMATION.

MANUSCRIPT FORM: FONT, HANDWRITING, AND PRESENTATION

Notes:

PUNCTUATION SPACING

THE SPACING OF PUNCTUATION IS CRUCIAL TO MAINTAINING A NEAT LOOK TO THE COMPOSITION. IF YOU ARE TYPING THE COMPOSITION, USE THE SPACE BAR CONSISTENTLY. IF YOU ARE WRITING

YOUR COMPOSITIONS BY HAND, MAKE SURE THAT THE SPACING IS CONSISTENT.

In English, as in every language, certain rules have been developed to guide in the way we write letters, words, sentences, and paragraphs on paper. We must follow these rules in order to create proper English compositions.

For example, we know that there are generally no spaces between letters in a word:

Incorrect: w or d

spaces

Correct: word

We also know that there is one space, and only one, between words:

Incorrect: wordword

no space

word word too many spaces

Correct: word word

In order to make compositions easier to read, there are two spaces, and only two, between sentences.

Incorrect: …sentence.Sentence… no space

…sentence. Sentence… only 1 space

Correct: …sentence. Sentence…

2 spaces

NOTE: MANY PEOPLE NOW BELIEVE THAT PUTTING ONLY ONE SPACE BETWEEN SENTENCES IS

BEST. IN FACT, THIS IS THE SOURCE OF MANY ARGUMENTS IN THE COMPUTER AGE. HOWEVER, IN

THIS CLASS, YOU MUST PUT TWO SPACES BETWEEN SENTENCES.

MANUSCRIPT FORM: PUNCTUATION SPACING

OTHER IMPORTANT SPACING RULES TO REMEMBER:

Comma

,

There are no spaces before a comma, and there is one space after.

word , word

word, word

I like apples , bananas , and grapes.

I like apples, bananas, and grapes.

colon

:

There are no spaces before a colon, and there are two spaces after a colon.

Name : Tim

Name: Tim

Apostrophe

’

There are no spaces before or after an apostrophe.

I’ m / I ’m

I’m

= Incorrect

= Correct

Note: There are no spaces before or after a colon when using it in a time expression. 12:30, not 12: 30

IN NOVELS AND TEXTBOOKS, YOU MIGHT SEE SMALLER SPACING (AND VERY SMALL INDENTATIONS, TOO) BUT THAT IS A PUBLISHING FORM, AND IT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE FORM YOU MUST USE.


Abbreviations

There are no spaces after periods inside abbreviations.

C . I . A .

C.I.A.

Quotation Marks

“ ”

There are no spaces on the inside of quotation marks.

word “ word ”

word “word” one space

before, zero after

Parentheses

( )

There are no spaces on the inside of parentheses.

word ( word )

word (word) one space

before, zero after

Very Common Mistake

Numbers 1, 2, 3

Treat numbers like words; one space before and one after.

2km. 12o’clock

2 km. 12 o’clock

To avoid confusion, you can write the number as a word:

I drove 100km. I drove 100 km.

I drove one hundredkm.

I drove one hundred kilometers. (best)


Notes:

EXAMPLE:

T i m s a i d , “ H e l l o , ” a n d

s m i l e d ( b u t h e w a s n o t

h a p p y ) . H e h a t e d B o b .

USING HYPHENS:

THE SIMPLE RULE IS, DON’T USE HYPHENS TO SPLIT WORDS AT THE END OF A LINE, UNLESS YOU

ARE 100% CERTAIN THAT YOU CAN DO IT CORRECTLY. IF YOU ARE TYPING YOUR COMPOSITION, THE COMPUTER WILL AUTOMATICALLY MOVE LONG WORDS TO THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT LINE.

If you handwrite your compositions, look ahead while you write and plan to use the margins correctly. If you are about to write a long word, make sure you have enough space. If you don’t have enough room at the end of the line, start the word at the beginning of the next line.

EXAMPLE:

People who litter often thoughtlessly say, “It’s not my problem. Why sho-

uld I care? It’s someone else’s job to pick it up.” We should be just as

proud, however, of our schools, streets, public buildings, and country-

side, as we are of our own homes.

Incorrect

Correct, but not necessary!


Notes:

1. AVOID ADDING UNNECESSARY ‘EXTRA’ COMMENTS OR EXCLAMATIONS. “Oh my god!”

“Wow!”

These are only appropriate in very informal compositions, and will not be appropriate for the types of compositions we will be practicing.

2. AVOID ASKING QUESTIONS: “Have you heard of Dokdo?”

“Do you ever wonder about the best way to study English?”

Again, these are more common in informal compositions. Remember, you are not having a conversation and there are better ways to introduce your topic.

3. AVOID USING THE SECOND PERSON: “You should study hard.”

“You can save money if you buy used textbooks”

In conversation, we often use ‘you’ to mean ‘people in general’ or ‘most people’, and it is common in some types of composition (a personal letter, for example) to directly address the reader, but in most cases it is inappropriate to use ‘you’ in more formal compositions.

4. AVOID WRITING PERSONAL NOTES TO THE READER/TEACHER: “Thank you for reading my composition!”

“I’m sorry my homework was late.”

If you want to add a note to the reader/teacher, write it on a separate piece of paper (a post-it note, for example).

5. AVOID ‘EMOTICONS’: “What a beautiful day! ^^”

“The exam was so difficult. --_--;

These are never appropriate, except in very personal, very informal compositions.

MANUSCRIPT FORM: HELPFUL TIPS

Notes:

6. AVOID DOUBLE PUNCTUATION MARKS: “I was late for work!!”

“What are you doing!?”

Again, in very personal letters, emails, notes, or text messages, these are quite common, but they should never be used in this class.

7. DO NOT START A LINE OF TEXT WITH PUNCTUATION:

People who litter often thoughtlessly say, “It’s not my problem. Why should I care ? It’s someone else’s job to pick it up.” We should be just as proud, however, of our schools, parks, streets, public buildings, and countryside, as we are of our own homes.

This is not done in English. End-sentence punctuation should not be used at the beginning of a line. If you handwrite your compositions, you can usually fit the punctuation at the end of the line. If you use a computer to write, the computer will automatically move the punctuation for you.

8. REMEMBER TO USE A CAPITAL (UPPER CASE) LETTER FOR: The first word of every sentence

Proper nouns (names of people, places, companies, etc.)

Do not use capitals for the entire proper noun:

“I would like to work for SAMSUNG.”

IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THE PROPER USE OF CAPITAL LETTERS, YOU ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO

LEARN THEM NOW!

MANUSCRIPT FORM: HELPFUL TIPS

Notes:

THIS IS WHAT YOUR MANUSCRIPT SHOULD LOOK LIKE THIS:

Top Margin

Left

Mar

gin

Name: Bill Smith

Student Number: 2005 123 456

Class: English Composition M/W/F 9:00

Teacher: Tim Main

Date: March 14, 2008

Assignment: Manuscript Form

Manuscript Form

A good manuscript should look like this page. Don’t

worry if you make mistakes when you submit your homework

compositions, but be sure that you can produce a good, easy to

read, manuscript for the exams, or your grade will go down. The

most important things to remember are the six pieces of

information in the top-left corner of the paper, the fact that the

first sentence of the paragraph is indented, and the composition is

double-spaced. If your compositions look like this, I will be very

happy and you will have a much better chance of getting a good

grade.

Righ

t Margin

Bottom Margin

NOTES:

Nothing is written in the margins

The six pieces of information at the top are single spaced

MANUSCRIPT FORM: EXAMPLES

Name: Bill Smith

Student Number: 2005 123 456

Class: English Composition M/W/F 9:00

Teacher: Tim Main

Date: March 14, 2008

Assignment: Manuscript Form

Manuscript Form

A good manuscript should look like this page. Don’t

worry if you make mistakes when you submit your homework

compositions, but be sure that you can produce a good, easy

to read manuscript for the exams, or your grade will go down.

The most important things to remember are the six pieces of

information in the top-left corner of the paper, the fact that

the first sentence of the paragraph is indented, and the

composition is double-spaced. If your compositions look like

this, I will be very happy and you will have a much better

chance of getting a good grade.

MANUSCRIPT FORM: EXAMPLES

manuscript form - · pdf filethis famous speech would receive an zf [if it were submitted as a...

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