MANUSCRIPT FORM - LEARNING GOALS

1 MANUSCRIPT FORM

MANUSCRIPT FORM - LEARNING GOALS 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: INTRODUCTION 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 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: PAPER 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 Gg Hh Ii Jj Incorrect notice that some letters hang below the line Incorrect Hovering letters Incorrect space Don t ignore the lines! This is hard to read and Very annoying!

MANUSCRIPT FORM: PAPER 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 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! 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!)

MANUSCRIPT FORM: PAPER 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 o Do not use paper clips and do not fold the corners over to keep the pages together! 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.

Left Margin Right Margin MANUSCRIPT FORM: MARGINS 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 Composition Space Bottom Margin

MANUSCRIPT FORM: MARGINS TO CHANGE THE MARGINS IN MICROSOFT WORD 2007: Click Page Layout, then Margins. Select Normal or you may choose this one. 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!

MANUSCRIPT FORM: MARGINS 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.

MANUSCRIPT FORM: MARGINS 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: Choose this one Do not use either of these 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.

MANUSCRIPT FORM: MARGINS MARGINS FOR HAND WRITTEN COMPOSITIONS COMPOSITION PAPER USUALLY LOOKS SOMETHING LIKE THIS: Littering 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 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).

MANUSCRIPT FORM: INDENTATION 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. 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. 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. BEFORE INDENTATION AFTER INDENTATION 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: LINE SPACING 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 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. BEFORE DOUBLE SPACING 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 AFTER DOUBLE SPACING our own homes. EVEN HANDWRITTEN COMPOSITIONS MUST BE DOUBLE SPACED! AFTER DOUBLE SPACING

MANUSCRIPT FORM: LINE SPACING 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 ). This will make all of the text look like this: 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: Click 2.0.

MANUSCRIPT FORM: LINE SPACING 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: Select Paragraph Step 3: Then, you will see this box: Use the Line Spacing menu and select Double. Then, click OK.

MANUSCRIPT FORM: THE TITLE 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. Incorrect 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 People who litter often thoughtlessly say, It s not my problem. Why should I care? <Littering Is A Bad Habit> People who litter often thoughtlessly say, It s not my problem. Why should I care? Littering is a Bad Habit People who litter often thoughtlessly say, It s not my problem. Why should I care? Littering is a Bad Habit People who litter often thoughtlessly say, It s not my problem. Why should I care? INCORRECT: Title is not centered, and there are no capital letters. INCORRECT: These are not English punctuation marks! Is and a should not be capitalized. CORRECT: The title is centered, the important words are capitalized, and there are no extra symbols or shapes around it. ALSO CORRECT: Underlining the title is acceptable.

MANUSCRIPT FORM: FONT, HANDWRITING, AND PRESENTATION 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: PUNCTUATION SPACING 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: word Incorrect: wordword no space 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. I like apples, bananas, and grapes. I like apples, bananas, and grapes. word, word word, word 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.

MANUSCRIPT FORM: PUNCTUATION SPACING 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 Numbers 1, 2, 3 Very Common Mistake 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)

MANUSCRIPT FORM: PUNCTUATION SPACING 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 should 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 countryside, as we are of our own homes. Incorrect Correct, but not necessary!

MANUSCRIPT FORM: HELPFUL TIPS 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 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!

Left Margin Right Margin MANUSCRIPT FORM: EXAMPLES THIS IS WHAT YOUR MANUSCRIPT SHOULD LOOK LIKE THIS: Top Margin 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. 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.