A legible, consistent, and attractive manuscript is a service to readers because it makes reading easier. Most of these guidelines are standard, but your instructor may request that you follow different conventions in some matters.
For handwritten papers, you can use regular white paper, 8 1/2 X 11" , with horizontal lines spaced between one-quarter and three-eighths of an inch apart. Don't use paper torn from a notebook, unlined paper, paper with narrow lines, colored paper, or pa per other than 8 1/2 X 11" (such as legal or stenographer's pads). Use the same type of paper throughout a project. Write on only one side of a sheet.
Use black or blue ink, not pencil. If possible, use an ink eraser or eradicator to correct mistakes. If you must cross out material, draw a single line through it. Don't scribble over or black out a mistake, and don't write corrections on top of mistake s.
For typewritten papers, use 8 1/2 X 11" white bond paper of sixteen- or twenty-pound weight. Some instructors also accept the same size surface-coated bond paper (called "erasable" or "corrasable"), but ink smears easily on such paper. Onionskin sheets, paper torn from notebooks, colored paper, and paper smaller or larger than 8 1/2 X 11" are unacceptable. Use the same type of paper throughout a project. Type on only one side of a sheet.
Use a black typewriter ribbon that is fresh enough to make a dark impression, and make sure the keys of the typewriter are clean. To avoid smudging the page when correcting mistakes, use a liquid correction fluid or a correction tape. Don't use hyphens or x's to cross out mistakes, and don't type corrections (strike-overs) on top of mistakes.
Two kinds of printers are used with most computerized word processors. Letter-quality (including ink jets and laser printers), like a regular typewriter, produce characters with solid lines. Dot-matrix printers form characters out of tiny dots, and the legibility of their type varies considerably. If you use a word processor with a dot-matrix printer, make sure the dots are close enough together to produce legible characters. In addition, make sure the tails on letters such as j, p, and y descend belo w the line of type, as they do in the typeface used here. Resist the temptation to use any of the unusual type sizes or styles that your printer may be capable of producing ะส including italic rather than underlined type. Such embellishments can clutter your manuscript and distract readers from what you are saying. Before you submit a paper printed on a dot-matrix printer, show your instructor a sample of the type to be sure it is acceptable.
Be sure the printer ribbon or cartridge produces a dark impression. Use standard-sized (8 1/2 X 11") white bond paper of sixteen- or twenty-pound weight, not the lightweight green-striped paper associated with computer print-outs. If you use continuous paper folded like a fan at perforations, it will also come with a row of holes along each side for feeding the paper into the printer. Before submitting your paper, remove these strips of holes along the perforations and separate the pages at the folds.< P>
Handwritten script should be uniform and clear. Be sure letters are easily distinguishable. Cross all t's; dot all i's with dots, not circles; form the loops of letters carefully. Make capital letters and small letters clearly different. Space consiste ntly between words and between sentences. If your handwriting is difficult to read, submit a typed paper if possible. If you don't have access to a typewriter and your handwriting is illegible or unusual is size, decoration, or slant, make it more legib le or conventional when writing the final manuscript. Indent the first line of every paragraph about an inch. Write on every other line.
If you use a typewriter or word processor, indent the first line of every paragraph five spaces and double-space throughout. Leave one space between words. Use handwriting to make any symbols that are not on your keyboard, leaving three or four spaces a nd then inserting the symbol in ink.
For both typed and handwritten work, try to avoid breaking words at the ends of lines. If you must break a word, follow the rules of hyphenation. Don't start a line with any mark of punctuation other than a dash, an opening parenthesis or an opening quot ation mark.
Use one-inch margins on all sides of each page. The top margin will contain the page numbers. If the right margin is uneven, it should be no narrower than an inch. If you have a word processor or electronic typewriter that produces an even (or justified ) right margin, use the feature only if it does not leave wide spaces between words and thus interfere with readability. When using a word processor, be sure to instruct the computer to set appropriate margins. Don't let the lines of type run across the perforations on continuous fanfold paper.
Proofread each page of your paper carefully, concentrating on spelling, punctuation, mechanics, grammar, and manuscript format. If a page has several errors, retype or rewrite the page. If it has one or two errors and you can't eradicate them, correct t hem in ink. Draw a single line through a word you want to delete. Don't try to correct a misspelled word without crossing out and rewriting the whole word. To replace a word or mark of punctuation, draw a line through the item, place a caret underneath it, and write the new word or mark in the space above the old one. To add words or marks of punctuation, place a caret underneath the line at the point where you wish to insert the word or mark; then center the word or mark over the caret in the space ab ove the line. If you have to add more words than will fit between the lines of text, rewrite or retype the page.
When you submit your final paper, be sure the pages will stay together when the paper is shuffled in with others. Staple your pages together.