A Pocket Style Manual with Exercises, with 2021 MLA Update

Clarity
1 Tighten wordy sentences.
2 Prefer active verbs.
3 Balance parallel ideas.
4 Add needed words.
5 Eliminate distracting shifts.
6 Untangle mixed constructions.
7 Repair misplaced and dangling modifiers.
8 Provide sentence variety.
9 Find an appropriate voice.

Grammar
10 Make subjects and verbs agree.
11 Be alert to other problems with verbs.
12 Use pronouns with care.
13 Use adjectives and adverbs appropriately.
14 Repair sentence fragments.
15 Revise run-on sentences.
16 Consider grammar topics for multilingual writers.

Punctuation
17 The comma
18 The semicolon and the colon
19 The apostrophe
20 Quotation marks
21 Other punctuation marks
Mechanics
22 Capitalization
23 Abbreviations, numbers, and italics
24 Hyphenation
Research
25 Posing a research question
26 Finding appropriate sources
27 Managing information; avoiding plagiarism
28 Evaluating sources

MLA Papers
29 Supporting a thesis
30 Avoiding plagiarism
31 Integrating sources
32 Integrating literary quotations
33 MLA documentation style
34 MLA format; sample research paper

APA Papers
35 Supporting a thesis
36 Avoiding plagiarism
37 Integrating sources
38 APA documentation style
39 APA format; sample research paper

Chicago Papers
40 Supporting a thesis
41 Avoiding plagiarism
42 Integrating sources
43 Chicago documentation style
44 Chicago format; sample pages

CSE Papers
45 CSE documentation style
46 CSE format

Exercises