What are English mechanics? According to Jack Lynch of Rutgers University, “Mechanics is the term for all the niggling details that go into writing.” These details include everything from spelling to punctuation to usage of abbreviations, numbers and italics. Lynch also says, and quite colorfully so, that “beginning writers often grumble about having to learn all this crap, but there's just no way around it” (p. 1).
Lynch is right. There’s no way around it, not if you want to earn decent grades on college papers, for when a professor reads something you’ve written, he or she is going to be paying close attention to all those “niggling details,” and they can make the difference between your earning a high grade, a barely passing grade, or a failing grade.
Editing a Paper for Spelling Errors
All students today either own or have access to a computer and a word-processing program, with a spell-check feature that identifies misspelled words, so one has to wonder why so many student papers are filled with misspelled words? There are three main reasons:
- Students fail to make certain the spell-check program is activated. However, remember that a spell-check program will not recognize words unless they’re in its dictionary base.
- Students don’t edit for typos and, therefore, fail to correct where they mistyped a word, for instance, “own” when they meant “now.”
- Students use the wrong word, and although technically the word isn’t misspelled, the professor is going to consider it misspelled because it is the wrong word. For example, a student might write “choose” instead of “chose,” “effect” instead of “affect,” or “illicit” instead of “elicit,” or vice versa.
To ensure that your paper is free of such distracting errors, make sure the spell-check program is activated, closely proofread for typos, and when you’re uncertain of a word’s correct usage, look up its definition in a dictionary or thesaurus (Your word-processing program contains both).
Proofreading for Punctuation Errors
When it comes to editing for punctuation, remember that statements end with periods and questions with question marks. As for explanation points, they are best left to creative writing assignments and really have no place in formal papers. Also check to make certain that you are using commas correctly, as well as semicolons, colons, dashes, and quotation marks.
Rules for Using Abbreviations
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word, and although a few abbreviations are acceptable in formal writing, others are unacceptable. Some of those that are acceptable include “Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr., Jr., a.m. or A.M., and p.m. or P.M.” (College Writer, 2004). You should not, however, abbreviate the following in the body of a formal paper:
- State names: Georgia, Florida, Texas, etc.
- Countries: United States of America, South Africa, United Kingdom, etc.
- Months: January, February, March, etc.
- Days: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc.
- Units of measure: inch, yard, pound, ounce, kilometer, degrees, etc.
- Courses of study: psychology, literature, history, etc.
- Divisions of written works: page, chapter, etc. (You should, though, use the abbreviations in internal citations.)
- The words “street, road, avenue, company, and similar words if they part of a proper noun,” for example: Main Street, Vickers Road, Burbank Avenue, Harrison Lumber Company, etc. (College Writer, 2004)
Grammar Rules for Numbers
Some instructors might require that you spell out numbers from one to nine or ten and use digits for higher numbers. However, according to Diana Hacker, author of The Bedford Handbook for Writers, you should spell out numbers of one or two words and use digits for those of more than two words. What’s more, if a number begins a sentence, you should always spell it out regardless of how many words it would take to spell, for example:
- After eight years of attending college, Tom finally earned a degree in basket weaving.
- Tom counted twelve squirrels and 36 birds around the backyard feeders.
- One thousand six-hundred screaming fans converged on the field after the team won the game.
On the other hand, as Hacker points out, numerals are generally acceptable for the following:
- Dates: June 1, 2011, 58 B.C.
- Addresses: 423 Oak Hollow Lane
- Percentages: 50 percent
- Fractions and decimals: ½, 0.19
- Scores: 21 to 18, 2-8
- Statistics: weight 180, height 6 feet
- Surveys: 10 out of 20
- Exact amounts of money: $150.75, $110,000
- Divisions of books and plays: chapter 1, volume 6
- Identification numbers: serial number 994493003
- Time: 5:00 A.M., 10:00 P.M.
Guidelines for When to Use Italics
Another one of those niggling details associated with mechanics is the use of italics, so here are the things you should make certain to italicize:
- The tiles of plays, films, long musical compositions, long poems, works of art, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, and radio and television programs. Gone with the Wind; True Grit; Handel’s Messiah; T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land; Rembrandt’s The Man in the Golden Helmet; Science Digest; New York Times; Thomas Paine’s Common Sense; Dancing with the Stars
- The names of aircraft, ships, spaceships, and trains: Enola Gay,USS Enterprise, Voyager II, Southern Crescent
- Foreign words used in an English sentence: Tom looked at Sue and whispered, “Etre amoureux de tu, mon sucette,” which he thought sounded romantic, although he didn’t have the foggiest idea what he’s just said.
Note: The titles of works like short stories, short poems, essays, articles, and songs are enclosed in quotation marks, not italicized.
In summary, if you pay attention to these niggling little details, you will greatly increase your chances of earning a good grade on each and every paper that you write in college, regardless of subject matter or topic.
Sources:
Hacker, D. (1991) The Bedford Handbook for Writers: Third Edition, Boston, MA: St. Martin Press
Lynch, J. (nd) “Getting an A on an English Paper,” retrieved February 5, 2011 from ethnicity.rutgers.edu
VanderMey, R., Meyer, V., Van Rys, J., Kemper, D. & Sebranek, P. (2004) The College Writer: A Guide to Thinking, Writing, and Researching, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company
Carol Rzadkiewicz - Carol Rzadkiewicz has taught college English for over 14 years and is the author of three published novels and numerous short stories.
