How to Write

In my journey of writing my book, I learned how to format my writing.  I had no idea that there was a correct way to write.  I just know that I love to write.  A great book that I recommend to any writer is The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers.  That book is the greatest.  It helped me in many ways such as learning about plagiarism and writing correct sentences.

Plagiarism is when you take someone else’s work and try to make it your own.  For instance, you are writing a research paper for school and you see information on line that would make your paper standout.  Instead of rewriting that article in your own words (completely), you copy and paste the entire article to your report and tell your teacher you wrote it.  You cannot take someone else’s words and change two or three words then call it your own.  Do Not Do That.  It will cost you.  If you use someone’s work, you must cite it.  Give that author credit for his or her work.

According to The Scott Foresman Handbook for Writers (pg 700), this is the correct MLA (Modern Language Association) format if you are in school: 

·         Use white, 8 ½- by-11-inch paper

·         Insert your last name and pg number one-half inch from the top of every pg, aligned with the right-hand margin.

·         Use the same readable font face throughout your paper

·         Double-space the entire document

·         Left-align the body of the paper and do not hyphenate words at the end of the line.

·         Indent the first word of each paragraph one-half inch.

·         List your full name on the first line of the first page, aligned to the left.

·         List your instructor’s name with appropriate title, aligned to the left.

·         List the course for which you’re writing the paper, aligned to the left.

·         List the date you submit the assignment, aligned to the left.

·         Give the title of your paper, capitalized and centered