All Questions
Tagged with style formatting
93 questions
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Formatting cover letter
This website gives several examples of cover letters. They typically begin:
December 1, 2010
Miriam A. Nunberg
Staff Attorney
U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights
32 Old Slip, 26th ...
- 145
5
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2
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467
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How should I format a surprise scene change such that it reads coherently but is still a surprise?
In the current WIP chapter of my most popular web serial, there is a scene at the beginning that is presented as happening "now" (that is, having regular story focus) only to be suddenly ...
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-1
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3
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160
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Spacing around (and types of) dashes in American English
I'm not a native English speaker, and the way American English texts typically use em-dashes without spaces to separate sentence parts seems very strange and even disruptive for me. For example:
&...
- 99
5
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4
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1k
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Can dialogue be put in the same paragraph as action text?
I'm a beginner writer, trying to learn fundementals. I'm editing some work now and I'm confused about proper formatting of paragraphs with dialogue.
I know that you should start a new paragraph when ...
- 51
1
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1
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111
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Should I use "***" 3 asterisks or extra blank lines or whatever to indicate the breaks between parallel plot scenes, in a Kindle Vella fiction story?
That is, for example, suppose I have two plots going on, and I've sandwiched (ie. interleaved) them; a few paragraphs of one plot scene alternating with a few paragraphs of a 2nd plot scene.
To ...
- 201
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3
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239
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Is there a style convention for how to "format" a book title in plain text (no formatting)?
Typically book titles are ideally italicized or otherwise underlined. For example:
In his book Some Book Title, John Doe describes...
Is there any style convention for what to do if you are limited ...
- 101
2
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2
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65
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Referring to an earlier defined phrase so that it's not taken literally
Say I define a phrase like 'pen' or '10 miles'. Then when I refer to these defined phrases inline in the text, how should I refer to them to let the reader know that I am referring to the defined ...
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3
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3
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349
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How does one go about describing subtle movements in characters actions?
I'm struggling with figuring out a way to describe subtle movements in a scene that wouldn't normally be picked up on if not shown. For example:
A character is being put in a prison cell and another
...
- 441
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1
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1k
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Can section headings be questions for APA format?
I would want my first heading to be "What is Lyme disease '.' '?'" , Im not sure if it would be considered a question or a sentence . I want this paragraph to inform the reader what the ...
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63
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How do you format a song when it's part of a larger spoken piece?
I'm editing a children's book which includes songs. I usually format the songs as a block quote in a slightly smaller type size and centred on the longest line. However, I've just come to a song that ...
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2
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144
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Formatting new line options with actions and dialogue in fiction
I am getting confused about whether rules determine new paragraph positions or if it's sometimes arbitrary. Some choices seem clear cut, but in the sentence: 'I regarded...' it reads fine to me in ...
4
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3
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155
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Mixing prose and verse
I’m writing a novel and one of my characters speaks in poetic verse, should I format her dialogue differently to my characters who communicate in the traditional manner?
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8
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4k
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Is italicizing parts of dialogue for emphasis ever appropriate?
Is it ever appropriate to use italics to emphasize parts of dialogue to show which words the speakers is putting emphasis on? I used to do this quite frequently, but I was told that this was a sign of ...
- 4,664
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114
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Presenting a Character's Thoughts
Is this an acceptable introductory paragraph to a fictional character's memoir? I'm not sure if the first sentence should be in quotations or have its own line and be italicized..
How often do you get ...
9
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1
answer
686
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Should I capitalise a lower-case last name at the start of a sentence?
I have a fairly quick question. I am wondering if I should capitalize a last name when it comes at the start of a sentence if it starts with a lower-case letter.
Example: In my essay, I am citing ...
- 93
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1
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1k
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When writing and formatting a novel, what are the rules for scene breaks? Is it okay to use both asterisks and double spaces?
I have found information on this topic of scene breaks available on the internet to be quite conflicting and I've frustrated myself into a lot of confusion. Some authors use only double spaces to ...
- 135
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2
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4k
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How do I punctuate a slogan?
I have the following slogan:
I sell, I build
I want to make sure it's clear and concise. I did not add a period, because I know it's not a full sentence. However, I want to make sure it's ...
- 303
2
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1
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184
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How do you format dialogue within a paragraph?
He made his way over to the crimson red telephone box that basked in the afternoon sunlight. Ted knew she was hiding in there. “You can come out now." He swung open the door, with a callous look ...
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0
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49
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How to properly include credits for the author, location, date and time?
I'm working on an amateur article about various topics and want to include my name (as the author), location of where I'm currently writing the article, and the current date and time.
I've seen many ...
- 101
4
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4
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527
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Hyphen for "multiple-response"?
I'm writing a help document for a website that tests people. In much of the copy for the website, I've referred to "multiple-choice" questions with the hyphen.
Now, I have to write about multiple ...
- 41
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0
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42
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When should a chapter end and the next chapter begin? [duplicate]
I writing a short story and I would like to know when I should end a chapter.
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1
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923
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What does nk means in line spacing?
I see in some journals that mention the line spacing in MS Word in terms of "nk".
What does that mean and how can I set that in the Word?
For example in this link, it states:
2 nk spaces should ...
- 151
5
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1
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172
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Is there a good resource on all different formatting and writing styles throughout history?
I noticed writers in the past used a different format, in terms of punctuation, indentation, quotations, spacing, and paragraph length, and the format can be different from author to author and from ...
user36239
6
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2
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238
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How should I present a resort brochure in my general fiction?
In my story the protagonist goes to live in a health resort. The receptionist presents her with a brochure of activities. At the moment I have written like this in a word document;
After patiently ...
- 2,399
3
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1
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138
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Are there stylistic overlaps between novels and comic books? [closed]
I am going to quote from a novel that in my opinion shows many stylistic overlaps of novels and comic books: The Rowan by Anne McCaffrey. I am holding that novel in my hand now.
The use of a lot of ...
1
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4
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514
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Is there something "wrong" with my writing? How do I improve it? [closed]
So I usually use stackexchange as a last resort, but I'm completely stumped. If this question is inappropriate here, I will gladly delete it.
None of my teachers say that anything is wrong with my ...
6
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3
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2k
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Correct punctuation for showing a character's confusion
I'm trying to show that the narration (third person limited) is being interrupted by the character's thought process, and I'm not sure what punctuation is best for this situation.
So far, I've tried ...
user36961
5
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2
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3k
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Why do most style guides miss out the 'degrees' when reporting temperature?
In the UK, the Guardian style guide and the BBC style guide say to report temperatures as "25C" or "90F", with no degree symbol.
The NYT style guide says to "Avoid the degree symbol and the ...
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1
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2
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386
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How to stylize notes/book-passages being read inside my story?
In course of joining a friend of mine during her NaNoWriMo escapades, I tried myself at actually writing a story set in a world I'm building.
I've found there are certain rules when writing a novel. ...
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6
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425
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Everything I write ends up being a rhyming poem, or lyrics maybe
I have been writing for awhile and decided to write a memoir, except I can’t seem to write anything but poetry. However, I don’t know for sure if poetry is the proper term. My work uses cuss words, &...
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2
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144
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Is there a definition for formatting plain text documents like they are on TLDP.org?
Is there a formal specification for authoring plain text documents like they (mostly) are on http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/text/?
If so, what is it called? Where is it documented?
I'm looking for a ...
- 193
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0
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55
views
How to link two sentences properly? [closed]
I have two sentences:
In general, the better the equipment, the higher quality of
production you will end up with.
We choose our equipment very carefully.
To link them together, I have to use the ...
- 303
3
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4
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364
views
Trying to figure out the correct type punctuation for dialogues
I'm currently writing a story which so far is going well, but I reached a point in the story where I don't know how to proceed. When a character is talking, I write their dialogue just like this:
"...
- 33
3
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1
answer
3k
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Epigraph placement
Me and my friend are arguing about the placement of an epigraph in our scientific report. I want the epigraph to be placed on the page before the table of contents, right above the middle of the page, ...
2
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2
answers
104
views
Is it discouraged to format a list of items vertically?
In my writing, I tend to format lists of items:
The school has a vegetable garden in which the children grow cabbages, onions, potatoes, and carrots during their free time.
as actual vertical ...
- 123
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2
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60
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Does it make sense to put a hyperlink into an answer within an interview?
Some media did an interview with me and published it - and I see a hyperlink inserted into my answer. I provided them the link separately but didn't expect to see it inside the quotation marks.
What ...
1
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2
answers
121
views
Page numbering. Empty pages for notes include in page numbering?
I have a few questions about the page numbering of the last few pages of my book.
I have a section with further resources. It contains one page with information about a site and three more pages with ...
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1
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1
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237
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How to sound confident but not cocky?
I am working on this slogan, and it comes out like this.
On the road to success.
What I mean by that is that I have positioned myself to accomplish something, but while I am not there yet, I have ...
- 303
4
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1
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743
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Should I use quotes or italics when using the expression "... as though to say"?
Example sentence:
"Sorry to bother." Kenji waved his hand as though to say, I'm up
here. "But I think I've really seen you before."
Should the bold section be double quotes or italics? And why?
- 1,143
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2
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8k
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How to write long conversation of (whispers) when screenwriting?
If you have a conversation of whispering in a screenplay do you have to put:
BATHSHEBA
(whispers)
Beneath each character’s name.
I’ll add that the situation mandates whispering and could be ...
- 655
3
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1
answer
2k
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Do you italicize fictitious television show in fiction book?
In a fiction novel.
For example:
Sanjay was watching World News.
World News is a real television program so it's in italics.
But what about:
Sanjay was watching Dingdong News.
Should Dingdong News be ...
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5
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334
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Is representing distorted voices via different typefaces, and different languages represented by enclosing brackets an advisable thing to do?
In the current draft of my book, the evil dictator whose body is encased in a silver alloy talks basically by allowing magic to move to seep into the silver shell, dispelling it and causing vibrations....
- 1,098
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3
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254
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Should capitalization be used for emphasis for a character's tone?
Capitalization in a text has been something heavily debated in the writing community due to its nature as being preference based, and finding a hard set answer is fairly difficult. However, should ...
- 1,688
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2
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245
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Style when intentionally misspelling?
I am copyediting and doing layout on a play that includes a few plays on words and intentional misspellings. At first glance they read like typos. I am wondering if the convention is that I should be ...
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1
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266
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Which Bullet Points to Use First Under Different List Nesting Styles
My work presents proposals with information divided by numbered headings. Under these headings, the technical writers use a variety of paragraphs, numbered indentations, and indented bullet points. By ...
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2
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557
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How should these be formatted? In quotes or italics?
I have a dilemma here and I hope any one of you can help me with this: I have been using double quotation marks for dialogues and italics for internal dialogues but I have no idea how to categorise ...
- 45
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2
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816
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What is generally the accepted format style for telepathic communication in the midst of verbal communication?
At this point in my story, it's already been revealed that 2 characters share a telepathic link with one another that allows them to communicate to each other with their minds.
"Now before we ...
- 1,042
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1
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57
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AmE text for a British literary agent (and viceversa)
Assume a manuscript written in AmE (if it matters, also assume an American MC).
It would be relatively easy to change spelling, word choice, etc. to make a BrE manuscript. However, since I write ...
user16555
2
votes
3
answers
1k
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Should I use different fonts in my manuscript?
My novel contains emails, titles of news articles, parts of technical journals, and snippets of computer output in addition to regular dialogue and action.
Is it common/acceptable to use one font for ...
- 307
2
votes
1
answer
537
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Capitalisation after punctuation in dialogue
I've seemed to have a problem with getting this right and doubting myself. In regards to writing dialogue, do you follow up with capitalisation after punctuation marks? Can someone tell me which is ...
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