The Benefits of Teaching Students to Use a Style Guide in Middle School

Many of us have opened student writing, ready to grade, only to be met with a messy document—wild fonts, inconsistent sizes, and seemingly randomly placed citations and links. This mash-up of formatting distracts from what really matters— ideas. We know messy pages can signal messy thinking, but what if the formatting itself is the distraction?

It’s difficult to separate the two when grading student writing, and I realized that formatting was quietly influencing my feedback. I’m not proud to admit it, but neatly organized papers almost always scored higher than poorly formatted ones, regardless of content. Something had to change. That’s why, at the beginning of the school year, I decided that every student would write in Modern Language Association (MLA) format. The style guide isn’t just for citing sources—it’s a scaffolding tool that has a range of benefits for students of all levels.

INTRODUCING A STYLE GUIDE IN THE CLASSROOM

Like many teachers, I was introduced to style guides in high school English, mainly for research writing and citing sources. Originally used in printing trades, style guides evolved as disciplines like law, medicine, and academia created their own. Most teachers associate them with source citations, but they can be incredible tools to support student thinking and organization—even in middle school.

I decided that students would use MLA format for all writing, from essays to short constructed responses. I dug out some anchor chart paper; wrote out an example in big, black letters; and hung it on the wall. In the first week of school, I told students we’d be using MLA. They had never heard of it, and when I explained that we’d be using only Times New Roman font, they were baffled. You would have thought I told them they could never be creative again. 

Still, they were willing to try. I showed them a video that outlined the MLA format, and we got started. It was like a puzzle they had to solve, fitting the right pieces into the correct spots. That day we spent more time formatting than we did writing—it was time-consuming, but they caught on. Students were formatting headers, resizing fonts, and creating far more organized work than I’d seen before.

Reinforcing the use of the style guide

By September and October, the novelty had worn off, and many students saw the style guide as a waste of time. I didn’t want it to be punitive—the whole purpose was for me to be able to focus on their ideas. However, if I didn’t hold them accountable somehow, students wouldn’t take it seriously. I decided to subtract one point on assignments for incorrect formatting.

One point showed I meant it but didn’t impart an overly influential change to the grade that the content deserved. This system worked: Students were following the style guide and, by the end of the year, viewed it as a writing routine rather than a barrier. 

THE BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING A STYLE GUIDE

When I first introduced the style guide, my goal was to create uniformity in my students’ writing so I could focus my attention and feedback on their ideas and decrease any grading bias. However, looking back, I see that the style guide did more than just improve my ability to grade student writing. It opened up a class discussion about how students could demonstrate creativity within the confines of a style guide—rather than rely on formatting, they could introduce creativity in their ideas.

For my students who struggled to begin the writing process, the style guide offered a low-stakes entry point for getting words on the page. Don’t have an idea yet? That’s OK. Get started on the formatting. It helped offload the daunting task of getting words on a blank page. 

And, as I had hoped, the style guide did make grading faster and more focused. With clean, uniform pages, I wasn’t slowed down by chaotic formatting. I could jump right into their arguments, narratives, responses, etc. I didn’t have to remind myself not to unconsciously favor “prettier” papers—the playing field was leveled with MLA.

STUDENT FEEDBACK ON USING STYLE GUIDES

As this was the first year I’ve done anything like this, I asked for student feedback on the process of using a style guide for their writing. I told them I wanted their honest opinion, and their responses pleasantly surprised me. The majority of my students shared positive feedback. Here are some of the comments I received:

• “I like writing in MLA format because it makes my writing look better and more professional.”
• “I feel like MLA formatting is a great way to have middle schoolers write. It helps get us ready for all the writing in high school. Although I don’t enjoy writing, I think that this was a good format to write it in.”
• “I enjoy using MLA. It makes me feel more organized and makes my finished projects look very professional. Another bonus is that I could get used to it before high school.”
• “I didn’t like doing MLA Format, but after it was on the page and I finished writing, I liked the way it looked nice and neat. I didn’t like doing it because it took awhile to set it up and the headings with my last name and the page number didn’t cooperate sometimes.”

They appreciated the consistency. They felt it made their work easier to read, clearly organized, and more professional. Most of all, they implied that it helped them identify as writers because they felt like their documents looked like real writing.

While implementing a style guide can take time at the beginning of the year—teaching formatting and building habits—the outcome is worth the effort. Style guides can help students more effectively get their ideas on paper and ensure that teachers can focus their attention where it matters when grading.