Some word processing programs and other computer applications automatically generate word breaks at the ends of lines. In academic writing, it’s best to set your computer application not to hyphenate automatically. This setting will ensure that only words already containing a hyphen (such as long-distance, pre-Roman) will be hyphenated at the ends of lines.

E-mail addresses and URLs need special attention when they occur at the end of a line of text or in bibliographic citations. You must make a decision about hyphenation in each case.

Do not insert a hyphen to divide electronic addresses. Instead, break an e-mail address after the @ symbol or before a period. It is common practice to break a URL before most marks of punctuation. (For variations in MLA, APA, and Chicago styles, see 57a, 62a, and 63e, respectively.)