Herein disclosed is an asphalt roofing shingle, adapted to be laid up in courses on a roof, comprising an upper headlap portion, a lower tab portion, vertically spaced apart upper and lower edges, laterally spaced apart right and left edges and top and bottom surfaces. The bottom surface is configured to be laid up on a roof facing the roof and the tab portion of the top surface is configured to be substantially weather-exposed when laid up on a roof. The upper headlap portion is configured to be substantially covered by the tab portion of roofing elements in a next-overlying course of roofing elements when laid up on a roof. The upper headlap portion further comprises a plurality of parallel, evenly laterally spaced, first markings, the first markings being useful, at least, for aligning adjacent shingles, cutting books of shingles, forming starter shingles from full shingles and forming a grid of shingles without external measuring devices.