Presentation of Written Assignments for Prof. Pavlac

Format | Quotations | Citations

A. Format:

1. A cover/title page should have the title of your paper, your name, the course title, your course section and time of meeting. The cover/title page is not numbered or counted as text. Do not include any blank pages.
2. The following pages of text should be numbered in sequence in the upper right hand corners, beginning with "1." You may also put the paper's title or subject in the upper right hand corner.  The first page should not have an extra-large margin at the top.   Do NOT put your name on any pages after the cover/title page.
3. Written Assignments should be word-processed using an approximately 12 point, double-spaced font or typeface similar to this one (Times or Times New Roman),  printed in dark-black ink, with one-inch margins, upon one side of standard letter paper. There should be no extra spaces or blank lines between paragraphs (other than the usual double-spacing).  Text should be justified (aligned) along the left margin (not both).  
4. All written assignments should be written for a formal audience, usually in the third person, be free of contractions or inappropriate abbreviations, be carefully composed using your own words, be grammatically polished, and show evidence of usage of the textbook and library research.
5. A separate Bibliography page in TURABIAN FORMAT.  For guides see Corgan Library Study Guide # 11 or http://library.uww.edu/GUIDES/turacite.htm or http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocChiWorksCited.html.  It should follow the last pages of text and/or notes.  See also citation.html.
6. Staple all pages together in upper left corner. No binders, folders or paper clips are permitted.

See an example of proper formatting here:  .

B. Quotations:

On most assignments, you may not use quotations.   (And this does not mean you can take someone else's exact words and use them without "quotation marks" or formatting as single spaced and indented if longer than three lines, even if you cite the passage).  Why no quotations?  You must use your own words to show your own mastery of the material. That means rewriting and paraphrasing your sources. Check the syllabus whether you may quote your sources or not.

If you are allowed to quote, do not quote too much.  Integrate the quote smoothly into the text with your own words. Usually you should comment on the quote's relevance to your argument.

Be sure to use appropriate quotation marks (" ") and/or other editorial interpolations (such as: [ ], [sic], ...). 

Quotations longer than three lines of text MUST be single-spaced, written without quotation marks, indented on both sides and set off by one extra blank line of space from text above and below. You should avoid quotes of such length.  The instructor is more interested in your own wording and interpretations.  

All quotes must be properly cited.  See also citation.html.

C. Citations:

You must cite each and every quote, and/or all other factual information, judgments or analysis drawn from other sources, even when you use your own wording. See also citation.html and/or sources.html.

Citation is important because it reveals the quality of work that supports your writing.  The kind of sources you use, and how you use them, enables a reader to better evaluate your arguments.  A good citation should always provide enough information so that another person can find the source you have used.  

To cite properly, at the end of the sentence where you have used the information, you should place for the note an Arabic number, slightly superscripted, a bit smaller, immediately after the punctuation mark.¹  That number then links to the note proper with the citation information.  Those notes then may either be located as footnotes at the bottom of the page where they are cited (separated from the text by a short, solid line, as below), or on a separate page labeled as "Endnotes," located after the last page of text and before the Bibliography page.  All sources cited in notes must again be listed in your Bibliography.

Citations must be in the TURABIAN FORMAT.  For format guides, see my page on citations, Corgan Library <http://departments.kings.edu/frames/tb_frames/library.html> and click on "Citing Sources", Corgan Library Study Guide # 11, or try http://library.uww.edu/GUIDES/turacite.htm, or http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocChiWorksCited.html.  They should be single spaced.  
Citations are numbered sequentially, with each use of any source deserving its own note (unless a paragraph or several sentences use the same source, but that should be explained in the note).  Second or later citations of the same source must be in an abbreviated form.²

__________

¹Jules R. Benjamin, A Student's Guide to History, 2nd ed. (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1979), 96.

²Benjamin, 98.

Format | Quotations | Citations

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URL: http://departments.kings.edu/history/presentation.html Copyright © MMVI by Brian A. Pavlac Last Revision: 26 October 2006