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FORMATTING A POLISHED PAPER

In high school, you will write for different purposes and audiences (e.g. lab reports, academic essays, social science research papers, profiles, and interviews). There are different expectations and formats for each and your teacher will outline these in detail. However, the following are common requirements for research papers and will help you format these assignments more successfully. For a full explanation, see the Library website or the Library homepage for access to on-line resources.

General Principles:

  • all major assignments require a title page
  • all assignments must be double-spaced in at least 10 or 12-point type
  • all major research assignments require a list of sources used
  • all research papers must include citations

The two documentation styles used most often are:

  • MLA
    • used by English, history, the arts and languages
    • embedded citations with authors' names and page numbers (unless otherwise specified)
    • has a WORKS CITED list (replaces Bibliography)
  • APA
    • used by sciences, social sciences, business and mathematics
    • gives authors' names, publication dates and page numbers in embedded citations
    • has a REFERENCES list at the end of the paper
FIND OUT WHICH DOCUMENTATION STYLE YOUR TEACHER REQUIRES

USE THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS FOR MLA STYLE

(For APA style consult the Student Research Guide in the N.T. Library or click on APA Referencing on the Library Homepage.)

EMBEDDED CITATIONS

Format
  1. Author's last name and the page number for the reference. A complete reference must appear in the Works Cited list. The author's last name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation, but always cite the page number.
  2. If you are citing several books by the same author, add an abbreviation of the title so that the reader knows which source you used.
  3. Place quotations longer than four lines in an indented block and omit the quotation marks.
  4. When quoting from plays, cite the act, scene, and line numbers for Shakespeare's plays, and the page number, act, and scene (if any) for other plays.
Examples
  1. Some argue that "a dream is the fulfillment of a wish" (Freud 154). Freud states that " a dream is the fulfillment of a wish" (154).
  2. Brinton believes that both revolutions had similar causes (Brinton 155).
  3. Napoleon was horrified to find that Ney had: up from the left, completely misunderstanding the signals sent the night before. He felt it was too late to counter-attack, sending his last division into the fray, in a vain attempt to avoid defeat. (Brinton 175)
  4. Edgar says, "The prince of darkness is a gentleman" (3.4.147).
  5. In Death of a Salesman, Linda defends Willie: He's a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. (Miller 56; act 1)

Although most disciplines have moved to embedded citations, some departments/professors may still require footnotes/endnotes. Use the following guide:

HOW TO DO FOOTNOTES/ENDNOTES

  1. Footnotes and endnotes are numbered. Footnote numbers are not cumulative by page, while endnote numbers are.
  2. In the text of an essay, the footnote/endnote number appears at the end of the passage quoted or paraphrased.
  3. The first footnote for each source must be entered in full. Subsequent entries include only author and page.
  4. Only the first line of the entry is indented five spaces.

Book

note number. Author, Title, (Place: Publisher, Date), p. /pp. .

Internet Sites

note number. Author (if known), "Title of Document", Title of web page. Date of publication or last revision (if known), .

Periodical

note number. Author, "Title," Periodical Name, Date, p./pp. . Example of a page of Footnotes/endnotes
  1. J. Benet, "The Cold War of the 60s, What was It?" Journal of Historical Studies, December 1989, pp.16-17.
  2. J. L. Gaddis, The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1941-1947 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1989), p. 133.
  3. Rowan Beck, "A Bibliography," The Edward Albee Home Page, 9 May1995 .
  4. Benet, p.23.
  5. Gaddis, pp. 160-167.

PREPARING A WORKS CITED LIST: MLA STYLE

This list, placed on a separate piece of paper at the end of your essay, must include all the sources you have quoted, paraphrased or summarized. It enables the reader to locate any sources you cite. General Rules

  • Arrange all sources in alphabetical order by the author's last name or if no author, by title. Do not number them.
  • List the author by last name, follow it by a comma, and then first name.
  • If a source has more than one author, see the examples under "Books".
  • If a source has no author, list it by title. Ignore "A", "An" or "The" in the title when alphabetizing.
  • Use italics or underlining to indicate the title. Be consistent .
  • Indent all but the first line of each entry by five spaces.
  • Double-space between entries.
  • Capitalize each word in the titles of books, not including "a" "an" or "the" if they appear in the middle of the title.
  • Avoid citing encyclopedias. For well-known encyclopedias, it is not necessary to list the publisher or place of publication. Cite the edition number (if any) and publication date.
  • If you are listing more than one source by the same author, put the sources in alphabetical order by title, and instead of repeating the author's name use three hyphens (---).

MLA STYLE WORKS CITED LIST: FORMAT FOR SOURCES IN PRINT

FORMAT FOR BOOKS

Author(s). Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher, year of publication.

One author: Goleman, Daniel. Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam, 1995.

Two authors: Gilbert, Sandra M. and Teresa Sullivan. The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women. New York: Norton, 1985.

More than two authors: Gilbert, Sandra M. and others. The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women. New York: Norton, 1985.

No author given: The Dorling Kindersley World Reference Atlas. London: Dorling Kindersley, 1994.

Book by an editor(s): David, Jack and Robert Lecker, eds. Canadian Poetry: Volume One. Toronto: General Publishing, 1982.

A part of a book, such as an essay in a collection: Anderson, Doris. "Real Women in Fiction, Where Are You?" The Role of Women in Canadian Literature. Ed. Elizabeth McCullough. Toronto: MacMillan, 1975.

Print Encyclopedia article, with author given: Likens, Gene. "Acid Rain." World Book. 2001 ed.

Print Encyclopedia article with no author given: "Winnipeg." The Canadian Encyclopedia. 2001 ed.

Government Publication: Canada. National Council of Welfare. Women and Poverty Revisited. Ottawa: Supply and Services Canada, 1990.

Pamphlet: Aids in the '90s: the New Facts of Life. Health and Welfare Canada, 1996.

FORMAT FOR MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS OR JOURNALS

Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Magazine, Day Month Year: Page numbers.

Magazine article, with author given: Morrow, Lance. "The Fog of War." Time 4 Feb. 1991: 61-62.

Newspaper article, with author given: Roseman, Eleanor. "Retirement Planning Pays Off." Toronto Star 10 Dec. 1997: B3.

Newspaper Article, with no author given: "Protesters Greet Chretien in Vancouver." Toronto Sun 12 Jan. 1998: A11.

MLA STYLE WORKS CITED LIST: BASIC FORMS FOR ELECTRONIC SOURCES

Note: If it is available, list the date of the latest revision of the site. It is also necessary to list the date of access. Be sure to include the complete address for the site, and enclose the address in so that the address is clear.

ONLINE ENCYCLOPEDIAS

Article in an online encyclopedia with no author: "Fresco." Britannica Online. Dec. 2000. 14 Dec 2001 .

Article in an online encyclopedia, with author: Sentman, Eugene. "Aardvark." Grolier Online. March 2002. 14 Apr. 2002 .

ONLINE NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE ARTICLES DATABASE SUBSCRIPTIONS

Author. "Article Title." Original Source of Article Date of original source: page numbers. Product name. Name of Library subscriber. Date of access .

A magazine article found in an online subscription database Lanken, Dane. "When the Earth Moves." Canadian Geographic March-April 1966: 66-73. Proquest. North Toronto C.I. 10 Nov. 2000 .

A newspaper article found in an online subscription database Angier, Natalie. " Chemists learn why vegetables are good for you." Toronto Star 13 Apr. 1993. Proquest. North Toronto C.I. 12 Oct. 2001 .

WEB PAGES ON THE INTERNET

Author(s). Name of Page. Date of Posting/Revision (if available). Date of Access .

A personal or professional Web site with date of posting available Schrock, Kathleen. Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators. 10 Nov. 2001. 14 Nov. 2001 .

FOR MORE OBSCURE ENTRY FORMATS, SEE THE STUDENT RESEARCH GUIDE AVAILABLE IN THE LIBRARY OR ON THE LIBRARY HOMEPAGE UNDER REFERENCING.

MARKING SYMBOLS

To assist students in the editing of their written work, they may refer to the following marking symbols:

Symbol Meaning

FS fused sentence
SF sentence fragment
CS comma splice
RO run on sentence
AGR lack of agreement
SS error in grammar
P general punctuation error
sp spelling error
new paragraph
Ü? indent
^ omission
? meaning not clear
X inaccurate information
AWK awkward wording
WW wrong word
BW better wording needed
REP repetitious
RED redundant
T tense shift

 
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