As we have discussed in class, one of our learning objectives is to improve our writing skills. For that purpose, you are required to turn in a copy of this sheet when you turn in your essay exam or paper, with each of the following items circled to indicate to me that you have checked your paper according to these rules.
1.
Place a period or comma before, not after, the closing quotation mark:
Wrong: “This
is the wrong way to place the closing quotation mark and the period or comma”.
Right: “This
is the right way.”
2. Page Numbers: Be sure to
insert page numbers for every page of your paper, except for p. 1 if you use
cover sheet.
3.
Make sure that you distinguish between these words:
knew vs. new know vs. now there vs. their where vs. were
it’s (“It’s a great paper.”) vs.
its (“Its page numbers are missing.”)
to (“You have to revise
this.”) vs. too (“You can never have too many revisions.”)
4.
Make sure that you italicize or underline book or
journal/magazine titles; put “article titles” in quotes.
5.
Use sections headings (bold, centered) if the paper is five pages or longer.
6.
Use the following style for citations in footnotes—note the order of first and
last names of the authors, the capitalization of book, article, and journal
titles, the uses of commas and colons, and the absence of “volume” or “p.” To insert a footnote in Word, go to
“Insert” on the manual bar and select “Footnotes”:
For
a book:
Anthony Brundage, Going to the Sources: A Guide to Historical
Research and Writing (Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, 1997), 56.
For
an article in a journal:
Zuoyue Wang, "U.S.-China Scientific Exchange: A
Case Study of State-Sponsored Scientific Internationalism during the Cold War
and Beyond," Historical Studies in
the Physical and Biological Sciences 30, pt. 1 (1999): 250.
For
an article in an edited book:
William
Kirby, "Engineering
If you cite the same work
again, give the author’s last name, main title of book or article, and page no.
7.
Use the following style for bibliography—note the order of first and last
names, the use of periods, and the hanging indentation (in Word, use Control +
T; Control + Q to remove it):
Brundage, Anthony. Going to the Sources: A Guide to Historical Research and Writing.
Kirby, William. "Engineering
Wang, Zuoyue. "U.S.-China Scientific Exchange: A
Case Study of State-Sponsored Scientific Internationalism during the Cold War
and Beyond." Historical Studies in the Physical and
Biological Sciences 30, pt. 1 (1999): 249-277.
8. Use the following style
for in-text citations in combination with a bibliography: (Brundage,
55).
9. Plagiarism: Avoid copying
other authors’ words without citations; avoid long quotes.
10. If you have any
questions regarding the writing process, discuss them with me.