Xavier High School Social Studies Department Research Paper Writing Guidelines **NOTE: This set of guidelines is based

on the most updated version of MLA. However, this set of guidelines also includes the preferences of the Xavier High School Social Studies Department. All MLA guidelines are presented with the expectation that you must also abide by the specific instructions set by your teacher.** Basic Information: Double space, Times New Roman, 12 point font, 1 inch margins (not 1.25 which is the often the default setting), include pages numbers as headers, and include proper heading. Be sure to meet the requirements for word count and/or number of pages assigned by your instructor, i.e. 5 pages = approx. 1500 words. Grammatical errors and spelling count. Use spell check programs as a first cut, but always re-read and check your draft. Write in complete sentences and follow correct structure. Works Cited and Parenthetical Citations are both MANDATORY on all research papers. Any paper without one or both of these will receive an automatic 50%. A great online resource for MLA format and writing research papers is the Purdue University Online Writing Lab: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

Works Cited Page (From OWL): Basic Rules Begin your Works Cited page on a separate page at the end of your research paper. It should have the same one-inch margins and last name, page number header as the rest of your paper. Label the page Works Cited (do not italicize the words Works Cited or put them in quotation marks) and center the words Works Cited at the top of the page. Single space all citations. (NOTE: This is different than the double space guideline given by MLA). Indent the second and subsequent lines of citations five spaces so that you create a hanging indent. All sources, regardless of type of source, are listed in alphabetical order by the first letter of the entry.

Additional Basic Rules New to MLA 2009 For every entry, you must determine the Medium of Publication. Most entries will likely be listed as Print or Web sources, but other possibilities may include Film, CD-ROM, or DVD.

Include the URL for online sources in angle brackets after the entry and end with a period. For long URLs, break lines only at slashes. If you're citing an article or a publication that was originally issued in print form but that you retrieved from an online database, you should type the online database name in italics. You do not need to provide subscription information in addition to the database name.

Capitalization and Punctuation Capitalize each word in the titles of articles, books, etc, but do not capitalize articles (the, an), short prepositions, or conjunctions unless one is the first word of the title or subtitle: Gone with the Wind, The Art of War, There Is Nothing Left to Lose. You may underline OR italicize the titles of books. Articles from a journal, newspaper, or magazine should be written in quotation marks. o NOTE that is slightly different from recent MLA changes which says Use italics (instead of underlining) for titles of larger works (books, magazines) and quotation marks for titles of shorter works (poems, articles).

Listing Author Names Entries are listed alphabetically by the author's last name (or, for entire edited collections, editor names). Author names are written last name first; middle names or middle initials follow the first name: Burke, Kenneth Levy, David M. Wallace, David Foster Do not list titles (Dr., Sir, Saint, etc.) or degrees (PhD, MA, DDS, etc.) with names. A book listing an author named "John Bigbrain, PhD" appears simply as "Bigbrain, John"; do, however, include suffixes like "Jr." or "II." Putting it all together, a work by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would be cited as "King, Martin Luther, Jr.," with the suffix following the first or middle name and a comma.

More than One Work by an Author If you have cited more than one work by a particular author, order the entries alphabetically by title, and use three hyphens in place of the author's name for every entry after the first: Burke, Kenneth. A Grammar of Motives. [...] ---. A Rhetoric of Motives. [...]

Work with No Known Author Alphabetize works with no known author by their title; use a shortened version of the title in the parenthetical citations in your paper. o In the parenthetical citation for a work with no known author and a very long title, do not change the title or come up with your own type of abbreviation. For example, if the name of the work is The Role of the Catholic Church in Contributing to the Success of the Solidarity Movement in Poland then the parenthetical citation would use the first several words in quotations, (The Role of the Catholic Church).

What to Cite: (important!) ALL direct quotes (in quotation marks, or if longer than 5 lines of text properly formatted). This includes words from a speaker OR words you take directly from any source. o NOTE this is different form the 4 line guideline given by MLA "Odd" phrases/words etc. For ex., foreign words, technical terms, exact names of obscure people. Specific numbers, statistics, dates. For ex., "The Ottoman Turks invaded Europe during the Middle Ages" (or even "during the 1400's") -- no cite. "Sarajevo fell to the Austrians on August 19, 1878" -- CITE NEEDED. General rule: if it isn't "common knowledge"cite it. Try to make it clear WHAT is being cited! Do not just drop in a cite at the end of a paragraph or page to cover several bits or pieces of copied material. Paraphrasing is more than just changing a word here and there. It can be used to summarize an important argument or idea that may be explained in the source over several paragraphs or pages. Remember, use your sources well but you still need to make the connections. If your paper is over half quotes and shows no thought on your part, it is not your work-even if the quotes are cited.

ORGANIZATION & DEVELOPMENT: It is a good idea to write an outline to guide your work and give a structure to follow. Look at the Roman Numerals of the outline as your major points/topics/themes that will support your overall argument. Under each Roman Numeral is the information that you will use to develop a paragraph or paragraphs on that point/topic. o Outlines can be Thought Note or Full Sentence outlines. Follow the instructions of your teacher. All outlines must include your thesis. Make an argument. Taking a stand is not enough; you must be able to support your stand with concrete information about the subject in question. An argument in not simply a set

of assertions. It is not enough to proclaim your opinion, you must explain why you see things that way, and how your perspective derives from concrete, observable data, and/or the analysis of authoritative sources on the subject. Argument = assertion + evidence. A good strategy for constructing an argument is to move from the general to the specific. o Introduction: should state your "thesis" (i.e., the "point" of your paper), and then briefly summarize the points/topics you will use to prove that argument. Your introduction should be a general statement of the argument you intend to make -i.e. your position on the basic issue. o Body: carries out the structure outlined in the introduction, in order, without added paragraphs which do not fit. Each paragraph should cover a self-contained topic that serves to further your overall argument. The body of your essay should be in support of the position presented in the introduction based on: taking consistent and supporting positions on the subordinate issues identified or implied by the question; supporting these positions with references to concrete political, social and historical factors, and/or authoritative interpretations from recognized sources. o Conclusion: sums up the major points and shows that you have delivered on your thesis statement. Do not go off on tangents of simple description. Be selective about the particular information you discuss. You should be able to justify its inclusion in terms of the argument you are making. At times it may be necessary to mention and refute contending arguments; especially if the position you are defending is controversial or unconventional.

In-Text Citations - How to Cite (From OWL): When you directly quote the works of others in your paper, you will format quotations differently depending on their length. Below are some basic guidelines for incorporating quotations into your paper. Short Quotations To indicate short quotations (fewer than five typed lines of prose) in your text, enclose the quotation within double quotation marks. Provide the author and specific page citation and include a complete reference on the Works Cited page. Punctuation marks such as periods, commas, and semicolons should appear after the parenthetical citation. Question marks and exclamation points should appear within the quotation marks if they are a part of the quoted passage but after the parenthetical citation if they are a part of your text. Long Quotations For quotations that extend to more than five lines of prose: place quotations in a free-standing block of text and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented one inch from the left margin. Long quotes must be single spaced (NOTE this is

different than the double spacing guideline give by MLA). Your parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark. For example:

Time Magazine defends its choice for person of year: the main reason Ben Shalom Bernacke is Times Person of the Year for 2009 is that he is the most important player guiding the worlds most important economy. His creative leadership helped ensure that 2009 was a period of weak recovery rather than catastrophic depression, and he still wields unrivaled power over our money, our jobs, our savings and our national future. The decisions he has made, and those he has yet to make, will shape the path of our prosperity, the direction of our politics and our relationship to the world. (Grunwald 48) Adding or Omitting Words In Quotations If you add a word or words in a quotation, you should put brackets around the words to indicate that they are not part of the original text. Jan Harold Brunvand, in an essay on urban legends, states: "some individuals [who retell urban legends] make a point of learning every rumor or tale" (78). If you omit a word or words from a quotation, you should indicate the deleted word or words by using ellipsis marks, which are three periods ( . . . ) preceded and followed by a space. For example: In an essay on urban legends, Jan Harold Brunvand notes that "some individuals make a point of learning every recent rumor or tale . . . and in a short time a lively exchange of details occurs" (78). Please note that brackets are not needed around ellipses unless adding brackets would clarify your use of ellipses. Suggestions: Do not feel compelled to mention something just because you know it. You may distract the reader with information that is not relevant to the question while receiving no additional credit for your effort.

However, a vital issue or piece of information that does not fit into your argument, probably indicates that there is something wrong with your argument, and should lead you to rethink or modify your position. Read and edit your essay for clarity and soundness of argument. Have you actually written what you intended to write? Might your position be easily misinterpreted? Are you over-explaining or repeating a point? For each major point you make ask yourself if it is well supported and convincing. Are you satisfied that you have a concrete defense for your position against contending interpretations, above and beyond a forceful statement of your opinion? Make sure that your writing is clear, unambiguous, and free of serious grammatical or spelling errors. Make sure that your essay is well organized Avoid the use of first and second person you/us/we/one. Avoid the use of passive voice. Be sure to have singular/plural agreement in your sentence structure. Avoid the use of adjectives that dont really add to the quality of the point you are making higher, extreme, biggest.

Grading Policies All papers will lose five points per day for lateness. Weekend days count toward lateness since all papers can be assigned to turnitin.com.