Diana Thorburn

This guide is intended to help you write a good, well structured paper for your GT12A assignment. You will also find this guide useful for all your social sciences papers in other courses, as these are basic principles for writing papers.

Your paper should have a basic structure, with certain essential components. These are as follows:

1. Introduction

What the paper is about, in simple terms, and why this issue/problem/event/topic is worth researching and writing about. You can also add why you have chosen this question, and what makes it interesting to you. You are free to use first person in the paper.

2. Thesis statement or question

One or two sentences which succinctly sum up your basic argument that you put forward in the paper.

3. The format of the paper

Say how it is that the paper will be structured, including what sub-topics the paper will cover.

4. How you intend to prove your thesis or answer your question (methodology)

What sources will you use?

5. The body of the paper (following the format you have already laid out)
6. Summary and conclusion
7. References/Bibliography

• Good grammar, punctuation and presentation are key components of a good paper. Content without style is like a suit made of good fabric but with shoddy tailoring. Grammar and style will count for 25% of your paper’s grade.
• There are many style manuals in the reference section of the library. Consult one or two of these, or even consider purchasing one for yourself.
• Ask a friend in Arts (especially an English major) to proofread your paper for you, and to assist you with correcting your grammar and use of English mistakes.
• Write in a way that comes naturally to you—use words and phrases that come readily to mind when you write. Using "big words" or what seem like sophisticated expressions that are unfamiliar will lead to clumsy writing.
• Revise and rewrite. This means you will need time to write your paper. If you give yourself time to produce a first draft, have it proofread, and make a revision, you will discover that there are errors both in your content and your style. It is of course better that you discover these errors first and correct them, than the person grading your paper.
• TYPE YOUR PAPER. Number the pages. Use one-inch margins all around and double spacing. Do not use fancy fonts—stick to Times New Roman or Arial.

• Not 1960’s, but 1960s (no apostrophe)

• Numbers one to ten are spelt out in letters, 11 and up are written in numbers, unless the number begins a sentence.

• Writing up research—useful links: http://www.languages.ait.ac.th/EL21LINK.HTM
• A guide to writing for computing students (relevant for you also!): http://www.csm.uwe.ac.uk/~tdrewry/reps_bsd.htm
• Eleven Rules of Writing: http://junketstudies.com/rulesofw/frules.html

You must acknowledge the source for each and every piece of information in your paper, whether it be fact, number, date, name or opinion that you use in your paper.

The two most current and widely used referencing styles in the humanities and the social sciences are the "Notes and Bibliographies" and "Author-Date Citations and Reference List". Become familiar with one of these styles, and use it consistently, throughout this paper and for your other papers in other courses. See the Chicago Manual of Style 14^th edition for more information on referencing and bibliography.

An author-date citation (Smith 1996) is placed within the text or at the end of a quotation and complete citation information is given in the list of references at the end of the paper. The placement of the text citation, for ease of reading, should be where it will offer the least resistance to the flow of thought. The best location is just before a mark of punctuation. The Reference List comes at the end of the paper.

• The date is placed immediately after the author's name.
• You may use only the author’s first and middle initials.
• The title of the book or journal is in italics.

For cases not covered by examples here, see the examples under "Notes and Bibliographies" and simply make the appropriate changes to placement of the date, and use of italics.

Examples:

For works by two or three authors, all names are included (Jackson and Jones 1998). For more than three authors, use the name of the first author followed by et al. (Brown et al. 1982). When citing a specific page, figure, section or other element, the page number etc. should follow the date preceded by a comma (Smith 1996, 42). A single-author entry comes before a multiauthor entry beginning with the same name.

In text: An important reason for Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour was America’s refusal to remove the economic blockade it had imposed as punishment for Japan’s incursions into Indochina and China (Ambrose and Brinkley 1997, 12).

Reference list: Ambrose, Stephen E. and Douglas G. Brinkley. 1997. Rise to Globalism: American Foreign Policy Since 1938. New York: Penguin Books.

In text: China’s foreign policy objectives throughout the 20^th century, regardless of the political regime, have been founded on the need for territorial unity and political stability (Oksenberg 1999, 299).

Reference list: Oksenberg, Michel. 1999. "China: A Tortuous Path on the World’s Stage." In A Century’s Journey: How the Great Powers Shape the World, edited by Robert A. Pastor, 291-331. New York: Basic Books.

In text: A recent analysis of Jamaica found that the public sector reforms undertaken thus far have not produced a meritocracy conducive to efficiently promote economic development (Kuotsai 1999).

Reference list: Kuotsai, Tom Liou. 1999. "Administrative Reform and Economic Development: Concepts, Issues and the National Experience." Policy Studies Review 16 (2): 1-18.

In the author-date system, citations to items in daily newspapers are made in the text and are usually not listed individually in the reference list, or as a footnote.

In text: In Venezuela the entry of foreign banks was said to have helped to boost investor confidence in the "tainted" financial system.¹

1 "Venezuelan bank consolidation picks up speed." By Raymond Collitt. Financial Times. 31 March 1998, p.7.

In an article entitled "Venezuelan Bank Consolidation Picks Up Speed," published in the Financial Times, 31 March 1998, Raymond Collitt reported that the entry of foreign banks in Venezuela helped to boost investor confidence in the tainted financial system.

The note reference follows the passage to which it refers and is marked with a numeral. Notes are arranged numerically either at the bottom of each page (footnotes) or at the end of the manuscript (endnotes). Notes include complete bibliographic information when cited for the first time. The bibliography is given at the end of the paper and lists the sources used in writing the paper. Entries are arranged alphabetically by author’s last name and include complete bibliographic information.

Examples:

Note: 1. Stephen Ambrose and Douglas Brinkley, Rise to Globalism: American Foreign Policy Since 1938. (New York: Penguin Books, 1997), 12.

Bibliography: Ambrose, Stephen and Douglas Brinkley. Rise to Globalism: American Foreign Policy Since 1938. New York: Penguin Books, 1997.

Following footnotes for the same book: Ibid ("in the same place") is used to refer to a single work cited in the note immediately preceeding:
2. Ibid

When the work is cited earlier but not immediately preceeding:
14. Ambrose and Brinkley, 32.

Note (three or more authors):
9. Jones, Mary et al., A History of the World (Bellingham: From the Beginning Press, 2000).

Following footnotes for the same book:
10. Jones et al., History of the World, 17.

Bibliography (three or more authors): Jones, Mary, Frank Smith, Alex Jackson and Sarah Pope. A History of the World. Bellingham: From the Beginning Press, 2000.

For works having more than three authors, a note citation should give the name of the first author followed by "et al" or "and others." The bibliography citation should list all the authors.

Note: 5. Michel Oksenberg, "China: A Tortuous Path on the World’s Stage," in A Century’s Journey: How the Great Powers Shape the World, ed. Robert A. Pastor (New York: Basic Books, 1999), 291-331.

Bibliography: Oksenberg, Michel. "China: A Tortuous Path on the World’s Stage." In A Century’s Journey: How the Great Powers Shape the World, edited by Robert A. Pastor, 291-331. New York: Basic Books, 1999.

Note: 10. Tom Liou Kuotsai, "Administrative Reform and Economic Development: Concepts, Issues and the National Experience." Policy Studies Review 16, 2 (1999): 1-18.

14. Kuotsai, 14.

Bibliography: Kuotsai, Tom Liou. "Administrative Reform and Economic Development: Concepts, Issues and the National Experience." Policy Studies Review 16, 2(1999): 1-18.

Note: 3. Adam Rogers, "Thinking Differently: Brain Scans Give New Hope of Diagnosing," Newsweek, 25 December 1998, 60-62.

Bibliography: Rogers, Adam. "Thinking Differently: Brain Scans Give New Hope of Diagnosing ADHD." Newsweek, 25 December 1998, 60-62.

Note: 13. Hugh Elton, "Byzantine Warfare," Warfare in the Ancient World, 4 April 1999, (23 April 1999). <http://shakti.trincoll.edu/~helton/army.html>.

Bibliography: Elton, Hugh. "Byzantine Warfare." Warfare in the Ancient World. 4 April 1999. <http://shakti.trincoll.edu/~helton/army.html> (23 April 1999).

NB: The first date is the day the website was created or last updated, the last date is the day you used the website.

Bibliography: Gibbons, Barry J. Gender in Mystical and Occult Thought. [book on line] (New York: Cambridge University Press,1996, accessed 14 February 2000); available from NetLibrary: http://www.netlibrary.com/; Internet.

Bibliography: Well known reference books are usually not listed in bibliographies.

Note: 8. Encyclopedia Americana, 11^th ed., s.v. "impeachment."
(NB: s.v. stands for sub verbo, "under the word.")

Note: 9. "Salish," Britannica Online, <http://www.eb.com:180/cgi-bin/g?DocF=micro/520/47.html > (15 February 1999).

Bibliography: "Salish." Britannica Online. <http://www.eb.com:180/cgi-bin/g?DocF=micro/520/47.html > (15 February 1999).
NB: The date in parenthesis is the day you used the website.

Note: 10. Charles Phillips and Alan Axelrod, eds., Encyclopedia of the American West (New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan, 1996), s.v. "Cowboy Songs," by Charlie Seemann.

Bibliography: Phillips, Charles and Alan Axelrod, eds. Encyclopedia of the American West. New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan, 1996. s.v. "Cowboy Songs," by Charlie Seemann.

Note: 11. U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Oversight of the Professional Boxing Industry, 105^th Cong., 1^st sess., 22 May 1997, 14.

Bibliography: U. S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Oversight of the Professional Boxing Industry. 105^th Cong., 1^st sess., 22 May 1997.

Note: 12. Albert DeMond and Gerald Geraghty, The Red Menace (Los Angeles, Calif.: Republic Pictures Home Video, 1991), videorecording.

Bibliography: DeMond, Albert and Gerald Geraghty. The Red Menace. Los Angeles, Calif.: Republic Pictures Home Video, 1991. Videorecording.

Citations Taken from Secondary Sources
(References to the work of one author as quoted in that of another must cite both works.)

Note: 14. Marinda B. Moore, The Geographical Reader for the Dixie Children (Raleigh, N.C.: Branson, Farrar and Company, 1863), 103, quoted in Emmy E. Werner, Reluctant Witnesses: Children’s Voices from the Civil War (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1998), 53.

Bibliography: Moore, Marinda B. The Geographical Reader for the Dixie Children, 103. Raleigh, N.C.: Branson, Farrar and Company, 1863. Quoted in Emmy E. Werner, Reluctant Witnesses: Children’s Voices from the Civil War (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1998), 53.

For subsequent references to the same source:

When you cite the same work in a subsequent reference, use only the author’s last name and the page number.
In cases of two authors, use both last names. In case of more than two authors, use the first author’s last name and the abbreviation et al. for the remaining authors. In the case of an article or book without an author, use a shortened title and page number.

1. Bordon, p. 17.

2. Jones and Smith, p. 91.

3. Somerset, et al., p.13.

4. Civil War, p. 42.

In addition, you may use the Latin abbreviation "Ibid." when citing subsequent sources that immediately follow the first reference.