• 1.25” margins on all sides and four pages means four FULL pages, not three pages with 2 lines on the fourth.
• Double-spaced with a 12 point font size.
• Use a standard font: Times New Roman or Courier New.
• You will be submitting your paper as hard copy in class; simply type your name, the class and the date in the upper right-hand corner. You do not need a cover page.
• You must include a bibliography (not part of your page requirement) and citations. See the citation guide for more information.
• Do not turn in a paper with lots of quotes from your sources. A research paper should be mostly in your own words. An occasional quote is acceptable, but remember: you are supposed to be the author of the paper.
1. Use a parenthetical citation.
2. Example: The author states, “James Madison was the ‘Father of the Constitution’ because of his role in writing the Federalist papers.” (Johnson, p. 34)
OR
Example: The Democratic Party tied themselves to various smaller third parties, such as the Populists and the Farmer’s Alliance, during the difficult years following the Civil War. (Smith, p.36)
3. When you have finished a quotation or a paraphrase, put the author’s last name and the page number of the book in parentheses at the end.
4. If you draw information from a source for an entire paragraph, put the citation at the end of that paragraph, not after every sentence.
5. Quotations must always be immediately followed by a citation.
6. Websites can be cited in the following manner: (www.historyplace.com/constitution)
7. Magazines or journals should be cited in the following manner: (Jones, Newsweek, p. 31) Jones is the author of the specific article.
Writing a Bibliography
All sources that you use in a paper must be listed at the end, especially those that you cite in the body of your work. Follow these examples: