Guidelines for Writing Term Papers

One of the many reasons that students write term papers is to demonstrate that they can effectively gather information on their topic, organize it in a coherent manner, and communicate it through their written work and oral presentation of the subject matter. Before writing your term paper, think about its overall structure: the general theme of the paper, the order in which you will present various issues, the relative emphasis you give to each issue, whether you have enough information on the issues you will cover, the main conclusions you will draw, etc. The best way to do this is to develop a detailed outline of the paper before you start writing. A little effort at this stage will save you a lot of time later and help you write a better paper.

Organize your paper so it flows smoothly from one section to another. Express your ideas clearly. Your paragraphs should be neither too short nor too long. Avoid run-on sentences. Cite your sources correctly (see below). Avoid quotations except where necessary. Proofread your work for spelling and grammatical mistakes, using a dictionary when necessary (word processors have made this part easy, but still proofread your work, since typos can lead to correctly spelled, but unintentioned words). You are free to organize the body of your paper in whatever manner makes the most sense for your topic (use your outline for this). Then, when the body of the paper is complete, write an introduction that tells the reader whatever background and overview information will be needed to understand your paper; and also write a conclusion that brings a logical end to your work. Your term papers must be at least 20 pages in length (double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font for the introduction, body, conclusion, and references). Submit electronic copies of your paper in Word.doc or Acrobat.pdf format to my email address.

Although your grade will be based mainly on content, the presentation is also important. Plan on 10 to 12 minutes of presentation, with 2 or 3 minutes allowed at the end for questions and answers. If there are no questions, be sure to have something to say in conclusion. Use electronic slides for visual aids during your presentation. I will have my laptop ready to go with PowerPoint. If other resources are needed for your presentation, make sure to have them ready prior to your talk. Above all, be sure to rehearse your talk a few times before delivering it. This is necessary to keep it on time and avoid embarrassing stumbles that can happen when the speaker is unprepared.

Citations

There are three main reasons to cite source material. First, you must give the source (including page number) of any quotation you make. Second, you should cite the source of any important information you present that is not widely known. Third, you can show the reader (i.e., me) how much work you have done by finding a way to cite each of the important sources you have used in one of the two preceding ways. You must include recent citations and use reputable sources. Note: if you quote or paraphrase extensively from an uncited source, you may be guilty of plagiarism. Do not let this happen.

There are two main ways to cite an article or book. First, you can include the author's last name, year of publication, and page number parenthetically in the text, like this (Smith, 1996: 204), and then give the full citation in a bibliography. Second, you can include the full citation (including page number) in a footnote or endnote, in which case you do not need a bibliography. A full citation for a book includes the author's full name, the full name of the book (italicized), the city the book was published in, the publisher, and the year of publication. A full citation for an article includes the author's full name, the name of the article (in double quotes), the name of the journal or magazine (italicized), the date of publication, the volume and issue number, and the page numbers. In a bibliography, the author's last name should come first, and the entries should be alphabetized by author name. In footnotes or endnotes, you can use just the author’s last name and the title if you have already given the full citation in a previous note. The easiest way to do your citations is simply to follow the format used in some appropriate book or article. Also, see Kate L. Turabian, A Manual For Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Fourth Edition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973), or see me. If you cite material from the internet, you must include the author's name, the title (italicized), the publication date, the original source (if available), and the full internet address from which you obtained it.

Gasiorowski, M., Guidelines for Writing Term Papers, Department of Political Science, Louisiana State University, http://www.lsu.edu/faculty/pogasi/Guidelines.htm