General format requirements - Appendix: зaper аormat and ыubmission - Part III. Style 20 spelling

A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations, 7th edition - Kate L. Turabian 2007

General format requirements
Appendix: зaper аormat and ыubmission
Part III. Style 20 spelling

When you are writing a thesis, a dissertation, or a class paper, you must observe certain format and style requirements for the paper. For a thesis or dissertation, these requirements are set by your department or your university's office of theses and dissertations; for a class paper, they are set by your instructor. You may also have to follow specific procedures for submitting the paper, whether in hard copy or electronically.

Be particularly aware of these requirements if you are writing a thesis or dissertation. You will be judged on how well you follow the academic conventions of your field. Also, many of the rules for format and submission are intended to make the preserved copy, bound or electronic, as accessible as possible for future readers.

The guidelines presented here are widely accepted for the format and submission of theses and dissertations, but most universities have their own requirements, which are usually available from the office of theses and dissertations. Review the specific guidelines of your department or university before you submit your thesis or dissertation. They take precedence over the guidelines suggested here.

In general, the requirements for a class paper are less extensive and strict than those for a thesis or dissertation. Such papers usually have fewer elements, and since they are not likely to be bound or preserved electronically, there are fewer submission requirements. Even so, you should observe the conventions of your field for formatting the paper, because those conventions help your reader quickly identify items such as footnotes and long quotations. If you have questions about the format of your paper, ask your instructor or consult your department.

This appendix assumes that you will prepare your paper on a computer. Although word-processing programs vary, most can automatically set margin size, number pages, and place and number footnotes. If, however, you must follow specific guidelines, particularly regarding margins and other placement issues, check the printout of your paper (preferably with ruler in hand) before submitting it. Software has simplified the task of formatting a paper, but it can never fully replace your own judgment.

A.1 General format requirements

This section describes general format issues that apply to your paper as a whole. For discussion of specific elements and their individual format requirements, see A.2. Your instructor, department, or university may have guidelines that differ from the advice offered here. If so, those guidelines take precedence.

A.1.1 Margins

Nearly all papers in the United States are produced on standard pages of 8½ × 11 inches. Leave a margin of at least one inch on all four edges of the page. For a thesis or dissertation intended to be bound, you may need to leave a bigger margin on the left side—usually 1½ inches.

Be sure that any material placed in headers or footers, including page numbers and other identifiers (see A.1.4), falls within the margins specified in your local guidelines.

A.1.2 Typeface

Choose a readable typeface designed for text, such as Times Roman or Palatino, and use it throughout. Avoid ornamental typefaces that distract readers and make your work seem less serious. (For the characteristics of specific typefaces, see Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style [Point Roberts, WA: Hartley & Marks, 2004].) For most papers, use at least ten-point and preferably twelve-point type. Some universities require twelve-point type for text and ten-point for footnotes or endnotes, table titles, and figure captions.

A.1.3 Spacing and indentation

Double-space all text in papers except the following items, which should be single-spaced:

block quotations (see 25.2.2)

table titles and figure captions

The following items should be single-spaced internally but with a blank line between items:

certain elements in the front matter (see A.2.1), including the table of contents and any lists of figures, tables, and abbreviations

footnotes or endnotes

bibliographies or reference lists

Instead of requesting double or single spacing, some departments and universities define the amount of vertical space between items in terms of points (“exactly 24 points”), an option given in many word processors.

Put only one space, not two, following the terminal punctuation of a sentence. Use tabs rather than spaces for indentation, columns of text, and other content requiring consistent alignment.

Indent all paragraphs consistently. Block quotations have their own rules for indentation, depending on whether they are prose or poetry (see 25.2.2).

A.1.4 Pagination

NUMBERING. If your only front matter is a title page, do not number that page. Number pages in the body of the paper and the back matter with arabic numerals, starting on the first page of text.

If you are writing a thesis or dissertation, number front matter separately from the rest of the text.

Front matter includes the title page and various other elements (see A.2.1). Number these pages consecutively with lowercase roman numerals (i, ii, iii, etc.; see table 23.1). Every page of front matter except the submission page is usually counted in numbering, but not all of these pages have numbers displayed on them. Departments and universities often provide specific directions for numbering front matter pages; if they do not, follow the guidelines described in this appendix.

The rest of the text, including back matter (see A.2.3), is numbered consecutively with arabic numerals.

If your thesis or dissertation is very long, your department or university may bind it in multiple volumes. Your local guidelines should indicate the maximum number of pages per volume as well as any special requirements for numbering a multivolume paper.

PLACEMENT. Page numbers are usually placed in one of three locations: centered in the footer (at the bottom of the page), centered in the header (at the top of the page), or flush right in the header. For class papers, choose one of these locations and follow it consistently.

Traditionally, page numbers for theses and dissertations have been placed in different locations depending on the part of the paper (as shown in the samples in this appendix).

In the footer (centered): All front matter pages; pages in the text and back matter that bear titles, such as the first page of a chapter or an appendix

In the header (consistently either centered or flush right): All other pages in the text and back matter

Many departments and universities have eliminated these distinctions and now require consistent placement of page numbers throughout a thesis or dissertation. Some specify one of the three locations, while others allow students to choose one. Check your local guidelines.

OTHER IDENTIFIERS. In some settings, you may be allowed or even encouraged to include identifying information besides the page number in the header or footer. For a class paper, your instructor may ask you to include your last name, the date of the paper, or a designation such as “First Draft.” For longer papers, chapter or section titles help readers keep track of their location in the text. The requirements for headers and footers in theses and dissertations are still evolving, so consult your local guidelines.

A.1.5 Titles

Depending on its complexity, your paper may consist of many elements, as described in A.2, and most of them should have a title. Use the same typography and format for the titles of all elements, traditionally centered roman type with all capital letters (as shown in the samples in this appendix). Any number designations that precede a title (for example, Part II: The Early Years) should match the title in typography and format.

If your paper includes chapters, make the chapter titles and number designations typographically consistent but different from the titles of elements. In most cases, use roman type with headline-style capitalization unless your local guidelines require sentence-style capitalization (see 22.3.1 for the two styles). For subheadings within chapters, see A.2.2.

If your local guidelines are flexible, you may use different typography and format from those described here for various types of titles. All titles of a given type should be consistent, and each type should be different from all others. Titles of larger divisions (parts, chapters) should be more visually prominent than subheadings. In general, titles are more prominent when centered, in boldface or italic type, in all capital letters, or capitalized headline style than when flush left, in regular type, or capitalized sentence style.

The most efficient way to ensure consistency in titles is to define and apply a style for each type of title (including typeface, capitalization, position, and so forth) using a common software function (see A.3.1).