Guidelines for Written Assignments

Paper Format:
Papers should be computer printed/typed, with 1 inch margins on all sides, in an 11 or 12 point font. Text should be double-spaced, with your paper title at the head of the first page. Please staple or paper-clip your pages together. Do not use report covers or folders.

Quotations:
Quotations of 1-2 lines or less should be placed in quote marks within the body of text in your paper. Longer quotations should be formatted as block quotes, indented 1.5 inches from the left and right margins, and single spaced. Poetry quotations that are longer than one line but are not formatted as block quotes must include the slash [/] to indicate line breaks.

If you want to leave out part of a quotation, you must use an ellipsis [. . .] to indicate the part you have excluded. Use a three period ellipsis to indicate material of one sentence or less; use a four period ellipsis to indicate missing material of more than one sentence in length. In poetry quotations formatted as block quotes, use a line of periods to indicate one or more missing lines of poetry.

All quotations must be properly documented (see below).

Documentation:
All sources (published or online) that you consult in writing your paper must be cited in your paper and included in your List of Works Cited. I require you to learn and use the MLA system of documentation. In MLA style, brief parenthetical references to your sources appear in your text, which is followed by a List of Works Cited.

Copies of The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers are available at the reference desk in the library. There are also links to online discussions of MLA style on my website.

PLAGIARISM:
Plagiarism is presenting another's work, language, or ideas as your own, whether it is done intentionally to deceive, or unintentionally, from carelessness or ignorance.

Plagiarism will not be tolerated. If I have reason to believe that your work is not your own, you will fail the assignment and possibly the course. You may also be subject to departmental and university sanctions. The University policies on academic honesty are included in the Student Handbook, pp. 8-10.