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Anglistik: British and American Studies Prof. Dr. Ralf Schneider

How to Write a Term Paper

– Dos and Don’ts –

Revised version: July 2016

1. What Is a Term Paper in Literary Studies?

In a term paper in literary studies, you are supposed to demonstrate that you are capable of dealing with literary texts in a scholarly manner, i.e. that you are familiar both with the topics and with the analytical and interpretational methods dealt with in class and are able to apply them to literary texts independently. In a short essay of 1100or a module paper of 3600words, a text cannot be dealt with in depth; rather, one must formulate a specific question or position and then support this position through argumentation to arrive at an interpretation. Longer papers examine the text material in more depth. The scholarly term paper differs from the traditional English essay in that greater emphasis is placed upon provability of the position. To this purpose you must reference thoughts and information that you took from second literature as quotes or as paraphrases, and list all your sources.

A term paper always consists of

  • An introduction (statement of thesis, presentation of the questions which will be addressed in the paper, reasoning for the structure of the term paper)
  • Main part (argumentation, analysis and interpretation of the text/texts)
  • Conclusion (short summary of the results, evaluation, reconnection to the introduction, potential future ramifications of the argument)

2. Planning and Writing

The most important steps in planning and writing term papers are:

  • Immersion in the subject at hand (see 2.1)
  • Structuring your results in accordance with the task formulation (see 2.2)
  • Putting those results into writing (see 2.3)
  • Formatting your writing (see 3 and 4)
  • Self-critical reflection, re-writing
  • Scheduled planning and writing process so that the paper can be completed and handed in by the given deadline

2.1 Immersion in the Subject at Hand

When one is given a topic, one must narrow the topic down more precisely, i.e. one clarifies what exactly the subject-matter is, or which question is to be pursued, and also which sources should be used. The next step is to get an overview over what has already been written about the text at hand in secondary literature. This can also be of help in finding a topic oneself. Here it is important to use resources like encyclopaedias or bibliographies to find some first orientation in the topic. Terms which might be of importance in dealing with the topic should be looked up in reference books (specialist dictionary, etymological dictionary, etc. – note that general reference works, such as Wikipedia, are useful only for the first steps of information retrieval and cannot replace more specialised sources).

Following this, the secondary literature needs to be read and kept track of in short extracts. The primary text(s) should also be analysed again with special focus on the paper’s question. Selective reading can be practiced when reading secondary literature for term papers, i.e. that only those texts that seem of real relevance with regard to the paper’s question or thesis should be read. While you read the texts, you should note down your own thoughts.

2.2 Structuring Your Results

After having read the texts, it is time to collect and order your material and your own thoughts with regard to specific aspects (“subtopics”) of your topic. At this point it is central to formulate a thesis or a question from which the argumentation of the paper will follow. The thesis and the subtopics usually lead to an outline of your paper, which will form the basis of a first draft. In this phase you will also have to decide on which text passages you want to deal with in which order and from which point of view. Many students think that literary studies call for a biographical outline of the author or a summary of the text you dealt with. However, this is rarely of any relevance for the question you are pursuing and usually does not help your argumentation, so in most cases it will have to be left out. When structuring, keep in mind: Everything that does not relate directly to the position taken (to your argument) should be left out.

A good structure is the key to a successful academic paper – pay especially close attention to this aspect. Never start writing the final version (2.3) if you are not sure yet what you want to say when and where. Check particularly critically the relevance, the connection and the positioning of the individual arguments.

2.3 Putting Your Results into Writing

When writing your first draft, it is important to throw overboard all hopes and expectations of producing a text that is ready for press. First, this step is about writing down your own thoughts and the thoughts critically taken from the secondary literature. Editing can, and will have to, come later. At this point, the goal is to bring to paper your theses, arguments and the results you have achieved in a coherent fashion. Avoid leaps in logic which might make reading and understanding your paper difficult. Often, these leaps result from the fact that smaller steps of the argumentation seem too clear to the writer and are then left out. However, an argumentation is supposed to be logically structured, and should also be understood by readers who are less or not at all familiar with the topic. Therefore it is important that the text contains clear transitions. Pointing to the relationship between the parts of the argument and your thesis helps ensure coherence.

Arguments are developed in paragraphs of several lines (like in this handout). There can be no paragraph that contains only one sentence! Therefore make sure you only use the enter key of your keyboard at the end of a paragraph that is of some length, not just after each full stop. If you feel you have to start a new paragraph after each sentence, there is something wrong with your way of structuring and you should go back to 2.2 and rethink your structure. The first line of a new paragraph is indented, except after headings and block quotes (like in this handout). The reader has an impression of the structure of the paper at first glance.

3. Content and Layout of the Paper

3.1 Title Page

The title page contains 1) information on the seminar (usually on the top left of the page, including the semester and course number), 2) the title of the paper (usually in the middle of the page and centred), and 3) your address (usually on the bottom right or centred, including email address and number of semesters). See example under 4.1.

3.2 Table of Contents (for module papers)

The table of contents outlines the structure of the module paper and lists the headings of the different sections plus the respective page numbers.

3.3 Introduction

This section provides an introduction to the topic and the formulation of the problem or question. It is important to give a comprehensible thesis or to pose a concrete question which can be dealt with in the main text. Furthermore, the introduction should clarify factual and methodological prerequisites, briefly present methods of inquiry, and finally explain and substantiate the progression from one section to the next. It is NOT enough to repeat the paper’s topic and to list the work steps. Avoid a beginning along the lines of “This term paper deals with…” (because the paper’s topic is already mentioned on the title page); familiarise the reader with the paper’s subject matter and thesis, and explain your way of proceeding.

In a shorter paper, it is unnecessary to mention the restrictions in scope which ‘keep you from dealing with the topic in greater detail’ – this is self-evident. Make sure that you use the available space as efficiently as possible. Thus, you avoid introducing potential weaknesses of your paper yourself.

3.4 Main Part

The heading of the main part states what this section deals with (e.g. “Characterization and Plot Structures in King Richard III”). In the main part, the thesis given in the introduction is discussed on the basis of the chosen texts. The line of argumentation should always be traceable to the reader. Avoid incoherent listings and unstructured enumeration. Ask yourself after each point: What do I want to demonstrate? Refrain from ‘one-sentence-paragraphs’ (see above) under any circumstances.

Moreover, avoid giving irrelevant information on the progress of the argumentation, for example, “In the next chapter, I will demonstrate that X…” and shortly after that, “Having demonstrated that X…, I will now go on to say Y”, etc. If you write a paragraph/chapter, which contains argument X, then deals with point Y, and concludes with Z, the structure of the passage already shows that X, Y, and Z are dealt with. It is unnecessary to state this explicitly. The same pertains to things you have already mentioned (“as I have already mentioned above”), because the repetition is either redundant (what belongs together has to be brought together in the phase of structuring), or, in case of a paper of no more than a hundred pages, the reader still has the line of argumentation in mind. Avoid superfluous self-references of this kind and make use of the gained space in order to say, for example, something interesting on point Xa, Xb, and Xc and thus provide a more differentiated argumentation.

3.5 Conclusion

The end of the paper serves as a reflection on the work done. It is an abstracting summary of the insights gained with respect to the problem (i.e. a synthesis of the results) as well as a critical reflection on apparent difficulties and questions that remained open. If applicable, you can provide an outlook as to aspects that might be dealt with in the future. Consequently, it is NOT sufficient to merely repeat what had been said before – that should have become clear at this point anyway. If, by the end of the main part of your paper, you still cannot give a proper answer to the questions you raised, you should not write a conclusion yet, but ask yourself again what the analysis of the text(s) contributed to the discussion of the thesis statement introduced at the beginning.

3.6 Quotations and Bibliography

In an academic paper, all sources have to be referred to at the point where text or ideas of others are used. There are conventions for giving references: According to the system of the Modern Language Association (MLA), which is slightly modified here, the authentication of quotations, ideas, etc. integrated in the term paper is done by short bibliographical references given in brackets. Therefore, footnotes with complete bibliographical references are no longer necessary. Footnotes are reserved for further elaborations which would distract from the main argumentation but might, for instance, be necessary as background information. The short bibliographical reference is given after the quotation and refers to the works cited at the end of the term paper, where the complete references have to be easily found.

3.6.1 Source Reference

  • Normally, the name of the author and the specific page(s) to which you refer suffice. Example:

Thus, the “effort in such works is to create credibility” (Fleishmann 197), which in consequence evokes…

  • If the quotation is four lines or longer, it is set off from the rest of the text by indention; the bibliographical reference is given in brackets after the last punctuation mark of the quotation and one space. Example:

John K. Mahon contributes to our understanding of the War of 1812:

Financing the war was very difficult at the time. Baring Brothers, a banking firm of the enemy country, handled routine accounts for the United States overseas, but the firm would take on no loans. The loans were in the end absorbed by wealthy Americans at great hazard. (Mahon 385)

  • Up to three authors, all last names are listed. With more than three authors, you only give the first author’s name and add “et al.”. Examples:

(Marquart, Olsen and Sorensen 55-58)

(Muir et al. 76-89)

  • When quoting a passage that is already quoted in the secondary text, you give the latter source after the indication “qtd. in” [“qtd.” = “quoted”]. Example:

Samuel Johnson admitted that Edmund Burke was an “extraordinary man” (qtd. in Boswell 450).

  • When paraphrasing other people’s ideas, you name the source after the indication “cf.”. Example:

The aesthetic pattern representing Stephen’s development in stages is, according to Dilthey, the principle of apprenticeship patterns (cf. Shaffner 22).

  • If you use several works by the same author, you give the title of the article/essay/book to identify the work. Example:

(Thoreau, “Civil” 713)

  • Websites are also cited according to author and year of publication. The page number is left out. Example:

(Jahn 2002)

If the author is unknown, the (probably abbreviated) title is used:

(Electronic Texts Center 2002)

It is important to note that websites without an identified author normally do not warrant trustworthy content! Sources like these should be avoided!

3.6.2 Quotation of the Primary Literature within the Text

In this case the author and the year of publication do not have to be given. The cited titles and authors should be clear from the term paper, though.

  • For verse dramas (e.g. Shakespeare) act, scene and verse number are given.

Example:

The importance of blindness is dramatically emphasized in King Lear:

Lear:Oh ho, are you there with me? No eyes in your head, nor no

money in your purse? Your eyes are in a heavy case, your purse

in a light, yet you see how this world goes.

Gloucester: I see it feelingly. (IV.vi.141-145)or (4.6.141-145)

In modern dramas, which usually do not have verse lines and thus lack a verse count, act and scene (if available) and page number are given.

  • Poems are quoted according to verses. Example:

Elizabeth Bishop’s “In the Waiting Room” is rich in evocative details:

It was winter. It got dark

early. The waiting room

was full of grown-up people,

arctics and overcoats,

lamps and magazines. (6-10)

Up to three lines original length of the cited poem may be included in one’s own text by using quotation marks. The line breaks are indicated by space – slash – space.

Example:

Reflecting on the “incident” in Baltimore, Cullen concludes, “Of all the things that happened there / That’s all that I remember” (11-12).

3.6.3 Bibliography

The bibliography is the list of the primary and secondary literature used. This last part is captioned with “Works Cited”. It contains only those works referred to in the term paper (in alphabetical order) – and all of the listed sources must be referred to in the paper in a consistent manner.

In the following the most common kinds of sources are exemplarily listed in MLA style(8th edition):

An article from a scholarly journal:

Barner, Wilfried. “Neuphilologische Rezeptionsforschung und die Möglichkeiten der klassischen Philologie.” Poetica, vol. 7, 1977,pp. 499-521.

A monography written by one author:

Esslin, Martin.The Fields of Drama: How the Signs of Drama Create Meaning on Stage and Screen. Methuen, 1987.

A monography written by two authors:

Faulstich, Werner and Hans-Werner Ludwig. Arbeitstechniken für Studenten der Literaturwissenschaft.4th edition,Narr, 1993.

A scholarly webpage:

Jahn, Manfred. Poems, Plays, and Prose: A Guide to the Theory of Literary Genres. English Department, University of Cologne, 2004. Accessed 5 May 2006.

A chapter from an edited volume/handbook/scholarly essay collection:

Lyotard, Jean-Francois. “Answering the Question: What is Postmodernism?”Postmodernism: A Reader,edited by Thomas Docherty, Columbia UP, 1993,pp. 38-50.

4. The Layout of the Term Taper

4.1 Title Page

The following image shows which information the title page should contain and in what manner it should be arranged:

4.2 The Table of Contents

  • The table of contents does not have a page number; the page numbers start with the introduction.
  • It is structured according to the decimal system and gives the page numbers for the chapters. Example:
  1. Introduction…………………………………..1
  2. Characters and Action: An Analysis……….2

2.1???????……………………………………….4

2.2???????………………………………………..5

3. Conclusion…………………………………… 9

4.3 Further Aspects of Layout and Formal Requirements

  • The form of the term paper is one evaluation criterion; only if the basic rules are followed, the paper will be assessed at all.
  • Either staple the term paper at the upper left corner or hand in the paper in a clear plastic folder. The paper does not have to be bound. Pictures, color printings should only be used if they are subject to analysis, otherwise they will distract the attention from the content and are therefore dispensable.
  • The font is “Times New Roman” or “Roman”, size (pt) 12. This applies to every part of the term paper, including headlines and quotations. Only footnotes may be of smaller size (pt 10 or 11). Avoid playing around with font and type size.
  • Use a one-and-a-half line (1,5) spacing.
  • Blank lines and/or wider spacing may be used at the end of a chapter only; new paragraphs within a chapter are indicated only by an indentation of the first line of the new paragraph.
  • For quotations, the font size does not have to be changed; italicization is unnecessary as well.
  • The margins on each side of the pages are 2.5 to max. 3.0 cm.
  • If the format described above is adhered to, one page contains about 350 words. Attempts to increase or reduce the number of pages required by changing the format never go unnoticed.
  • Titles of novels and dramas are always italicized – in the text, on the title page, in the table of contents, in the footnotes and in the bibliography. The same applies to secondary literature if they are so-called independent publications (books, edited volumes; rule of thumb: titles which can be found in the shelves of a library in form of a book). Use quotation marks for titles of poems, short stories, articles and lexicon entries (for examples see p. 6).
  • Always use English, superscript quotation marks: “ ”
  • Do not use page numbers on the title page and the table of contents; on all the other pages the page numbers are at the top of the page (either centered of on the right).
  • Print on one side of the paper only.

For more information, please talk to your lecturers and/or visit: