Introduction
This piece is meant to instruct students on how to write academic manuscripts, papers and/or reports in terms of organization, format and language (including tense). Students should consistently apply these guidelines with all papers written while embarking on their studies at this institution. These guidelines do not supersede the specific directions given by other instructional staff. If students are instructed to do something different than what is found in these pages, then they must apply those different instructions for those specific papers in that specific course. Otherwise, these guidelines are a good, general starting point and base knowledge in writing academic manuscripts, papers or reports. It is hoped that students will find this short guide helpful in creating their future projects.
Fonts and margins
There are several format issues that will be addressed in this paper. Fonts are important because they can be key as to whether or not you can hold a reader long enough to get them interested. If the font is strange or hard to see, then the writer will lose the reader because they will perceive the piece not to be serious or that it might give them a headache as they try to figure out what is being said. Therefore, it is always a good idea to select a true type font at an appropriate size. Here is a list of true type fonts and their appropriate sizes: Cambria (12 pt.), Calibri (12 pt.), Arial Narrow (12 pt.), Arial (11 pt.), Times New Roman (12 pt.), Book Antique (12 pt.), and Georgia (12 pt.). There are others as well but students can get the general idea of how presentable the fonts need to be from the short list given here. Students are to make sure that once the font is selected, they consistently use the same font throughout the paper. In terms of size, that can be changed under certain conditions such as: 1) a larger size (no greater than 18 pt.) of the same font can be used with the title on the title page of a paper, manuscript or report; 2) a smaller
size (no smaller than 8 pt.) may be used when making notations or subscripting a table, graph, chart, or figure.
In terms of margins, generally 1” (one inch) on all four sides is the standard yet, sometimes, students may have to adjust based on the printer defaults. This piece is written at .9” (or nine-tenths of an inch) on all sides to make up for the default that counts a little over one-tenth of the paper on the sides as not viewable in terms of A4 sized paper. In China, A4 is the standard sized paper while in most Western countries, “Letter” is the standard size. Generally, you can ensure the measures/setting are correct by going to the page setup menu (File>Page Setup) although Word 2007 and above can be adjusted from the top toolbar. Use the standard size for the location you are at when writing papers, manuscripts or reports within an academic setting.
Sentence and paragraph format
A paragraph is a small collection of sentences that have to do with the same issue. It is typically started with indentation (indents) of approximately ten (10) taps on the space bar. It is important that once a major idea is explained or described then the student closes the paragraph and begins another paragraph with the next important part. Students are warned not to write run-on sentences or paragraphs.
Sentences are to be started with a capitalized letter of the first word. Names of persons, places, and brands must be capitalized. Between each sentence, students should press the space bar twice to provide adequate differentiation room. Students are warned not to write run-on sentences and are to close each sentence with a period (.), question mark (?), or in some rare cases, maybe an exclamation mark (!). Improper substitution symbols should not be used in academic papers such as %, &, #, @, or $. Just write in their places, respectively, percent, and, the number, a number or number, at, or dollars (USD only). Sentences are to be constructed fully – no fragments, chat language substitutes (i.e. <grin>, lol, lmao, rofl, or anything of the like. Sentences are to be clear and complexity reduced if not necessary.
Unless otherwise stated by the instructional staff, all papers should be written in double-spaced format. Different MS Word versions have different defaults that may need to be manually changed by the students to ensure the spacing is correct. Under Format> Paragraph> alignment should show “left”, spacing should show 0 pt. for before and after, and line spacing should show “double”. This makes sure that there is the exact double spacing for the sentences. A short cut to the menu can be reached by shadowing up the text then right clicking for a drop down menu to appear. Then click on <Paragraph>. None of the written areas of the paper should be fully justified. Always keep the written material left aligned and not justified. Writers are reminded that, unless otherwise stated by the instructional staff, they should only type one side of the page leaving the other side blank.
Organization, language and tenses
Organization is a key characteristic of any academic piece. All academic pieces pretty much follow the same organizational requirements. A completed paper will have an introduction which includes the issue of focus, summary of organization and order of the piece, as well as a thesis statement as the first section. A thesis statement is typically a one or two sentence summation of the information provided by the paper. Although this section is usually the first section seen by a reader, it is suggested that it not be the first section written. Once the main body of the paper is completed, then the writer has the complete information that it takes to write both good introductions and good conclusion.
The main body is the important, substantive part of any written piece. It includes definitions of terms, explanations of issues, and the supporting analysis of the thesis statement. The main body of any piece is located between the introduction and the conclusion. This part of the paper may include many sections with headers and sub-
headers.
The conclusion is the final substantive section of any paper that basically summarizes, part-by-part, what was described, explained, and supported within the piece as a whole. A restating of the thesis statement is helpful here accompanied by a summary of supporting evidence of the thesis statement’s contentions. The applicability of the information presented within this piece may also be included towards the end of the conclusion.
Language is a serious and important academic matter. If someone is studying in a university, then they are educated enough to present themselves in an effective and learned way on their produced, academic pieces. Slang, of any type, is not appropriate to be used in academic reports, papers or manuscripts. Semi-formal, business, academic language is the appropriate language for anything academically written within a university or produced for and within a career setting. Since students are used to writing in first person tense (i.e. “I”, “my”, “we”, “us”, etc.), it is required that they reduce, if not eliminate, first person tense writing within academic pieces within their studies and recommended that, in the future after graduation, they do so within their career work. Students are reminded that informal, abbreviated or shortened words are also not appropriate (i.e. mom, dad, sis, bro, etc.). In the rare case someone is to remark about their manager, then do not write “boss” but instead write “supervisor”, “manager” or “director”. Language is a key reflection of the writer’s intellect and refinement which is an important element of persuasion (selling the ideas of a writer’s piece to others).
The tenses of timing are important to develop and appropriately maintain within any major piece. The ‘rule of thumb’ with tenses is as follows: Introductions should be written in future tense (i.e. what this piece is going to do) with a minor exception being when relating some historical point. Main bodies typically have a mixture of past tense and present tense (i.e. what this piece is doing) is but usually are written in present tense as a general rule. And conclusions are written in past tense (i.e. what this piece has done) although there may be some future tense added as it is described how the information of this piece can be applied. There are exceptions, as stated, but the general rule should be followed as much as possible when writing the papers, reports and/or manuscripts.
Headers and sub-headers are important to both the writers and the readers. These items help keep writers within the proper scope and organization of papers while it helps keep the readers on track with the information presented. Therefore, as a rule of thumb, always use headers (and make sure that the use of the header is effective). The headers are left aligned and usually in bold (i.e. see the header of this section, Organization, language and tenses). When writing a sub-header, writers are encouraged to write them in italics with center alignment.
Example of a sub-header
Both headers and sub-headers are to be capitalized by first letter of the first word only unless it contains a name. Headers should be used for all main points being written about within the piece as well as for Introduction, Conclusion, References (Works Cited, Bibliography). Notice that Works Cited is an exception to the capitalization rule stated above. Sub-headers are for smaller points (maybe analysis points, specific listings, or definitional issues, etc.).
In-text and references citations
In-text citation locations are where writers denote credit for information and ideas that originated with someone else or some other entity. Much of what is being explained here is actually from the ASA Style Guide (ASA, 1997). This in-text citation is just an example and is not representative of placing a true in-text citation based on information used within this piece.
Quoted in-text citation
Now, exactly proper in-text citation: “With this model clearly delineating the differences in the characteristics of CBs and SMs, varying levels can be conceived that may be present and would allow for hybrid collective phenomena such as CBs-SMs” (Tinney, 2013:79). This is a quote in-text citation. The exact wording used by the original author is put in quotations. Then space, left parenthesis, no space, author(s) last name – if multiple authors, list first author’s last name first, then the second separated by a comma unless only two then separate by “and” – then comma, then space, then four digit year, no space, colon (:), no space, exact page number(s) where quote is located, right parenthesis, no space, period (.).
Specific to quoted in-text citations are block quoted in-text citations. If a writer has a quote that is larger than four lines in 11pt. or 12 pt. of the chosen type font, then the quote may be blocked as the following example shows:
The disadvantages of APs are that they can get carried away and sweep the participants of CBs with them. APs are fine as long as they can keep the dominant emotion flowing and the collective participants fulfilled with purpose. This may not be the case as APs may be more focused on their more egocentric designs than on the emotional outpouring and desires of the collective participants (Tinney, 2013:78).
Notice that the blocked quote is in a size smaller than normal text within the document (usually 2 pt. smaller) and in bold. The blocked quote above is in Cambria, 12 pt. Also note that there are no quotation marks with blocked quotes. Lastly, these types of quotes can be introduced with the proper in-text citation above it and, in such a case, would not require the in-text citation to be placed in the block quote.
Paraphrase in-text citation
Sometimes, a large body of work or significant idea of an originator will be summarized by a writer in far fewer and not the exact words the originator used. If a writer used such an approach, then the paraphrase should be written and right after it the same format as above quote in-text citation be used excluding the colon (:) and the exact page number or numbers. Therefore, the following example would be correct: collective behaviors and social movements are significantly different collective phenomenon with very unique characteristics found within each (Tinney, 2013).
Other general issues concerning in-text citations
There are many issues that could come up that requires modification of this format. For instance, if more than two authors, then in-text cite fully the first time. After that, it is acceptable and preferred that writers do the following: (Solomon, Wilson, and Taylor, 2012) can be depicted if used a second time or more as, (Solomon et al., 2012). Of course, if quoting, writers will include the page numbers as instructed.
Be aware that some pieces are written by an association or organization without a stated author. If such a circumstance arises, simply put the organization abbreviation or fully written out name where the author’s last name would usually be. For instance, (ASA, 1997). ASA stands for the American Sociological Association and may be fully typed out as well.
Reference/Works Cited/Bibliography citations
All in-text citation must lead to a fully formatted citation at the end of the piece contained within a section with the heading of Reference, Works Cited or Bibliography. Whatever title used is usually determined by the style that is used by the writer. If MLA style, use Bibliography; if APA style, use Reference; if ASA style, use Works Cited; if Chicago style, use Notations or References. Typically, Notations denote Notes and therefore are not exactly the same thing but sometimes, journals or publishers will require writing specific ways and forms (just like different instructional staff). It is incumbent upon the writer to know the expectations of the reviewer/publisher/instructional staff – especially if different from a specific style and/or different from this supplemental guide.
Once the proper heading is determined, then the list of citations is written –alphabetically ordered by the first author’s last name and properly formatted. This section would start on another sheet of paper (or page) but will be continued on this page just as an example.
Works Cited
American Sociological Association. 1997. Style Guide. Washington, DC: ASA Press.
Solomon, Amy, Gwen Wilson, and Terry Taylor. 2012. 100% Information Literacy Success.
Boston, MA: Wadsworth Publishing.
Tinney, William J. 2013. Collective Behaviors versus Social Movements: An examination of
the differences. Proceedings of the International Conference on Applied Social Science.
Beijing: Atlantis Press.
Pictures, Graphs, Figures, Tables in Appendices (Appendix A, B, C…)
In this age of word processing programs, it is much easier than it used to be to insert, in-text, pictures, figures, tables and graphs. Still, a special requirement exists when it comes to five (5) to seven (7) page and seven (7) to ten (10) page papers (which are typically assigned for the Cultural Enrichment course and the Globalization: Social Stratification and Inequality course) and that special requirement is for writers to denote the location and/or refer to the figures, pictures, graphs, and tables as being in an appendix or addendum. Call it either an appendix or addendum which will be located between the Conclusion and the Works Cited sections. Only one (1) figure, table, graph, or picture goes in a denoted appendix or addendum. Therefore, if a writer has to insert two tables, he or she will write the following:
(Appendix B, table 2 about here)
The tag is to be placed in the text where that figure belongs. Notice that the tag takes up a whole line. Remember, again, writers should only place one (1) item per an Appendix page (Appendix A will take up a whole sheet of paper – even though it may only contain a small figure, picture, table or graph). One note of interest here, as this paragraph is a continuation of the paragraph before the example of the tag and therefore did not require indentation.
Combating the sentence wrap problem
Writers commonly get to the end of the page and have a long sentence that bounces to the new page as they continue to type. This leaves a significant amount of space at the bottom of the previous page. For small papers, there may be a deduction for too much space being left on the page. To combat the sentence wrap problem, simply press enter at the end of the first line of words on the current page. The whole line will move back to the previous page ensuring the whole number of possible lines are used. Sentences may be so long that writers have to press a few lines to get it to bounce back and use all the available space at the bottom of the previous page. Make sure that the default settings do not change the word after you pressed enter to capitalized first letter. If this happens, simply space the letter back (using <backspace> key) and change it to lower case.