Universitt Paderborn Kulturwissenschaftliche Fakultt Institut fr Anglistik und Amerikanistik

Style Sheet for Term Papers

The following pages are meant to help you write your papers both with regard to their structure and their formal characteristics (format). For further information please refer to the selected bibliography at the end of this document.

Topic & Length

You must talk to your instructor regarding the topic, length and scope of the paper as well as the deadline for handing it in. Generally speaking, the topic of your paper should be connected to the topic of the course in which you are writing it. However, in your paper, you must go beyond the course you cannot simply repeat something that was already discussed there. The length of the paper depends on the number of credits that you need and the study program you are in and ranges between 25.000/ 30.000 characters (BA), 7.500 to 10.000 words (MA), and 10-15 pages (LA). As for the deadline, it is usually at the end of the term (31 March and 30 September respectively) but instructors can set different dates.

Format:
Your paper must have page numbers: the table of contents-page is the first one to be counted (but here, the page number should not be visible). The paper should also have sufficient margins for comments and corrections: 2.5 cm on the left side, 4 cm on the right side). The font size throughout should be 12 pt. (Times New Roman) with variations for footnotes and longer quotes (see below). The main text should have a spacing of at least 1.5 lines. Each new paragraph (except the first one in each chapter or subchapter) should be indented by 1.5 cm.

Structure:
Each paper must contain the following: 1. Title Page 2. Table of Contents 3. Introduction 4. Main Part, divided into chapters 5. Conclusion 6. Works Cited List 7. Eidesstattliche Versicherung 8. Proof (copy) of the successful completion of the introduction to literary/ cultural studies (depending on the area in which you are writing the paper).

1. Title Page
The title page should contain the name of the type/module and title of the course, the term, and the name of the instructor. You can add the universitys name and the name of the department. Additionally, it should contain a title (and subtitle), your name, which study program and year/ term you are in, the Matrikelnummer, your postal address, e-mail address, and the number of words/characters of your paper (word function Wrter/Zeichen zhlen). Please note: in titles and chapter headlines, English capitalizes all words except for articles, conjunctions and prepositions (first words, however, are always capitalized). 1

Example:
University of Paderborn English and American Studies Department Module: Course: Instructor: Term:

Title: Subtitle
Your Name: Study Program: Year/ Term: Address Address Phone: Email: Matrikelnummer: Number of Words

2. Table of Contents
The table of contents lists chapter headings, subdivisions and the respective page numbers. Each main chapter has a number. If you have subdivisions, please note that you must at least have two subdivisions (e.g. 2.1 and 2.2). Chapter titles should be meaningful they should tell the reader roughly what the chapter is about. Example (topic: Between Tradition and Modernism: Cultural Identity in Native American Literature :
1. 2. Introduction: Identity and Native American Traditions N. Scott Momadays The Ancient Child 2.1 Aspects of Identity: Language, Myth, and Imagination 2.2 Traveling Back in Time: Set and His Search for Identity 2.3 Becoming a Medicine Woman: Grey and Her Development Sherman Alexies Reservation Blues 3.1 Native American Identity Between Tradition, Popular Culture and Stereotypes 3.2 The Reservation as Contact Zone 3.3 Thomas and Coyote Springs: Traveling Between Reality and Stereotype Conclusion: Identity as Border Crossing Works Cited 2 4 4 5 7 8 8 9 10 11 13

3.

4. 5.

3. Introduction
The introduction introduces the readers to your topic and your thesis and tells them what you will do and how you will do it. Usually, you start by (briefly) sketching the context, in which your paper topic is situated. After this general part, you state your thesis in a thesis statement, i.e. you formulate a problem or a question or a hypothesis that you want to discuss, show and/or prove in your paper. Moreover, you sketch roughly how you have structured your discussion of the topic (and why) and, if applicable, you tell readers what kind of approach or method you will be using. You can also briefly define concepts that are central to your argument (however, if this requires a more extensive discussion, you should do this in the main part).

4. Main Part
This is the heart of your paper, the part where you present your analysis and evidence (the argument) concerning your thesis. It must be subdivided (into chapters and subchapters) according to the different aspects that your topic has and the argument that you want to make. You should attempt to give a coherent, step-by-step presentation of your topic and the text(s) that you are discussing. Within these subdivisions, you use paragraphs as a structuring tool. Each paragraph is a meaningful unit (Sinneinheit), presenting and explaining one thought. It consists of a) the topic sentence in which you introduce the topic/ central idea/ claim of the paragraph b) the development of this topic in more detail with explanations and relevant evidence c) a concluding sentence, summarizing the paragraphs idea and linking it to the next one Paragraphs, hence, should build upon each other and support your overall thesis; they are the microstructure of your paper. Please note: no paragraph consists of a single sentence! For further information on the structure of paragraphs and for examples please refer to Kirszner and Mandell (2001) and Booth (2006). In your argumentation, you draw, of course, upon your own thoughts and observations, which you underline with evidence from the primary text(s). Nevertheless, part of a scholarly paper is also the discussion and examination of secondary literature, i.e. scholarly texts that discuss topics similar and related to your own. Just as you quote directly or indirectly from the primary text(s) you are discussing, you also quote from the secondary sources. You can either agree or disagree with what is stated there; what is important is that you argue convincingly for one or the other and integrate such quotes into your own argumentation. Since you are working on a scholarly paper, your sources should also be scholarly. In other words, you cannot exclusively rely on internet pages, many of which are of dubious quality.

Quotations & Documentation of Sources in the Text:

Generally, you have to give ALL sources you used in the argumentation in your paper (including thoughts and ideas you took from other texts) and you have to document in detail where you used them in your own paper (this is especially important for indirect, paraphrased quotes). If you do not do this, you are committing the crime of stealing other peoples ideas: you are plagiarizing, which can have unpleasant consequences for you and your studies. For the documentation of quotes/ sources, the so-called MLA-style is frequently used in humanities (for detailed examples please refer to Gibaldi 2003). The point of such documentation is to enable your readers to find the exact quote on their own. This means that 3

you also have to provide information on where a text can be found, which edition you used and when it was published. For instance, if you quote from a poem, it is not enough to tell your readers from which poem you quoted and who wrote it - you need to cite the book in which you found the poem complete with publisher, year of publication etc., and the page(s) on which it is printed. Avoid using the internet as source for primary texts (exception: scholarly editions of texts such as those provided by the University of Virginia e-library). Although you can find a lot of texts there, particularly poems, they are quite frequently inaccurate and faulty versions. We differentiate between the documentation of sources in the text, which is short, and the detailed documentation in the works cited-list. Below you find examples for the most frequent types of quotes/ sources for documentation in the text (for documentation in the works citedlist please refer to the respective section below). Quotes are marked by double quotations marks: If there are double quotation marks within the passage you are quoting, you should replace them with single ones (inverted commas): . Behind the quote you should give the source either in brackets (ex. 1, see below) or in a footnote (ex. 2, see also the section on footnotes). The information given in the brackets (footnote) should enable readers to find the exact entry in the works cited-list. Hence, the authors last name and the page number of the quote are usually sufficient. When you mention the authors name in the sentence, you do not need to repeat it in the brackets (ex. 3, 4). Should you quote from two different texts by the same author, you have different options: you choose a short title (frequently done when quoting from primary works) or you add the year of publication (secondary texts). If your quote is longer than five lines, you should set it off from your own text, i.e. start a new paragraph, indent it on both sides (1 cm), reduce the font size to 10pt and the lines to single spacing. These indented block quotations do not have quotation marks (ex. 3). If you quote something you must be accurate and quote it exactly the way it is written, including punctuation. If there is a mistake you must not change it; to show that the mistake is in the original, you add [sic!] behind the mistake. If you want to leave out parts of the quote that are not necessary for your argumentation, you can do so by marking the left-out passages with [...] (ex. 4). Similarly, if you need to change the quote to make it grammatically fit your sentence or add words to make the quote more comprehensible you mark what you added or changed with [ ] (ex. 4, 5). Quotes should be integrated in a grammatically correct way into your sentences. Quote only key sentences or passages, i.e. use only quotes that underline your point and help your argumentation. Avoid quoting quotes, i.e. try to quote from the original sources (so that you can be sure of their accuracy). If you need to quote a source (e.g. a quote by Susan Sontag) that you found quoted by somebody else (in this example by Harvey), the source information should be as follows (Sontag quoted in Harvey 24). Indirect quotes (e.g. paraphrases) should also be marked, either by stating directly what someone writes or argues (ex. 6) or by referencing the person/ source in brackets after the respective sentence (ex. 7). If you quote from the same source consecutively you can replace the name etc. with Ibid. and page number; yet if you quote from another source in between, you need to repeat the name(s) again. If you quote from the same source throughout your paper (e.g. a primary text that you are analyzing), you can add a footnote after the first quote that gives the publication information and says If not otherwise noted, quotes will be taken from this edition with the 4

page numbers in brackets; whenever you quote from this source afterwards, it is enough to add the page numbers behind it. If you want to draw the reader's attention to a thought or argument that is similar to yours, you use cf. (confer, compare) together with the reference (cf. Gupta and Ferguson). You can use see when you provide further references regarding a certain topic (example footnote 2).

examples: (1): source given in brackets behind quote While Dimmesdale remains imprisoned in the rules and regulations of the Puritan mindset, Hester is the one who frees herself from the conventions of society: She had wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness (Hawthorne 128). (2): source given in footnote It is actually her transgression that leads to her radical point of view: The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread.1 (3): indented block quotation In the words of Linda McDowell,
[i]t is socio-spatial practices that define places and these practices result in overlapping and intersecting places with multiple and changing boundaries, constituted and maintained by social relations of power and exclusion. [] These boundaries are both social and spatial they define who belongs to a place and who may be excluded, as well as the location or site of the experience. (4)

(4): marking left-out passages and alterations of the quote: Hence, Akhil Gupta and James Ferguson insist that [i]dentity and alterity are [] produced simultaneously in the formation of locality and community. (1997: 13). (5): marking alterations of a quote It has been argued that in disaster movies nature is personified as having emotions and desires and that it is often depicted as work[ing] consciously to destroy the lives of the protagonists (Belmont 357). (6): indirect quotes (stating names in the sentence) What makes the genre of disaster movies so interesting is the fact that, as Michael Ryan and Douglas Kellner contend, the catastrophic events in these movies serve as metaphors for reallife issues (51). (7): indirect quotes (providing source in brackets) In addition to the awe-inspiring or beautiful quality of such disaster sights, there is the aesthetic appeal that seems to be inherent in annihilation as such (Sontag 213).

Footnotes:
Footnotes and endnotes are used to provide additional comments or explanations that would interrupt the flow of your argument but are nevertheless important enough to be added. They can also be used to document sources that go beyond those that are quoted.2
Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter 128. For the renewed interest in space, see e.g. Michael Watts, Space for Everything (A Commentary). Cultural Anthropology 7.1 (Feb. 1992): 115-129; Akhil Gupta and James Ferguson, Beyond Culture: Space, Identity, and the Politics of Difference. Culture, Power, Place: Explorations in Critical Anthropology. Eds. Gupta and Ferguson (Durham: Duke University Press, 1997) 33-51; Neil Smith and Cindi Katz, Grounding Metaphor: Towards a Spatialized Politics. Place and the Politics of Identity. Eds. Michael Keith and Steve Pile (London: Routledge, 1993) 67-83.
2 1

While footnotes are at the end of each page, endnotes can be found at the very end of the paper (after the conclusion and before the works cited-list). Both are consecutively numbered.

5. Conclusion:
Your conclusion sums up the essence of your paper, i.e. the most important results with reference to your thesis and the questions that you raised in the introduction. Here, you state whether (and why) you consider your thesis to be proven. One can also comment on the relevance of the topic and point towards aspects and topics that need to be investigated further (future research).

6. Works Cited List:

No matter which citation style you use, your paper definitely needs a works cited-list. All the sources used in the paper should be on the list; all texts on the list should come up in your paper at one point. This list can be divided into primary and secondary works when you use a number of primary works. It is arranged alphabetically by last name. If you quote more than one work by the same author, these works are arranged chronologically (by year of publication). From the second publication onwards, the authors name is replaced with three short hyphens ---. As you can see below, the basic entry for a quoted text remains the same. For further details please see Gibaldi 2006. Examples: a poem Harjo, Joy. Skeleton of Winter. She Had Some Horses. 1983. New York: Thunders Mouth Press, 1997. 30f. The two dates indicate, the book was published in 1983 for the first time; an unaltered edition was published in 1997 and from this later edition, the poem is taken. a short story Morrison, Toni. Recitatif. Confirmation: An Anthology of African American Women. Eds. Amiri Baraka and Amina Baraka. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1983. 243-261. a novel Cliff, Michelle. No Telephone to Heaven. 1987. New York: Plume, 1995. a play Kushner, Tony. Angels in America. A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. Part One: Millenium Approaches. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 1993. Williams, Tennessee. Suddenly Last Summer. Four Plays: Summer and Smoke, Orpheus Descending, Suddenly Last Summer, Period of Adjustment. New York: Signet Classic, 1976. 145-93. a complete book/ monograph: McDowell, Linda. Gender, Identity and Place: Understanding Feminist Geographies. Cambridge and Minneapolis: Polity Press and the U of Minnesota P, 1999. a book written by an author and then edited (later) by someone else: 6

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter and Other Writings. Ed. Leland S. Person. New York: Norton, 2005. a compilation (collection of scholarly essays) or an anthology (collection of primary texts): Armbruster, Karla and Kathleen R. Wallace, ed. Beyond Nature Writing: Expanding the Boundaries of Ecocriticism. Charlottesville VA: U of Virginia P, 2001. a chapter of a book Ryan, Michael and Douglas Kellner. Crisis Films. Camera Politica: The Politics and Ideology of Contemporary Hollywood Film. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1988. 49-75. Sontag, Susan. The Imagination of Disaster. Against Interpretation and Other Essays. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1969. 209-225. an article from a compilation Gupta, Akhil and James Ferguson. Culture, Power, Place: Ethnography at the End of an Era. Culture, Power, Place: Explorations in Critical Anthropology. Eds. Gupta and Ferguson. Durham: Duke UP, 1997. 1-29. ---. Beyond Culture: Space, Identity, and the Politics of Difference. Culture, Power, Place: Explorations in Critical Anthropology. Eds. Gupta and Ferguson. Durham: Duke UP, 1997. 33-51 Smith, Neil and Cindi Katz. Grounding Metaphor: Towards a Spatialized Politics. Place and the Politics of Identity. Eds. Michael Keith and Steve Pile. London: Routledge, 1993. 67-83. an article from a periodical (a journal) Belmont, Cynthia. Ecofeminism and the Natural Disaster Heroine. Womens Studies 36 (2007): 349-72. Michael Watts. Space for Everything (A Commentary). Cultural Anthropology 7.1 (Feb. 1992): 115-129. an entry from a dictionary or encyclopaedia Prose Poem. The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Eds. Alex Preminger and T.V.F. Brogan. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993. 977. (since often authors are not given, the entry is alphabetized under its heading) an internet document: Massumi, Brian. Strange Horizon: Buildings, Biograms, and the Body Topologic. 8 Mar. 2002 <http://www.indiana.edu/~thinkmat/strange.doc>. (the date of access, added before the URL, is important since internet pages and document change often or disappear) a film The Day After Tomorrow. Dir. Roland Emmerich. USA: 20th Century Fox, 2004. (if you find it relevant, you may add include names of the writer, performers, producers between the title and the distributor)

7. Eidesstattliche Versicherung
It can be downloaded from the institutes internet pages. You need to sign it and hand it in together with your term paper. With your signature, you confirm that you wrote the paper yourself and that you documented carefully all the sources that you used in preparing and 7

writing the paper. Remember that plagiarizing is a serious offence that will lead to your failing the course or worse. Plagiarizing means to use parts (direct quotes or paraphrases and ideas) from other documents without marking them as quotes. Of course, this also applies to documents that are completely taken from somewhere else.

Proof of Successful Completion of Introduction:

Since you need to pass your introductory courses (to literary studies and cultural studies respectively) before you go on to attend further courses in the respective fields (literature, cultural studies), you must provide a copy of the respective Schein to prove it. These courses provide the basic tools such as terms, concepts and theories as well as basic research skills that you all need for writing good term papers. Not having passed the course usually means that you are not able to use these tools correctly so that it does not make sense for you to go on with your studies without having filled this gap. Should you fail to prove that you completed the introduction successfully, you will not get credit points for the course/ term paper.

Literature on the topic:

For a good introduction to reading and writing about literature (taking notes, collecting ideas, finding a topic, structuring an argument, writing good paragraphs etc.) please refer to: Booth, Alison L., J. Paul Hunter and Kelly J. Mays, ed. The Norton Introduction to Literature. Shorter 9th Ed. New York: Norton, 2006. Kirszner, Laurie and Stephen Mandell. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. 4th Ed. Boston: Thomson Heinle, 2001. (chapter 2) A useful guide to writing and revising papers that also provides help with regard to language problems is: Hacker, Diana. A Writers Reference. 6th Ed. Boston: Bedford Books, 2007. A very good online resource are the pages provided by the Writing Center of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Here, you will find specific instructions on the various parts of a term paper (introduction, conclusion etc.), on specific writing problems (e.g. paragraphing) as well as on specific assignments (e.g. writing a review, writing about film). http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/index.html (access date: June 20, 2008) If you are interested in a detailed but brief introduction to conducting research (i.e. find relevant literature in the library, in databases and on the internet) please refer to: Baker, Nancy L. and Nancy Huling. A Research Guide for Undergraduate Students. English and American Literature. 6th Ed. New York: MLA, 2006. The book by Gibaldi is the standard work for MLA-style citation and particularly useful for detailed information on how to document various sources. It also contains chapters on doing research and writing term papers. Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th Edition. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 2003

Appendix: Example Pages

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