Jan's Working with Words

Name info:

Place your name and the course information and the date in a block at the left margin beginning 1-inch from the top of the page. (This is just below the default 1" top margin.)

Title:

No title page is required. If you use one, center the title two double spaces below your name information.

Spacing:

Double-space all pages.
This leaves room for your instructor to mark errors.

Font:

Use a clear ordinary text font at 12 pt. font size. Times New Roman is commonly used but others are acceptable.

Margins:

Use 1-inch margins on the top, bottom, left and right.

Indents:

Each paragraph is indented in the first line by ½ inch.

Page #:

Put the page number at the right margin, ½ inch above the top margin. Precede the page number with your last name, like:    Smith 4

References/citations:

In the body of the paper, references are placed in parentheses using the author's last name and the page number(s) where the referenced information is located, like:
 (Brown 21-24). If there are two authors with the same last name, include their initials.

Footnotes:

Only used for explanatory notes which elaborate on points discussed in the paper. Be careful. Why should this information be in a footnote and not in the body text?

Explanatory notes:

Double spaced. Superscript each note's reference number. Use ½ inch indent.

Works Cited:

Used instead of bibliography. Use a separate numbered page. Title of the page is "Works Cited", centered, 1-inch from the top of page. Double space all lines. Use a ½ inch hanging indent for all source entries. Author's last name goes first. Alphabetize entries.