[教你如何写出完美的论文--系列教程(10.DVD)].09.Formatting.Your.Paper.pdf



Part 1: Your Guide to Style Guides
The irst step in formatting your research paper is in some ways the most important: you must determine
which style guide you’re going to follow — APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, etc. Each style guide offers its
own guidelines for citing sources, listing references, and other stylistic conventions. Before you continue,
consult with your teachers or professors regarding which style guide is appropriate for their discipline and
therefore which style guide they prefer. Be warned: Using the wrong style in your research paper can have
a very negative impact on your grade!
Myriad websites and other resources exist that intend to offer sample citations in each of these styles, but
they can be disorganized, poorly edited, out-of-date, etc. — they simply cannot substitute for the oficial
word of the experts, and neither can this program. Therefore, we instead suggest that you always consult
one of the oficial style guides. Obviously, always use the most current edition available:
* APA style: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 5th ed.
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2001. [apastyle.apa.org]
* MLA style: MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York:
Modern Language Association of America, 2003. [mla.org/style]
* Chicago style: The Chicago Manual of Style. 15th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
[chicagomanualofstyle.org/books.html & chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html]
* Turabian style: Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations,
6th edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
We realize that some of these manuals are signiicant purchases, but they are usually available to use in
your library, and they do constitute an investment that will likely last you most of your academic career.
If no guidance regarding a style guide is available from the assignment itself, from your syllabus, or from
For more information, call 1-800-238-1512 or visit us online at videoaidedinstruction.com.
your teachers, your professors, or your institution, we suggest that you follow Chicago style.
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Part 2: Making Your Paper Look Good
To earn a high grade, your inished research paper must leave your teachers or professors with a very posi-
tive impression; so be sure that the formatting of your paper demonstrates that you:
* fully understand the concepts of scholarly research and writing,
* take the assignment and the subject matter very seriously, and
* have researched your topic thoroughly,
* have put lots of thought into the structure and logic of your writing, and
* care about even the littlest details.
The style guide you’re using (and the assignment and/or course syllabus from your teacher or professor)
may contain very speciic guidelines that you must adhere to regarding font choices, sizes, spacing, mar-
gins, etc. (Some teachers and professors are real sticklers when it comes to formatting, and some may even
offer their own particular sets of formatting guidelines.) Just remember to follow any instructions you’re
given to the letter.
Note: The formatting tips that we’re about to outline differ here and there from those set forth in the
style guides to APA style and MLA style; they’re typically more in line with the Chicago/Turabian approach.
If you’re using APA or MLA style — or even Chicago or Turabian, for that matter — be sure to check your
style guide before following these recommendations. Otherwise, if you have some latitude in making your
own formatting decisions, we offer the following suggestions.