General Requirements and Instructions for a Paper

General Requirements and Instructions for a Paper

Dr. Phillip Payne

Department of History

St. Bonaventure University<= /span>

When writin= g a paper you should, first of all, follow the specific instruction for the assignment. For the most part, papers will fall into four categories: (1) research, (2) reviews, (3) essay= s, and (4) reaction papers (summaries). Each type has slightly different requirements and these will be spel= led out in the classroom with handouts and discussions.

Requirements:

Every paper= , regardless of the type, should contain certain element:

Your paper should have a thesis statement that states an argu= ment, a body in which the argum= ent is made, and a conclusion in= which the thesis is stated again.
Your paper should be neat, well-organized, and largely free of typos, misspellings, and grammatic= al mistakes.
Each paper should include your na= me and the class at the beginning. I prefer that this information be given on the upper right hand corner of the first page but for some more formal papers (such as a senior thesi= s) it could be appropriate to have a cover page.
Papers should be stapled or other= wise secure. By secure I mean= use a paper clip of some type if you cannot find a stapler. I really do not like plastic binders. It is not appro= priate to turn in a paper that is a bunch of loose pages. On a related note, page numbe= rs should be included on the upper right hand corner beginning on page tw= o.
One basic requirement of any pape= r is to demonstrate that you have read and understand the material. This is particularly true of = book and movie reviews.
Be sure to provide proper citatio= ns for all materials you have used. In my class, for reviews it is acceptable to use parenthetical citations for materials assigned for class use (for example, a book you have been assigned to review). &= nbsp; However, if you use any other materials, you need to cite them using the Chicago Manual of Style format. Consult the guidelines for yo= ur paper for more specific citation guidance. If in doubt, ask.<= /span>
It is not appropriate, unless oth= erwise instructed, to use Amazon.com (or other, similar venders) as a source = for outside academic reviews or to use Wikipedia (or similar web pages) as= a reliable source.
For reliable on-line resources co= nsult the Friedsam Library’s web page.
It is plagiarism, and hence acade= mic misconduct, to use materials, words, or ideas without proper citation.=

Suggestions:

Avoid using “I” when writing. Opening a sente= nce or a paragraph with “I think” or “I feel” is just downright bad.
You do not have to have a literary flair to do well. Panach= e, in fact, might hinder your ability to communicate. If you insist on literary flair, go with Hemingway and not Faulkner. Clarity is the objective. Do you really want me to be guessing what you are trying to say as I read your paper?
Do not confuse fiction and non-fi= ction. Fiction is “somet= hing invented by the imagination or feigned; specifically : = ;an invented story.” (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/fiction)
On a closely related note, do not= refer to non-fiction books as “novels.” A novel is “a fictitious prose narrative of considerable length and complexity, portraying characters and usually presenting a sequential organization= of action and scenes.” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nove= l)
If you do not know what a word means, look it up. You can find dictionaries on = line at www.dictionaries.com or at http://www.m-w.com/. Even better, use a printed dictionary (you should own and use a copy of Webster’s Ninth Collegiate Edition). Failing these two options, Microsoft Word has a thesaurus and dictionary function. Right click on the word and f= ollow the links.
Have a friend or classmate read the paper.
Bring me a draft of the paper. Be sure to leave time to incorporate my suggestions. I will not proofread or offer= you a tentative grade when looking over a draft, but I will talk about the content and how to improve it.
Proofread. To catch mistakes, try = reading the paper out loud or reading it backwards.
Writing is thinking. This is why you need to write multiple drafts of the paper. &n= bsp; Each draft represents a refinement of your thoughts and a sharpening of your thesis/argument.&n= bsp; It is a distinct possibility that you will figure out what your argument will be while in the process of writing. At that point you have your t= hesis and you need to re-write.
When writing an essay to answer questions be sure to answer the question in= its entirety.

Grading:

Below you w= ill find the components of a paper broken down into four gradations (from poor to excellent). These generally correspond with grades. Howev= er, it is important to realize that a neat, grammatically correct paper that does = not meet specific requirements or lacks a strong thesis statement is not a good paper. Conversely, a paper wi= th a strong thesis and excellent argument will be marked down for poor execution= .

Inadequate	Poor	Good	Excellent
Specific requirements are not met or only vaguely met	Generally= follows specific guidelines but might have some missing components	Satisfies= most of the specific requirements.	Satisfies= all specific requirements
Lacks thesis/argument	Weak or b= asic thesis, argument not always followed	Thesis, a= rgument generally followed	Strong th= esis and argument
Poorly or= ganized or not organized	Generally organized with some loss of focus	Generally= well organized and easy to follow	Well orga= nized, sentences and paragraphs advance the thesis/argument
Few examp= les or ineffective examples	Examples are included but are sometimes poorly chosen or author does not explain w= hy the example was chosen.	Examples generally speak to the point being made.	Examples = are well chosen to further the argument and the reader makes it clear why the exam= ples were selected.
Lack of r= esearch or poor research (if applicable); Research is taken from inappropriate resources.	Paper sho= ws that some research was done but it was not always or consistently used well.	Research = is solid and well-integrated into the paper; some ideas might not be fully develop= ed	Research = is well-done and documented.
Author do= es not demonstrate that he or she has engaged or understands the material.<= /o:p>	Author has engaged materials but does not always seem to understand them.=	Author ma= kes generally good use of materials and demonstrates understanding=	Ideas are compelling and demonstrate that the author has engaged the material.=
Writing l= acks clarity; paragraphs are not organized into single thoughts that advance t= he argument; paper has significant problems with grammar, spelling, etc. &nbs= p;	Some mist= akes in grammar, citations, and/or spelling but overall a clean paper<= /span>	A few mis= takes in grammar, citations, and/or spelling but overall a clean paper<= /span>	Paper is essentially free of mistakes.
Paper app= ears hastily put together and not re-written	Paper wou= ld benefit from further polishing	Paper is = clearly not a first draft	Paper has= gone through drafts to produce a smooth final copy
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