Style Guide for Essay Assignments

Introduction

Since, in judging and grading essays, the Department does not distinguish between scholarly/intellectual content and stylistic/editorial aspects, we have prepared this guide for your use. In so doing, we have been motivated by two considerations. The first is that none of the professional journals which have served as models in the past is completely satisfactory for your needs, since their practices are directed toward the production of printed articles. The second is that, by following the attached guidelines, stylistic uniformity will be assured regardless of the subdiscipline in which you are writing.

In this spirit, the Department anticipates strict adherence to the following stylistic canons.

Manuscript Form

Essays must be typed or word-processed, on one side of the sheet only and on good quality bond paper. Onionskin or "erasable" paper are not acceptable. Pages must be typed on standard North American paper (8 1/2 by eleven inches or 21.6 by 28cm.). Authors will submit the original. Carbon copies are not acceptable. At least a 2.5cm. (one-inch) margin is required on all four edges of pages. If using a typewriter, your typescript should be produced on a machine which has squeaky-clean type and a new, quality ribbon. When using a computer, choose easy to read character and font. Also pay attention to the printing quality.

Spacing

Double spacing is generally required. Exceptions are:

• extended quotations which are to be single spaced and indented on both sides;
• notes, which should be single spaced. Individual notes should be separated by two spaces;
• References Cited should be single spaced but separated by two spaces;
• captions on figure and table pages should be single spaced.

Pagination.

All pages (except the title page) on which any typing, tables, photographs or drawings appear must be numbered. Beginning with the first page of the text proper, all pages shall be marked consecutively with Arabic numerals. Numbers are to be centered at the top or bottom of each page (respecting margin requirements -- see above) as follows: 1, 2, 3, etc. Pages preceding the first page of text are to be numbered consecutively with lower-case Roman numerals: i, ii, iii, iv, etc. Locate numbers as above.

Sections of the manuscript.

Sections should be ordered as follows. Title page, acknowledgments, table of contents, text, notes, references cited, appendices.

Each section is to begin with a new page.

Description of sections

• Title page - The title page includes the title of the manuscript, the name of the author, the date, the addressee. See appendix.
• Acknowledgements - They are optional. Appropriate titles should be used to designate professors.
• Table of contents - The table of contents includes separate listings of tables, figures, plates.
• Text - Each chapter, but not sections of chapters, will begin on a new page.
• Notes - American Anthropologist style is adopted herein. Notes are not to appear at the foot of typed pages. Rather, they are to be numbered consecutively, the numbers keyed to superscript numbers in the text, e.g., "Clyde Kluckhohn's statement12 . . ."
• References Cited - All references cited in the text should be listed. Publications not cited in the text may not be included; this is not a "bibliography." References Cited should begin on a separate page. As mentioned in 1.1, they should be single spaced, each entry being separated by two spaces. They are to be listed alphabetically by last name of senior author, and chronologically for two or more titles by the same author. Refer to Culture or a recent number of American Anthropologist for stylistic details.
• Appendices - They are to be labelled consecutively with upper-case letters: Appendix A, Appendix B, etc. If a paper contains but one appendix, it should be labelled, simply, Appendix.

Subheadings

Major subheads should be typed centered on the page, with extra space above and below in capital letters. Use of second-level subheads is not encouraged, but if essential for clarity they should be typed, flush with left margin, and with extra space above and below. Subheads consisting of numbers only are not used.

Reference Citation in the Text

References are placed in the body of the text, not in notes. Following a quotation or a statement specific enough to need a reference, the citation is placed in parentheses, with the author's name, followed by the year of publication of the work quoted or referred to, and the page or pages cited, thus: (Hymes 1980:122), (Boas 1893:116-119) or (Beads et. al. 1961:21-22). When citing a span of years within the same century the first two digits are omitted (1955-59). If the author of the quotation is clear from the text, then the sentence concluding the reference should cite the year of publication and the page(s), e.g., (1984:115-125).

Appropriate credit must be given for figures and photographs which derive from a previously printed source. Such credit should appear immediately after the caption in parentheses, e.g., (After Hockett 1965). Hockett 1965 should then appear in the section References Cited.

Quotations

Direct quotations exceeding four manuscript lines of typing should be set off from the text by indenting from the left margin and omitting quotation marks. Material added by the author of the paper should be enclosed in square brackets, not parentheses. Emphasis (underlining in manuscript, italics in print) should be identified as "in original" or "added." Omissions in a quotation are indicated by ellipsis, using three dots (periods) where one or more words are omitted. If at the end of a sentence, a period must follow, e.g., ". . . [Kroeber] emphasized . . . the effect which the introduction of agriculture had upon population density . . . ." Editorial insertions of your own must be enclosed in square brackets [ ].

Proofreading

Essays which are submitted must show evidence of thorough proofreading. By this we mean that they should not have misspellings, errors in typography or punctuation, numbering discrepancies (in pagination, charts, tables of contents, etc.) or flaws in composition such as run-on sentences, inappropriate selection of tenses or agreement failure. Proofreading, then, refers to the total process of recognizing and correcting such errors. There are various approaches to effective proofreading which Departmental faculty are prepared to explicate. Thus, aside from the grading of the essay, it behooves students to submit a final copy which not only is excellent in terms of intellectual/scientific content, but which as well is highly polished stylistically and editorially.

Spelling

Refer to an accepted standard dictionary. If two or more spellings are given, use the first listed. In all quotations and titles of books, articles, etc., the spelling of the original is used. When abbreviations are used, they carry periods: B.C., mm., i.e., etc., with the exception of the most familiar acronyms, such as UNESCO. Italicize Linnaean biological names but not their derivatives: Australopithecus, but australopithecine. Italicize foreign words, such as passim, sui generis and post facto, unless abbreviated (ca., q.v.).

Numbers

From one to ten, numbers are spelled out in the text, unless they are part of an enumeration, such as "67 infants, 14 children and 5 adults," or in an arithmetical expression, such as "a frequency of 1 in 18." Numbers from 11 upward are written as numerals, except for round numbers used in an approximate sense, as in "not more than two hundred years ago."

In referring to parts of books, numbers are not spelled out (Chapter 6 or Page 5). Century designations use numerals, and "century" is not capitalized, as in "17th century." A decade is referred to as "the 1940s" (not the 1940's or forties).

Measurements

Metric units (34 km. or 7.3m.) should be used. An English equivalent may (but need not necessarily) be added in parentheses (3.5 mi., or 24 ft.). English terms may be used alone when in a general, not an exact, sense, e.g., "Cultivators seeking more acreage . . ." or "Many miles of coastline . . . ." Measurements in quotations should be left in their original form.

Guidelines

An excellent guideline for the production of stylistically acceptable prose is The Elements of Style (3rd edition) by E. B. White and William Strunk. It is available as an inexpensive paperback in most bookstores. An equally excellent guide to details of grammar, usage, sentence style, punctuation, other mechanical details and additional pertinent information is Hans Guth, Concise English Handbook (2nd edition). In this connection, because your paper will be a formal presentation, a general rule is that colloquialisms (e.g., Like wow, morphophonemics is far out!) and contractions (don't, she'll) are disallowed.

The university has a research ethic policy as follows: All research applications involving human subjects, animals, hazardous or radioactive materials, or biohazards must be approved by the appropriate university committee.

Finally, we appreciate that on occasion problems will arise to which no explicit reference will have been made in this guide. In such cases the rule is to be consistent: use one systematic way of doing things. In doubt, consult with members of your committee.

 

This page last modified Friday, 18-Nov-2011 11:30:27 AST