Pearblossom Private School, Inc. Essay Guidelines

Transcription

Pearblossom Private School, Inc.
Essay Guidelines
June 2013
Guidelines for APA Formatted Essays
Table of Contents
Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
A Word about Plagiarism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Required Essays for 10th, 11/12th, & 12th Graders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
General Guidelines for APA Formatted Essays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Setting the Default Font Style and Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Setting the Running Head and Page Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Setting the Proper Margins and Line Spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Title Page Formatting Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Abstract Page Formatting Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Citing References within the Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Creating a Reference Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Sample Essay Title Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Sample Essay Abstract Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Sample Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Sample Essay Reference Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
1
Essay Guidelines
A Word About Plagiarism
We have received an alarming number of essays that have been copied either in large part or
entirely from Internet sources. On two occasions we received the same exact essays from three
related students, with just the names and student numbers changed on the title page. This is a form of
cheating known as plagiarism. All of these students had to write entirely new essays on subjects
other than the original ones before they were allowed to graduate.
Most students get a little anxious when they learn they have to write an essay, and many turn
to friends, fellow students, and online sources for ideas on what to write about. Selecting a topic is
really the easiest part of writing an essay. The hard part is making it your own.
What do we mean by “making it your own”? Simply this: What you write in your essay must
be your original work, not something you copied from someone else’s paper, a book, a magazine, or
a website, and definitely not something you purchased from an online paper vendor. Nor can you use
someone else’s work and change the words around and call it your own. All of these are forms of
plagiarism which is dishonest and unethical. There are severe consequences for those who get
caught. In the real world, students get expelled from colleges, workers get fired from their jobs, and
people get sued for using someone else’s work and calling it their own.
How do you write a paper without using someone else’s work? Well, you don’t. But you
give credit where credit is due. You tell your reader where you got your information by citing the
source within your essay and listing it on your reference page. You never copy material word-forword unless you put quotation marks around it and state clearly where the quoted material came
from. You must gather information from your sources and put it into your own words by
summarizing what you have read, not by changing someone else’s words around or leaving out
words or phrases. It really is possible to put most ideas down on paper without using the exact words
that someone else used!
For example, suppose your source, Endangered Species, a book by Ted Hanson published in
2010, said Armstrong and Haney were able to conduct a field study utilizing funds from a grant
given by the U.S. Geological Survey. If you want to include this information in your essay, you
could say The U.S. Geological Survey gave Armstrong and Haney a grant, which they used to
conduct a field study of the endangered frog (Hanson, 2010). Doing this you have neither copied
nor paraphrased the original work, and you have given credit to the source of your information.
You shouldn’t write your entire essay by simply rewording other people’s work. Be careful
to summarize the information you have gathered and make the essay truly your own work of art.
Remember, if you can find it on the internet, so can the person grading your paper!
-PPS Staff
2
Required Essays for 10th, 11/12th and 12th Graders
Each essay is to be 1000 to 1500 words, double spaced, typed using 12 pitch font in
Times New Roman. Adhere strictly to the “APA Format and Style.”
See General Guideline for APA Formatted Essays
in Pearblossom Private School’s Essay Guidelines
No. Required
1
Subject Area
P.E. Essay
2
English Essays
2
Science Essays
1
History Essay
Grade
A 90 – 100
B
80 – 89
C 70 – 79
D 60 – 69
F < 60
Description
Essay on some aspect of physical education, nutrition, or a health
topic. Essays on the rules of a sport are NOT ALLOWED.
Two essays demonstrating Personal Writing (unit 1), Descriptive
Writing (unit 3), Narrative Writing (unit 4), Expository Writing (unit
5), Persuasive Writing (unit 6), or a Research Paper (unit 7). Units
are found in Writer’s Choice: Grammar and Composition.
Two essays—one that is a biography of a famous scientist or
medical person and one that discusses a scientific discovery and its
current use.
Essay on some aspect of history or social studies.
Project Grading Criteria
• Well written project that demonstrates knowledge and understanding of topics from the
unit and addresses all components listed in the directions.
• Project refers to additional information researched and provides relevant classroom and
pedagogical application.
• Meets or surpasses minimum requirements for length, follows required APA Format and
Style, and contains no spelling or grammatical errors.
• Writing is clear with smooth transitions; includes introductory and concluding paragraphs.
• Accurate citation of sources if necessary.
• Well written essay that addresses the majority of requirements in the APA Format and
Style with few errors in grammar and spelling.
• Project reflects a solid understanding of unit objectives and refers to the
concepts/strategies from the unit.
• Project may be lacking introduction or concluding paragraphs
• Incorrect citation of sources when applicable and incorrect APA Format and Style.
• Incomplete work to minimal references to unit material.
• Some errors in grammar and spelling.
• Unclear/ambiguous writing, lack of transitions from one idea to the next, project may not
include introduction or concluding paragraphs.
• Incorrect citation of sources when applicable and incorrect APA Format and Style.
• Incomplete work with errors in grammar and spelling
• Incorrectly formatted submission (see APA Format and Style) with minimal references to
unit material
• Understanding of the unit objectives is not demonstrated with the project
• Lack of transitions and unclear writing
• No citation of sources.
• Project does not meet length requirement
• Plagiarized work (Definitions and information copied from websites or other sources
without quotation marks and proper citation).
3
Essay Guideline
General Guideline for APA Formatted Essays
1. These essays will comprise 33% (one-third) of your 2nd semester Writer’s Choice grade. We suggest
completing an essay every month.
2. The main body of the essay, NOT including the title page, abstract page, or reference page, must be a
minimum of 1000 words. Each essay should be no longer than 1500 words. Essays are double-spaced.
Please, no novels!
3. All essays must include a Title page, an Abstract page and a Reference page. Essays submitted without a
Title page, an Abstract page, and a Reference page will not be graded and will be returned as incomplete.
4. Essays must be done in 12 pitch font, no larger, no smaller. APA requires the use of Times New Roman
font. See page 5, Setting the Default Font Style and Size. If APA format is not strictly adhered to, the
highest grade earned is limited to a “C.”
5. Your Title page should have the words Running head: (including the colon) followed by a shortened
version of YOUR TITLE IN ALL CAPITALS at the top left of the page, then the page number 1 in the upper
right corner at the 1” margins (top and right). All of the pages of your essay must have a running head and a
page number at the top. See instructions on pages 6 - 7, Setting Up the Running Head and Page Numbers
in MS Word 2010. The words “Running head:” should only be on the title page of your essay, not on the rest
of the pages. See Sample Title Page on page 9 for an example.
6. Margins must be 1 inch (1”) on all four sides, no larger, no smaller. Text must be aligned to the left margin
(except for the indented first line of a new paragraph). DO NOT CENTER every line on the page. DO NOT
right-align (justify). Just let the text flow on the right side. Essays must be double spaced; however, DO
NOT double-double space between paragraphs. See page 8, Setting the Proper Margins and Line Spacing.
7. Abstract pages should be only one paragraph long. This paragraph is not indented ½ inch. See sample on
page 10.
8. The title of your essay must be at the top of the first page of the body of your essay. This may seem
redundant, but that is how it is done. (See example on page 11.)
9. The first line of each new paragraph must be indented ½ inch, except on the Abstract page.
10. CITE YOUR REFERENCES! If you use a source, you must cite it in your essay, not just list it on your
reference page. Failure to do this will result in an automatic grade of D. See page 11, Citing References
Within the Body of Your Essay. Please keep in mind that essays are only allowed to have 20% or less of
unoriginal text (quoted material), even if the information is properly referenced.
11. The reference page is titled “References,” not “Bibliography”, “Notes”, “Footnotes”, or “Sources”.
References should be in alphabetical order by author’s last name (if known) or by the title of the article (if the
author is unknown). Do NOT number your references. See pages 13 - 16, Creating a Reference Page for
general guidelines on creating a Reference page. See Sample Essay starting on page 17.
12. DO NOT COPY AND PASTE ANY MATERIAL OR SIMPLY PARAPHRASE. THIS IS
PLAGIARISM THIS WILL RESULT IN AN AUTOMATIC “F”, AND YOU WILL BE REQUIRED
TO WRITE ANOTHER ESSAY. See A Word About Plagiarism on page 2 of this booklet.
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Essay Guidelines
***The following instructions for setting the font, running head, page
numbers, margins, and line spacing are for Microsoft Word 2010 only.
However, you can use whatever word processor you have. You are not
required to have Microsoft Word to complete your essays. ***
Setting the Default Font Style and Size
1) In the task bar, select the Home tab.
2) In the Font group, click on the drop menu arrow next to the font name. If you are already in
Times New Roman, skip this step and go to step 4.
3) Scroll down the drop down menu and click on Times New Roman.
4) Next to the font style button is the font size button. Click on the down arrow and scroll down
and click on 12.
5) In MS Word 2010, you will find a small box with an arrow in it in the lower right corner of
the Font group. Click on this tiny box. A menu box will pop up. You can actually set the
default font and size using this option, skipping steps 1- 4. On the lower left corner is the Set As
Default button. Click on this button. Another box will pop up asking if you want to make this
the default font for “This document only?” or for “All documents based on the Normal
template?” If you are doing several essays, and don’t want to re-set the font style and size every
time, select “All documents based on the Normal template?” Then click OK.
This will now be the default font style and size for either this essay or any essay or paper written
on this particular computer when using the “Normal template.” You can always change it to a
different default font/size later.
If you don’t want to set Times New Roman 12 pitch as your default font style and size on all
documents, then click on “This document only?”
5
Essay Guidelines
Setting the Running Head and Page Numbers
For a step-by-step video tutorial on this subject, see YouTube video entitled “APA Style 6
Header in MS Word 2010” (by wr0ver). If you follow these steps exactly you will achieve the
correct header and page numbers needed and will not need to constantly adjust your pages.
1) Open Word 2010. It will automatically open a new document. If you are already in Word
2010, simply open a new document.
2) Click on Page Layout
3) Click on Breaks
4) Select Next Page (under Section Breaks) to insert a section break that starts a new section on
the next page. You will now have two blank pages of your document displayed.
5) Place the cursor on an area of the header on the first page (at the top) and double-click (you
will have to scroll up to get to this area); this puts you in the Header area on the first page. If you
have done this correctly, a dashed line will appear with the words “Header – Section 1.”
Header
-----------------------Header – Section 1
6) Under the Header & Footer tab at the top of the task bar,
click on Different First Page. The note on your document will
now say: “First Page Header – Section 1.”
7) Go to the left side of the task bar and click on Header
8) Drop down to Blank (Three Columns) and select it.
-----------------------Footer
9) To insert the page number, click on the far right
bracket that says [Type text].
10) Go back to the task bar and click on Page Number (third icon on the right), choose Current
Position, then select Plain Number. The number 1 will appear in the top right corner of page
one.
11) Next, go to the middle bracket that says [Type text], click on it and strike the delete key on
your keyboard to erase it, since it is not needed.
12) Next, click on the left side bracket that says [Type text] and type the words
Running head: Then type the title of your essay IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS after the colon.
Abbreviate your title if it is longer than 50 characters and spaces.
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Essay Guidelines
13) Scroll down to the second page header area, which is located at the top of the second page,
and click on it once.
14) Click the Header button on the task bar, then select Blank (Three Columns)
15) Select the far right bracket that says [Type text], go back to the task bar and click on Page
Numbers, Current Position, and Plain. You should see the number 2 in the top right corner of
your second page.
16) Click on the middle bracket [Type text] and strike the delete key on your keyboard to erase
it.
17) Click on the far left bracket [Type text] and type in your title IN ALL CAPITAL
LETTERS, this time without the words Running head. All of your pages after this will have
your capitalized running head title and the correct page number.
18) LAST BUT NOT LEAST! Go to the task bar and click on the far right most button that says
Close Header and Footer. It is a big red box with an X in it, but it is not the one at the upper
right corner of your screen (that will prompt with “Save, Don’t Save, or Cancel”). That X will
close your document—and you don’t want to do that!
You are now ready to begin writing your essay!
Reference:
wr0ver. (2010). APA Style 6 Header in MS Word 2010. YouTube video. Retrieved March 28,
2013. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WFK6qSOrs8)
7
Essay Guidelines
Setting the Proper Margins and Line Spacing
To set the proper one-inch (1”) margins and the line spacing for your essay, follow these simple
instructions:
1) Select the Home tab, go to the Paragraph group, and click on the first button in the
second row that shows the lines lined up to the left (a pop-up will say “Align Text
Left”). This will set your text to align with the left margin.
2) To set the margins, select the Page Layout tab, click on Margins, and then click on the
sample called “Normal” that shows 1” on all four sides. Your margins will now be set at
the 1” mark.
Be aware that your running head will not be one inch from the top of the paper, even with the
margins set at 1 inch. That is okay.
In Word 2010, set the proper double spacing by doing the following:
1) Click on the Home tab, then go to the Paragraph group, click on the button with the
lines and the two tiny arrows—one going up, the other down—( the line spacing
button). You will have to do this twice: the first time, select 2.0 for line spacing; the
second time, select “remove space after the paragraph.” This will prevent you from
having too big of a gap between paragraphs.
***Don’t forget to indent one Tab on the first line of each new paragraph. The default tab
distance is ½ inch. ***
8
Running head: THE TITLE OF YOUR ESSAY
The Running
head (title
only) should
be in ALL
CAPITALS
and no longer
than 50
characters.
The RUNNING HEAD can be a shortened version of your title,
especially if your title is longer than 50 characters and spaces.
1
Page numbers
will start with
“1” on this page.
“Title Case” means that the first letter of each word is
capitalized except for words that are three characters or
less, such as “of,” “and,” & “the”. Align to the center of
the page, along with the other information you see here.
The Title of Your Essay
The words
“Running
head:” must
appear on
the title
page only.
Your Name
Your Student ID Number
Type of Essay (English, Science, History or PE)
Name of Your School
Date of Your Essay
[A word about titles: Create an appropriate title for your essay that is
really descriptive or focuses on the topic you have chosen to write about.
For example, “World War II” is a poor title, because it is too general. Be
more specific about what part of World War II that you have written
about, such as “The U.S. Strategy in World War II,” “The Decisive
Conclusion to WWII,” or “Hitler’s Rise to Power Prior to WWII.”]
(Title Page Formatting Instructions)
Essay Guidelines
9
THE TITLE OF YOUR ESSAY
The RUNNING HEAD on the second page (and all subsequent
pages) will only be the shortened version of your title (unless your
title is already less than 50 characters.
This is your running head
Abstract
2
Your pages should be
numbering themselves
automatically by now.
Start your abstract at the left margin. Do not indent this paragraph. Your abstract should be only
one paragraph. It will describe what your essay is about, any essential information you would
1” margin
Text
should
align to
the left
margin.
1” margin
like to let your reader know about, any questions you will answer in your essay, and a brief
summary or conclusion of your essay. Do not go into great detail here. Make sure you use 1”
margins on this page. Don’t worry if the page looks too short. It is supposed to be short, about
150 to 250 words (every 5 spaces = one word, so about 20 words per line). That will come out to
between 8 and 13 lines of text. It will look approximately like this paragraph, only maybe a little
bit longer.
The Abstract is the one place where
you will not indent ½ inch at the
beginning of the paragraph.
To “left-align” your text, in the Home tab, in the Paragraph section, click on the button on the
Align Left button or press Ctrl+L.
LEFT ALIGN BUTTON
SOURCE: Microsoft Word Help 2013 (Online Help)
(Abstract Page Formatting Instructions)
Essay Guidelines
10
Do NOT
right-align
or “justify”
text to the
right
margin.
Essay Guideline
Citing References Within the Essay
Citations are what you put in the body of your essay to let your reader know where you got the
information that you just wrote about. For example, if you are doing an essay on the Hawaiian
Islands and you used a source to gather some of your information (which you will, since you are
probably not an expert on Hawaii) you would put the author’s name and the year of publication
in parentheses in your essay immediately after the information. Do this as often as necessary to
give credit to the original author. (See plagiarism.org for information on why you must do
this.) You would then write the full reference information on your reference page (for details on
how to do this, see How to Create a Reference Page).
The same holds true for any source that you use. However, there are different rules for different
types of sources.
Here are some basic guidelines for citing references within your essay:
1) Do not number your citations (APA style/format does not permit numbering of citations). If
available, give the author’s last name and the year of publication. Put these in parentheses, like
this:
...the islands are made largely of volcanic rock (Patterson, 2008).
or
Patterson (2008) wrote in The Hawaiian Islands that the islands are made largely of volcanic
rock.
2) If there are two or more authors for the same source, use an ampersand (&) between the last
two names: (Patterson & Smith, 2008) or (Patterson, Smith & Crockett, 2008)
However, if you mention the authors in the narrative, use the word “and,” not the ampersand:
Patterson and Smith (2008) state that the islands...
or
Patterson, Smith and Crockett (2008) state that the islands....
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Essay Guideline
If you refer to the same authors and same source again, you can just list the first author’s name
and then write “et al.” and the date:
Patterson et al. (2008) concluded by saying...
3) If there are two or more sources you are citing, use a semicolon to separate them.
(Patterson, 2008; Klein, 2009; Hansford, 2005)
4) If the author is unknown, or there is no author, simply list the first two or three words of the
title and the date:
(“Life on Hawaii,” 2010)
If there is no year of publication listed (as is often the case with internet sources) write n.d. in
parentheses:
(“Volcanic Activity in Hawaii,” n.d.) or (Mitts, n.d.)
***For quotations with 40 words or more: Indent ½ inch on the left and right margins (see
sample essay for example). To do this: Highlight the quotation, right-click, select paragraph, set
the indentation to .5 on the left and right, then hit “ok”. ***
For detailed instructions on citations and references, please see Purdue University’s Online
Writing Lab (OWL) at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/664/01/ under APA
Formatting and Style Guide, or Google “APA Style.” See also
•
•
•
•
•
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition) (ISBN 13: 978-1-43380561-5; ISBN 10: 1-4338-0561-8)
Mastering APA Style: Instructor's Resource Guide (ISBN: 1557988900)
Mastering APA Style: Student's Workbook and Training Guide (ISBN: 143380557X)
Presenting Your Findings: A Practical Guide for Creating Tables (ISBN: 143380705X)
Displaying Your Findings: A Practical Guide for Creating Figures, Posters, and Presentations (ISBN:
1433807076X)
From other publishers:
•
Writing With Style: APA Style Made Easy (ISBN: 084003167X)
SOURCE: Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) Retrieved March 2013 from (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl)
12
Essay Guidelines
Creating a Reference Page
There are some basic concepts you need to keep in mind when creating your reference
page utilizing APA formatting. See some samples on the next page.
Remember, your reference page should still have the running head and page number at
the top. Then the word “References” centered at the top of the page. Be careful NOT to center
the rest of the lines on the page, and to use hanging indentation (Rule #2). The references will be
double-spaced, just like the essay.
1. List your reference in alphabetical order by the first author’s last name. Do not number
your references.
2. Indent the second and all subsequent lines of each reference by ½ inch (one Tab). This is
called a “hanging indentation.” To do this, you will have to hit Enter when you get to the
right margin, then hit Tab and begin typing the second (and subsequent) lines. Change
any unwanted capitals to lower case as needed (after you have typed the first word of the
second, third, and fourth lines).
3. If you know the author’s name (or multiple authors’ names), list them as they are given
on the book, article, or web site. The first author is the primary author. Regardless of the
spelling, the authors should be listed in order exactly as they are given in the information
about the book or article, up to seven authors. If there are more than seven authors, list
the first six, then use ellipses (…) and list the last author’s name.
4. For multiple articles by the same author, or authors listed in the same order, list the
entries in chronological order, from earliest to most recent (i.e. 1984 before 1987).
5. List the author’s last name first, then first initial and second initial (if given). Put
commas between first and subsequent authors, except for the last author. Use an
ampersand (&) then list his or her name. If there are only two authors, do not use a
comma, just insert an ampersand (&) and list the second author’s information.
6. The year of publication comes next. Years are listed in parentheses with a period after
the last parenthesis. i.e., (1984).
7. Then put the full title of the book or journal article. Capitalize only the first word of the
title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper names.
Italicize titles of longer works such as books and journals. Do not italicize, underline, or
13
Essay Guidelines
put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles or essays in edited
collections.
8. When listing the page number, use a single p and a period (p.) then the page number. For
a series of pages, use two p’s and a period (pp.) then the numbers with a dash between
them (i.e. pp. 185-189).
9. For books, after the title of the book, list the location where it was published (city,
comma, and state – use the 2-letter state designation), followed by a colon, then the name
of the publishing company.
For more details, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu and search for APA Formatting and Style
Guide. Or check out http://www.apastyle.org/ for the American Psychological Association’s guide
to using APA format and style. Also http://www2.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citapa.htm
has an awesome guideline.
SAMPLES:
BOOK, one author:
Baum, L. F. (1900). The wonderful wizard of Oz. Chicago, IL: George M. Hill
Company.
[Oz is capitalized, because it is a proper noun.]
BOOK, two authors.
Patterson, J. & Paetro, M. (2006). 4th of July (Women’s murder club #4). Harrisonburg,
VA: Vision
More than two and up to six authors: Use commas between authors and an ampersand (&) for
the last author.
Harrison, P., Adams, C., Littleton, K., Dewey, J. H., Jackson, P. & Merck, H. (2004). How to
win at chess. San Francisco, CA: Dewberry Press.
BOOK, more than seven authors: [Use ellipses after the sixth author, then list the last author]
Sanders, J. S., Collins, B. K., Summerfield, K. L., Hanover, J., Kleinfeld, M., Caruthers,
R. J., . . . Henderson, C. A. (1990). Multiple personalities. Chicago, IL: Hanover
Press.
14
Essay Guidelines
ARTICLE IN A JOURNAL:
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical,
volume number (issue number), page or pages.
ORGANIZATION AS AUTHOR:
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. (2013). An end to domestic violence
(April 2013). Retrieved May 28, 2013 from http://www.jw.org/en/publications/
magazines/ ?contentLanguageFilter=en&pubFilter=&yearFilter=2013
American Cancer Society. (2013). What causes cancer. Retrieved on May 28, 2013 from
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/geneticsandcancer/index
TWO OR MORE WORKS BY SAME AUTHOR: [List by author’s name, then year (earliest year first)]
Smith, J. (1993). Title of book. City, State: Publisher.
Smith, J. (1997). Title of book. City, State: Publisher.
TWO OR MORE WORKS BY SAME AUTHOR, SAME YEAR: Organize alphabetically
by the title of the book, then designate each one by the letters a, b, c, etc.
Smith, J. (1993a). Apples and oranges. Stamford, CT: Vineyard Press.
Smith, J. (1993b). How to cook with wine. Sonoma, CA: Vineyard Press.
BOOK BY AN UNKNOWN AUTHOR:
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (10th ed.). (1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.
Articles in Periodicals: Name of the journal and the volume number are italicized. All of the
words in the journal name are capitalized.
Author, A., Author, B. (Year). Title of the article. Title Of The Periodical, volume number (issue
number [if available]), page number or page range.
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Essay Guidelines
Article in a magazine:
Author, D. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Name of Magazine, volume number (page range).
Article found in an online magazine (with known author):
McElhiney, B. (2103). The west's best camping: Guide to RV trailers. Sunset. Retrieved from
http://www.sunset.com/travel/california/trailer-rentals-00418000068067/
Article found in an online magazine (without known author):
Find your ideal cycling weight: 7 sneaky ways cycling takes off pounds. Bicycling. Retrieved
from http://www.bicycling.com/training-nutrition/nutrition-weight-loss/7-sneaky-wayscycling-takes-pounds.
16
Running head: THE TITLE OF YOUR ESSAY
1
The Title of Your Essay Should be in Title Case
and Centered Here
Your name goes here
Your student number goes here (for PPS students)
Type of essay (English, History, PE, etc.)
Pearblossom Private School
Date of your essay
Essay Guidelines
17
The abstract is the one place where you will
not indent the first line of the paragraph.
Abstract
2
Do not double/double space here.
This is where you will tell your reader what your essay is about. Give a general overview of the
topic, then tell a few interesting facts that you will be addressing in the essay. Try to write in a
way that gets your reader intrigued and wanting to read more. Try not to use sarcasm or harsh
criticism in the abstract. If you have something to say that reflects your personal opinion about a
controversial topic, save it for an occasional insertion into the body of your essay. Don’t use
words that will make the reader feel stupid, unworthy, or immoral if they have a different
opinion than yours. Your goal is to persuade them to look at things from a different perspective,
perhaps to enlighten them to something they never thought of before.
Essay Guidelines
18
Indent first line of a
new paragraph by
hitting the Tab button
one time.
Page number should be “3” by now
The Title of Your Essay Should be in Title Case
and Centered Here
3
DO NOT doubledouble space here
You will indent the first line of each paragraph ½ inch by using the tab key. Set the tab
1” MARGIN
key by putting your pointer on the ruler above this page and right clicking at the half-inch mark.
DO NOT double-double
space between paragraphs
It will leave a little “L” mark, indicating that it is a tab stop.
When you start a new paragraph, simply hit the tab key and it will go to the half-inch tab
stop. Then you can proceed to write your paragraph. If you are using Word 2010, your program
may automatically insert extra space between paragraphs. To remove this, click on the spacing
icon on the task bar (the one with two arrows in the Paragraph section, when you are on the
Home tab) and select “remove space after paragraph.”
The rest of this page is just going to be nonsense writing, just to fill up the space so you
can see how the margins will look. Abcde fghijk lmnopq rstuvw xyz, who said, “Zyx, wvut srqp
onmlk jihg fedcba.” (Cite name, year) Abcde fghijk lmnopq rstuvw xyz, Zyx, wvut srqp onmlk
jihg fedcba. Abcde fghijk lmnopq rstuvw xyz, Zyx wvut srqp onmlk jihg fedcba. Abcde fghijk
lmnopq rstuvw xyz, who said, “Zyx, wvut srqp onmlk jihg fedcba.” Abcde fghijk lmnopq
rstuvw xyz, who added, “Zyx, wvut srqp onmlk jihg fedcba.” (Cite name, year) Abcde fghijk
lmnopq rstuvw xyz, , “Zyx, wvut srqp onmlk jihg fedcba. Abcde fghijk lmnopq rstuvw xyz,
Zyx, wvut srqp onmlk jihg fedcba. Abcde fghijk lmnopq rstuvw xyz, who said, “Zyx.”
This should take you close to your bottom one-inch margin. Or close enough. If you try
to start a new paragraph, however, it will kick you onto the next page.
Start the next page, and all subsequent pages of the essay, by simply continuing to type.
The text will continue to the next page and the running head and page numbers will appear at the
top automatically (if you followed the instructions on page 6).
Essay Guidelines
NOTE that the margins on
this page are 1” on all four
sides.
19
1” MARGIN
4
If you are typing a paragraph near the bottom of the page and the text of the whole
paragraph jumps to the next page, do the following to keep the paragraph from jumping:
Word 2000, Word 2002, and Word 2003
1.
2.
3.
4.
•
•
•
•
Select the first paragraph on the page following the unwanted page break.
On the Format menu, click Paragraph.
Click the Line and Page Breaks tab.
Check to see whether one of the following three pagination options is selected:
Page break before: Inserts a page break before a paragraph.
Keep with next: Prevents a page break between the current and following paragraphs.
Keep lines together: Prevents a page break within a paragraph.
De-select all of these boxes and then click OK.
Word 2007, Word 2010, and Word 2013
1.
2.
3.
4.
•
•
•
Select the first paragraph on the page following the unwanted page break.
On the Page Layout tab, click the Paragraph dialog box launcher in the Paragraph group.
Click the Line and Page Breaks tab. [Unclick the Window/Orphan Control box.]
Check to see whether one of the following three pagination options is selected:
Page break before: Inserts a page break before a paragraph.
Keep with next: Prevents a page break between the current and following paragraphs.
Keep lines together: Prevents a page break within a paragraph.
De-select all of these boxes and then click OK. (Microsoft Support , 2013)
The rest of your essay will take up the next one to three pages. You will then include
your reference page as your last page.
Here is an example of what it would look like should you decide to quote more than 40
words from a source:
“Although it isn’t easy to write about yourself, you may find that learning more
about what makes you you can be one of the most satisfying aspects of personal
writing. To find a topic to write about, choose a start-up technique. You may
want to tap into thoughts and memories by freewriting—that is, writing anything
that comes to mind.”(Writer’s Choice Grammar and Composition, 2009)
[Note: The indentation of 0.5” on each side of the quoted source above is obtained by
highlighting the paragraph and then right-clicking and selecting paragraph with the
indentation set to 0.5 on the left and right—then clicking OK.]
20
5
Remember, your essay will be 1000 to 1500 words long (not including the title page,
abstract page, or reference page). It will be typed using the Times New Roman font in size 12.
For the purpose of demonstrating a three-page paper, this instruction page will be filled with
nonsense writing until it reaches the end of three pages. BUT, don’t forget to write a summary,
or concluding, paragraph at the end of your essay!
Abcde fghijk rstuvw xyz, who said, “Zyx, wvut srqp onmlk jihg fedcba.” (Cite name,
year) Almnopq rstuvw xyz, Zyx, wvut onmlk jihg fedcba. Zyx wvut srqp onmlk jihg fedcba.
Abcde rstuvw xyz, who said, “Zyx, wvut srqp onmlk jihg fedcba.” Abcde fghijk lmnopq rstuvw
xyz, who added, “Zyx, wvut srqp onmlk jihg fedcba.” (Cite name, year) Abcde fghijk lmnopq
rstuvw xyz, , “Zyx, wvut srqp onmlk jihg fedcba. Abcde fghijk lmnopq rstuvw xyz.
Zyx, wvut srqp onmlk jihg fedcba. Abcde fghijk lmnopq rstuvw xyz, who said, “Zyx.”
Abcde fghijk lmnopq rstuvw xyz, who said, “Zyx, wvut jihg fedcba.” (Cite name, year)
Abcde fghijk lmnopq rstuvw xyz, Zyx, wvut srqp onmlk jihg fedcba. Abcde fghijk lmnopq
rstuvw xyz, Zyx wvut srqp onmlk jihg fedcba. Abcde fghijk lmnopq rstuvw xyz, who said,
“Zyx, wvut srqp onmlk jihg fedcba.” Abcde fghijk rstuvw xyz, who added, “Zyx, wvut srqp
onmlk jihg fedcba.” (Cite name, year)
Zyx, wvut srqp onmlk jihg fedcba. Lmn opq rstuvw xyz, Zyx onmlk jihg fedcba. Abcde
fghijk lmnopq rstuvw xyz, Zyx, wvut srqp onmlk jihg fedcba. Abcde fghijk lmnopq rstuvw xyz.
In conclusion, have fun. Enjoy searching for your topic and learning how to put it into
your own words. It really is not that hard! And remember, soon you will graduate from High
School and be on your way to a new chapter in your life. Congratulations!
21
6
References
American Psychological Association. (2013). Publication Manual (6th ed.) Sections 6.22–6.32,
pp. 180–192. Retrieved from http://www.apastyle.org/learn/quick-guide-onreferences.aspx#In-Text
Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderlund, L., & Brizee, A.
(2010, May 5). General format. Retrieved from
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
Long Island University. (2013). APA citation style. Retrieved from
http://www2.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citapa.htm
Paiz, J. M, Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderlund, L., Brizee,
A., & Keck, R. (2013). In-text citations: The basics. Retrieved from
A., & Keck, R. (2013). In-Text Citations: Author/Authors. Retrieved from
A., & Keck, R. (2013). Reference List: Basic Rules. Retrieved from
A., & Keck, R. (2013). Reference List: Books. Retrieved from
wr0ver. (2010). APA Style 6 Header in MS Word 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2013 from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WFK6qSOrs8
Writer’s Choice Grammar and Composition. (2009). Columbus, OH: Glencoe/McGraw Hill
Essay Guidelines
22
Author’s Check List
Use this check list for each of your essays to ensure that you have correctly completed all
of the steps in preparing your essay.
□
□
□
1. Title page is formatted correctly (page 9 of online PPS Essay Guideline).
2. Abstract is formatted correctly (page 10 of online APA Guideline).
3. Citations are included in the body of the essay (page 11 of online PPS
Essay Guideline).
□
4. Reference page is formatted correctly (page 13 of online PPS Essay
Guideline).
□
□
□
5. Essay is double spaced.
6. Margins are one inch (1”) on all four sides.
7. Times New Roman font in 12-pitch throughout the essay (p. 5 of online
PPS Essay Guideline).
□
8. First line of new paragraphs is indented ½ inch (one tab stop). (p. 19 of
PPS Essay Guideline).
□
9. Essay is 1000 to 1500 words long, not including the title, abstract, and
reference pages.
□ 10. Essay has been proof-read for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.
□ 11. Essay has not been cut-and-pasted or otherwise plagiarized from
someone else’s work
(see A Word About Plagiarism on page 2 of online PPS Essay Guideline).
□12. If sources are quoted and referenced, the quoted material may still not
be more than 20% of the total essay. Even if the sources are quoted and
referenced properly, there still should be no more than 20% of
unoriginal text (quoted material).
Upload each completed/checked essay as an MS Word (.doc or .docx) file
using “Upload Essay” button on the homepage of your student portal.

Pearblossom Private School, Inc. Essay Guidelines

Transcription

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