Assignment:
• Paper is to be 7 pages, at a minimum, in length:
o One Cover Page
o One Reference page
o 5 pages of written text (which does not include space taken up by photos, illustrations or charts).
• Formatting
• All paragraphs need to be indented.
• Font should be Times New Roman and size 12.
• The line spacing should be double spaced.
• Make sure there is an introduction paragraph, that the body paragraphs are well organized and a conclusion paragraph.
• Stay away from many short sentences in a paragraph, as the paragraph needs to flow. (These can be fragment sentences and can make the paper confusing when reading.)
• Also stay away from many short paragraphs in the body of the paper, if organized well, then there will be medium length paragraphs.
• Paper should be aligned to the left margin - not center or wide across.
Writing
• This is a science research paper about a geology topic and must be in third person, therefore words such as we, me, I you, our, or us are not allowed to be used. Make sure these are not in your paper.
o This also pertains to let's. (Let's short for let us.)
• Make sure that all of your sentences are strong and independent.
• Paper needs to be written using proper mechanics (clear, concise, complete sentences and paragraphs), proper spelling, grammar and punctuation.
• Do not start your introduction or paper off with ‘This paper will look at...' or ‘This paper will cover...' Your thesis should not contain these words and should be a stand alone sentence with a passive lead in.
• Spell Check Spell Check Spell Check.
• Any introduction of a new word or scientific word that your reader may not know the definition of, be sure to include the definition for better understanding.
• Acronyms. The first time an acronym is used, be sure to define what it stands for - such as USGS (United States Geological Survey). Then each subsequent time this acronym is used in the paper, you can just write USGS since it has already been defined to the reader.
• Make sure to capitalize proper nouns such as Earth.
• Make sure paragraphs transition and flow well between each other. Read the paper out loud to yourself before final submission to make sure these transitions are in place.
• Please do not be a casual writer in this paper. What I mean by that is do not write how you would talk in a casual conversation, text on your phone or email a friend. This is a research paper and therefore the presentation and writing style needs to be professional.
- Quoting, Copying Word for Word and In Your Own Words
• This paper should be in your own words presenting the facts.
• If you do copy something from a source word for word, even a phrase as small as three words together, then you are required to put quotations "" around what is copied, there should be an intext citation of the source and the source info should be added to the reference list. This allows you to show that the material is not your own words but a direct copy of the material.
• Quotations should not be longer than a sentence or two per paragraph as this paper is supposed to be in your own words and your own work.
• Without quoting the word for word copied material and providing a source -- then it can be considered a form of plagiarism.
- Reference/Sources List
• Should have at least 5 sources.
• Wikipedia is NOT an acceptable source for this paper, as anyone at anytime can change the content of this source.
• Should be in APA Format
• All web sources need to include their publication date - use ‘Copyright' or ‘Last Updated On' dates as needed of the webpage (scroll to the bottom of the page).
• The reference list needs to be in alphabetical order of author last names.
• Please note that some authors will be organizations such as National Geographic or the Colorado Geological Survey - these organizations are referred to as "Corporate or Group Authors."
• Also note that items like "The Landform Circuit" as an author needs to be filed under L for Landform and not T for The.
• Majority of references have a year of publication - in the rare case it does not, in the citation and reference list you will use n.d. to indicate ‘no date.'
- Citations of Sources
• All items, whether in the text, facts, photos, graphs, etc. need have their sources cited in the paper APA Style. Format is usually (author last name, year published) - but double check for exceptions on this.
• Also make sure that all citations are to the left of the period at the end of the sentence they are in.
• Duplicate citations are not needed. For example:
California is a state on the west coast and has one of the largest populations in North America (LA Times, 2012). California also has the leasing record of the amount of earthquakes that occur in a year, compared to any other state in the United States of America (LA Times, 2012).
The second citation is the only one needed because since all of the information in a row is from the same source and in the same paragraph then is should look like this:
California is a state on the west coast and has one of the largest populations in North America. California also has the leasing record of the amount of earthquakes that occur in a year, compared to any other state in the United States of America (LA Times, 2012).