STANDARD WRITING FORMAT

Unless I specify otherwise, all your out-of-class written assignments should be in the following format:

• Hard copy.  Assignments submitted by email will not be accepted.
• Black text on white paper, 8.5" x 11"
• Typed, not handwritten.  ("Typed" includes computer printers.)
• At least 10-point font (and preferably size 12).
• Use a normal (non-italicized, non-bolded) font, with a serif.  Times New Roman is what I use.  (This is written in it.)
• Double spaced (approximately 3 lines/inch).  Quotations and footnotes may be single-spaced.
• Leave a 1" margin on all sides.
• The writing should be mechanically correct, meaning (minimally) at a level we expect of high school graduates:  proofread;  written in complete sentences with correct spelling and punctuation and proper citation of sources.  Here is more on that subject.
• I should not have to say this, but you do have to cite all sources you use, even those you don't paraphrase or quote from.  Here is more on this issue.
• I don't care which form of citation you use, but use one of the three standard forms (APA, MLA, Harvard).  Personally, I prefer to use APA.
• Use footnotes, not endnotes.  (See me if your word processing program cannot do footnotes.)
• Number all pages except for the title page (which is p.i) and the first page of the text (which is p.1).
• Staple the paper at the top left corner.
• [12/13/04:  Put your name only on the cover sheet, which should be separate.]
• [12/13/04:  Extraneous material lowers your score, because it convinces me you don't know what's part of your argument and what isn't.]