1. TERM PAPER REVISION NOTES
HONORS ENGLISH III
FALL 2016

2. PUNCTUATION
Semi-colons separate 2 complete thoughts UNLESS you have internal comma in a series.
Do not place colons after verbs or prepositions (there should be a complete sentence in front of the colon)
Place period marks AFTER parenthesis when citing a source ( ).
Place commas and period marks WITHIN quotation marks UNLESS there is a citation (then the period mark is placed after the parentheses.
Place commas AFTER conjunctions. (Ex. , but)

3. CAPITALIZATION
Capitalize important words in titles (first, last, and words longer than 5 letters).
Capitalize names of universities
Do NOT capitalize topics UNLESS they are always capitalized (ex. The President of the United States)

4. POINT OF VIEW
Term papers should be written in 3rd person point of view (he, she, they)
Avoid 1st person point of view (“I”) EXCEPT in the paragraph RIGHT before the conclusion.
Avoid 2nd person point of view (“you”) ENTIRELY.
Do NOT address your reader.

5. FACT vs. OPINION A term paper should mainly focus on FACTS.
Confine personal opinion to the paragraph RIGHT before the conclusion.
Since your other paragraphs should be discussing factual information, they NEED in-text citations!
Two possible exceptions are the introduction and the conclusion.

6. QUOTATIONS
Quotations should be introduced by a lead-in sentence. They should NOT be used to begin a paragraph.
Avoid using back-to-back quotation marks.
If you quote a source directly, you MUST use quotation marks UNLESS you have a block quotation (4 lines or more) that is indented.
If you quote a source directly, you MUST place it in quotation marks!

7. PRONOUNS
Singular nouns/ pronouns need to be referenced by singular pronouns.
(Ex. Anyone can complete his application).
Using plural pronouns is easier.
(Ex. People who wish to improve their health should follow the NIH guidelines).

8. SENTENCES Check to make sure you are writing complete sentences.
Avoid fragments and run-on sentences (RO).
Do NOT begin sentences with and, but, or, also, or because.

9. INFINITIVES Avoid split infinitives
(Ex. To go boldly, NOT to boldly go)

10. CONTRACTIONS Avoid contractions in a formal paper
(Ex. It cannot be said, NOT it can’t be said)

11. ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS
Avoid abbreviations in a formal paper.
Avoid using symbols in a paper UNLESS you are using dollar signs or percentages
(Ex. Do NOT use &)

12. Numbers If the number begins the sentence, write it out (one, NOT 1).
If the number is less than 10, write it out (seven, NOT 7).
If the number refers to a century, write it out twentieth, NOT 20th)
If the number is an adjective, write it out (eighteen people, NOT 18 people)
If there are two numbers together, write the first one out (eleven 13 year-olds)

13. Announcing Text / Direct Address
Do NOT announce or state WHAT you are GOING to say; allow your words to speak for themselves.
(Ex. The death penalty is a controversial issue)
(NOT This paper will discuss the death penalty)
Avoid direct address (I will tell you)

14. HANGING INDENTATION
Place your cursor at the beginning of your second line, before any text.
Right click your mouse.
Select Paragraph from the resulting pop up menu.
Under Indentation, use the Special pull-down menu to select Hanging.
Use the By menu to select 0.5"

15. HOW TO CHANGE PAGE #
Double-click the header or the footer area (near the top or bottom of the page).
On the Header & Footer, tab, click Field.
In the Field names list, click Page, and then click OK. ...
To change the numbering format, click Header & Footer > Page Number > Format Page Numbers

16. SAMPLE MLA 8 CITATIONS IN-TEXT FOR AUTHOR (Smith 52). WC FOR AUTHOR
Jacobs, Alan. The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction. Oxford UP,

17. MORE SAMPLE MLA 8 CITATIONS
IN-TEXT FOR WEBSITE:
(“The Simple Truth”)
WC FOR WEBSITE:
"Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview." WebMD, 25 Sept problems-and-treatments/tc/athletes- foot-topic-overview.

18. FINAL DRAFTS MUST be 5 FULL pages! MUST have a Works Cited page!
MUST have in-text citations!
MUST include an outline!
MUST be printed in Times New Roman 12 pt. font with 1-inch margins and double-spaced!
MUST be submitted WITH the rough draft!
MUST be submitted BEFORE Xmas break!

19. TERM PAPER PRESENTATIONS
Small groups will present the same or similar topics.
Each person will speak for at least 2 minutes.
If there are opposing viewpoints, they must be presented.
Good presentations will include an introduction, discussion of important points, and a recommended solution / suggestion to improve the problem / issue.