TERM PAPER GUIDELINES

Use APA (American Psychological Association) for this paper. Manuals are available in the
bookstore and library. Many on-line sites can provide useful information as well such as
https!""owl.english.purdue.edu"owl"resource"#$%"%&" . 'he following guidelines noted
under &) are e(cerpts from )oseph *ibaldi+s MLA Handbook for Writers of Research
Papers unless otherwise noted.
&) Plagiarism! ,'o use another person+s ideas or e(pressions in your writing without
acknowledging the source is to plagiari-e. (*ibaldi /%). ,0orms of plagiarism include
the failure to give appropriate acknowledgment when repeating another+s wording or
particularly apt phrase when paraphrasing another+s argument or when presenting
another+s line of thinking. (/%). 1ote the importance of citing your source when
paraphrasing information. 2n addition a direct 3uote should always be placed in
,3uotation marks.-no e(ceptions4 ,5hen a student+s assignment involves research in
outside sources or information he (she) must carefully acknowledge e(actly what
where and how he (she) has employed them. 2f he (she) uses words of someone else
he (she) must put 3uotation marks around the passage in 3uestion and add an
appropriate indication of its origin. Making simple changes while leaving the
organi-ation content and phraseology intact is plagiaristic. 6owever nothing in these
rules shall apply to those ideas which are so generally and freely circulated as to be
part of the public domain. (7tudent 8ode of the University of 9entucky). Any paper
showing evidence of plagiarism will receive a grade of 1"8 (no credit).
:) 8iting references. 8onsult https!""owl.english.purdue.edu"owl"resource";<;"%&" for
specific information related to your source. *eneral guidelines are as follows!
APA! 8onclude paper with a ,=eferences. page. Alphabeti-e by last name double
space citation and double space between citations. 2ndent second line of each
reference # spaces.
>ther writing hints!
<
&) ?o not use :
nd
person (,you.) in formal writing. Using :
nd
person assumes an informal
relationship with reader. 5hile not appropriate in academic writing it would be
appropriate for e(ample in a letter to a friend. Inappropriate: @ou wouldn+t believe
the statistics related to heart disease4 Appropriate: Most people e(press disbelief
when encountering these statistics related to heart disease.
:) Use gender neutral language not gender biased language.
Gender biased language: ,5hen asking a physical therapist for help provide him
with as much information as possible before the visit.. 5hyA 'his implies that all
physical therapists are males4
Gender neutral language: ,Bprovide he or she with as much information as possible
before the visit..
/) Margins should be & inch all around and double spacing used. APA! Cuotes longer
than <% words should be indented five spaces. 2f possible avoid lengthy 3uotations in
your paper.
<) ?o not use a report cover.
#) Paper should be appro(imately D-&% pages.
$) Utili-e the writer+s corner.
;) ?o not rely on a single source. An e(cellent research paper demonstrates synthesis of
research material.
D) ?o not overuse 2nternet sources. Unless information is from a reliable and reputable
source such as the American Medical Association there is no way to test its
authenticity. Anyone can post a web site4
E) 7tudents are e(pected to have a minimum of ten good sources from scholarly Fournals
and"or books. A primary goal of this paper is to train you to use our 5estmont
databases. As a result, scolarl! "ournals #ust be accessed $ro# te %est#ont
librar! databases. 1o source should be older than :%%% unless used for historical
purposes. 'he te(tbook for this course may be used as one of the sources.
Material ta&en directl! $ro#
ttp:''((()librar!)#ia#i)edu'researc'userguides'scolarl!)t#l
What is a Scholarly Source?
A scholarly source is a publication, such as a journal, that includes papers and articles,
which document and discuss the results of original research !his is one of the primary
"enues used by researchers to communicate the results of their research to others in their
field of study #onse$uently the language used is often technical and discipline specific
!he research is submitted to the publisher in a format which includes the methodology
used to conduct the research and the results of the research %ources are documented in a
bibliography and the credentials of the author&s' are gi"en in the paper !he scholarly
source publishes the research after it has gone through a process of re"iew by a panel of
e(perts in that specific field of study, and has fulfilled the re$uirements of a scholarly
article
What is a Popular source?
A popular source is a publication, such as a newspaper or maga)ine that you could buy
in a grocery store *t includes articles reporting current e"ents or summari)ing general
research *t is one of the primary methods used to communicate information to the
public Articles are usually a short o"er"iew of a topic presented in e"eryday language *t
is often illustrated with pictures and ad"ertisements !he information is often written by
journalists %ources may be $uoted, but there are no bibliographies