Guidelines for Term Papers

Prepared by Dr. Floyd T. Cunningham

1. Copying from books should be an automatic failure. A 5th-grader can do this. It is dishonest . It does not demonstrate that the student has learned anything.

2. Avoid second person pronouns: “we,” “us,” “you.” For the most part use only third person pronouns.

3. Avoid over-capitalization. Generally, capitalize only proper nouns, (names, particular places). But always capitalize Christian, Christianity, and Bible (but biblical).

4. Do not use word “man” unless you are speaking of a particular adult male. Do not use it generically. Instead, use “humanity.” The use of “man” generically is considered sexist or Platonist.

5. For the first reference to a source, here is a sample:

13. Russell V. DeLong and Mendell Taylor, Fifty Years of Nazarene Missions, vol. 1, History of the Fields (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1955), 43-49.

Note that “pp.” is not needed for pagination; that “13” is indented five spaces from the left margin; that the footnote is single-spaced; that the city where the book is published is given (and the state or country only if the city or country is not well-known); that the given name comes first.

6. When reference in the same book is made later in same paper.

14. DeLong and Taylor, Fifty Years, 1: 93.

Note that all is needed is the author’s last name (s); that the title is shortened; that “p.” is again unnecessary; that “ibid.” or “op. cit.” are not used; that the volume number precedes the page given is shown.

7. Note the difference in punctuation between bibliographic and footnote forms. The same book will appear in the Bibliography as this:

DeLong, Russell, and Mendell Taylor. Fifty Years of Nazarene Missions. Vol. 1: History of the Fields. Kansas City: Nazarene Publishing House, 1955.

Note that in the Bibliography family names appear first and should be in alphabetic order; that the second and subsequent lines are indented five spaces; that parenthesis are not used; that there is double spacing between this entry and the previous and subsequent entries on the Bibliography, but the entry itself is single-spaced; that the second author’s name is not inverted. Remember always to capitalize after periods. See Turabian, chapter 8.

8. Footnotes are preferable, but endnotes are permissible. With computer programs, footnotes are easy.

9. If a quotation is more than five lines, indent the whole quotation five spaces from margin, single-space, do not use quotation marks. However, generally avoid long quotations.

10. Do not use contractions—e.g., “don’t,” “won’t,” “couldn’t”—in a formal paper. Instead use: “do not,” “will not,” “could not.”

11. Do not use “etc.” in a formal paper.

12. All paragraphs should have at least two sentences.

13. Do not use ordinary dictionaries for definitions. The researcher can find much more competent and comprehensive theological or biblical dictionaries.

14. Normally each paragraph of a research will be based on more that one source; this should be evidenced in the footnotes. A notation should normally be at the end of each paragraph, unless it is an introductory, purely analytical, or summarizing paragraph.