1. Bibliographical Citation of Works Consulted or Quoted
Type 1: Book...
Kundera, Milan. The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Translator, Michael Henry Heim. HarperPerennial. New York. 1991.
Type 2: Article, Chapter, Story or Poem within a Book...
Dodaro, Robert. "Loose Canons: Augustine and Derrida on Their Selves". God, the Gift, and Postmodernism. Editors, John D. Caputo and Michael J. Scanlon. Indiana University Press. Bloomington. 1999.
Type 3: Article in a Scholarly Journal...
Bosworth, David. "The Science of Self-Deception". Salmagundi. Fall 1999-Winter 2000. Nos. 124-125. Skidmore College. Saratoga Springs, NY.
[ Note: in the third example, 'Nos.' represents 'Numbers', because in this case two volumes were published together. Normally, you would use 'No.', to represent a single number in the journal's series of publication.
Also, quite often, scholarly journals will number volume and number, the volume representing which year and the number representing the specific edition within that year of publication; an example would be: 'Vol. 1, No. 3' ]
Type 4: Online Article as Part of Larger Publication...
Fountain, Henry. "Earlier Date for First Refined Stone Tools in Europe". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 2 Sept. 2009 <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/science/08obaxe.html?hpw>.
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2. Textual Citation of Works Consulted or Quoted
Each time you refer to a text in the body of a scholarly essay, YOU MUST CITE it properly, even if you do not quote directly from the text. This does not apply to analyses which are authentically you own, but it does refer to occasions on which you paraphrase without quoting.
You must attach to the end of your essay a bibliography following the above specifications for bibliographical citation. Your bibliography should be alphabetized by author's last name. This will serve as a basis for your reader (i.e. your professor) to understand the notes you include within the body of your essay.
At the end of any paraphrase or quotation extracted from any text outside of your essay, you should either insert a footnote or a parenthetical notation. This alerts the reader to the fact that the information is not your own, then tells the reader precisely where it can be located.
First Method: the Footnote...
The footnote will consist of enough information to identify the text you are citing, as well as the page or pages where the information cited can be found. Since you have already included the full reference in your bibliography, you need only cite the author and the page number. For example:
Kundera 27.
Or, if you have chosen more than one work by the same author, you should cite the title of the work and the page number, as follows:
The Unbearable Lightness of Being 27.
Second Method: Parenthetical Notation...
The parenthetical notation will simply be the author's last name or an abbreviation of the title, plus the page number, in parentheses, immediately following the quote. For example:
(Kundera 27)
Or, to abbreviate the title:
(ULB 27)
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3. A Note on Writing Titles
First Case: Italics...
You should always use italics (or underline) for titles of whole Books, Long Essays, Novels, Journals, Publications, Plays, Epic Poems, Collections (of poetry, essays, stories, or other works).
E.g. 1) book: Bhagavad Gita; 2) long essay: On the Free Choice of the Will; 3) novel: The Unbearable Lightness of Being; 4) journal: Lingua Franca; 5) publication, periodical: New York Times; 6) play: Oedipus Rex; 7) epic poem: The Odyssey; Beowulf; 8) collections: The Essential Rumi; The Oedipus Cycle.
Second Case: "Quotes"...
You should put a title in quotes when it is not a long work, or when it represents a single chapter of a larger work. For instance: Single (short or non-epic) Poems, Essays within larger works (collections, journals, etc.), Articles (in newspapers, journals, etc.), Short Stories.
E.g. 1) poem: "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"; 2) essay: "The Science of Self-Deception"; 3) article: "Stocks Surge"; 4) short stories: "Babylon Revisited".
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4. A Brief Structural Guide for Academic Papers
Paper Headings & Title Pages
No title page is necessary. It creates extra bulk for the professor and wastes paper. So, you need to use a heading which interferes as little as possible with the length of the body of your paper.A good basic paper heading, if you would like to eliminate any likelihood that a professor will think you are trying to use up space, would be to list identifying information about yourself and the assignment on the left, using no more than four lines, and then to center the title on the next line. You need not darken or underline your title, and it is certainly redundant to do both. For example:
Your Name
Class Name (Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance Thought)
Professor's Name
Due Date
My Profound & Provocative Essay
Body Text: Formatting
You should double space, always, unless advised otherwise by your professor. Your margins should NEVER be wider than one inch on side, top, or bottom, unless you are advised otherwise by your professor. It is also generally preferred if you 'justify' your right margins, squaring the text. 12-point font is generally preferred; if you have questions about whether your professor has another standard, always ask before submitting.
