Paper Formatting

What should my paper look like?

We would like all typed papers submitted here at SCHS, whether for  English class, Science, Business, Bible or Health class,   to follow the same basic format.

PAPER

Use good-quality 8½" x 11" white paper. Staple at the top left hand corner

TITLE PAGE

For papers under three pages in length (not including Works Cited page) a title page IS NOT required. On the first page of your paper, place your name, the course title, your instructor's name, and the date on separate, single spaced lines against the left margin. Then centre your title. See sample paper

For paper over three pages in length (not including Works Cited page) a title page IS required. Vertically and horizontally centre the title, the course name, your name, teacher’s name and the date. You may add pictures, colour or different fonts on your title page only. See sample paper

Your teacher may ask for a title page on a paper that is less than three pages in lenght.

PAGINATION

Put the page number preceded by your last name in the upper right corner of each page, (excluding the title page) in the header row. Use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, and so on). 

See sample paper.

MARGINS, LINE SPACING, AND PARAGRAPH INDENTS

Leave margins of one inch on all sides of the page. Do not justify (align) the right margin.

Double-space throughout the paper. Do not add extra lines of space above or below the title of the paper or between paragraphs.

Indent the first line of each paragraph one-half inch (or five spaces) from the left margin.

LONG QUOTATIONS

When a quoted passage takes up more than four typed lines of prose or three lines of verse in your paper, set it off from the text by indenting the entire quotation one inch (or ten spaces) from the left margin. Single-space the indented quotation, and do not add extra space above or below it.

Quotation marks are not needed when a quotation has been set off from the text by indenting.

See page 3 of this paper for an example 

HEADINGS

Headings are most often used in a Science based paper. Ask your teacher if he or she wishes headings. Heading should be double spaced between paragraphs, Times New Roman font and either 14 or 16 point font.

VISUALS

If your paper requires you to include graphs, charts, maps, photographs, and/or drawings, they must be labelled. Label each table or figure with an Arabic numeral (Table 1, Table 2, and so on) and provide a clear caption that identifies the subject. The label and caption should appear on separate lines above the table, flush left. Below the table, give its source in a note like this one:

Source: John M. Violanti, "Cellular Phones and Fatal Traffic Collisions," Accident Analysis and Prevention 30 (1998): 521.

Visuals should be placed in the text, as close as possible to the sentences that relate to them unless your instructor prefers them in an appendix.

{NTS- (See the sample of an MLA paper with a visual.)}-

Other nitty-gritty paper writing details.

UNDERLINE / ITALICS

CAPITLAIZATION

In titles of works,

• capitalize all principal nouns ( The Flowers of Europe),
• pronouns ( The Mouse That Roared),
• verbs, (What Is Literature?)
• adjectives (The Ugly Duckling),
• adverbs (Only Slightly Corrupt),
• subordinating conjunctions (eg. after, because, before, if, until, unless)

Do not capitalize these words when they fall in the middle of a title:

• articles (Under the Bamboo Tree),
• prepositions (The Merchant of Venice),
• coordinating conjunctions (Romeo and Juliet), t
• he to in infinitives (How to Play Chess)

ABBREVIATIONS 

NUMBERS

Numbers one to ninety-nine spell out.   one, five, seventy-two

All numbers over 100 use numerals.   100,  2469, 25 245 340

Numbers below 100 that cannot be spelled out in one or two words use numerals  

Three and a quarter  =   3 ¼ 

six thousand, two hundred and thirty four  =  6234

If showing a range of numbers -  101-201, 50-54.

Combining numbers. Twelve 6-year olds or 12 six-year olds.