Writing Guidelines

Jeffrey S. Lantis

Department of Political Science

The College of Wooster

2007-2008

Introduction

Writing an excellent paper for Political Science courses requires the development of strong substantive arguments (i.e., a thesis, supporting information, and direct references to course material) as well as a clearly formatted and concise paper. All papers that you complete for this class should conform to The Chicago Manual of Style guidelines for source citations and references. A complete set of endnotes and a bibliography should be included for all papers.

The Chicago Manual of Style is published by the University of Chicago Press, and is now in its 15^th edition. A copy of the manual is available for examination at the Library and can be ordered through the Wilson Bookstore or Amazon.com. While other citation styles are accepted in some disciplines at Wooster (such as MLA or APA), this is the style that I have adopted for my classes and students who work with me on the Independent Study thesis.

Writing and Source Citation Guides

There are many good resources on writing and source citation for college assignments. I recommend the following:

Lipson, Charles. How to Write a BA Thesis: A Practical Guide from Your First Ideas to Your Finished Paper. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005.

Lipson, Charles. Doing Honest Work in College: How to Prepare Citations, Avoid Plagiarism, and Achieve Real Academic Success. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.

University of Chicago, The Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers. 15^th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.

Turabian, Kate L. A Manual For Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1996.

Plagiarism

While our ideal image of a writer is that of a lone individual creatively working in splendid isolation, the real world of writing is much more challenging. Unfortunately, plagiarism is a constant concern in any form of writing. To combat this, I have high standards for writing assignments that are consistent with the Code of Academic Integrity at The College of Wooster. Students are expected to read, understand, and comply with College standards for academic integrity and the policy on plagiarism. These issues are fully articulated in the Code of Academic Integrity, as published in the Scot’s Key, and form an essential part of the contract between the student and the College. This is regarded as extremely important for all courses at the College. Violations of the Code may lead to grade penalties including failure of the course.

In addition, the Department of Political Science Handbook for Independent Study, 2007-2008 offers the following guidelines on plagiarism:

“The proper acknowledgment of sources is both an obligation and an art. Plagiarism is a serious breach of the canons of scholarship, and therefore of the College Code of Academic Integrity…Language, ideas, or information taken from others should be acknowledged at an appropriate point within the text. The mere inclusion of a source in the bibliography of a paper is not in itself sufficient… Failure to acknowledge the source of an indirect quotation, or paraphrase, is also a form of plagiarism. The writer of a paraphrase must acknowledge that it is a paraphrase and must identify the source, those phrases must be acknowledged by quotation marks, unless they are commonplace.”

Using the Chicago Style for Paper Assignments

The Chicago Style requires that you use endnotes AND a complete bibliography. The proper format for each of these is slightly different.

The following examples of reference styles are taken from two, primary sources: Charles Lipson, How to Write a BA Thesis: A Practical Guide from Your First Ideas to Your Finished Paper (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005); and Kate L. Turabian, A Manual For Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996).

Endnote Style

Books--Single Author

1John Hope Franklin, George Washington Williams: A Biography (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985), p.54.

Books--Two Authors

2Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie, Democratization in Latin America (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1978), p.185.

Chapter by One Author in a Work by Another Author

3Mary Higdon Beech, "The Domestic Realm in the Lives of Hindu Women in Calcutta," in Separate Worlds: Studies of Purdah in South Asia, ed. Hanna Papanek and Gail Minault (Delhi: Chanakya, 1982), p.115.

Translated Volume

4Alexis de Toqueville, Democracy in America (1835), ed. J.P. Mayer, trans. George Lawrence (New York: Harper Collins, 2000).

Newspaper Articles

5Andre Cammile, "Deciding Who Gets Dibs on Health-Care Dollars," Wall Street Journal, 27 March 1984, p.5.

Journal Articles

6Richard Jackson, "Running down the Up-Escalator: Regional Inequality in Papua New Guinea," Australian Geographer 14 (May 2003): p.180.

Magazine Articles

7Bruce Weber, "The Myth Maker: Karl Rove and the Presidency," New York Times Magazine, 20 October 2004, p.42.

Webpage

8 "Turkish Odyssey: The Republic Period," http://www.turkishodyssey.com/turkey/history/history4.htm#Ataturk (accessed September 7, 2007).

Journal Article Online

9 Christopher Small, "Genocide in Darfur," Comparative Politics 19:3 (Autumn 2004): 340-359. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0734-4392.3455AWDTWL (accessed March 15, 2005).

Newspaper or Magazine Article Online

10 Joseph Kahn, "An Ohio Town is Hard Hit as Leading Industry Moves to China," New York Times, 7 December 2003, p.A1, www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/globecon/etch.htm (accessed July 1, 2005).

Speech, Academic Talk, or Course Lecture

11 Gary Sick, Lecture on U.S. Policy Toward Iraq, Course on U.S. Foreign Policy Making in the Persian Gulf, Columbia University, New York, 14 March 2004.

Bibliography Style

All items in the bibliography are entered in alphabetical order according to the last name of the (first) author. NOTE: items in the bibliography are not numbered; and each article cited from a book of readings and the book of readings itself should have separate bibliographic entries.

Books--Single Author

Franklin, John Hope. George Washington Williams: A Biography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985.

Books--Two Authors

Kernighan, Brian W., and Dennis M. Ritchie. Democratization in Latin America. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1978.

Chapter by One Author in a Work by Another Author

Beech, Mary Higdon. "The Domestic Realm in the Lives of Hindu Women in Calcutta." in Separate Worlds: Studies of Purdah in South Asia, ed. Hanna Papnanek and Gail Minault, 110-38. Delhi: Chanakya, 1982.

Translated Volume

Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America. 1835. Ed. Jp.P. Mayer. Trans. George Lawrence. New York: Harper Collins, 2000.

Newspaper Articles

Camille, Andre. "Deciding Who Gets Dibs on Health-Care Dollars." Wall Street Journal, 27 March 1984, p.5.

Journal Articles

Jackson, Richard. "Running Down the Up-Escalator: Regional Inequality in Papua New Guinea." Australian Geographer 14 (May 2003): 175-84.

Magazine Articles

Weber, Bruce. "The Myth Maker: Karl Rove and the Presidency." New York Times Magazine. 20 October 2004, p.42.

Webpage

"Turkish Odyssey: The Republic Period." http://www.turkishodyssey.com/turkey/history/history4.htm#Ataturk (accessed September 7, 2007).

Journal Article Online

Small, Christopher. "Genocide in Darfur." Comparative Politics 19:3 (Autumn 2004): 340-359. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0734-4392.3455AWDTWL (accessed March 15, 2005).

Newspaper or Magazine Article Online

Joseph Kahn. "An Ohio Town is Hard Hit as Leading Industry Moves to China." New York Times. 7 December 2003. p.A1. www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/globecon/etch.htm (accessed July 1, 2005).

Speech, Academic Talk, or Course Lecture

Sick, Gary. Lecture on U.S. Policy Toward Iraq. Course on U.S. Foreign Policy Making in the Persian Gulf. Columbia University. New York. 14 March 2004.