Title of the Paper:
Subtitle Here If There Is a Subtitle
YourFirstName YourLastName
Class Title
Month Day, Year
1
This is where you start writing your paper. Begin with an introduction as you would with
any other paper—unless the professor says to do otherwise. Try to hook your reader in this
paragraph, as well as to introduce ideas that you will be discussing throughout your paper. Note
that, unless you are instructed, this paragraph will be followed by body paragraphs and a
conclusion. Remember to include a thesis at the end of the first paragraph. Be sure the thesis
responds directly to the assignment prompt, indicating the topic and angle (or position) paper.
Always start your paragraphs with an indentation and a topic sentence that describes what
the paragraph will be about. Be sure that any point you make in this paragraph refers back to
your thesis. Explain your reasoning, and support claims with evidence in the form of details from
real life or from legitimate sources, as required by the assignment. Cite all paraphrases and
quotations. Note that while essay paragraphs must have at least three sentences, most academic
writing features paragraphs of five to eight sentences. This gives you room to explain your ideas
clearly and in detail—not to BS or try to “fluff up” the essay—explaining ideas clearly and in
detail is crucial to showing your professor that you understand the class material and are able to
engage with it in a mature fashion. Although I’ve used first and second person pronouns and
contractions in this example, you should avoid doing that unless your professor says it’s all right.
As you write your paper incorporate quotations and paraphrases in order to help you
prove your points. Here’s an example. In A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and
Dissertations, Kate Turabian says, “that the difference between citing sources in the Chicago
style compared to the MLA or APA styles is the use of footnotes at the end of each quote.”1 This
note contains the information that will be found in the bibliography but with a few differences
(for example, the author’s name is listed FirstName LastName, instead of LastName,
1
Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Chicago, IL: Chicago Press,
2013), 145.
2
FirstName). Here is another example of a footnote but this time from a webpage, not a book.2
When using an author’s name the first time he or she is mentioned, you can use their First Name
and Last Name before presenting their ideas or words. Subsequently, only the author’s Last
Name is to be used. After this first footnote, all other quotations or paraphrases from that same
source will appear in shortened form, like the footnote at the end of this sentence.3 Turabian also
points out that, if you are quoting from the same source multiple times in a row, then “you can
indicate it in the footnote using Ibid which means ‘in the same place’ and the page number.”4
Always make sure that you incorporate your own ideas with the quoted material. It is not good
enough to merely quote something without any kind of discussion around it. Turabian gives hints
saying, “[in] mak[ing] a sentence mesh with yours, you can modify the quotation . . . [using]
added or changed words with square brackets and deletions with three dots (called ellipses).”5
Using this method, you can improve paragraph flow by integrating the cited material into your
own ideas. Turabian explains block quotation formatting for long quotations:
Present a prose quotation of five or more lines as a block quotation. Introduce the
quotation in your own words in the text; see 7.5. If you introduce the quotation with a
complete sentence, end the sentence with a colon. If you use only an attribution phrase
such as notes, claims, argues, or according to along with the author’s name, end the
phrase with a comma. . . . Single space a block quotation, and leave a blank line before
and after it. Do not add quotation marks at the beginning or end, bur preserve any
quotation marks in the original. Indent the entire quotation as far as you indent the first
line of a paragraph.6
Through using various different forms of in-text citations correctly you will be able to create a
well thought out paper with an organized and fluent discussion of ideas/evidence.
Incorporate subtopic title here
“Webpage Title,” Website Title, last modified Month Day, Year, accessed Month Day Year, URL.
Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 158.
4
Ibid., 161.
5
Ibid., 76.
6
Ibid., 349.
2
3
3
Often the Chicago style is used in research papers done by history students. Since these
papers are usually on the longer side they usually need subtitles to break up the information and
keep everything organized. In order to make a subtitle, center the cursor and then type the title in
the same style and size as the writing in the rest of the document. There is no need to make the
title in bold print or underlined. Make sure that the title does not have a period at the end of it
and that only the first letter of the first word is capitalized. If the paper you are writing in this
style is short, then using subtitles is not recommended.
4
Bibliography
AuthorLastName, FirstName. “Title of Article Found Online.” Title of Journal Volume, no. X
(year). Page Range. Accessed Month Day, Year. http://dx.doi.org/numbergoeshere.
(“doi” stands for “digital object identifier” which is preferred to a URL. If you found the
article in a database, provide the name of the database, instead of the doi. See this link for
more information:
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turabian_citationguide.html)
AuthorLastName, FirstName. Title of Book. State: Publisher, Year.
AuthorLastName, FirstName. “Title of Book Chapter.” In Title of Book. Edited by
Editor’sFirstName Editor’sLastName, Page Range of Chapter. State: Publisher, Year.
AuthorLastName, FirstName. “Title of Webpage.” Title of Website. Last modified Month Day,
Year. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL.
Turabian, Kate. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. Chicago:
Chicago Press, 2013.