Format and Detail

The actual format of the thesis will vary, depending on your field or department. Both the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA) publish style manuals that apply to the research paper. MLA style is popular with English and language departments, while the APA is popular with history and the social sciences. The Turabian handbook is also popular with these disciplines.

Style manuals govern how references, citations, and bibliographies are handled. They dictate how paragraphs are structured, how pages are numbered, and they also make suggestions (if not rules) about the structure of the research paper. You will probably need your own copy of whatever style manual you are using. Here are some of the most common style manuals used in humanities departments:

• MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. You're probably familiar with this one. It's good for general help with grammar, format, bibliographies, and electronic sources. It tends to address the most common problems, and sometimes you'll have a problem it doesn't deal with. For these problems, use the MLA Handbook.
• MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing. The Style Manual targets graduate students and professional writers. This book is more detailed than the Handbook, and it's intended primarily for graduate students, scholars, and professional writers. Its citation examples are more extensive than the Handbook, especially for unusual resources.
• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. The latest edition is 1994, so much of the electronic resource information is out of date. However, they do have recommendations about this topic on their Web site. The APA style is intended for the social sciences, but some in the humanities prefer the citation and reference styles over the MLA. Even if you don't use the APA, it's good to be familiar with it.
• A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, by Kate L. Turabian. This one is usually referred to as just "Turabian." Turabian is a specialized version of the Chicago Manual of Style (a publication manual).

These print manuals, however, are not always up to date. Electronic resources change quickly, and might not have the information you need. The following Web sites can help applying style guides to your paper.

Maryville College

• Style Manual for Online Sources

MLA Style

• What is MLA Style? (MLA)
• A Guide for Writing Research Papers Based on MLA Format (Capital Community College)
• MLA Format: Giving Credit to Sources (researchpaper.com)
• Using MLA Format (Purdue University)
• MLA Citation Format (Rochester Institute of Technology)

Turabian

• Turabian Style Format for Bibliographies (University of Georgia)
• Sample Internet Citations--Turabian Style (Washburn University)
• Brief Citation Guide for Internet Sources (Humanities Net)

APA Style

• Electronic Reference Formats Recommended by the American Psychological Association (APA)
• APA Format (researchpaper.com)

To Humanities 347 Pathfinders Homepage

This page created by Christopher Ryland 25 August 2000. Last updated 28 July 2002.