Help to Write the Essay

SAMPLE PAPER

HELP FOR THOSE WRITING THEIR FIRST ESSAY (Using the “Turabian” Style)

Mary Matthews Student #7773460

Sociology 125-50 Peter Smith Douglas College, December 10, 1991

2 I. INTRODUCTION The following sample essay has been prepared to help answer some of the questions and problems that you may have when writing your first term paper. It includes explanations and illustrations of format, quotations, footnotes and bibliography, using the style set out in “A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations” by Kate Turabian.

II.

BODY The title page is a very important page of your essay as it is the first impression that an instructor has of your work. Always put the full title of the essay in capital letters, one-quarter (1/4) of the way down the page. Halfway down, put your name and student number. Three-quarters (3/4) of the way down, put the course name and number, section number, your instructor’s name, “Douglas College,” and the date. White, good quality, 8½” x 11” paper should be used whether your essay is typed, printed or handwritten. Note the spacing used for this sample essay – it is double-spaced on one side of each sheet. Allow 1 – 1½” on the left for binding and a 1” margin on the other three sides. Indentation for new paragraphs is five typed spaces. The number of each page is at the top right hand corner in Arabic numerals, beginning with the first typed page. The next section of this sample essay is devoted to quotations and footnotes. Footnotes are generally used to indicate the origin of quotations or ideas. A quotation in an essay is placed in quotation marks and followed by a footnote number. “Note, numbers must follow one another in numerical order

3 beginning with the number one.”1 As the exact words of another author have been used, this must be acknowledged by using quotation marks and a number. Note at the foot of this page the footnote made for this quotation. When quoting from a book, you must...