In Part One and Part Two of this three part series citations and parts of the overall paper were discussed.  In this final section I will cover the one area that some returning students may have the most difficulty with.  That part being the “voice” that they use while writing a college level research or term paper in a distance learning enviornment.

One thing that has not changed about writing papers in school is that you will need to eliminate all first person references.  For example I, me, my, and mine are not to be used when writing an APA style paper unless permission is given by your instructor to do so.  Considering the casual nature of blogging this was the biggest hurdle for me to jump when I first got started.  Though the audience in most cases will just be your instructor writing your paper as if it is going to be printed in an academic journal and read by niche individuals should be your goal when you sit down to write.

If you just have to inject yourself into your paper using terms like, “this author” or “in this author’s opinion” are acceptable.  The goal of writing papers on the undergraduate level is to show that you have an understanding of the topic that you are writing about not that you are an expert on the subject matter.  This is the biggest area of seperation between traditional and distance learning.  Regurgitation of facts is not the same as putting those facts into your own words to show that you fully understand the topic and know how to translate it to document form to present to your professor.

The tone of your “voice” should be that of educating your reader about the topic without preaching or assuming they know what you are talking about.  Abstract subjects need a clear path and focused voice to get your points across.  Concrete topics need to be structured in such a way to convey a new way of thinking about a familiar subject without duplicating facts already known.

Overall, the voice that you use for your papers should be your own.  Most distance learning institutions advertise upfront that they use anti-plagirism software.  Personally I have no knowledge of students being caught using someone elses work as a result of this tool, but it is just better all the way around if you make sure what you write is is in your own words, period.

Yesterday I talked about how different research papers on a college level can be.  Today I am going to go over the different elements that will make up and APA style paper.  Why APA?  The majority of papers turned in to distance learning institutions will follow the APA style.  Occasionally, on the graduate level MLA or Chicago will come into play.

If you include each of these elements in your paper and pay close attention to grammar, punctuation, and message there is a high chance that you will receive full credit for your work.

Format Sytle of and APA Research Paper

1. Software of choice for just about every college is Microsoft Word.  The open source equivalent Open Office can also be used if you make sure that it is compatible with the format used by your school.
2. Margins are 1″ on the top, bottom, and right.  1 1/2″ on the left in case your paper will later be binded.
3. Double spacing is used throughout the paper.  Indentations are typical for all paragraphs except for the paragraph on the abstract page.
4. Numbering begins on the title page with the number one in the upper right corner of the paper.
5. On the title page you will include the paper title, your full name, the title of the class, the instructors name, and the date.
6. On the Abstract page using at a maximum of 120 words introduce your subject, research method, findings and conclusion.
7. Beginning on the Body page restate your title. In this area the Thesis Statement or Method is introduced which basically informs the reader what they can expect in the body of the paper.  This is also the area that cite quotations and block quotes go.
8. Typically you will have no need to include photos, tables, graphs, charts, etc. but if you do begin each on a separate page and number them consecutively.
9. The paper should conclude with a summary of the topic and give a glimpse into the future in regards to your subject.
10. The reference page is the last element of the paper showing all the works that you cited.

Typically research papers on the college level will be eight-pages of double spaced text.  I have found in my experience using 12-point Arial type that 8 pages equals about 3000 words if you include all of the elements that I mentioned above.  Sometimes you will write shorter or longer papers depending on the instructor, but you will always use these elements to create your paper.

These tips and more are fully explained in The Little Brown Compact Handbook with Exercises (MyCompLab Series) a book that should be at your side for every course that you take during your time in school.

Do you remember footnotes, index cards and bibliographies?  If you do chances are the last time that you wrote a research paper was in the late 80’s or early 90’s.  During the time that most of us including me decided to work instead of going to school things changed in the way of writing term papers.  Something called APA, MLA, and Chicago style came into being confusing the daylights out of most returning students.

In case your wondering what the alphabet of letters and the new style are be prepared to have most of what you knew about writing papers turned inside out in addition to how the paper is turned in.

APA

APA (American Psychological Association) is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page.  For the most part this will be the format that you will most likely use in your distance learning environment.

Example:

APA Offers Tips on Managing Anxiety About Swine Flu. (27  April). PR Newswire,***[insert pages]***. Retrieved April 30, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Dateline database. (Document ID: 1688980841)

MLA

MLA style has been widely adopted by schools, academic departments, and instructors for over half a century. The association’s guidelines are also used by over 1,100 scholarly and literary journals, newsletters, and magazines and by many university and commercial presses.

Example:

“APA Offers Tips on Managing Anxiety About Swine Flu. ” PR Newswire 27 April 2009 ***[insert pages]*** ABI/INFORM Dateline. ProQuest.  ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***.  30 Apr. 2009 <http://www.proquest.com/>

Chicago

The Chicago Manual of Style presents two basic documentation systems, the humanities style (notes and bibliography) and the author-date system. Choosing between the two often depends on subject matter and nature of sources cited, as each system is favored by different groups of scholars.

The humanities style is preferred by many in literature, history, and the arts. This style presents bibliographic information in notes and, often, a bibliography. It accommodates a variety of sources, including esoteric ones less appropriate to the author-date system.

Example:

APA Offers Tips on Managing Anxiety About Swine Flu. 2009. PR Newswire April 27   ***[insert pages]*** http://www.proquest.com/ (accessed April 30, 2009). (Author Date)

“APA Offers Tips on Managing Anxiety About Swine Flu.” PR Newswire 27  April2009 ***[insert pages]*** http://www.proquest.com/ (accessed April 30, 2009). (Humanities)

As you can see there is little difference between the three styles.  This can get confusing which means that you will need a good reference tool by your side to get you through your classes. The Little Brown Compact Handbook with Exercises (MyCompLab Series) became my best friend very fast becasue it gave detailed informtion on all three styles and the elements needed to successfully write a paper on a college level.

In part two of this three part series I will cover the specific components of a research paper on the college level.