Foundations for Excellence Style Guide pg. 1-10

What is the main purpose of the College of Christian Studies Style Guide?

To help students communicate their ideas clearly through proper writing and formatting

What style guide does the College of Christian Studies mainly follow?

Kate Turabian

What should students do when the College Style Guide and Turabian disagree?

Follow the College Style Guide

What should students do when the College Style Guide does not address an issue?

Follow the most recent edition of Turabian

What should a research paper be more than?

A collection of copied information or personal devotional thoughts

What should students do with the evidence they find during research?

Analyze it and use it to support a logical argument

What should each paragraph focus on?

One main idea or topic

What should happen when a writer introduces a new thought?

Start a new paragraph

What should students avoid in their sentences?

Run-on sentences comma splices sentence fragments and unnecessary passive voice

When should a source be quoted?

When the author's exact words are important or a paraphrase is not adequate

What should be done when information from a source is summarized or paraphrased?

The source must still be cited

How should a short direct quotation be formatted?

It should be included in the text and placed inside double quotation marks

How should a quotation that is five or more lines long be formatted?

As a block quotation that is single-spaced and indented 0.5 inches

What are three purposes of footnotes?

To cite sources provide additional clarification and point readers toward related sources

When should footnotes be inserted?

While writing the paper rather than at the end

What is plagiarism?

Using someone else's words or ideas without giving proper credit

What can happen if a research paper contains plagiarism?

The paper can receive a failing grade

When should information generally be cited?

When it comes from an outside source and is not common knowledge

What person should normally be used in academic writing?

Third person

When may first person be used?

When the assignment specifically calls for personal reflection

What person should never be used in formal academic papers?

Second person

How should a person's name normally be written the first time they are mentioned?

Use their first and last name

What titles should generally not be used before a person's name?

Titles such as Dr Rev Mr or Mrs

What should writers do when discussing different sides of an issue?

Present the sides fairly

What type of language should be avoided in research papers?

Emotional language slang anecdotes clichés and colloquial expressions

What should be used instead of contractions in formal writing?

The complete words

What does it's mean?

It is

What is the possessive form of it?

Its

What should writers do to avoid sentence fragments?

Make sure sentences are complete and contain a subject and verb

Why is spell check not enough?

It may not catch errors involving words such as their and there

Why should slang be avoided?

Academic papers should use formal and professional language

How should quotations be incorporated into a paper?

They should be introduced and connected to the writer's own sentence

How should Bible and Scripture be capitalized?

Bible Scripture and Scriptures are capitalized

Should biblical and scriptural be capitalized?

No they are lowercase when used as adjectives

Should Gospel be capitalized?

Yes when referring to the Gospel

Should gospel message be capitalized?

No

Why should writers avoid stringing many quotations together?

The paper should demonstrate the student's own thinking and analysis

What kinds of words can create overstatements?

Words such as all anyone always and never

How should three items in a series normally be punctuated?

Use a comma before the final and

What should come before a colon?

A complete sentence

What should pronouns agree with?

Their antecedents in number

Are exclamation points appropriate in formal academic writing?

Generally no

What is an ellipsis used for?

To show that part of a direct quotation has been omitted

How many periods are used in an ellipsis?

Three spaced periods

Should verse numbers be included inside a quoted passage of Scripture?

No

Where should Scripture references normally appear?

In parentheses after the quotation or sentence

What should writers do to make their writing clearer?

Write in a compact and direct manner

What are two important steps after writing a paper?

Rewrite and proofread

What should a student do if the Style Guide does not answer a specific question?

Ask the professor

What are the five main parts of a Christian Studies research paper?

Title Page Contents Page Body Footnotes and Selected Bibliography

What font should be used for the body of the paper?

Times New Roman 12 point

What font size may be used for footnotes?

10 to 12 point

What font should the footnote reference number use?

Times New Roman

What font should Greek and Hebrew text use?

A font equivalent in size to 12 point Times New Roman

What should the standard margins be?

One inch on all sides

How much space should normally come before headings and subheadings?

24 points

How much space should normally come after headings and subheadings?

12 points

What should headings and subheadings match?

The headings and subheadings on the Contents Page

What is personification in academic writing?

Treating a nonhuman source as if it were a person

What is an example of improper personification?

The book stated

What is an example of proper wording instead of personification?

Olsen stated

What takes priority when the College Style Guide differs from Turabian?

The College Style Guide

What does single spacing mean?

There are zero blank lines between lines of text

What does double spacing mean?

There is one single-spaced blank line between lines of text

What does triple spacing mean?

There are two single-spaced blank lines between lines of text

What line spacing should be used for the body of the paper?

Double spacing

How should extra spacing be created in a document?

Use the word processor's spacing settings instead of repeatedly pressing Enter

How much paragraph spacing should normally appear between regular paragraphs?

Zero points

How many points of paragraph spacing equal one single-spaced line?

12 points

Why should students insert footnotes while writing?

Waiting can change pagination cause missing citations and increase the risk of plagiarism

What should a research paper demonstrate besides knowledge of sources?

The student's own analysis and logical thinking

What should a student avoid doing with research?

Simply listing describing and retelling everything they read

What should students ask of the texts they study?

Analytical questions

What is the overall goal of academic formatting?

To make ideas clearer and easier to understand

What should the title page contain?

The required information formatted according to the College Style Guide

What should the contents page contain?

The paper's headings and subheadings with their page numbers

What should the selected bibliography contain?

The sources used in the research paper according to the required format