Research Paper Guidelines
updated21 October 2009

  1. A research essay ...
    1. Has an interesting title that conveys the gist of the thesis that will be argued.
    2. Argues in favor of a specific thesis, which should be stated within the first page of the essay.
    3. Follows the standard tri-partite structure of a formal essay.
    4. Is succinct, exact, accurate, and eloquent. (For help in achieving this standard, see this checklist for quality writing.)
    5. Has substantial and persuasive evidentiary support for all claims.
    6. Has accurate and clear documentation for all citations, paraphrases, and other uses of resources.

  2. Unless an assignment explicitly stipulates otherwise:
    1. All footnotes and bibliographic citations must follow the Chicago Manual of Style format for the humanities.
    2. A research paper requires a minimum of six to twelve (6–12) scholarly, print resources.
    3. When you are doing your research, make a copy of each page that you use from a given work, whether this be by quoting it directly/indirectly or by paraphrasing/summarizing it. Make sure each photocopied page has the correct and complete bibiographic citation for that work. (If it does not already show on the copy, print or type it on there yourself.) A word to the wise: if you do this as you go along with your research, it's a lot easier than trying to reconstruct everything later! These copies should be attached to the essay when you submit it for grading.
    4. No websites are permitted as resources for a research essay unless you provide an explicit (and persuasive) justification for why that specific page on that particular site counts as a bona fide expert, scholarly presentation. If you wish to use a site, the justification should be provided in the first footnote where you cite that source. All such justifications will be evaluated stringently.