BBCHS English Department

Term Paper Typing Rules

1. Everything in your entire paper should be double-spaced, including the title page, outline, body of the paper, and Works Cited page. Set the spacing at the beginning of your paper. In Microsoft Word, pull down the “Format” menu, choose “paragraph,” then in the “line spacing” box, choose “double” from the menu. This page is not double-spaced, but the sample page of a well-written paper is double-spaced.

2. Use a standard 12 point font to ensure that it is readable. This sentence is in a 12 point font.

3. Use a standard font that is easy to read and looks as if it were printed in a book. This sentence is typed in “Times New Roman” font. Use a font that is similar. You might try “Ariel,” or “Courier,” but do not use anything that looks like handwriting or calligraphy, such as “Coronet” or “Matisse.”

4. Your entire paper should be left-justified, like this page. In other words, the left margin is absolutely straight, and the right margin is ragged. In Microsoft Word, you can set this under the “Format” menu in the “Alignment” box. Choose “left” from the menu.

5. Leave a 1 inch margin all the way around the page. Most software programs do this automatically.

6. Print everything in black ink, including web addresses. Many software programs automatically print web addresses in blue. You may need to change this setting at the beginning of your paper. Another choice is to highlight the web address, and choose the font color as black.

7. You may choose to number your pages if you wish. If you do so, start with your outline as page 1.

8. Remember standard typing conventions, especially the following rules:

	Put two spaces after a period or colon.
	Put one space before the opening parenthesis.
	When using citations, put end punctuation after the closing parenthesis.
	When using quotations, put end punctuation inside quotation marks.

9. Take advantage of your software. Remember to run the spell check, which often counts your words as well. Don’t forget to save your work often! You may want to save a copy on a floppy disk to be sure.

If you need help, look first at the “Help” screen in your software. If you need further assistance, ask an adult that is familiar with your software. However, software is changing all the time. Your “Help” screen is your best source.