ASSIGNMENT STYLE GUIDE

A document designed to guide students in my courses in the preparation and

presentation of written assignments, and to advise students of the standards
that are expected of work submitting for grading or evaluation.

Dr. P. Giles
Department of Geography
Saint Mary’s University August, 2009
Overview
An instructor usually has expectations about the standard and format that should characterize work submitted
for grading or evaluation, and the instructor may simply anticipate that students will, on their own, prepare
their work with a high level of quality. Experience has shown, however, that there is a range in how much
attention students give to the presentation quality of their work if expectations are not laid out clearly.
The purpose of this document is to relieve students of uncertainty and anxiety in regard to my expectations,
by laying out clear expectations for the standard and format of work submitted for grading or evaluation.
This may be viewed by some as an attempt to stifle individual creativity, but that is not my goal. I have
expectations, and I believe it is better to lay them out clearly rather than a) not at all, or b) making a vague
statement - unhelpful to many - that “submitted work should be completed with a high level of quality”.
For some students, preparing their work according to this style guide will require more effort and attention
than they would normally give to such matters (good! I want to help students raise the quality of their work).
For others, the guidelines will already match their standard operating procedure, or be similar to it.

Table of Contents

Complementary Documentation .............................................................................................. 3

Drafts and Proofreading ........................................................................................................ 3

Stand-Alone Answers............................................................................................................ 3

Basic Assignment Formatting .................................................................................................. 4

Typing and printing
Title page
Page numbering
Words per page
Font size
Line spacing
Paragraph spacing
Margins
Numerical information
Table of contents
Headings
Numbering answers
Tables and figures
Excluding assignment handout
Securing multi-page assignments

Citations and References ...................................................................................................... 6

Use and formatting of citations
Reference list
Reference list examples

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Complementary Documentation
This document is principally about academic style, or how to format and prepare assignments. Other
complementary documentation has been developed, and students should also consult these sources during
assignment preparation.
• Common Writing Errors A document listing the most common writing errors that I encounter in work
submitted for grading or evaluation. Taking this information into account during proofreading,
these errors should not appear in submitted assignment work.
• Guide to Using and Citing Sources A guide to illustrate the use and formatting of citations for
attributing the source(s) of your material. Examples of different citation formats, and different
levels of attribution, are shown.
• Academic Integrity and Student Responsibility An excerpt from the Academic Calendar describing the
principles and procedures governing academic integrity and student responsibility for all courses
at Saint Mary’s University. This is not my personal document because I need to follow and apply
established University procedures in dealing with such issues in my courses.
• Grading Standards For transparency and greater consistency among our various courses and
instructors, the Department of Geography has established a common set of grading standards.
This document characterizes the qualities of work at each of the letter grade levels.
• Marking Notations A list of common notations, and their meaning or message, that I use when
marking or evaluating students’ work.
Links to these documents are included on each of my course web pages.

Drafts and Proofreading

• The final copy of an assignment should never be submitted without being proofread.

• At least one rough draft should be written and edited. Improvements in meaning, structure, spelling,
grammar, and punctuation will result from revision of a rough draft.

• It is common for a first draft to have the feel of a “stream of consciousness”, because you just want
to try and get something down on paper. However, such writing can usually be improved, often
dramatically, by editing the basic information in subsequent draft(s).

Stand-Alone Answers
• Answers to specific questions should be complete; that is, containing sufficient information to permit
the reader to read and understand the question that was asked without needing to consult the
assignment handout. This includes answers that are in numeric, tabular, or diagram form - ask
yourself whether the reader will know what the material you have presented actually means.
• Do not attach the assignment handout with the expectation that the reader will read the question and
then immediately read your answer.
• Do not write out the question at the beginning of your answer. If your answer is complete, there is no
need to do this.
• Example:
ƒ The question asked is: What is the river’s estimated discharge when the stage is 2.8 m?
ƒ Incomplete answer: 94 m3 s-1
ƒ Complete answer: When the stage is 2.8 m, the river’s estimated discharge is 94 m3 s-1.
This example can be also applied to longer answers, such as paragraph or short essay length.

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Basic Assignment Formatting

Typing and printing

• The assignment text should be typed and printed. Unless stated otherwise for special circumstances,
handwritten assignments will not be accepted.
• To conserve paper, double-sided printed is encouraged - if you have access to a printer with this
capability – but not required.
• Certain material may need to be prepared by hand, such as graphs or diagrams. These are acceptable
providing that attention is paid to neatness and presentation quality.

Title page
• The assignment should have a title page that includes the following information:
ƒ Assignment title ƒ Course number
ƒ Student name ƒ (optional) Professor’s name (Dr. P. Giles)
ƒ Student number ƒ Date of submission

• If you wish to save a page of paper by not having a separate title page, create a distinct “title box”
containing the above required information at the top of the first page.

Page numbering
• All pages in the assignment (except the title page; see below) should be numbered, including pages of
references and any supplementary figures.
• While the title page has a number (page 1), the page number should not appear on the title page – it
is implied that the title page is page 1.

Words per page

• The following guidelines are based on text passages corresponding to approximately 400-500 words
per page (for double-spaced text). However, it is difficult to be too specific about words per page as
the actual count will depend on font choice, number of blank lines separating paragraphs, etc.
(Courier New Font, 12 pt. size, is large and fits the standard statement “250 words per page”.)
• Avoid writing simply to fulfill a given word count requirement. Extending writing just to meet a
minimum word count, or stopping writing only because the word count was reached, are poor writing
decisions. The writing itself should determine how long a piece of written work should be;
subsequently it can be shortened if necessary to fit within a strict word count limit.

Font size
• Use a font size of 10 pt. (Use a suitable font type of your own choice.) 10 pt. is smaller than 12 pt.
so using it will save paper in the long run.
• You may notice that different fonts have different actual sizes on screen/paper, even if 10 pt. is
specified.

Line spacing
• Preferably, line spacing should be double. This allows adequate space for providing feedback and
comments on the page itself.
• In order to reduce paper usage, assignments may be prepared using single line spacing if you prefer.
Keep in mind that this also reduces the space available for feedback, so the clarity and depth of
feedback may be affected.

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Paragraph spacing
• There are two alternative methods for separating paragraphs: blank line, and indenting. Only use
one of these, not both, and use that one method consistently throughout the assignment.
• A blank line may be inserted between paragraphs. With double-spaced text, the blank line is a blank
double-spaced line.
• Alternatively, do not insert a blank line, but indent the first line of a new paragraph.

Margins
• Margins of approximately 2.5 cm (= 1 inch) on all sides should be used.

Numerical information
• Ensure that units accompany numerical information where applicable.
• For larger amounts of numerical information, consider whether it would be more appropriate to use a
table or graph instead of listing numbers in the text. Often a table or graph is much more effective
than text for convyeing to a reader trends in data, variations in magnitude, and relative proportions.

Tables and figures

• Both tables and figures should:
ƒ Be numbered consecutively (e.g., Table 1, Table 2, …. Figure 1, Figure 2, …).
ƒ Have a title/and or descriptive caption.
ƒ Be formatted consistently throughout the assignment.
ƒ Be correctly cited if information has been taken from another source. (Include specific source
information such as a page number, table number, or figure number in the citation.)

• In tables, units for numerical values must be included where applicable (including the units once at
the top of a column as part of the column heading is sufficient, rather than repeating the units in
each cell in the column).

• For diagrams:
ƒ Redraw a diagram rather than include poor quality photocopies from another source.
ƒ Graphs require: ƒ Maps require:
• Axis titles • Scale (bar or ratio form)
• Units on each axis • North arrow (or latitude and longitude
• Legend markings)
• Good formatting and visual • Border
presentation quality • Legend

Table of contents
• A table of contents is required only for longer assignments and/or where there are different major
sections that a reader may want to find quickly and read non-consecutively. For shorter assignments
(e.g., fewer than 7-8 pages), a table of contents is usually unnecessary. For example, if your
assignment consists of answers numbered 1, 2, 3,… there is no need for a table of contents.
• If a table of contents is included, refer to actual section headings that appear throughout the work.
• A table of contents would normally occupy its own page in the assignment. (In this document, I
included a brief overview on the same page prior to the table of contents. If you have included an
overview or abstract for your assignment, it could be treated similarly if it is short).

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Headings
• Section headings may be included regardless of whether a table of contents is included. Consider
using headings to help orient the reader to the major sections of the assignment.
• If a table of contents is included, then headings are essential and must correspond with the table of
contents.

Numbering answers
• If the assignment consists of numbered questions, number the answers correspondingly.

Excluding assignment handout

• As mentioned above, do not attach the assignment handout to your submission, either at the front
(which should be a title page), immediately following the title page, or at the back.

Securing multi-page assignments

ƒ Multi-page assignments must be stapled. A paper clip is not an acceptable method of securing pages.

Citations and References

When using information or ideas that comes from other sources, the use of citations and references is
imperative to avoid charges of plagiarism (and subsequent disciplinary action). Incorporating citations, and
formatting citations and references, is a skill that must be learned and practiced, not forgotten and omitted
because of a lack of knowledge.

Use and formatting of citations

• A separate document has been created about citations. See Guide to Using and Citing Sources on
each of my course websites.

Reference list
• There are many valid ways to format a reference list. Look at the reference lists of a number of
different books or journal articles and you will likely find almost as many individual ways that the
references have been formatted. Below I provide a list of examples for formatting references
according to one standard; however, I am less concerned with the actual formatting used than with
the accuracy and consistency of the reference information. If you prefer to use another standard
formatting style that follows a different set of protocols, you may do so.
• Before considering reference formatting style, the key question to ask about any reference in the list
is: “With the information provided, would the reader be able to locate the source independently,
i.e., without having to ask you, the writer, for more information?”
• Internet sources are not published in the same way as printed book, journals, and reports. However,
certain information about the source must be reported, and it can be presented consistently with
other references. A key difference is that instead of providing information about a publisher, the web
page address will be given.
• Different types of sources must be formatted differently in the reference, but in the examples below
(based on Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences style), look for certain common elements in the
formatting:
ƒ There is consistency in punctuation. For references of the same type (e.g., book, chapter in
book, journal article), the use of punctuation should be identical in your reference list.
Between references of different types, the punctuation may not be identical, but there are
consistencies.

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 ƒ The title of the publication, whether a book, journal, report, etc. is distinguished with italics,
and all of the major words are capitalized. For Internet pages, treat the title of the web page
as being the title of the publication.
ƒ The title of a book chapter or journal article is not written in italics nor underlined, and only
the first word is capitalized (excepting, of course, proper nouns). Note that in the book or
journal, the title of the book chapter or journal article may include captials for all of the
major words, but when you create your reference list, you do not just repeat this formatting.
ƒ Author’s given names are not included, only the initials of given names.

Reference list examples

The following reference formats are based on instructions supplied to authors submitting manuscripts to the
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. Note how the references are broken down into parts (separated by
periods) containing critical pieces of information. Your reference list should be formatted similarly, i.e.,
replace every piece of information in the example with corresponding information for your reference.

Journal article:
Kovanen, D.J., and Slaymaker, O. 2003. Lake Terrell upland glacial resurgences and implications for late-
glacial history, northwestern Washington State, U.S.A. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 40(12): 1767–
1772.

Book:
Williams, R.A. 1987. Communication systems analysis and design. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J.

Part of book:
Healey, M.C. 1980. The ecology of juvenile salmon in Georgia Strait, British Columbia. In Salmonid
ecosystems of the North Pacific. Edited by W.J. McNeil and D.C. Himsworth. Oregon State University Press,
Corvallis, OR. pp. 203–229.

Electronic citation:
Quinion, M.B. 1998. Citing Online Sources: Advice on Online Citation Formats [online]. Available from
http://clever.net/quinion/words/citation.html [cited 20 October 1998].

Report:
Sanders, W.W., Jr., and Elleby, H.A. 1970. Distribution of Wheel Loads in Highway Bridges. National
Cooperative Highway Research Program Report 83, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council,
Washington, D.C.

Paper in conference proceedings:

Whittaker, A.A., Uang, C.-M., and Bertero, V.F. 1990. Experimental seismic response of steel dual systems.
In Proceedings of the 4th U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Palm Springs, Calif., Vol. 2,
pp. 655–664.

Thesis:
Keller, C.P. 1987. The role of polysaccharidases in acid wall loosening of epidermal tissue from young
Phaseolus vulgaris L. hypocotyls. M.Sc. thesis, Department of Botany, The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, B.C.