A QUICK GUIDE TO CAPSTONE FORMAT

There are two sources of formatting standards which apply to your capstone. We encourage you to use them as follows: Hamline University Guidelines for Capstone Formatting available online within the Capstone Completion Guide. It contains general format guidelines such as margin size, type style, page order, title page format, etc. It is important to read this guide first before you attempt to format quotations. For example, its better to have your margins established before you indent and block long direct quotations. This HU guide also takes precedence over all other format guides. This Quick Guide to Capstone Format contains information about specific formatting such as setting up direct and indirect quotations. Some of this information has been adapted from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th edition). However, it is very important that you understand that the APA manual is not a primarily guide for capstone writers. It is a guide for those who wish to submit manuscripts for publication in APA journals. Therefore, for capstone purposes HU guides take precedence over the APA guide. For additional information and suggestions, please contact your capstone advisor. If you review formats of previous capstones, bound and shelved in the program office and at Bush Library, choose more recent capstones. Format standards have evolved over time; be sure volumes you use exemplify most recent guidelines.

SPECIFIC FORMATING GUIDELINES Quotations & Reference Citations The general prevailing principle is to give credit where credit is due. How you give credit depends on your use of others ideas. If that use was indirect in the form of paraphrases, summaries or brief allusions to their work, it is sufficient to cite the authors name and the copyright year of the source work. Page numbers would be helpful but are not strictly necessary for indirect quotations. If your use took the form of direct quotations, identify your source with all three items of information - authors name, copyright year and pages. Titles of works appear in the bibliography or reference list. You would not ordinarily include titles of books, journals and journal articles and authors first names or titles in the body of your paper. NOTE: All of the following examples were created for demonstration purposes--they are fictional, i.e., nonexistent sources. Formatting Indirect Quotations Example: In 1998, Rogers boldly announced that ... 1

Example: In his last work (1998), Rogers boldly announced that ... Example: A recent announcement (Rogers, 1998) of research ... If these citations continue with a direct quotation, you need to supply a page number. Formatting Direct Quotations: Format depends on the length of the direct quotation. Quotations less than 40 words in length are double-spaced and typed like the main body of the text. They are not indented in blocks. They are enclosed in quotation marks to separate them from the text; the final period follows the parentheses containing reference information. Example: When planning curriculum, it is often useful to bear in mind the thought of Dewey, who said, The objective is to provide understanding in practice, not merely understanding in thought (1927, p. 48). Quotations 40 or more words in length are double-spaced and indented blockstyle. The left margin of the quotation is even with previous paragraph indents of the text, and the right margin of the quote follows the right text margin. No quotation marks are used, and the final period of the quotation precedes the parentheses containing reference information. No period follows the parentheses. Example: In discussing the relationship between thought and action, John Macmurray stated the following: There is of necessity an interplay, in all human activities, between theory and practice ... all [human] theoretical activities have their origins, at least, in practical requirements ... Activities of ours which are purely theoretical, if this means they have no reference to our practical life, must be purely imaginary. (1957, pp. 21-22) Headings & Subheadings Before establishing headings and subheadings, review the Capstone Completion Guide and consult it with these instructions. Use its general format guidelines together with these instructions. HU graduate students most commonly use the following four levels of headings and subheadings which differ from the APA manual. The levels are: CHAPTER ONE LEVEL 1 2

Introduction

LEVEL 2

Historical Background

LEVEL 3

At this point, you would type in text. Notice how this line has been indented five spaces. If you find it necessary to continue with additional subdivisions, they would be done in the following way: indent five spaces as before and type in an underscored subheading. Carefully note the subheading in the next line. The colonial period. Your text would continue here. LEVEL 4

Level 4 headings capitalize only the first word, are underscored, end with a period, and continue with text immediately after two spaces. If you require more subheadings than these four levels, consult your capstone advisor. Reference List/Bibliography If the list of sources at the end of your paper contains only works cited in your paper, entitle it References. If your source list also contains works other than those cited in your paper, for example, writings which influenced your thought, works the reader might find helpful or interesting, then your list becomes a Bibliography. If you have developed any special purpose lists of resources, these should appear as appendices. (See page 6 of this guide for additional information about appendices.) Entries in the reference list or bibliography should be made as hanging indents that is the first line is flush with the left margin and subsequent lines are indented. This is proper HU style. Entries are also double-spaced. Titles of books and journals are in italics; they are not underscored. Here are examples of the most commonly used reference forms at HU: Example: Book Smith, D., & Jones, F. (1991). The world of whole language. Brisbane: Commonwealth University Press. Example: Journal Article Anderson, B., & Cathcart, D. (1993). Whole language and the learning disabled child: A new perspective. Journal of Research in Special Education, 72(1), 192-215. 3

Notice how italics extend through the volume number but not through the parentheses and issue number. Example: Chapter in a Book Davis, D., & Davis, E. (1996). Multimedia presentations and the writers workshop. In A. Hoffman & B. Clark (Eds.), Teaching writing: New approaches (pp. 14-58). Hillsdale, NJ: Mt. Aetna Press. If the book is not edited, i.e., this is a chapter in the authors own book, add the word In, followed by the title, etc. Example: ERIC Report Johnson, A. B. (1993). Journaling and the first grader: The importance of parent participation (Report No. NCRTL-RR-93-7). Eden Gardens, MN: National Center for Research on Teacher Learning. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 554 121) Example: Unpublished Paper Presented at a Meeting MacDonald, J.A., & Roundtree, S.C. (1994, January). Diversity training for teachers: An administrative viewpoint. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Administrators Association, Hiltonhead, SC. Example: References to On-Line Information When referring to information found online, APA format recommends two guiding principles: 1) provide as much information as possible about the URL, including the actual file name; and 2) be sure the address works. In many cases, it is important to add the date on which you retrieved the information. For more examples see pages 268 to 281 of the APA Publication Manual (5th edition). Articles found full-text through aggregated databases. Aggregated databases are sources such as Education Fulltext, ERIC and, PsycINFO. If you find full-text articles in these databases that are identical copies of printed originals and you need only read them electronically or printed from the database. You are not required to obtain a paper copy of the 4

original printed article. Use the following reference format: Smith, A., & Jones, B. (2002). Integrating EBD students in a regular second-grade Classroom [Electronic version]. Journal of Psychology & Primary Education, 14, 17-29. Full-text articles in a database in a form other than the original printed format, e.g., looks retyped, page numbers are missing, format the reference as in journal article example above and add another sentence: Anderson, B., & Cathcart, D. (1993). Whole language and the learning disabled child: A new perspective. Journal of Research in Special Education, 72(1), 192-215. Retrieved October 17, 2003, from Education Abstracts database. Articles from e-journals. Growing number of journals are published only electronically. Ejournal articles should be formatted as follows: Carter, L. (2001). Technology and the classroom: The impact of computers on creative writing in the primary classroom. Writing & Technology, 2, Article 0042b. Retrieved April 1, 2002, from http://journals.nea.org/computers/volume2/comp0042b.html There is no final period following the URL. Additional examples of how to cite electronic media is found on pages 218-222 of the APA manual, available in the reference section of HU Bush Library. Remember to create hanging indents as shown above (first line flush left, subsequent lines indented) rather than the indented entries in the manual, characteristic of manuscripts submitted to APA journals. Example: Transcript of Interview Student, I. M. (1999). [Transcript of interview with subject LC]. Unpublished raw data. The authors name is your own. The title of the work does appear as shown in brackets. Subjects identities may be coded in a variety of ways. Secondary Sources Mention the original work in the written text of your paper. The secondary source listed as the actual source in the text and in the bibliography. In these examples, Gardner is the original work and he is referred to by Smith, Jones, and Watkins in their work. 5

Example: Citing secondary sources within text Gardner points out (as cited in Smith, Jones, & Watkins, 1999) that multiple intelligence theory presents special challenges for professionals working with gifted and talented children. Example: Citing secondary sources in reference list Smith, L., Jones, E., & Watkins, A. (1999) Postmodern theories of intelligence. Oakdale, MN: J. Putney & Co., Publishers. Appendices You might wish to include supplementary materials such as sample consent letters, test samples, writing samples and special bibliographies. Some of these can be included in the text of your paper. You may locate lengthy material at the back of the paper, before References or Bibliography, in one or more appendices. Each appendix requires its own cover page. This page is counted but not numbered as part of your paper. Its title is formatted as is a chapter title page that is two lines, two inches down from the top edge, the first line identifying Appendix A and the second line identifying contents of the appendix. To decide whether or not to use an appendix, ask yourself which arrangement would be least awkward or distracting: inserting in the text or referring the reader to materials at the back? Frequent lengthy insertions can disrupt your readers train of thought; so can flipping back and forth. CONCLUDING COMMENTS Formatting will be expedited if you have on hand the Capstone Completion Guide and this summary. HU Bush Library has two copies of the 5th edition of the APA manual in its Psychology reference section. Remember the manual is a guide for those who wish to submit manuscripts for publication in APA-approved journals. The Capstone Completion Guide and these instructions take precedence over the manual. When in doubt, contact your capstone advisor.