AMERIKANISTIK STYLE SHEET

Universität Augsburg Prof. Dr. Hubert Zapf AMERIKANISTIK STYLE SHEET OCTOBER 2013 This style sheet outlines the formal requirements for Amerikanistik term papers. It follows the standards of form and citation of the Modern Language Association (MLA), which we have supplemented with our own examples for purposes of illustration. Wherever deviations from the MLA standard have prevailed in Germany, we have marked them as such. For more detailed questions not answered in this style sheet, please refer to Joseph Gibaldi, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th ed. (New York: MLA, 2009). 1. Formatting Requirements GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Use a typewriter or a word processor for the final draft of your term paper. In Germany, you are expected to use 1.5 line spacing and to leave margins of 3-4 cm on the left and 2 cm on the right. Indent the first line of each paragraph. Pagination starts with page 1 on the first page of the main text. Neither the title page nor the table of contents bear page numbers. Do not mix spelling standards: use either American or British English consistently. All papers must be submitted with a cover sheet (Deckblatt) available on the department website. The cover sheet includes a declaration in lieu of oath that you have written the paper yourself and cited all sources. TITLES AND HEADINGS Titles of monographs, collections, journals, films, and works of art are italicized; titles of articles, essays, poems, and short stories are enclosed in inverted commas. Titles of entire websites are italicized; titles of single pages on these websites are enclosed in inverted commas. Words and phrases in foreign languages are italicized, except within quotations. You can underline instead of using italics, but do not mix the two. In headings and titles, all words are capitalized except articles ( the ), short prepositions ( of ), conjunctions ( and ), and particles ( to ). The first and last words of a title are always capitalized. 1

2. Content TITLE PAGE The title page provides the following information: top left, the names of the university and the Lehrstuhl, the title of the seminar, the lecturer s name, and the semester in which the seminar was offered; in the center, the title (and subtitle) of your paper; bottom right, your name and address, your Semesterzahl, Studiengang, and Studienfach, and the date at which you submitted the paper. TABLE OF CONTENTS Lists all chapter and subchapter headings, including the Introduction, the Conclusion, and the Works Cited, as well as their respective page numbers. Make sure that the headings you list in the Table of Contents correspond to those in the main text. INTRODUCTION Introduces the topic of the paper and explains briefly its method. Should be no more than one tenth of the paper. MAIN PART Consists of an in-depth, coherent, and stringent analysis of one or several works of literature. Continually supports the argument with analyses of examples from the text. Makes use of relevant secondary literature, which is discussed critically. Avoids biographical details and extended plot summaries. Should consist of several chapters. CONCLUSION Briefly summarizes the analysis and emphasizes the insights gained in the paper. Should be no more than one tenth of the paper. WORKS CITED Contains all works cited in your paper, which are listed in alphabetical order of the authors last names. In Germany, the Works Cited list is usually divided into Primary and Secondary Sources (Primärliteratur and Sekundärliteratur). The citation standards are those of the MLA (see 3 and 4). Shorter Papers All guidelines in this style sheet also apply to short essays, reading reports, and midterm papers with the exception of title page and table of contents: you do not need these in shorter texts; you can just give your name and the title of the course on the first page. Besides, you can usually choose whether or not to use secondary literature. If you are not sure on this point, ask your instructor for further information. 2

3. Quotations Wherever you use formulations and passages from other texts, you have to mark them as quotations. If you fail to do so, you will face charges of plagiarism and not obtain credit points for the course! You have to mark not only verbatim quotations, but also thoughts and arguments of other authors that you paraphrase. Verbatim quotations are enclosed in double inverted commas, quotations within quotations in single inverted commas. Quotations of more than three lines are indented and not enclosed in inverted commas; in addition, it is customary in Germany to use smaller-case letters and single line spacing. All changes you make in verbatim quotations must be marked as such. Use square brackets for additions and changes and three dots for elisions. If you want to emphasize a word or a phrase, italicize it and mark the emphasis as yours after the quotation. Some examples: The continual reference [...] to a distinction between structuralism and post-structuralism has several unfortunate effects. The continual reference in critical debate to a distinction between structuralism and poststructuralism has several unfortunate effects (my emphasis). Use quotations sparingly and by no means as a substitute for your own argumentation. You have to cite the exact source of every quotation. This is done either within the text ( MLA style ) or in footnotes. Do not use a mix of both. Regardless of which option you choose, you have to list all the works you quote from in a Works Cited list at the end of your paper. IN-TEXT CITATION ( MLA STYLE ) The MLA style, which is officially recommended by the Lehrstuhl für Amerikanistik, requires you to give all bibliographical information within the text. You may still use footnotes for further references and comments, but not for purposes of citation. Instead, you insert the author s last name and the page number in parentheses right after the quotation. Take, for example, two citations from 4: The continual reference in critical debate to a distinction between structuralism and poststructuralism has several unfortunate effects (Culler 28). Derrida develops some of his central ideas in his discussion of Saussure s linguistics (Culler 97-102). If you cite several works by the same author or several authors by the same last name, include a short version of the title. It is separated from the author s name by a comma: The continual reference in critical debate to a distinction between structuralism and poststructuralism has several unfortunate effects (Culler, On Deconstruction 28). Structural and thematic values combine in this most profound level of narrative selfanalysis (Matlack, Voices 352). When you cite from poems and verse plays, you should use line instead of page numbers. To avoid misunderstandings, insert the word line(s) when you first cite from a poem. When you cite from verse plays, give the act, scene, and line numbers. And when a dark ship arrived, / I entered that water (Magdaleno lines 12-13). To be, or not to be: that is the question. (Shakespeare 3.1.63). 3

All examples listed here are short quotations that might appear in the text body of your paper. Longer, indented quotations do not require inverted commas, and punctuation precedes the parentheses: The continual reference in critical debate to a distinction between structuralism and poststructuralism has several unfortunate effects. (Culler 28) FOOTNOTES As an alternative to the MLA style, you can cite all sources in footnotes. Footnotes are numbered continually and in ascending order throughout your paper. They still require a Works Cited list at the end of the paper. When you cite a source for the first time, give the full bibliographical information in the footnote. The format resembles that of the Works Cited list (see 4), but periods are replaced with commas or parentheses. Take, for example, two citations from 4: 1 Jonathan Culler, On Deconstruction: Theory and Criticism after Structuralism (Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 1982) 28. 2 James H. Matlack, The Voices of Time: Narrative Structure in Absalom, Absalom!, Southern Review 15 (1979): 333-54, 352. When you cite a source you have cited before, you only need to give the author s last name and the page number: 3 Culler 28. If you cite several works by the same author or several authors by the same last name, include a short version of the title. It is separated from the author s name by a comma: 4 Matlack, Voices 352. When you cite from poems and verse plays, you should use line instead of page numbers. To avoid misunderstandings, insert the word line(s) when you first cite from a poem. When you cite from verse plays, give the act, scene, and line numbers. 5 Magdaleno lines 12-13. 6 Shakespeare 3.1.63. For central sources that you cite often (such as the literary text you analyze), you may use abbreviations. However, you still have to give the full bibliographical information in a footnote when you use the abbreviation for the first time. For example: Sitting on the seat was a woman and a boy of about twelve (LA 271). 7 7 Quotations from William Faulkner, Light in August (New York: Vintage, 1987) will be cited parenthetically in the text. 4. Works Cited At the end of your paper you need to list all works you have quoted or summarized in alphabetical order of the authors last names, regardless of source or genre (the headings here in the style sheet are just for clarification). If you don t know the author s name, leave it out and list by title. 4

If you cite a work by more than three authors or editors, list only the first of them, followed by et al. If you cite several works by the same author, list them alphabetically by title. Give the author s name in the first entry only; in the following entries, replace it with a emdash ( ). If the work you cite has been published in several places, include only the first of them in your entry. If the place name is ambiguous or not widely known, give some additional information ( Ithaca, NY ; Frankfurt/M. ). The term University Press is usually abbreviated UP : Yale UP ; U of California P. Indent all lines except the first line of each entry. BOOKS Name, First name. Title: Subtitle. Place: Publisher, Year. Culler, Jonathan. Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1997.. On Deconstruction: Theory and Criticism after Structuralism. Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 1982. Porter, Joy, and Kenneth M. Roemer, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Native American Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2005. Zapf, Hubert, ed. Amerikanische Literaturgeschichte. 3rd ed. Stuttgart: Metzler, 2010. ARTICLES IN EDITED BOOKS Name, First name. Essay title: Essay subtitle. Book title: Book subtitle. Editor(s). Place: Publisher, Year. Page numbers. Fluck, Winfried. Realismus, Naturalismus, Vormoderne. Amerikanische Literaturgeschichte. Ed. Hubert Zapf. 3rd ed. Stuttgart: Metzler, 2010. 153-215. Magdaleno, Rita. The Leaving. Floricanto Si!: A Collection of Latina Poetry. Ed. Bryce Milligan, Mary Guerrero Gilligan, and Angela de Hoyos. New York: Penguin, 1998. 157. ARTICLES IN JOURNALS Name, First name. Essay title: Essay subtitle. Journal title Volume.Issue (Year): Page numbers. Dorson James. Demystifying the Judge: Law and Mythical Violence in Cormac McCarthy s Blood Meridian. Journal of Modern Literature 36.2 (2013): 105-21. Matlack, James H. The Voices of Time: Narrative Structure in Absalom, Absalom! Southern Review 15 (1979): 333-54. 5

ARTICLES IN NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES Bisky, Jens. Seit zehn Jahren zu innovativ: Eine Jubiläumsfeier am Zentrum für Literaturforschung. Süddeutsche Zeitung 19 May 2006, 18. Peterson, Peter G. Public Diplomacy and the War on Terrorism. Foreign Affairs Sept./Oct. 2002: 74-94. DICTIONARY ENTRIES Deconstruction. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. Schulz, Dieter. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Metzler Lexikon amerikanischer Autoren. Ed. Bernd Engler and Kurt Müller. Stuttgart: Metzler, 2000. WEBSITES Author s name. Essay title: Essay subtitle. Website title. Institution or organization, Date of creation. Web. Date of access. Reuben, Paul P. Chapter 1: American Puritanism; A Brief Intoduction. PAL: Perspectives in American Literature; A Research and Reference Guide. Dept. of English, California State U Stanislaus, 16 Aug. 2013. Web. 30 Sep. 2013. Wallace Stevens. Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, 2010. Web. 30 Sep. 2013. DATABASE ARTICLES [Normal citation including data for original print publication, followed by:] Database name. Web. Date of access. Oldsey, Bernard. Hemingway s Beginnings and Endings. College Literature 7.3 (1980): 213-38. JSTOR. Web. 30 Jan. 2013. FILMS 8 Mile. Dir. Curtis Hanson. Perf. Eminem, Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy. Universal, 2003. Conclusion Precision is an indispensable prerequisite for scholarly research. Formal aspects such as citation will therefore be included in the evaluation of your paper, as they reflect your ability to discuss a given subject acutely and thoughtfully. Hence it is in your own interest to maintain an acceptable layout and a consistent citation standard. Compiled by Dr. Timo Müller and Christina Caupert, Lehrstuhl Amerikanistik, Universität Augsburg. 6