Technical Writing at Louisiana Tech University

Headings and Text Formatting

The following two pages give some examples of text Formatting and Heading use for this course; after the second page, there is a discussion of Documentation and Plagiarism. The following two pages are double-spaced and have indented paragraphs, as should your reports. [This formatting is based on viewing in a 12 point font; other sizes--larger sized in particular-- may change the appearance of these two pages]
Headings:

FIRST ORDER

SECOND ORDER

Text begins on this line; always leave a blank line after a second-order heading.

Note that in this example, the second order heading is in all caps at the left margin; the

other option is to center it in initial caps.

Third Order

Text begins on this line; always leave a blank line after a third-order heading. Note that in this example, the third and fourth order headings are underlined; they could also be

placed in bold-face type and not underlined. If one heading level in bold-faced, then all

should be; if they are bold-faced, then underlining does not seem necessary.

Fourth Order. Note that this heading is indented and has the text beginning on the
same line.

Here is a second example of heading use, with the second order headings centered:

FIRST ORDER

Second Order

Leave a blank line before and after a second-order heading. Note that this second

order heading is centered and in initial caps; the other option is to put it in all caps at the

left margin.

Third Order

Leave a blank line before and after a third-order heading. Fourth Order. The text goes on the same line. Then, the text goes back to the

margin on the next lint. In this example, the third and fourth order headings are bold-faced

rather than underlining them.

DOCUMENTATION AND PLAGIARISM

English 303 emphasizes research techniques. It is important that each student find and analyze data to be used for supporting conclusions and recommendations:

Notes must be taken carefully, and it will be necessary to turn in photocopies of some sources, to demonstrate the accuracy of your note taking.
It is critical that you use source material not only accurately but that you give the sources of all information that you integrate into your paper. Not only must you give the exact source of all quoted material; it is just as critical that you give the source of any summarized information or even information that contributed to your background understanding of ideas. In the academic and commercial world, it is crucial that you not use information without giving credit to the source. If a quotation is used, it must be exactly as the original; if a summary is used, it must be in your words, not in the words of the source with only a few changes. And, in a research paper, it is important that the whole analysis be based on information from expert sources; without reference to such sources, the paper will lack validity. So, the process of the DOCUMENTATION of ideas -- getting information from sources, reproducing it accurately in a paper, and giving credit through notes and a bibliography -- is an essential component of English 303.
The Report will use a numbered bibliography; then, sources will use those bibliography numbers, plus page numbers, as the documentation system. Here is an example: "The boat sank without a trace" (3:78). This information is a direct quote; it would be found on page 78 of the source listed as #3 in the bibliography. Here is an example that is a summary, putting the information in the words of the writer of the paper: Jones said that the boat sank (3:78). Note that each is documented and that the period follows the documentation. Examples of the documentation system can be found in the Examples of Each Section of the Long Report Sections under Long Report Information on the Table of Contents page.

In order to evaluate each student's work fairly as a piece of work in itself and in comparison to the work of other students, it is necessary that all work be done honestly by the student who submits it for a grade. To be sure that you are following these guidelines, keep the following terms and definitions in mind as you research and write:

PLAGIARISM means presenting the words, work, or opinions of someone else as if they were your own--in other words, without correct DOCUMENTATION to the original source.

DOCUMENTATION refers to the process of citing sources--giving the origin and form of the source material--through quotation marks, footnotes, endnotes, or in-text notes, and a bibliography. Those quotation marks, notes, and bibliography give the author, title, and necessary publication data about the origin of the source material and show whether the author's exact words are being used or a summary of those words is being presented.

You commit plagiarism if you submit the following without documentation (through footnotes, endnotes, or in-text notes)--in other words, as if it were your own work alone:

Material summarized or quoted from an unpublished source such as another person's manuscript or notes. (Example--another student's paper).

Material copied, paraphrased, or summarized from a published source such as a book, magazine, or pamphlet. (Example--a passage from a book in the library).

A unique idea or sequence of ideas transferred from a source to your paper without giving credit to that source. (Example--giving the Theory of Relativity without citing Albert Einstein as the author of that theory).

You commit plagiarism if you reproduce the exact words from a published source but do not enclose the quoted words in quotation marks. This action is considered plagiarism even if you document the material by giving the correct source of the information. It is plagiarism because you are telling the reader that you wrote those words in your paper when in fact you have copied those words from another writer but are presenting them as your own words.
You are an accomplice in plagiarism if you do any of the following:

Allow your paper, in outline or finished form, to be copied and submitted as if it were the work of another student.

Prepare a written assignment for another student and allow it to be submitted as that student's work.

Keep or contribute to a file of papers with the clear intent that these papers be copied and submitted as the work of anyone other than the original author of each paper.