The 10 Commandments of Paper Writing

Based on “The Ten Commandments of Paper Writing” by Edward Pollak, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at West Chester University.

I. You shall not cite directly a paper you have not read. Neither shall you include in your reference section any paper that you have not read nor any paper which has not been cited in the body of your paper. Such practices constitute the padding of your reference section. They are an abomination.

II. When paraphrasing part of an article, you must significantly rewrite the relevant material. Failure to paraphrase constitutes plagiarism for which you will be cut down.

III. Excessive quotations are to be avoided. If you can not paraphrase a thing, you do not understand that thing. If you do not understand a thing, study it until you do understand it and by that understanding, are able to paraphrase it. Excessive quotes are no more than filler material used by slothful students who do not have enough material to write a decent paper.

IV. In the rare case that you must use a quotation you must know that short quotations shall always be enclosed within quotation marks. Quotations longer than one or two sentences shall be indented. All quotations must be followed by both the reference and the relevant page number (e.g., Pollak, 1974, p.322). You shall include page numbers only for quotations. For paraphrased material you shall cite only the author(s) and date.

V. You shall use APA style in all things. You shall consult the APA style manual or any current issue of the American Psychologist. APA style means that you shall use few (if any) footnotes and that all references will be cited in the body of the paper (e.g., Pollak, 1974). You shall not use numbered references. They are an abomination.

VI. You shall avoid long, flowery, complex sentences in favor of a crisp, telegraphic style.

VII. You shall include an abstract at the beginning of your paper. An abstract is a summary of your paper. It is not an introduction to your paper.

VIII. You shall use only those sources that come from scholarly journals and books. Psychology Today and other popular magazines are not scholarly journals. Neither are popular Internet sources and encyclopedias appropriate for college-level papers. These things are an abomination before our eyes.

IX. You must know that many of your resources will not be contained within the library of Pine Manor College and must be sought elsewhere or must be ordered through inter-library loan. Therefore I say unto you, verily, you must begin your research at the earliest possible time lest the day of judgment approach and you are found wanting before your professor.

X. Your professor is a gentle and gracious professor. You shall consult with your professor at any and all stages of the research and writing process that you might not fall into error. Your professor shall treat your inquiries with helpfulness and charity even unto reading an early draft of your work. If you do listen to my words and do these things that I command, you will be found worthy and your grade point average will prosper even unto summa cum laude.