Thinkabara

📚 Research Papers & Citations · Lesson 7 of 7

Formatting, revising and academic integrity

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Paper format, revision passes, the writing center and AI rules.

Paper format

BothLetter paper, 1" margins, double-spaced, 12-pt readable font (Times New Roman, Calibri 11 for APA)
APA student paperTitle page (title, name, course, instructor, date), page numbers top right
MLANo title page: name, instructor, course, date at top left; Last name + page number top right
HeadingsAPA uses levels of bold headings; MLA usually none for short papers

Revise in passes

  1. Big picture: does every section support the thesis? Is anything missing?
  2. Paragraphs: one claim each, evidence sandwich, transitions
  3. Sentences: clear, concise, no wordiness
  4. Citations: every source cited, format consistent
  5. Proofread last: read aloud, or backward sentence by sentence

Get feedback

Your campus writing center will read drafts at any stage — book early, not the night before. Peer review with a classmate helps too: ask them to underline your thesis and each topic sentence.

Academic integrity

Plagiarism (copying, patchwriting, missing citations) and unauthorized AI use can lead to failing the course or worse. Follow your syllabus’s AI policy; when AI is allowed, say how you used it (APA and MLA have formats for citing AI tools). Keep your drafts and notes as proof of your process.

Tip

💡 Finish the draft 2–3 days before the deadline. Revision needs distance — you’ll see problems you couldn’t see the night you wrote it.

✏️ Practice: your turn

  1. Format your paper in APA or MLA using the online document editor or Word
  2. Do the five revision passes
  3. Book a writing center appointment
  4. Read your syllabus AI policy and note what is allowed

✏️ APA & MLA citation generator with a saved works-cited list

🧠 Quick quiz

Answer all 4 questions correctly to mark this lesson as done.

1. Standard margins for US college papers?
2. Does an MLA paper need a title page?
3. What should you revise first?
4. When is AI use acceptable?

0 of 4 correct

All lessons in Research Papers & Citations

  1. ❓ 1. From topic to research questionNarrow a broad topic into a question you can answer
  2. 🔎 2. Finding scholarly sourcesLibrary databases, Google Scholar and smart search terms
  3. ⚖️ 3. Evaluating sourcesPeer review, the CRAAP test and lateral reading
  4. 🧭 4. Thesis and outlineAn arguable thesis and an outline built around it
  5. 💬 5. In-text citationsQuoting, paraphrasing and citing in APA and MLA
  6. 📋 6. References and Works CitedFormatting the list: APA 7 and MLA 9 entries, hanging indents and order
  7. ✅ 7. Formatting, revising and academic integrityPaper format, revision passes, the writing center and AI rules