Skeleton of a Term Paper

Lt Col Dilip Kumar Roy

Associate Professor
Department of English
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Bangladesh University of Professionals
What is a Term paper ?
 A term paper is a research paper written by students over an academic term or
semester. It tracks and evaluates students’ knowledge about the course. This
academic writing assignment must be UNIQUE, well-written, analytical, organized,
and well-researched—as this reflects your knowledge of a certain course.

How to Choose a Term paper Topic?

 Your term paper topic should be a reflection of your research and unique ideas.
Try to choose a topic that has not been worked on before. If that is not possible,
try to bring a new angle on the chosen topic that has been worked on before.
For example, “Symbolism in To a Skylark” is a common topic, but if you can
come with different symbolisms then the existing analyses and support it by
logical explanations, you have a unique term paper topic. Some other points to
consider while choosing a term paper topic,
 Length
 Complexity
 Focused Research Question ( E.g: Feminism is a broad topic, focus it down to one
stream)
Skeleton of a Term paper
1. Cover page / title page
2. Table of contents
3. Abstract and keyword
4. Introduction
5. Literature review
6. Research gap
7. Research objection
8. Research question
9. Discussion and finding
10. Conclusion
11. Reference / words cited
Format of a Term paper
 Font: Times New Roman
 Font Size: 12
 Line Spacing: Double Spaced
 Alignment: Left
 Page Numbering according to MLA format.
E.g.: Your Last Name+ Page number/ Fatima 1
NO NUMBERING IN COVER PAGE
 Citation: MLA 8th Edition (Modern Language Association)
How to Cite in MLA
Plagiarism is a crime. No copy-pasting in term papers. To add direct quotations or
ideas of other scholars in your term paper you must give them credit via “in-text
citations” in the body of your paper and complete citations at the end of the
paper. MLA Citation Consists of-
 Author  Number

 Title of source  Publisher

 Title of container  Publication date
 Other contributors  Location
 Version
EXAMPLE :
Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. Routledge, 1994.
Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short
Stories, edited by Tobias Wolff, Vintage, 1994, pp. 306-07.
Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century
England.” Historical Journal, vol. 50, no. 1, 2007, pp. 173-
96. ProQuest, doi:10.1017/S0018246X06005966. Accessed 27 May 2009.
Sample
MLA Paper
Works Cited Page Must Be
Added at the End of the
Paper in a Separate Page
Refer To Purdue Writing Lab To Get a
Complete Guide on MLA Format
 https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/
mla_formatting_and_style_guide/
mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html
Thankyou for Listening !