Formatting Your Paper
Summary: CTH Students should use Turabian citation and formatting conventions for their major papers.
V. Overview of Turabian Style
Turabian style is an academic style/formatting guide adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style. Specific guidance for formatting your paper is provided below:
Title Page (view example)
Include all of the following information, centered and double-spaced, each on a separate line:
Paper title, in bold type and the same font as the paper, beginning about a third of the way down the page
Student's name, beginning about two-thirds of the way down the page
Seminary name, course name and number
Professor’s name
Date the paper was due, formatted as Month Date, Year (example, May 1, 2022)
Note: For late papers, type the submission date in parentheses after the due date.
Paper Body (view example)
Use 1-inch margins and a standard font such as 12-pt Times New Roman.
Do not right justify the text as it leads to oddly spaced words.
Use one space between sentences.
Indent the first line of each paragraph five spaces.
Introduce quotations with the author's last name or with text that indicates why you included the quotation.
If the quotation is less than 5 typed lines, incorporate it into the paragraph, surrounded by quotations marks and followed by a superscripted note number.
If the quotation is five lines or more, create a single-spaced block quote.
Follow quoted Bible verses with a parenthetical reference instead of a footnote.
To include a Bible passage of five lines or fewer, incorporate the passage text into the paragraph, surrounding the passage with quotation marks and following the ending quotation mark with the reference and version in parentheses. Spell out the version on the first use, and abbreviate thereafter. Place any required punctuation after the parenthesis.
Examples:
As we read in John's Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1 King James Version).
As we read in John's Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1 KJV), and from elsewhere in the Scriptures, we know that the Word is the second Person of the Trinity.
Treat multiple verses (5 lines or more) as block quotations. Omit the quotation marks and place the terminal punctuation before the parentheses that contain the Scripture reference. As with other block quotations, insert a line before and after each paragraph, but single space the paragraph, as follows:
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. (1 John 1:1-4 NKJV)
Additional Guidance for quoting Scriptural passages:
Keep all parts of the Scripture reference on the same line. For example, in the previous passage, the prefixed “ 1” in 1 John 1:1-4 should not be stranded at the end of the line while the rest of the reference wraps to the next line. The same goes for the chapter and verses. To ensure that your text follows these rules, take the following actions:Replace all the spaces in the reference with non-breaking spaces by selecting the space and typing Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar. (more info here)
Replace the hyphen in the reference with a non-breaking hyphen by selecting the hyphen and typing Ctrl+Shift+Minus sign. (more info here)
Additional Guidance
If your professor requires a hard copy of your paper, staple the pages together in the top left-hand corner. Do not use plastic covers or binders. Keep a copy other than the one you submit. Alternatively, your professor may ask you to submit a Word or PDF file of your paper by email or in Populi.